mouth fugus clownfish?

[ChrisGA]

Hi experts, my clownfish has white stuff on one side of his mouth. Is this mouth fungus? Any treatment? 

[DSA65PRO]

Fungus is usually Fuzzy. Looks like a Tumor, is it on it’s Gill? If so, that’s from Thyroid Problems. Try increasing the amount of Iodine. 

[Tired]

It definitely looks like a tumor. But I would disagree about the thyroid thing- thyroid issues in fish can cause tumors inside the gill, not outside. And iodine helps prevent the thyroid from absorbing radiation, but I'm not sure what, if anything, it would do for cancer. 

 

Has the mass been notably growing? 

 

Does the fish show any signs of pain? Clamped fins, heavy breathing, flashing/rubbing on rocks, not eating? 

[ChrisGA]

thanks for the info! No so far the fish is fine and eating well and active. It is on the gill but the mass has not been notably growing either. Is there any treatment for tumor? Would it be possible it is some sort of infection due to attack injury? there is another big angel fish who is pretty aggressive towards this fish sometimes.  Since tumor is not infectious so I am guessing my other fish would fine even this fish eventually dies, right? 

[DSA65PRO]

Freshwater Livebearing fish get tumors around the gills and they are on the outside. They may have started on the inside. The treatment is Iodine, made for the Aquarium. They think the cause is from Interbreeding. Had some unique colored swordtails that were prone to getting this. I finally gave up on keeping and breeding replacements. 

 

This is similar to what my fish looked like but had more blue on them. From a breeder in N.C. 

[Tired]

Thyroid tumors grow around the thyroid, which is inside. They're usually further back, and tend to force the gill open, rather than showing up on the face like this. Iodine may be worth a try, but only if OP has an iodine test kit to make sure there isn't too much.

 

I don't think this would have been caused by an attack, but it's possible that could have started something off. 

 

There is no treatment that would be especially good, no. You should buy some clove oil, and use it to humanely euthanize this fish in the future if it starts to show distress or has too much difficulty eating. It may do fine for a long time, or the tumor may grow quickly at some point and become a big problem. If it starts to have pain or not be able to eat, you should euthanize it before it dies slowly. No, this can't spread to your other fish, assuming it is just a regular tumor. 

[ChrisGA]

Thank you both for the advice! I will watch it and it is comforting to know that it won't affect other fish.

[DSA65PRO]

Another way to humanely Euthanize a Fish, is to put it in a plastic container in tank water. Put it in the freezer overnight, when no one will be going in it. 

[Tired]

NO. Do not do that. It is not an approved humane method for use in laboratories. Euthanasia by rapid immersion in extremely cold water can work for some very small fish, but slow freezing is considered inhumane. Clove oil is much easier to do properly, and is definitely humane. Or any method that immediately physically destroys the brain (i.e. a hammer), but that's harder for a lot of people to stomach. 

[mcarroll]

Sounds like a latent infection of some kind...may have been harmless* and invisible while the fish was healthy and it's immune system was able to keep it in check.  Constant harassment has a cumulative effect against the immune system though...once his was too weak, whatever this is took off.

 

If you remove the offending fish, it's possible that things might reverse course....or at least maybe it will not proceed any further.

 

The fighting can't be allowed though...something like this outcome is predictable when fish fight and they're in a tank without escape.

 

* worth pointing out that even as of 8/6 when the growth was VERY apparent, there was still no apparent impact to the fish.