weird lump on my GBR??

[Diztrbd1]

This unusual lump kinda just showed up on my female GBR one day, about 3 weeks ago. Other than the obvious lump , she is still active as normal, good color, eats good and lays eggs as normal. I was told it was probably nothing to worry about and it would probably just disappear on it's own. It has not got any worse, but doesn't seem to have gotten any better either. Last week I noticed one of my Neon Tetras has the similar problem going on. Since it's much smaller , it's hard to tell. Plus it doesn't look as bad today as it did previously. But once again the fish is in good color, active and eats well. I tried to research this and the closest I could come was Lymphocystis, which I am really hoping it's not. My water parameters are within their acceptable ranges, except my ph has been around 7.6 & I have been doing a 20% wc about every 4 days. Any idea as to what this is, what caused it and what I can do about it. Since I read Lymphocystis can worsen from stress I felt best not to quarantine them yet , and besides they have had the problem for 3 weeks and have yet to notice it on any of the others. These are the best pix I can get as both these fish are camera shy and fast lol. Any help is much appreciated and thanks in advance.

[Morainy]

I don't know enough about fish diseases to help you very much here, although it does look like both the fish have the same thing and therefore that it's contagious (though not terribly). Is there any treatment for lymphocystis? Isn't that a virus? If you can find a medication that fits the condition it might be worth giving it a try, because it does seem like a slow-moving, slow-spreading infection. What about Jungle Labs Lifeguard (multi- purpose)?

I wish that I had concrete information that would be of use. Whatever you do, please let us know what happens. Probably some of us will run across the same thing at some time or another.

[AquaSox]

I had that same problem with some cardinal tetras i bought....eventually it got more severe and had to euthanize. Its hard to know what it is...i wish i knew

[Diztrbd1]

I had that same problem with some cardinal tetras i bought....eventually it got more severe and had to euthanize. Its hard to know what it is...i wish i knew

sucks to hear that....I really love my Ram's would really break my heart to have to euthanize any of them.....hoping for better news here lol

I don't know enough about fish diseases to help you very much here, although it does look like both the fish have the same thing and therefore that it's contagious (though not terribly). Is there any treatment for lymphocystis? Isn't that a virus? If you can find a medication that fits the condition it might be worth giving it a try, because it does seem like a slow-moving, slow-spreading infection. What about Jungle Labs Lifeguard (multi- purpose)?

I wish that I had concrete information that would be of use. Whatever you do, please let us know what happens. Probably some of us will run across the same thing at some time or another.

thanks for the reply Maureen, as far as I have read there is no known cure for it. However searching thru the threads , I seen Grant @ IPU had mentioned a possible treatment for Lymphocystis. I'm sure he will reply on here soon enough. I figured I'd post it on here as opposed to pming him, so any and all info would be here for everyone. Hopefully it isn't Lymphocystis. cause it seems like one big PITA. I read that any med's for it are usually a waste of money cause if it is Lymphocystis, chances are it will fall off in due time on it's own and it would just appear that the med's are working when they actually do really nothing for it. Here's a good article about it: Lymphocystis Disease of Fishes, by Dr. Adrian Lawler
Hopefully it isn't this, even though it won't kill the fish , I can't think it makes for a healthy environment plus it looks like a big wart on the little lady.

[crazy72]

John I don't know much myself about fish disease, but I do have a book called "Manual of fish health" and they show in there something that looks a lot like what you GBR has. It's called "Nodular diseases" in the book, and it says that it groups I quote: "various parasites such as Ichthyosporidium, Nosema, Myxobolus, Henneguya and Dermocystidium".

They say that there's no reliable treatment for this type of disease, btw, and they recommend to isolate the fish and then euthanise them if it gets worse. I sure hope that this isn't what your fish have.

I just ran a quick Internet search on "nodular disease" and didn't find anything conclusive, but perhaps you can search on these more specific parasite names and see if you find something. Or you're welcome to come and borrow my book if you want.

[Diztrbd1]

Hey Franck , thanks for the info....almost looks like Ichthyosporidium. I will have to do some more research on it. In the meantime I guess I better get a quarantine tank set up. Didn't want to move them unless I had to, since it seems stress can make things worse. Couldn't just be something simple like ich...had to be some incurable disease grrrrr. Anyway thanks for the info and the offer. Think you gave me enough to research online & try and figure out what to do

[Rastapus]

Hey Franck , thanks for the info....almost looks like Ichthyosporidium. I will have to do some more research on it. In the meantime I guess I better get a quarantine tank set up. Didn't want to move them unless I had to, since it seems stress can make things worse. Couldn't just be something simple like ich...had to be some incurable disease grrrrr. Anyway thanks for the info and the offer. Think you gave me enough to research online & try and figure out what to do

Hey John,
Got your pm, sorry to hear about this. Without a microscope exam I am just guessing here based on the photos but I suspect you have a Sporozoa infection there. If so it is very uncommon and the spores can block internal organs causing a multitude of problems. An example of a Sporozoa infection is Neon Tetra Disease which is not necessarily what you have here but similar. Since it is only on the tails, you could try a Methylene Blue bath two or three times a day, 1 gm/100ml. This is a strong dose. Usually Sporozoa infections are incurable and you are best to euthanize the fish but you can try the Methylene Blue.
That is the only thing I can think of that it could be at this point. It almost seems as though it is affecting the muscle tissue. Being a spore, eradicating the infected fish IMO would be the way to go and sooner rather than later.
Sorry.

[Rastapus]

I should mention after reviewing the posts that it is not Lymphocystis. Lymphocystis is much more common on SW fish or fish such as glass fish that are in FW. It also forms on the fins more commonly before moving to the body. The fact that this infection is only on the tails and is forming lumps which seem to be generated from the inside out, it is likely something more along the lines of Sporozoa.

[Diztrbd1]

Thanks for taking the time to respond to this Grant. Glad it isn't Lymphocystis . but it appears that no matter what it is , it's not curable or the odds are very slim. I haven't had a chance to get any Methylene Blue, but I do have them isolated. They are both acting normal as ever, makes it hard for me to euthanize them. I'm a real wuss about killing any of my pets lol Really hard to tell but it seems that the neons problem has almost gone away, his tail almost looks normal again, guess time will tell. I am going to pick up some Methylene Blue and give it a try and hope for the best. I hope this doesn't affect the rest of the fish in the tank they were in, that would really suck. Haven't noticed anything with the rest yet , except her boyfriend seems to really be missing her, poor guy. Anyway thanks again for the responses. I will try to treat it for now, since they have both had it for 4 weeks already. If things start to look worse, I guess I will have to do whats best for them

[mysticalnet]

I have the same problem! one of my female GBRs have this and it is also almost at the same spot! Did you have any luck with the methylene blue? I should get some too....