Huge bump on Datnoid's head!

Sygoomei

New Member
Datnoid's head bump [update]

Well all has been running smoothly in my tank for a number of months. That is, except for the minor cloud eye a few weeks ago and a few other minor afflictions.

Well I was just doing a feeding and I noticed my datnoid has a huge bump on his head. I've never seen anything quite like it, so I am a little alarmed.

A picture speaks a thousand words, so here you go;
20080401_3431.jpg


At this point I'm not sure whether I want to do water changes or let things sit, or...

I asked a fish bud and they said if it grows bigger, I should lance it with a razor or something. Any ideas would be very much appreciated.
 
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jackson

Member
Dont touch it that is the worst thing you could do.

Do water changes large ones. Add salt and raise the temp. I dont think it is Datnoids Disease. I have had this happen as well as others I know and it will just go away if you take care of the tank. If it is Datnoid diease it will turn into open sores and your fsh will most likey die. Try to feed your fish better foods and add some vitamins as well. The most important thing is to make sure the waters perams are perfect fix this first if they are not.

Edit- Also how long have you had this fish and have you added any new fish recently? This will help to figure out if it could be the Datnoid diease
 
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Sygoomei

New Member
Thanks for the advice! Once I get home from work, I'll make sure to do some water changes. I've been doing very minimal water changes recently because I SEVERELY sprained my wrist longboarding a few weeks ago and I've been completely unable to lift even 1/4 buckets of water.

Recently however, I've managed to pick up 1/4 buckets and barely get them to the tank with my 'other' hand.

I have had this fish for about a year now and have not added any fish since the Arowana in October.

I'm unsure how I'd feed him better food however. So far all he's interested in are bloodworm, meal worm and the occassional king worm.
 
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jackson

Member
I think it is diet. The foods he likes are not nutrtious enough. Try feeding it dew worms from the bait shop parasite free and one of the best foods for most living animals including people. If the are to large cut them up for the fish. If it starts taking them you will see a difference in your fish after a few months it's colour will become nicer and it will lokk healthier. if that does not work try gut loading the live meal worms with high quality fish foods then feed them to the fish.

The water is still important so if you can do the water changes and test your water to see if the tanks perams are at par or not.
 

danfong88

New Member
maybe a parasite... isolate and check your water quality. Just in case, it is an infected fish.
Good Luck !!
 

Kenta

Administrator
Never kept Tigers before, but as mentioned above, Tiger that wants to be a Flowerhorn hahaha

If it is an open sore, i have had GREAT results using polysporin on open fish wounds/infections. Just dab it on your finger and try to gob it onto the problem spot..... but i repeat, ive never kept Tigers before, i used this treatment for bichirs, which are much hardier than Tigers
 

Sygoomei

New Member
Alright, so the bump is probably 2x as large now; but he seems quite attentive and I see no lesions/sores/white puss. I did a number of buckets yesterday morning and I'm about to do another 20-30% right now.

I've done some online searching now, but there doesn't seem to be many live bait stores in the lower mainland. There's a place called Berry's Bait and Tackle--however I'd like to hear more about them from an aquarist's perspective, than a fisherman's. I'd really like to try dew worms and possibly try breeding at some point.

I tend to put decent food for the meal worm to eat; like the HBH algae wafers and various fruits/vegetables--so I've been sort of under the assumption (dangerous) that they'd be more nutritional based upon what they were eating. I am not, however, a biologist and do not know what minerals a meal worm digests, and what passes through its system without being absorbed.

Anyway, thanks for all the help so far. Everyone else in the tank looks healthy, and there hasn't been very much aggression since the Aro stated its dominance over the tank.

If anyone is online this morning, I'm looking for suggestions (I'll be reading the yellow pages) for places to find dew worms. I'm out of meal/king, so I'd like to stock up on something a little healthier right off the bat. If aro doesn't take it, I'll get some meals for him.
 

jackson

Member
Where are you located that you cant find dew worms for sale? They are one of the most farmed creatures in the world. There are lots of places that ship breeding kits so try looking online. I had one place that sells good worms and kits but I cant find the lady's email. I will look and get back to you.

When it comes to gut loading feed the meal worms high quality fish foods that is high in proteins and vitamins. Feed the worms 5 mins before you feed your fish. That way the food has not been passed. This way the fish will absorb the worm and the foods inside of it. If the foods are passed then the worm is back to being a living piece of cardboard.
 

Sygoomei

New Member
Well I'm off to Berry's bait and tackle in Richmond. 3-3.50 for 12 worms seems like it would be expensive, but I suppose if the Aro/tiger like them, it'd be a better choice than my current meals. Plus it seems less risky to raise worms than little beetles.
 

