White bumpon clown's lip ...

[mikegronholz]

The other morning we awoke to find our gold striped maroon with a white "bump" on his lip. Checked all the params and the ph was a bit low ... so over the last few days, we used Kent Superbuffer to get it back to 8.0-8.1. Everything else is at 0.
After looking a bit more, I noticed that the purple firefish had a little bit of his tail fin missing. I assumed they scraped over a particular piece of rock. The firefish's tail has filled back in completely, but "Mr. Fishy's" (my wife named him that 2 years ago) lip still has a bump ... any ideas ? Since noticing the bump, he has been very aggressive towards the tank as well (he attacks his reflection I guess).

 

[beth]

I actually can't see that bump. Can you get a better shot? However, what about all the white spots on Mr. Fishy? Are they on the fish or on the glass??

 

[mikegronholz]

The white spots are on the glassin the water ... the bump is on the part sticking out from his face ... at the tip it has lost its color. I have other pics at the house ... I will try to get them out tonight.

 

[mikegronholz]

Is this any better ?

 

[mikegronholz]

I updated the pic again Beth ...

 

[beth]

Still hard to see it, but I do see it. It looks like it may be Lymphocyctis.
What are your water readings, food being fed? Give some info about your tank setup. Why was the pH low? And how low?

 

[mikegronholz]

Water is at:
-trites - 0
-trates - 0
salinity - .024
ph - 8.1 (was at 7.8 ... been using buffer to get it back up)
ph was low (I think) to not letting the water cure quite long enough for the Aquafuge addition. He has been through more than your average fishy in the last 5 years ... got him in Virginia ... then we moved to TN, then we moved to TX where he lived in a 5g bucket reef for 2 months, then we moved into our house where he lived in his 5g bucket reef for another month ... then he was put back in his 29g home where he has been happy for about a year ... then 2 new companions were added a couple of weeks ago (firefish and flame angel - they were quarantined). About 4 days after the firefish was added, this came up (and part of the firefish's tail went missing). I figured it was an injury and gave it a day or two to get better, but nothing. It is not getting biggerworse it seems. He does attack the glass trying to bite me when I go stand by the tank though. The only time he ever did that before was when he had a BTA. Sorry for the long story ...
food is pellet (out of garlic - getting more tomorrow) ... he is still VERY eager to eat ...
tank is 29g, about 50# of LS and about 75# of LR ... lots of inverts

 

[beth]

Yes, with all that stress, it is sounding more and more like lymph for the little fella. I suggest really improving that fish's diet with a wide variety of foods, including meaty foods. Offer food 3 times a day, with one feeding receiving a supplemental dose of zoecon. You may want to go with a fresh seafood diet, similar to the one I have in the FAQ Thread.
Good environment, good food, and a lot less stress should bring this situation under control.

 

[puffer24/7]

i may be wrong but isnt lymph only on the fins

 

[mikegronholz]

Cool ... my list of To Do's had included the seafood market and LFS ... but I hadnt thought of the Zoecon ... your FAQ got me on the other items ... and after reading it, I distinctly remeber him trying to take pieces of the shrimp I fed his BTA ...
So his diet will improve greatly (will the firefish and angel enjoy the "shrimp puree" as well ?)
His living conditions are already on an upswing (I think the ph may have been do to too little of circulation ... that was resolved today)
He isn't fusing with his tankmates much anymore, plus they know to "go home" when he looks at them the right way.
Thanks for all your help !!! One more question, do you think adding a BTA for him again will calm him down ? Or am i asking for trouble with the other fish around ?

 

[beth]

Everything in the tank should do well with the recipe I have here. My reef tank brittestars, snails, worms, and, of course, fish feasted well on this foodstuff.
Keep an eye on this, because the picture is not real clear so I am hypothesizing about lymph.

 

[mikegronholz]

 

[beth]

Good news, then. Hope he makes a full recovery...keeping in mind that once a fish has lymph, he always has it. You just need to provide the fish with optimum living conditions.