Whats this bump on my spotted gar?

[chihuicahui]

This is my first post here, so hello!

My boyfriend and I picked up a 7" Florida spotted gar today. Upon getting him in the tank, we noticed a strange, possibly infected bump on his head. Hes in a 125 gallon with cichlids, some various catfish, and a clown loach.

Does anyone have any idea what this is? And should I be worried?

 

[Pomatomus]

It looks like it could just be an injury, but I can't rule out an infection. I'd just watch it for now and see if it gets better or worse. Keep the water clean to reduce stress and aid in healing. Definitely don't overfeed for a little while. Watch to see if the area around it becomes red.

Gars are really tough and even if it is an infection, it will likely be able to fight it off if it's kept in good conditions.

 

[HungDang]

take it out and keep it in a smaller tank(like a 20-30 gallon) for now, add salt and keep the temperature at 80 and it will heal by itself in time.
Gar should not be kept in that large of a tank before reaching 10'' as it is still weak and could not control it's speed very well. So, it may be able to pick up too much speed in that large tank and bang into the glass and end up breaking it's spine. Also, it is not recommended to keep gar with cichlid, especially aggressive cichlids as they will try to bully the gar and create injuries.

 

[chihuicahui]

take it out and keep it in a smaller tank(like a 20-30 gallon) for now, add salt and keep the temperature at 80 and it will heal by itself in time.
Gar should not be kept in that large of a tank before reaching 10'' as it is still weak and could not control it's speed very well. So, it may be able to pick up too much speed in that large tank and bang into the glass and end up breaking it's spine. Also, it is not recommended to keep gar with cichlid, especially aggressive cichlids as they will try to bully the gar and create injuries.

Thanks for the reply. But another bump came up and we figured out its a louse and got them off of him immediately. I called Ace about it and they were in the middle of treating it and were supposed to inform us about it but the people who sold him to us didn't inform us. So we're going back on Friday to buy their other gar and get information on what they were treating them with.
And about the cichlids, they aren't too aggressive and I havent seen them pick on the gar but they are going to a new home tomorrow.