health

Question
My fish is getting orange spots on his face. His face is swelling up and looks terrible. To me it seems like a cancer. The mother of this fish died of the same thing about 3 years ago. Is this something that can be treated? I have been told that it is an African cichlid but another person said it could be a pink convict. This fish always redecorates the tank, is white in color and is very aggressive. Can you help?

Answer
Hi Nancy,
 Hmmm... any chance you can send me a digital photo of the fish (both so I can identify it and so I can see what you mean by orange spots -- I have never heard of that).  Cancer in cichlids is very rare, although it does happen.

 When you say "orange spots", are these growths out of the face, or pits into the face or something different?

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>