Mass Under Skin Of Dragon Goby

[jmcdonald]

Hello folks,

I'm not sure if this should go under Fish Emergencies or Exotics so please move as appropriate.

I've got an 18" dragon goby (g. brousonetti) that is roughly 7 years old. He (I've never sexed the fish, but will presume it is male for the purposes of this post ) has developed a mass of sorts on his side. Please see photos below.

My first thought was that this is a tumor. The area where it is located on his body is close enough to his anal fin for me to think that it's not likely intestinal, although, he does appear to have been losing some weight (girth). The dark "dash" in the side behind the swollen area does appear to be a hole of some sort. Could this be an abscess from some damage he sustained? He has extremely poor sight and frequently launches himself around the tank, occasionally colliding with items (heaters, filter parts, driftwood, etc.), though seldom with much force. But perhaps he injured himself and this is just swelling from an infection?

If it helps, the area where the mass is growing first started out looking like a mild skin discoloration. Whether this was because of a "bruise" (i.e. external damage) or from the internal pressure of something growing under the skin I cannot say.

If it is a tumor, I'm not sure much can be done. But if it is not a tumor, I'd obviously like to treat him. I'd be quite grateful for any recommendations or diagnoses you can provide.

Photos:

(apologies for the poor photography)

Thanks in advance,

James

 

[WILDER]

Thats bad.
Did it start of as a spot.
Get you a link.
http/www.fishyfarmacy.com/articles/aeromonas.html

Any signs of flicking and rubbing, erratic swimming, darting, excess mucas, laboured breathing.
Has the fish lost weight due to not eating.
Anything ever point out of the hole in the fish.

 

[cheesy feet]

Could be viral/bacterial.I'll try and find the pics of a similar thing that happened to my sevs.
I would net him and lift him out the water to see if the area smells, or if any fluid/puss comes out when you give it a gentle squeeze.Sounds weird, but then you'll know.

 

[jmcdonald]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. This morning I awoke to discover that some of the edges of the bulges have reddening on them, as if abraded. I am not sure if this is a progression of the growth of the mass, or a result of him scraping the bulging area on things in the tank. I dosed the tank with Pimafix and Melafix in combo just to prevent any supplemental infection if it is an external injury.

I've not seen him flashing recently although some weeks back he did flash for an evening and exhibit some bizarre "swim & drop randomly" behavior. However, the next day he stopped that and since then his behavior has been relatively normal, although his weight has been decreasing so I suspect he's not getting as much food as he may need (or the ailment is taking out more than he can bring in). He does appear to be "panting" although because that's one of the ways in which he feeds, I hadn't thought overly much of it. The only thing that makes it remarkable (that is, out of the ordinary) is that he appears recently to be doing this panting more often than his other feeding methods.

As far as how the bump started. He's always been a bit "lumpy" I must confess, so it wasn't remarkable at first. I did notice some reddening of the area on the opposite side of the fish (but in the same area) a couple of weeks past, but it was gone within a day and not red the way septicemia usually is so I didn't think it noteworthy. The mass didn't really come on until more than a week later, and when it did, it was on the opposite side of the fish.

No, I've never seen anything protruding from the hole. In fact, I didn't realize it actually was a hole until the mass began to swell. Before it just looked like any number of other random spots he has. It has gotten progressively darker as the mass has increased in size.

The mass has come up suddenly enough that I'm starting to doubt it's a tumor. I'm on my way to the store now to see about some of the medications recommended for Aeromonas.

Wilder, the info on that site you recommended is geared towards pond fish. Do you know if anything should be modified for treating a fish in an aquarium setting? Also, the getting the recommended Oxytetracycline into his food might be tricky. Hopefully treating the water will suffice. Any recommendations here?

cheesy feet, I'll give that a try with netting him and investigating the mass.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

 

[jmcdonald]

Update. Since I've been home from work today, I've been unable to see the mass. Just a short while ago he swam to a place where I could finally get a look at it and it has changed yet again!

Photos below.

The redness I witnessed this morning before work is gone. The mass is reduced in size, but there is now a second hole! Are these perhaps ulcers?

Had to go to a chain pet store due to the hour, and they didn't have any of the meds mentioned in the article you referred me to Wilder, but have at my disposal the following:

API T.C. Tetracycline (no oxytetracycline to be had, unfortunately)
Maracyn (erythromycin)
Maracide (malachite green, chitosan)
Maroxy (stabilized chlorine oxides)
Jungle Anti-Bacteria medicated fish food (sodium sulfathiazole 2.3%, nitrofurazone 0.13%)
Pimafix
Melafix

Going to start off with tetracycline and maracide to try to get as close to the recommended treatment cited on fishyfarmacy.com. Thoughts on if I should continue also dosing with Melafix and Pimafix? I know there are strong opinions about those two products, but I've had luck with them in the past.

Thanks again!

 

[WILDER]

I would use antibiotics. But only in issolation, as they wipe the benefical bacteria out in the filter.

Ulcers are pink or red with a circling of dead white tissue.around the edges. They can develope into a hole.

 

[jmcdonald]

Hello,

Thanks for the advice Wilder. I have now been dosing since last night with Tetracycline, Pimafix, and Melafix. So far the condition appears improved over how it was yesterday. Photos below. The mass is much less pronounced and the redness around the "holes" appears to have subsided. Still not looking great, but comparatively more like himself.

With the introduction of the Tetracycline he has stopped continuously cycling water through his gills. He still does it, but now it's more like it used to be, that is, in "sessions" with periods of just sitting still in between. Hopefully this is a sign of greater comfort and not of exhaustion.

Incidentally, if anything in the treatment throws up a red flag, please let me know. Though I've been keeping fish for many years, I've been fortunate not to have ever had many illnesses with them, only a couple of injuries. That good fortune, though, has left me somewhat at a loss in this case.

Thanks again.

 

[WILDER]

Don't add anymore pimafix. Don't need it. To many meds.
I would see if just the tetracycline works on its own.

 

[cheesy feet]

Here's what happened to mine, looks similar.
Started off looking stressed and a little white spot

Just before I was going to euthanize him, he died.

 

[WILDER]

So cute bless him.
R.I.P.