Captive Aquatics: An Aquarium and Ecology Blog: Q&A

Q&A: A Troph Kiku with a tumor!

Q: Hi there!

I bought a colony of Kiku from a friend of mine who is still holding the last female in his hospital tank. I noticed in your title that you're a marine biologist. I am hoping you might have come across this before and potentially know what to do.

This fish has now had this problem for about 8 months and is still eat/fighting with the neighbor in the tank etc.. wants to play etc. I want to take her home and re-introduce her to the colony, and the fish that has been in the hospital tank with her has not gotten anything from her. We have tried almost every medication you can think of, but I am looking for any insight and potentially know a way to diagnose the problem so we at least know what the problem is so we know either what to do with the fish or if we can safely return it back to the colony. Potential surgery?
Hope to hear from you.

Thanks
Jesper

A: Hello Jesper!

From what I have seen in your pictures and what you have explained (it grew in a few weeks, she behaves normally, the growth is hard, and that she eats and poops normally) I would agree it is a tumor. Since she is happy and showing normal behavior you can easily introduce her back into the colony. The only thing about the tumor is that you could do is give her surgery, but since she is a small fish, she would probably not make it. So, just make sure she is having a happy life and that is about all you can do for her.

Thanks for the question!
Merritt Adkins

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Aquarium Questions & Answers

Protein skimmer effectiveness varies, and depends a great deal upon the salinity of the water that's being 'skimmed'

Daniel P. asks the following questions:

"Should I have a protein skimmer for a 150g brackish tank at a specific gravity of 1.010, or a 46g brackish at 1.006? Would it be helpful for a 150g freshwater tank or a 250g freshwater tank?"

Protein skimmers are widely believed to only function in saltwater, but this isn't the case. Brackish water and freshwater aquariums can make use of protein skimmers, albeit less effectively than saltwater aquariums.

To answer your questions, a protein skimmer is advised to a brackish aquariums if you have a large bio-load in the aquarium, and/or have problems maintaining adequate water quality. I would not recommend purchasing a protein skimmer for a 150 gallon freshwater, and only very hesitantly for a 250 freshwater. The vast majority of freshwater aquariums are not going to benefit from the addition of a protein skimmer!

If you missed them earlier, here are 3 reasons you need a protein skimmer!

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Have a question? We have an answer!

Feel free to contact the Captive Aquatics Staff with any questions you may have! Answers will be posted here on Fridays. We're here to help!

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Have a Question?

Stumped? Have a sick fish? Feel free to contact the Captive Aquatics staff for answers! Questions will be answered directly, and the questions and answers will be posted on the blog weekly.

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