Pleco with Growth. PLEASE HELP!!

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Smanders25

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Oct 17, 2019
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I know my Pleco is a bit older but he's developed this growth and I'm concerned. I can't find clear answers anywhere. Is this a Pleco fungus or a tumor? All the posts I see say a Pleco fungus is white but this is the same color he is. Please
help me out! Thank you so much!

20191017_145619.jpg
 

fishorama

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Jun 28, 2006
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Gee whiz, I've never seen anything thing like that in 40 years of fish keeping! I don't have any idea what to suggest for a disease or treatment. I'm so sorry, it looks bad. There the whitish fungal looking parts, the round almost egglike masses & the fish looks quite thin too.

Tell us about your tank & fish. How old & how big is it? How long have you seen any of these issues? What size is your tank & what is your water change schedule? Have you tested your water? (but this is more than just a poor water quality issue). What other fish do you have & are they having any health issues too?
 
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Smanders25

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Oct 17, 2019
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Thank you for getting back to me! It's a 75 gallon tank and he's the only fish in it (and has been for years). He's about 13-15 years old and he's about a foot long. I'm honestly not sure how much he weighs. I've started him on a 7 day fungal treatment hoping that helps clear it up. The growth honestly happened over about a week but he's been a little sluggish for a few weeks. I tested the water and everything is within range, as is the temperature at 77 degrees. I'm not sure how he would have even gotten a fungal infections,if that's what this is.
 

the loach

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Aug 6, 2018
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That is pretty nasty... it's not a fungus, if anything it looks more like lymphocystis, which is a virus. It is caused by improper living conditions... how often and how much do you change his water? Honestly a foot long is kind of stunted for a common pleco, they should be almost twice the size at this age. The virus can't be cured, but the growths can get smaller with lots of water changes.
 

fishorama

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To me, lymphocystis looks more like cauliflower than those round growths (?) or patchy white areas...but...

I hate to say, but after 13 or 15 years, your fish is quite old. No fish or mammal dies of "old age" alone. It's always a failure of internal organs, immune system, cancer or more prone to diseases of any type, etc. You've given it a long life so far. The only thing I can say is do lots of water changes often. If it has food preferences, give them often too.

I'm sorry I don't have better advice.
 
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dudley

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Feb 9, 2005
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Please post the results of your tests and which type test kit you are using. You should be seeing zero ammonia, zero nitrite and some level of nitrate above 5ppm and below 20ppm though some aquarists are OK with higher nitrate levels depending on whether tanks are planted or if your tap water has some level of nitrate.
 
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