Bump on tail

Dear seahorse7:

I have examined the photographs you posted and the white bump on the tail of the seahorse is most likely a bacterial lesion and should be treated promptly.

In my experience, pimple-like cysts such as this don’t respond well to topical treatments and should never be taken lightly. Very often they prove to be pus-filled nodules and are just the tip of the iceberg, the outward manifestation of an underlying infection. Without more to go on, my best bet right now is that the white bump is actually a bacterial lesion, possibly a pyogranulatomous cyst or fistule. In that case, the best treatment would be to isolate the affected seahorse and treat it with broad-spectrum antibiotics in your hospital tank, lower the water temperature in the treatment tank to 68°F if possible to reduce the growth rate and virulence of the pathogen(s), and administer beta-glucan orally to boost the seahorses’ immune system.

This is not a case of tail rot, but the bacterial infection that is causing the pus-filled nodule should be treated much the same, albeit minus any topical treatments. See the previous post on the first page of this forum titled "white swollen spot on horse’s tail!" for the appropriate treatment protocol and the best antibiotics to use. If you can’t find the post, just copy and paste the following URL into your browser and it should take you directly there:

http://www.seahorse.com/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,218/func,view/id,5069/catid,2/

Best of luck resolving the bacterial lesion and restoring your seahorse to good health again.

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna

Post edited by: Pete Giwojna, at: 2008/06/05 02:34