Agasizzi Head Bump

[lbidz]

Hey everyone,

I’ve got a male agasizzi that has got a new bump on his head (I’ve attached images). He has been chasing the female and flaring, and I have just assumed that he has bumped his head on some driftwood. Could this be anything else?

 

[MacZ]

Can't say anything just from the pictures.

Template for disease/parasite/death cases

This template contains the most important questions to be answered when dealing with sick or dead fish to find causes and advise on treatments. Please copy and paste into a new thread and answer the questions as precise as possible. Water parameters should be given in numbers. "Fine" or "good"...

apistogramma.com

Please copy and fill out the template, without a proper anamnesis we won't be able to answer you.

 

[lbidz]

Which animal is affected? Species, sex, age? (If age unknown: How long have you had the fish?) Apistogramma Agasizzi male ~1 year old

What are the symptoms? Any changes in look, behaviour, bearing, buoyancy, fecies?
There have been no changes in behaviour besides the new bump, he is feeding, active and flaring at the female

What's the full stocking list?
One pair of agasizzi and 8 rummy nose tetras

Any changes in the behaviour of the other fish?
None

What size is the tank? (Preferrably dimensions, not volume!)
60cm x 45cm x 45cm (120l)

Have there been any changes in the past 2 months? New animals, plants, decoration?
None

What food are the fish fed? How much, how often?
I feed them once a day and alternate between frozen brine shrimp and hikari micro wafers


What are the water parameters? (Please note all known tank and source water parameters in numbers! Not "good", "optimal" or "perfect"!)
pH: 6.8
NO3: 0
NO2: 0
NH3/4: 0

What test kit did you use? (liquid, strips, store service?)
API master test kit

Are you using water conditioners or any other additives? (e.g. dechlorinators, humic/blackwater extracts, fertilizers)
Seachem prime


What's the maintenance regimen? (Waterchange volume and frequency, thorough cleaning of filters/substrate?)
25% water change every week

Have there been any pesticides, fungicides or herbicides used around the tank? No

Are there any unknown animals in the tank? No

What has been done already? (Timeline!)
I’ve done a 20% water change

 

[MacZ]

Ok, I see 3 possibilities:

Injury: In which case you can only keep the water clean with more waterchanges (2x 50% per week over a month) while using Catappa. This prevents infections.

Internal growth (cyst or tumor): In this case there is nothing you can do, the fish might just drop dead any day. I'll spare you the gory details. A tumor might cause erratical swimming patterns and seizures, if that appears end it humanely.
For exact diagnosis lab tests and probably killing the fish for dissction would be necessary. So I abstain from saying this is likely. It is just a possibility.

Nutritional issue, because only one variety of frozen food and dry food is like eating the exact same meal every day. And in case of most dry foods it's the same unhealthy fast food meal usually.

So best course of action:
- Improve water quality
- Use Catappa leaves to prevent further infection
- Improve food variety: Add safe live foods like white mosquito larvae or Daphnia to the menu, rotate all kinds of frozen foods, reduce dry foods to a minimum.
- Observe and report changes.


That's all you can do at the moment. Hope it helps a bit.