Pleco with bubbly growth

Question
QUESTION: I'm not a real fish person, but I have a pleco that I've had for 14 years in a 10 gallon tank who has developed a bubbly growth on the side of his (her?) head beginning about a month ago.  There are only two other fish in the tank (tetras) and they have been there for over a year.  He doesn't seem to be affected by it - he is very active and has a good appetite (I give him an algae tablet every other night).  I'm concerned by this growth as it seems to be getting larger, and it look very delicate, as if it could pop if he hit it wrong.  Is this common with older plecos, and is there something I can do for him?  I'm really attached...

ANSWER: Hi Ellen,

What kind of Pleco is it? Congratulations on keeping him to such a old age. The lifespan of a Pleco is somewhere between 10-15 years. 10-gallon tanks are too small for Plecos, but that's beside the point, since he's already that old. I'm assuming you have a Bristlenose Pleco or another variety of small Pleco, such as a Pit-bull Pleco, because Common Plecos (the ones you always see at pet stores) will have grown to 20" + by now, which wouldn't even fit into a 10-gallon tank!

Is the growth a normal skin color, or a red color (swelling)? It would be nice if you could include a picture. If it looks like it's swollen, then adding an anti-bacterial medication such as Mardel Maracyn will clear it up. Perform a 40% water change before adding any medication.

Make sure you feed him - once per day is ideal. A Pleco that old will easily manage one Algae Wafer every day.

Performing daily 10% water changes until his condition improves will greatly help the situation.

Once again, if you could send me a picture, it would be even better.
Good Luck, and I hope your Pleco recovers!

IMPORTANT__________________________________

Hi, I read your comment about the experts not being available. Each expert sets the maximum number of questions that they can answer in one day, and once that limit is reached, the system automatically rejects the question/does not let you ask a question, until the next day. I have a daily quota of 5-6 questions (which is the highest of the category), and I will be available the next day. Because of this situation, I have now extended my quota for today to 7 questions, so please post your followup!

Sincerely,
Nathan

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Pleco with Bubbly Grow   QUESTION: Hi Nathan. Thanks for your willingness to respond - I tried again earlier but you were booked up before my question went through!  You are quite popular! :)

I'm not sure what kind of Pleco he is, but I'm attaching a photo, so hopefully you can tell by that.  When I got him, I wasn't aware until later that he shouldn't be in a 10-gallon tank, but as you pointed out, he's done pretty well so far!  He's easily 9"+ long...

The growth is really transparent - the bubbles look like they have clear fluid in them of some sort.  The bubbles are in a mass that sticks out from his side a good 1/4" to 1/3", and look very fragile.  Each time he moves, the growth kind of flows with him and I'm afraid that the bubbles are going to pop.  There may be a little bit of pink in the center of the bubble mass, but it's hard to tell.

As of today I've started feeding him daily per your advice.  A long time ago someone told me that I should only feed him every other day to try to control his size for my tank.  

Thanks so much for your advice.  Please do let me know if this additional information and picture suggest that I should do something different than treat for bacteria.

Thank you, thank you,
Ellen

Answer
Hi Ellen,

Other than the bacterial infection, an additional cause is that perhaps it's a tumor of some kind. it can be caused by lack of iodine in the diet, which causes larger goiter tumors near the gills. This can be fixed with addition of a mineral salt and the feeding of different foods. Just try feeding a larger variety of foods, as that may be all he needs.

It's a good choice to feed him once per day. feeding him less to control his size does not work, and it would be equivalent to feeding a human once every other day! (That would be terrible).

Change 10-20% of the water daily to help him recover.

Good Luck, and Happy Fishkeeping!