hawkfish with lump on nose please help id and fix

[stuandray]

Please help i'm new to the salt water world and my longnose hawkfish now has a growth on his nose.It's small about the size of a half grain of rice and colored just like him. it looks like a mole and is not slimie or odd in texture. I just noticed it to night is was not there last night. The tank is a 29 gal about 3 months old. The ph is 8.2 the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all read 0. The temp is 76. help id and provide any info to help. Thanks I love him and don't want him to get sick, Rachel

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF Rachel! Sorry your first post had to be because of bad news...Things will get better Would you happen to have a photo by any chance? It may help id the problem a lot easier and quicker...Best of luck

 

[NaH2O]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers! How long have you had the hawkfish? Any other fish in the tank?

 

[stuandray]

I have had him almost 2 months. There is also a scooter blenny added 1 month ago and, a clown added 1 week ago. I have sence leared the scooter blenny is accutauly a daragenet and reget beliving the lfs. live learn and reserch before you buy. The lump does not seam to have gotten any larger yet. it looks like it is filled with a fuild or soild mass the same off white color of him.

 

[Maxx]

Rachel,
those pictures are pretty blurry and I cant see what the lump looks like. Can you post some better pics?

Nick

 

[stuandray]

I can't get any better pics my camera does not have the right settings. On a good note the lump has gotten smaller now. I don't know why but I'm happy about it. I still wondering what caused the proplem and what it was. A bacterial infection or a cyst? Any ideas anyone? Thanks, Rachel

 

[Maxx]

It could have been localized swelling to a slight trauma, such as the fish banging its snout on something.
How is the fishes behavior over all? Is it still eating and acting like normal?

Nick

 

[NaH2O]

Rachel - I really don't know what is on the hawkfish. I wonder if Nick is correct about the trauma. Like Nick, I would also like to know how its behavior is.

 

[stuandray]

He has been acting like his normal self. Curios and noisy checking everything out on inside the tank and outside. Controlling all the food even when its flakes which he refuses to touch. He loves mymis and brine shrimp. He is adorable with a childs sense of enthuaism about anything new or exciting. He perches on rocks and watches most of the day and night. His behavor has not changed at all. Although I did have a minor avalanche the day before his bump developed. Perhaps it was a trauma. Thank you Nick and Nikki
-Rachel

 

[Terry B]

Rachel,

If the lump is getting smaller then I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it gets bigger then it could be a problem. Please keep us informed.

Terry B

 

[stuandray]

Just a sad up date... the hawkfish passed away. He refused to eat yesterday and today I found him on the bottom of the tank in some rockwork. Thanks for all the advice. Rachel

 

[NaH2O]

Rachel - sorry to hear this! Did the bump ever go away?

 

[stuandray]

The bump never entirely resided there was a very small area left. Postmortem inspection of the area revealed two small cartilage projections that appeared to control the opening and closing of his mouth. I'm unsure whether the location to the lump was circumstantial or not, but I found in interesting.