sick clown

[ad6735]

evening y'all (it's 11:22pm pst)

was looking around for some answers here in trt before I came around to asking...

i have a false perc that has a HUGE cauliflower like growth near the edge of its "lips" just underneath its left eye. it's been there for a while and i swear it's growing. it's been eating fine and very active. the fish isn't flashing and i don't see any other lesions or physical marks on its body. is this normal? any id on the fish diagnosis? i don't quarentine and i don't dip. all the rest of the fishes are fine. i'm thinking of getting a cleaner shrimp, but i like to know what i'm dealing with first.

i have a firefish and another fish that gold-yellow with black stripes (any id?). also a pair of red-legged hermits and 4 turbos. no coral....yet (still trying to determine if my bioload had maxed).

oh the tank...20L, 25lbs lr, 1 1/2in ls. eclipse 12 hood (yes using the built in filter as a source of circulation) rio90 powerhead. change water weekly (2gals) and all testing are within parameters.

[ShirleyM]

Hello,
I'm real sorry to hear about your Clownfish's condition. I just scanned through the disease section of Joyce Wilkerson's Clownfishes book, and can't find a thing that sounds remotely like this condition your fish has.
I'm sorry I'm not more help, but I thought you might like to know it's not in her book. Maybe it's a harmless growth??
Shirley

[Stang69]

Possibly just a cal deposit maybe. In the past if I have noticed anythign like that what I do (and I stress what I do) Some may not agree but I simply take my fingernail and scrape it off if indeed thats what it is

But if he is eating etc and it doesnt bother him just leave it be and see what happens if it starts to bother him or impare his eyesite or eating then try the method I described if you like

Jeff

[ad6735]

thanks for the info guys!

at least it's not a parasite or a disease. so far the clown's doing fine, it's just a little wierd seeing that outgrowth get larger every week.

i'll keep an eye on it and keep you posted...

thanks again!

[JennM]

Hmmm cauliflower-like?

There's a fungus among us

Sounds fungal to me. I'd FW dip to see if you can reduce the size of it. 5 mins once a day. It's easy to say, "if it ain't broke..." but that's not right. If it is growing, then sooner or later it will be a problem and it's easier to treat a fish that's otherwise unaffected and eating.

Jenn

[beach bum]

Although I do like the fingernail idea for it's undeniable DIY factor - I'd bet dollars to donuts that a cleaner shrimp would perform the surgery for you, and gladly at that.