[XXXJAYXXX]

Hey Everyone,

I have a Eureka Red (Alunocara Jacobfriebergi) that has some kind of growth on the underside of his bottom lip. I have tried Melafix, Marineland "All in One", and API Triple Sulfa, and Erythromycin. The fish is still eating, this has been going on for about 3-4 weeks now (hence the different med cycles). He does seem slightly lethargic, but not overly in distress. I tried to snap a few pics with my phone.. but the lense is pretty scratched up so they didn't come out too clearly.. Hoping someone can point me in the right direction.. this guy is about 2.5 years old and I grew him from fry.. would hate to lose him!

 

[Rondelet]

Pictures are fuzzy. It would be good to see a clear picture. You should be able to do this without taking the fish out of the water. Looks more like a tumour than an ulcer. In most cases ulcers are the result of bacterial infections, whereas tumours are cancerous growths which are essentially untreatable in fish. If this is in fact the case, antimicrobials are not going to help at all. In some cases these types of lesions can be removed but you would have to speak to a vet. I think at this point the best thing you can do is separate the fish in a hospital/quarantine tank and keep a close watch on it.

 

[XXXJAYXXX]

I tried to take a few more pics with him in the tank.. once again.. my camera isn't the greatest.. I'm thinking it might be a cancerous growth :-( None of the anti-bacterial meds seem to be doing anything..

 

[Rondelet]

Without getting a biopsy (tissue sample) it very difficult to say. There is an off chance it's a reaction to a viral infection. If this was the case, there is not much you can except reduce stress as much as possible and it might resolve on it's own. While I think this is unlikely, there is not much else you can do. Also, have a very close look at the lesion to look for any other unusual signs (such as the presence of worms etc). What are your water parameters? Also, you mentioned this has been going on for a few weeks. Did the growth appear rather quickly or has it been slowly getting bigger and bigger?

 

[XXXJAYXXX]

My water conditions are always kept up, I have been breeding cichlids for a few years now.. so I have gotten the water chem down to a science. Other than a bit of blood and traces of fungus on the surface of the growth, nothing else seems out of the ordinary. The growth did come on quite quickly, I noticed it when it was quite small, at first I thought he had just gotten into fight and tore his bottom lip.. but after a week of melafix (which usually does the trick for fighting wounds) the growth continued to get bigger. I would say it is at least 4-5 times bigger than it was when I first noticed it 4 weeks ago.. So I would say yes.. it is growing rather quickly..

 

[Rondelet]

Well if your water parameters are fine (always important to rule out the easy stuff!) and the growth came on relatively quickly, it suggests to me it's a tumour. Not much you can really do. I would take few pictures of the growth and any changes that occur for future documentation/reference.