strange growth?

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sbuse

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 1, 2009
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one of my floridas has had a strange growth on its tail for over 2 months now. i took the gar out today and cut it off cause it has grown. sorry i don't have any pics of it. it was alot like a mole on a person, but a pink/white instead of brown. it was growing in between some scales on the tail. it was very fragile and popped when the gar moved on it while it was in the plastic tub. i cut the rest of it off so there was no longer any on the gar. it was blood filled and the area were it was bled a bit, not much, but more then i thought it would have. the gar is fine now and acting normal just as before and during the growths time on the fish. then i inspected the growth. it felt like a fatty tissue with a rubbery texture. the overall shape of the growth looked much like a brain(for a lack of a better description).

any idea as to what it could have been? has anyone seen this before on their gar?
 
It shouldn't spread, but it probably will come back and can get to be a decent size. It will run it's course eventually; keeping the water quality up will help it to heal faster.

For example, the Florida gar that had this cancer had its growth bitten off by the Cuban gar that I used to have; the growth grew back over the course of a few weeks and reached a larger size than before. Eventually the growth shrunk in size and completely disappeared; it's been gone for a few weeks now.
 
Ok so I know I'm a huge nerd but have you looked at the tissue under a microscope yet?
 
Wiggles92 said:
It shouldn't spread, but it probably will come back and can get to be a decent size. It will run it's course eventually; keeping the water quality up will help it to heal faster.

For example, the Florida gar that had this cancer had its growth bitten off by the Cuban gar that I used to have; the growth grew back over the course of a few weeks and reached a larger size than before. Eventually the growth shrunk in size and completely disappeared; it's been gone for a few weeks now.
Click to expand...

do you think it will keep coming back if i cut it off again? it was already as big as one of the black spots on the 16" gars pattern. thats why i cut it off.

docturtle91b said:
Ok so I know I'm a huge nerd but have you looked at the tissue under a microscope yet?
Click to expand...

i don't have that ability
 
sbuse said:
do you think it will keep coming back if i cut it off again? it was already as big as one of the black spots on the 16" gars pattern. thats why i cut it off.
Click to expand...

I would leave it be unless it gets extremely huge or if the gar's overall health seems to be deteriorating; the one on my then 10" Florida gar got to be about the size of my ring finger's nail, and it went away on its own without any intervention on my part (or on its tankmates' part).
 
ok, it just has been there a long while and i just couldn't take it any more. if it comes back i will leave it.
 
i will be keeping an eye on it and if anything changes i will ask how to handle it. thanks for the info.
 
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