Sygoomei

New Member
Well I got some Dew worms from the New West Army'n'Navy. Aro saw the first one and seemed to think; "Yeah, I can eat that! Oh, wait, that's WAY too large. Well... maybe... No, nope, now hosay! Well..." and kept coming back and forth out of a decision.

So I dangled the tip of one in and he snatched it and eventually got a huge worm down his throat. I dangled another and he wouldn't go for it.

Then I waited.

Next I chopped one into small chunks and the aro would eat them one at a time; but if I threw 3 or more in he'd ignore them all. Also, he'll ignore the chunks with all the guts. So if there are entrails at all he's not interested... most of the time.

Although the bichir is about the same length as a worm, he managed to get a whole one into his stomach. I honestly couldn't believe my eyes when he managed to get one that the aro refused to eat. Bichir is quite pleased that there's a source of meat that only he really eats.

Phoenix's like chewing at old dead worms. Well at least the small one does. Pookie doesn't have one at her end of the tank, so she may or may not have eaten the chunks that the aro ignored. Or tiger got them, or they're under some wood, etc.

So tiger may or may not have eaten any of them at all. I'm not sure he's eaten in a few days to be honest. But at least i can say that the bump is nearly gone. There was a 2 day period where I could actually see the skin under his scales and it got kind of red and inflamed.

But I came home last night to the bump about 50% gone and this morning it's about 20%. Either the salt and water changes helped or it burst and I guess we'll see what results of that possible incident.

I should note that at no point during this process did he seem to act differently from his usual self. His colours were vibrant black and gold and he was up front, ready to eat and get attention at all points in time--except for some times where he'd hide in the wood. But that was minimal.

Well, I was about to write that the tiger seemed disinterested in the cut up worms; but I just looked over and he picked up a few chunks. This is great news! These worms are MUCH cheaper than king worm and everyone in my tank likes them. Thank you very much everyone!!

As a final note, I'm finding it very hard to cut these worms up. It's more the moral aspect of it than anything else. When I first started feeding king worms, I was cutting the heads off and crushing them to make it as quick and painless on the bug as possible. But these worms live for a long time, even under the water. And the bleed... oh boy how they bleed. The last one I cut left a small puddle in my hand. I didn't have the heart to kill it completely and it's back in my fridge to heal. Later I'm going to set it free. I put that one through enough trauma...

So I ask you, if you cut your worms up; do you do it the barbaric way and cut them live or flash freeze or...

Maybe this doesn't bother most people and I'm just a hippy with a Vash complex.

Pax,
Protean
 

jackson

Member
I am glad to hear the fish like the worms I knew they would go for them :)

Before you feed the worms to your fish dump them in warmish water so they can let out all the dirt and poo they have inside them. This way your fish will not develope problems from eating dirt all the time and your tank will stay cleaner.

I have no problem cutting them up. Use scissors it is much easier to cut them.
 

Sygoomei

New Member
Thank you Jackson for your IMMENSE help. The scissors make it MUCH easier to cut them up and they no longer have time to bleed all over me.

Also, the warm water trick worked like a charm. The aro seems to like the worms a lot more now that there's much less dirt in them. I even spent some time watching them excrete and trying to help them. It's very hard to completely clear their digestive tracts it appears.

Next I'd like to try creating special dirt for them, so they absorb useful minerals. I thought briefly about algae wafers and carrots and other vegi's but the algae wafers smell pretty bad after a few days of being wet. I don't know if that would change in the fridge, but I've gotten some wet in my room before and it RANK to high heaven.

A big thanks goes out to Kenta for helping me hook up a more reasonable worm deal. I won't be able to utilize this until my fish get bigger, as I assume 1 pound of worms is A LOT of worms, but maybe when I finish making a specialised compost box for them, I'll look more deeply into it.

Thanks again and I'll let you all know if there's any further tiger issues. Otherwise, I should make a new topic in a more appropriate section about worms and food.

Thanks again,
Damien
 

Sygoomei

New Member
It seems I'm not out of trouble quite yet. I may not be in trouble at all; but the lump is still there. Upon close inspection, I can see a small hole where I assume puss or something spewed forth and now there's a small lump with a pinhole. I'm continuing to do water changes daily or bi-daily depending on how my hand feels.

All my fish have now taken to the dew worms. Scissors help a lot, and I've taken to cutting the head first, as to avoid the havoc which ensues vice-versa. Aro doesn't seem to care too much for the head pieces however. I'm not sure he's ever had the taste of blood before, so I can hardly blame him. Tiger has finally started eating a fair share of the worms--he was the most resistant in feeding on them.

I'll post pics soon, if I can get a good shot of the the hole and lump.

Pax
 
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