Mosaic Gar (Freshwater)

[RonJohnDes]

Several weeks ago I purchased a Mosaic Gar. He's timid, shy, eats rarely - but does eat, feeder tuffy's mostly exclusively. When purchased, he had a v-shaped notch at the end of his nose. It was bright pinkish, and over time developed into a significant white bulb. When moving him into a larger 55-gallon tank, he had a thrashing fit in the net and his nose is now a bright bloody red at the tip, smooth and round, still surrounded by the white bulb. Any ideas if this is just a "war wound" that's scarring over, or some sort of disease that's taking hold? I'm far more concerned about the latter, hence my inquiring here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ron

 

[OrionGirl]

When something turns bright red on an aotherwise not-red fish, it's usually something to be concerned about. I would monitor it, make sure water conditions are top-notch, and see what happens. Gars are pretty tough fish, and if there aren't environmental issues complicating health, should recover without any treatment. If the state continues for more than 3-4 days without improvement, or begins to worsen, I would recommend gut loading the feeders with an antibiotic treated food.