Red Lump on Red Devil

[Hottie5]

Hi Pam, I have an otherwise healthy Red Devil that has come up with a Red Lump near his gill, I have enclosed a picture for you. I have done a fair bit of searching on your site & the internet & nothing really matches this lump. I suspect it may be a bruise if that is possible? It has only shown up in the last 24hrs, the fish is a lone dweller in a 3 foot tank, being upgraded to 4 foot now. please advise if you can, I am rather attached to him. He has no ther marks or spots,etc.
C:\Documents and Settings\Rodney\My Documents\Cash.jpg

[Pam Chin]

Hi Hottie,

If this just showed up quickly I would suspect some type of injury too. Could have ran into a rock, or gotten spooked and bounced off the side of the tank.

I hate to medicate, if the fish is healthy, he/she should be able to heal on its own. You just need to provide a clean environment so infection does not set in. I would do a water change, and clean my filters to insure this. If you want to add some salt as a first line of defense, it certainly wouldn't hurt anything. About 2 tablespoons per 10 gallons of actual water, deduct for your rocks and gravel.

Keep an eye on it, and if it starts to look worse, or if your fish appears to not be himself, then you may want to consider treatment. But, usually these types of injuries will heal on their own in a couple of weeks.

Cichlid Power!
Pam