I purchased this fish along with another N. masyae and 2 N. cf. selangorus on Dec. 30, 2006. They were quarantined for about 2 weeks and then added to a 55 gal. tank with 6 juvenile angels (about quarter sized) and one gold butterfly pleco (about 4 in. SL). The Nemacheilus were about 1.5 to 2 in. with the masyae being slightly larger. I do not regularly test my tanks but do water changes at least biweekly. My records indicate that I have done 5 water changes of 40 to 50% in the 2.5 months since I added the loaches. The other three loaches all look fine as do the other fish. The fish in question was a little less active today but had I not been doing a water change I might not have noticed. The area of the lesion looks like a full belly (which they usually have
) so I only noticed when it went up the front glass. I have moved it to quarantine but am not sure what if anything to treat for. It looks a bit to me like a cancerous growth (I dissect things for a living) but I am not familiar with fish cancers, other than a few pictures in books.
Any advice would be appreciated.
I have included an older normal picture of one of the masyae before it filled out
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