Gill Diseased Lionfish ? HELP !

The Gnome · #1 11/28/2007, 10:49 PM

Hello everyone out there !

I have had a wonderful relationship with my Lionfish. He has never stung me, or even tried to sting me and now I believe that he may be in trouble. He's my pride and joy and I don't want anything to happen to him if it can be avoided.

That's why I have posted this thread.

His name is Tiger and he's a 7 - 8 " Volation Lionfish. I have noticed that his gills seem swollen while he breathes, extending past his gill plate which covers up the opening. He doesn't seem to struggle for air, so I never really thought anything of it.

I was reading online about fish disease earlier this week, and I think that he may have gill disease. As of last week, he developed several growths which appear to be polyps on the left side of his face, on the bottom near where the gill plate meets the jaw. He has started yawning periodically, which indicates pain of some kind and when he does it you can see that his jaw is somewhat discolored and swollen. Just looking at his face from the front you can see that the left jaw is bigger than the right. I read that advanced Gill Disease can produce polyp like growths on the gill plate, on one or both sides of the head.
I'm considering treating him with a brief freshwater dip tonight, and I have a quarantine tank all set up and ready to go. The next step is to diagnose the disease, and buy medicine to treat it.

I need someone out there to give me a shout if they have experienced these symptoms with their fish, or if they know what disease Tiger's symptoms may indicate. Here is a couple of pictures of Tiger, take a look and let me know if you can identify this.

The Gnome · #2 11/28/2007, 10:51 PM

It's hard to get a focused picture ... I don't have a tripod yet.

The Gnome · #3 11/30/2007, 01:37 PM

His appetite is still very strong, and the polyps have not advanced for several days ... so

I was reading about some theories that fish inherit gill disease as a heriditary trait, and it doesn't manifest until after the fish becomes mature.

Anyone heard of that before ?

keith1974 · #4 11/30/2007, 06:40 PM

i have a lion fish that is like 10 inchy and he yawans all the time even when i got him as a baby he yawned thats not any thing to worrie abought no the polups i duno what it is soirry

The Gnome · #5 12/02/2007, 01:18 PM

Thanks for the thought Keith.

Anybody else know what to say about my situation ?
In a week or so if he hasn't changed, then I'm going to just put him in the quarantine tank and treat it for gill disease.

Please help me if you know about this disease !

The Gnome · #6 12/03/2007, 11:40 AM

Doing more research, I have learned that it's most likely Califlour Disease. Untreatable, hereditary. Freshwater dips can stop polyp development, but if left alone they will eventually be rejected by the animal's body.

FYI : EVERYONE OUT THERE WHO MAY EXPERIENCE SIMILAR MISFORTUNE