# Question Female convict has a sore with some type of tissue sticking out



## chikapoo (Oct 18, 2013)

Several days ago I came home after being out of town for a week and found that my female convict had a sore on her right side, just before her caudal fin. At first I thought that she'd hurt herself and that it was a section of cartilage sticking out and it reminded me of the "scalpel" that tangs have. I was finally able to move her into QT last night and since then I've noticed that the tissue sticking out looks softer, kinda pink and squishy. I'm not sure if she got hurt in the process of moving her or if something else has happened. The area around this spot doesn't look bad, I can't see any swelling or other problems problems. She's also shown no interest in food. Unfortunately I'm prevented from posting pictures at this time.

I started to think that this might be an ulcer but I don't see any examples that have tissue sticking out of the wound. Don't think it's a parasite as none of the descriptions of external parasites that I've found match what I see on her. She's the largest, most aggressive fish in my tank (angelfish, Bolivian rams, black skirt tetras, tiger barbs, cory cats, and a BN pleco) so I doubt this is the result of a fight. Water parameters are all good and the temperature is around 77. Because we have very hard water in my area I use RO+DI water for my fish.

As I said above, she's currently in QT. I'm treating with aquarium salt and Maracyn Plus in case it's a bacterial or fungal issue. Does anyone have any ideas what happened and how I can help her?


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

Without a pic it's hard to know for sure, but daily water changes will help no matter what the problem is. Try to get a pic up asap.


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

If she's not eating it is a good chance of a parasite. It is hard with out a picture. But water changes are a big help. And if you can turn the temp up along with salt, this will help a lot.


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## chikapoo (Oct 18, 2013)

Below are the best pictures I've been able to get of her. I've continued treating with salt and Maracyn Plus but if have Parasite Guard on hand if you think that would be a better treatment, or if it would be safe to combine the two treatments. I haven't tried feeding her anymore as if it is bacterial I don't want to put more waste in the water that is necessary. One good sign though is that she has been sifting/digging through the gravel off and on since last evening so at least she's not totally lethargic. If anyone has any suggestions I would be glad to hear them.

<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="http://imgur.com/a/wMXnq/embed"></iframe>.


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

I had a very similar if not the same thing. My johani had that and it turned out to be a parasite. Keep treating with salt and heat and lots of water changes! If your fish is still eating it should be fine.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you are already adding meds, don't increase the temp. Meds and higher temps both deplete oxygen and it usually is not a good idea to mix the two.


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## chikapoo (Oct 18, 2013)

hotwingz said:


> I had a very similar if not the same thing. My johani had that and it turned out to be a parasite. Keep treating with salt and heat and lots of water changes! If your fish is still eating it should be fine.


Unfortunately she hasn't shown any interest in eating for the last week. Did you ever determine what kind of parasite it is or treat with any medications? Would it be ok to add Parasite Guard to the tank or would I need to do a few big water changes to get the Maracyn Plus out?


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

I forget what the name of the parasite was, but I just did water changes and raised the temp a bit. I don't normally medicate for anything just change lots of water. To take out the meds do water changes and add some carbon to your filter.


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## chikapoo (Oct 18, 2013)

I've been treating her with Parasite Guard and doing water changes every other day for the last 10 days but the sore isn't looking any better. Some days it's pink with some red as though severely inflamed, other days it's more of an ivory color. The other side of her tail is developing a white spot in same area, not sure if this is a coincidence or not. Thankfully, I think she is eating, or at least food disappears from the big open space she's cleared at the center of the tank. She still spends nearly all of her time hiding but that may be because there's no dither-ers to reassure her that it's safe.

So, since she is eating (I think) but she's not looking any better, I'm thinking it's not a parasite issue. Are there any other ideas? It seems like this only leaves bacterial or fungal infection but again I can't find any descriptions that match what she has. Since she won't leave her hiding spots and my QT has horrible hard water build up, I haven't been able to get any better pictures of her but what's above is still accurate.


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