Queensland "Super" Grouper  8/25/06
First Fish To Undergo Chemo Dies At Shedd
Bubba the Queensland "Super" Grouper Passed Away Tuesday
(CBS) CHICAGO Bubba the Queensland Grouper was born a female but became a male. More remarkably, this Shedd Aquarium resident was the first fish to successfully undergo chemotherapy. Now, staff members at the Shedd Aquarium are mourning the death of a most “super grouper.”
Bubba died suddenly on Tuesday. Teams were mobilized to provide emergency medical care to Bubba, but efforts to save the fish were not successful.
“The past twenty-four hours have been extremely difficult for our staff as Bubba was truly a member of the Shedd family,” said George Parsons, director of the Fishes department, in a news release. “Bubba overcame some incredible odds over the years, and that’s what made him so special to us. His story of survival inspired so many of our guests and the public that followed him.”
An initial autopsy revealed Bubba had health issues related to old age and a number of abnormal growths. A more extensive report will come back in a few weeks.
Bubba was born a female, but later became a he because groupers can actually change gender as they mature because of social and other factors. Bubba was left as an abandoned pet at the Shedd in 1987.
Bubba was diagnosed with a type of cancer and successfully treated in 2003, earning him the nickname “super grouper” by the media who followed his story. He became an inspiration to cancer patients and even has a tile in his honor at the Hope Children’s Hospital oncology division in Oak Lawn, Ill.
 

Picture to ID spot/growth   2/5/08 Would you agree with this estimation? Subject: Picture to ID spot/growth To: nationalfishpharm@yahoo.com Hi Dr. Aukes, Here are two images of the Emperor I was asking you about. What does it look like to you. I am not sure if you can see in the image that the spot is protruding and it is slightly red in the center. It was first visible less than two weeks ago as a small whit dot and has grown from then to the size it is now. It is a mature male from Tonga. I have had it in my tank for 6 or 7 weeks and I don't see him eat very often but his stomach does get slightly pinched and then it seems full then it gets pinched a few days later so assume he is eating something. Please let me know you were able to download the files as they are quite large. His reply: Hi Mike, Looks like lymphocystis virus to me. Whatever you do... do not cut on it, swab it with anything or treat the tank with any medications to try and eliminate it. Just keep your eye on it. It might grow a little, or even disappear altogether. Cannot tell you the outcome at this stage. Best Regards, Dr. Brian G. Aukes; PhD c/o national fish pharmaceuticals www.nationalfishpharm.com Mike PS I sent the previous e-mail from my office re: the resellers for your products. <Is very likely viral in nature... for which the term Lymphocystis is often applied as a large catch-all... I have had success with excising such "papillomaviruses" and daubing them with mercuricals... w/ and w/o anesthetics... Waiting, perhaps utilizing a purposeful cleaner organism may resolve this growth as well... Cheers, Bob Fenner> Re: Picture to ID spot/growth, virology f'   2-05-08 Thanks Bob. Is there any risk to other fish in the community or is he OK to stay put? <Not much risk... akin to whether you'll "get" a planter's wart from shaking hands> I was one of the lucky ones to get a Clarion and do not want to put it at risk for obvious reasons. Secondly do have any specific suggestions that qualify as a purposeful cleaner organism. Mike <... posted...: http://wetwebmedia.com/clnrfaqs.htm B> Re: Picture to ID spot/growth  2-05-08 Ok thanks for the help. You guys are great. I do have the Cleaner shrimp and a wrasse in the tank. So should be good. Sounds like it is better to leave the Cleaner wrasses in the ocean to do their work there. Regards Mike <Is. B>

What Are These Bumps on My Navarchus? >Hi, >>Greetings, Marina here. >I bought a 3" Navarchus Angel from TMC around 6 months ago.  Around a month ago, I noticed a small white bump under his mouth.  At first, I thought it was an infection from him possibly getting an abrasion from darting in/out of the rockwork.  He was still eating fine and otherwise behaving normally, so I thought that by keeping the tank conditions optimal the injury would heal itself.   >>I would do the same. >Well, it's been over a month later and now the original white "bump" is bigger and now there are even two more "bumps"!  Now I'm worrying that it may be some kind of disease that may require more hands-on treatment.  I've attached two photos of the fish for you to look at. >>Excellent that you've presented the pics.  If I am not way off base here, I'd wager that it might be Lymphocystis, though I'd like to get another opinion on that. >I really struggled with the decision to put the fish in the main tank early, but because he was not eating in the quarantine tank, and on the recommendation of TMC, and since he was the only fish in the tank, I moved him to the main tank after only one week of qt. >>For the LIFE of me I cannot fathom why anyone would recommend shortening/eliminating quarantine.  Well, it is what it is at this point.  Unfortunately, I've discovered that Bob's "article" on Lymphocystis is non-existent, so I'm linking you to the Lympho-faq page.  Should it be Lymphocystis, I can tell you it is a viral infection that, in my own experience, has never been fatal.  I liken it to warts, it's ugly, we don't want it, but it won't kill us.  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/lymphfaqs.htm  This is the link to the FAQ, and try a Google on the subject for more information.  Typical presentation is on the fins, though the body is not unheard of by any means.  To the best of my knowledge this is not something that readily spreads or is highly infectious, and because there is no treatment we find that it, just as mysteriously as it began, corrects itself with time. >The only fish in the tank are the angel and a Royal Gramma.  The tank is mostly LPS and a few mushrooms.  It's a 90 gal tank, with 30 gal sump, Aqua-C EV120 skimmer, 3" sand bed, ~125lbs live rock.  Water parameters are within the normal accepted ranges.  Any advice will be appreciated.  Thanks in advance. >>I've attached your pics so the powers that be may have a look as well, but it really looks to be Lympho to me.  I do hope this helps in that it's something, but not a terribly bad something, which is a good thing since it's something you really can't do something about.  Best of luck!  (And don't skip q/t anymore!  30 days, mate.)  Marina