Bumps????

If it isn't to late, and you're desperately looking for some advice, hopefully someone can help you out.

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lrry93
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Bumps????

Post by lrry93 »

I noticed these two bumps on one of my fish. There by the left gill plate. They have been there since I purchased what I believe is a her. They do not seem to be affecting the fish as it seems to be eating fine and is very active swimming all around the tank. Can anyone identify what there from?? I have never seen this.

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Adam
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Post by Adam »

Hi Irry93,

I wouldn't worry too much about the two growths they appear to be benign to me, a clearer picture if you can take one would help. If the fish is still active, feeding and displaying a good flight response then it appears to be in good health. There doesn't appear to be any localised reddening and the two growths have not broken through the skin so I don't suspect bacterial, viral or sporazoan infections. However the growths do appear to be rather close to the gill opening. Have you noticed if the fish has a higher breathing rate when compared to another zebra?

My advice is to step up your tank cleaning maintenance, pay particular attention to cleaning your substrate. I notice that you have gravel as a substrate, personally I would replace it with a 2cm layer of sand or better still have a bare bottomed tank. Keep a close eye on the growths, if they change in either colour or size I would consider an anti bacterial treatment.

For some reason zebras seem to be prone to these type of growths. There has been at least 3 other members on the forum that have had a similar experience. As a general rule they do not appear to be fatal and do not require any treatment.

Keep us posted.

Adam
lrry93
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Post by lrry93 »

Thanks for the info. I had dirty glass at the time so that was the best pic I could get. They look just like the rest of the body (No changes in color or signs of broken skin) and no significant increase in the breathing rate. I am planning on moving these two to a private tank. Currently I have them in a planted 45 Gallon with a Flourite bottom covered in Riccia and Glosso. I was going to place them with my 9 young zebras but not if this one may be sick. Im also afraid they will be aggresive towards the small ones that are less then 1/2 inch. This one is currently a hair over 2 inches.
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Post by wandj »

I had a small Zebra with a very large beige, round bump behind its eye. It acted like yours...normal in every way. I think in about 3 weeks or so, it just shrunk and now it is completely gone. No sign it was there. If your fish has the same thing....let it be and it should go away on its own. My little guy is very lively and there is no trace there was ever a bump at all.
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Post by McEve »

What the others said :) and maybe it's the same thing the fish in this thread had?
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Post by Adam »

Hi Irry93,

It probably would be best to keep the two sets of zebras seperate for the time being just in case the problem turns out to be an infection of some sort. I doubt that this will happen but it's better to play it safe. As I said before keep a close eye on the affected zebra, particularly for any changes in the appearance of the growths. I wouldn't medicate just yet and run the risk of giving your filter bacteria a "knock", that's the last thing you want at the moment. Keep the tank conditions as stable and as clean as possible. In the past I have found that upping tank temperatures can assist fish to mount a more effective immune response. The warmer temperature increases the metabolic rate which in turn speeds up recovery time. I would increase your tank temperature to 29°C/84°F as this is the optimum temperature for keeping zebras.

If and when you decide to join the two groups I would provide lots of cover in the form of drift wood/slate. I would move everything around so that they all have to claim new spots, you may see some aggression but providing there is ample cover they should be ok together.
Last edited by Adam on Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Des
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Post by Des »

Irry93,

What temp do you have your zebras in?.
As Adam has already said , 84 F is their optimum temp.

Regards,
Des
lrry93
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Post by lrry93 »

I keep my tank at 89F. I have not been able to get a good look at her underside for about a week now to see if they have improved. She has just been hanging out rasping on the driftwood and swimming around occasionally all in full light. 220 watts of it. Isnt this a little strange?
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Post by Adam »

Irry93,

Your tank temperature is a bit on the warm side, zebras can tolerate temperatures up to 90°F. In the wild they will experience these sort of temperatures during the dry season. Personally I think you should drop the temperature to 84°F. Please bear in mind that the life expectancy of fish kept at the top end of their tolerance threshold can be reduced, in some species such as livebearers their life expectancy will be almost halved.

Your female's behaviour does sound a bit strange, with my own fish I have noticed that certain individuals are a lot more active and not so shy than the others. You may be lucky enough to have a bold zebra that doesn't feel the need to hide all the time. How does the other zebra behave? Do you keep your zebras in a community tank? If so they may not be getting enough food which will force them out in the open to look for food. You say that you often see her rasping on driftwood, my own zebras are not fed for one day during the week. On the day of their fast I notice that a lot of rasping on driftwood takes place and the zebras are generally a lot more active. The floor of their tank looks like the floor of a saw mill following their day of fasting. I suspect that your zebra may not be getting enough food which is why you see her out in the open a lot.

Adam
Last edited by Adam on Sun Mar 27, 2005 12:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
lrry93
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Post by lrry93 »

Thanks for the info. I will lower the temp to 84F. They are in a community tank. The other zebra stays hidden all the time and only comes out at night. I will pay closer attention to there activity. The female was hidden today. I have been feeding Hikari carnivore pellets to these guys and I feed the other fish in the tank live brine and bloodworms so Im sure they get some left overs.
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Post by Adam »

Hi Irry93,

I know that you're alraedy thinking about it but you really should put the zebras in a species only tank, they do far better with their own kind. They should be ok in the community tank for a while but I really wouldn't leave them in there for too long.

My zebras started out in a community tank and spent almost two months in there. When I put them in their own tank they filled out very quickly. They just can not compete effectively for food with other fish.

Once you are happy that the female with the bumps doesn't have something infectious it would be best to put them all together.
lrry93
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Post by lrry93 »

I just tore down the community tank and made it into a river tank today. Im letting it get settled and then I will introduce the Zebras. I got the idea from the river tank on planetcatfish.com. I will post pics of it when I finish my caves.

As a follow up, The bumps are completely gone. It os the strangest thing. When I moved tanks I looked at her and everything seemed normal.
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Post by Adam »

That's good news about the females bumps just clearing up by themselves :D . Sometimes it's best to leave things for a while and just observe. Too often fishkeepers intervene far too early which can make things worse. Fish can be quite resilient and are quite capable of fighting off many infections without any help from us.

The river tank sounds great, do post some pictures when it's finished.
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