A wound that won't heal

[Esquire]

I have an adult fish that hurt himself while I had a stay in the hospital for a few days.
I don't know how it happened but assume he scratched it or ran into something when startled. When I returned I noticed a bump the size of your thumb nail that was raised like a volcano almost a quarter inch. It is at the end of his tail right before the tail fin.
The fish acts fine no other problems other than this festering raised wound.
It looked like it needed to be lanced as it was getting slightly larger with no improvement after a month.
I removed the fish and with a sterile exacto knife I tried to relieve the pressure but there didn't seem to be any. It bleed a little, the flesh seemed very soft in that area, not right.
I'm not sure what to do with this as this is really ugly. I did this procedure about a month ago and there is no improvement at all. It has been about 3 months since it happened.
Other than the wound the fish acts normal.

BB 75 gal tank 84 degrees 4 adult fish in the tank parameters are all in check. He eats and pooh is normal
i will try to add a picture very soon.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Esquire]

Images, The wound is the size of your thumb nail.

[Keith Perkins]

I was once advised to use iodine/H2O2 on an open wound that seemed to be getting worse rather than better and it worked extremely well. That being said, this doesn't look like your basic open wound. If no one comes along with a good suggestion and you want to try the iodine the procedure is pretty simple. Net the fish and place it on a wet clean cloth. Folding the cloth over to cover the head and eye helps keep the fish calmer so hopefully it won't flop around much. You can obviously lightly restrain the fish with one hand as necessary. Dry the affect area with a paper towel. Get the Q-tip quickly wet with iodine so that's it's not dripping off of it, tap off excess if necessary. Dab the affected area and leave the fish sit for 20 seconds. This wouldn't be a problem for your fish given where the problem is, but it's extremely important not to get iodine on the eyes or gills. Return the fish to the tank and you're good to go. The entire process can be done in a minute or so, obviously it's important to have everything needed set up and ready to go when you do this to minimize the time the fish is out of the water. A few minutes is no problem, and it takes much less time than that to do the process.

[ZX10R]

WOW!!! that is nasty. I am no medcine man but have you tried adding salt to the water to help it heal. Looks like it got infected.

[jimg]

keep in mind it could also be a symptom of TB. any lumps,sore,curved spines on the others? make sure you have no open cuts just in case.

[DonMD]

I second the suggestion for salt, 1 to 2 TBS per 10 gallons. The salt won't hurt anything, aids in respiration (I've been told), and promotes healing. It can't hurt. I always us non-iodized salt. Also, it's very inexpensive. -Don

[Esquire]

Salt is a good idea like you say. It can't hurt.
This is defiantly a wound, or at least it started that way. This fish was normal then a few days away and I returned to this.
Thanks for any advice.

[Skip]

ooh, i thought this was about your EX GF/BF breaking your heart..

but now, i think i throw up a little in my mouth when i saw that picture!
:vomit:

[nc0gnet0]

Could use some better pictures but that looks like a tumor, not a wound. it appears to have veins/capilaries feeding the tissue as well. I would cull it immediatly and hope none of your other fish develope the same symptoms. If they do, be prepared to euthanize them all.

rick

[DonMD]

I would cull it immediatly and hope none of your other fish develope the same symptoms. If they do, be prepared to euthanize them all.

rick

Or, if you don't want to cull it, put it in a QT tank and treat.

[nc0gnet0]

Or, if you don't want to cull it, put it in a QT tank and treat.

Ok, just so everyone knows, my knowledge with tumors lies mainly with KOI, so alot of what I say stems from that knowledge. That being said, you don't treat a tumor (unless you have access to chemotherapy ;)), unless your willing to attempt to surgically remove it. Judging by the size and location of that sore, I don't think trying to remove it is an option without killing the fish or leaving it without use of his tail fin.

There are several causes of tumors, one of them being viral. Not saying that is the case here, but watching the other fish closely would be my main priority.

[Northstr31]

I have used listerine on sores that looked like that on lizards and snakes in the past. I tried on saltwater fish once, but the fish later died (however I think it was unrelated to the listerine)
Anthony

[Esquire]

I doubt seriously that it started out as a tumor.
This was almost as big when i noticed it first and that would have had to have grown in 5 days. I was only away from the fish for that long and he was fine before that.

[nc0gnet0]

I doubt seriously that it started out as a tumor.

Better pictures would help, the pictures you have posted are about the size of a postage stamp. I am pretty sure it is in fact a tumor, not a wound. And yes, they can pop up that fast.

[Esquire]

The more i look at it the more I think your right that it is a tumor.
I can't see how it would ever heel and I probably will cull the fish ( as much as I hate that ) by the end of the day unless someone comes up with a better solution.
I have tried uploading slightly larger pics but the board is not allowing them.

[nc0gnet0]

Upload them to photobucket and then insert the link.

[Esquire]

Here ya go.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e333/david2727/B2.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e333/david2727/B1.jpg

[nc0gnet0]

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e333/david2727/B2.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e333/david2727/B1.jpg


Tumor, others should chime in as to what you should do (hopefully).

Rick

[jimg]

If it started out looking like a sore that you thought was a wound, then I would cull it and bury it. It may very well be tb (micobacterium marinum).
It may be just a common tumor but I wouldn't take the chance.

[Keith Perkins]

Definitely looks like blood supply going to it, I'd say it's a tumor. Certainly doesn't look like a wound gone bad now that we have better pictures. It's never easy to cull an adult fish, but in this case that seems like very good advice. "The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the one."...Spock

[DonMD]

Have you thought about contacting an aquatic vet? I used one at Virginia Tech, it was an amazing experience. I'm sure he used the sick fish with his students in a lab, but he gave me exact information that I needed. Just a thought.

[Esquire]

Dam i culled him, hate that.
He was a beautiful fish i raised from a spawn.
His tumor was bleeding and raw, the others may have picked on it.
I'm doing a 98% water change and scrub down of the tank, then adding salt for a few weeks and hope there are no others effected.

Thanks for the help.

[John_Nicholson]

I know I am getting into this a little late but you did the right thing. I don't believe the fish was ever going to recover. I really think it was a tumor for some sort. You other fish should be fine.

-john