(UPDATED) Mysterious Disease (NEW pictures)

_____________ UPDATE ____________________

On 11/18, on the very first fish having the issue, the German Blue Ram, another white bump appeared (this time, on her right cheek instead of forehead). She did rub her cheek against the rock, but otherwise ate/behaved OK. Again, the bump was easily removed with some gentle finger scrubbing. She is now in the quarantine tank treated with malachite green.

See the picture, which clearly shows the size (much larger than an ick), shape (not strictly a sphere, more like a cylinder) and color (white) of the bump. Such a large bump seemed to appear out of nowhere as I observe the fish a few times a day. Please help!


_____________ UPDATE 2 ____________________

Texture of the bump: soft, but not fluffy (unlike cotton/mold). Its surface is not extremely smooth either.
____________________________________________

Hi fellow aquarists,

I have had this 55 gallon freshwater tank running for over 6 months and no new fish has been introduced in the past 3 months.

All have been happy and healthy.... then on 11/4 I noticed a white bumpy spot on the head of one of the german blue rams. I scratched off the white spot with my finger and put the fish back. The ram has been doing well so far. Then on 11/13, I noticed three red blue tetra has similar white spot. I have since manually removed the spot and quarantined the fish.

Please see the picture attached:
1. It's different from the ick. (A few years ago, my another tank had ick, which was treated successfully. This time, the spots are larger, more protruding and far fewer).
2. Each fish only had one white spot. One on the forehead, two on the left side, and one on the anal fin. Four fish have been affected while others seem fine so far.
3. It can be removed relatively easily with my finger. (Yes, it GROWS on the skin of the fish. Not some dirt. Not a latched-on louse.)
4. All fish eat/swim/behave normally so far, but this is almost certainly a disease and I want to take actions asap.
5. My 3 other tanks are good so far, since I separate tools.

Please advise. Thank you all in advance.

Wish you all happy and healthy tanks!


_____________ below please find detailed information about my tank ____________________

* Tank:
- 55 gallon
- fresh water
- Tank has been running for 6+ months without any prior issue

* Water:
- Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate: Non-detectable/Non-detectable/Low(Safe)
- pH: 7.3
- Temperature: 78F
- 30% weekly water change (vacuum clean) with Tap water + conditioner

* Fish:
- German Blue Ram 3" * 2; Red Blue Tetra 3" * 6; Sailfin Molly 3" * 1; Angelfish 4" * 1; Black skirt Tetra 3" * 4; bristlenose pleco 3" * 2;
- Had them for over 3-6 months.
- New fish were always quarantined. No fish has been introduced in the past 3 months.

* Environment:
- Live plants: anubis, java fern, coontail
- Barebottom with a few river pebbles.
- Fake hollow fig tree root.

* Support:
- Foods: flake/pallets. 1-2 times/day
- Filtration: Hang on back filter rated for 60g
- Heater: 200W
- Lighting: LED, on 6 hours/day. No sunlight exposure.

That is very weird. Ick is usually all around. Consult with @Byron, @Deanasue, @essjay, and @Colin_T. They are my disease experts, lol.

Look up PIMAFIX by API and see if that doesn't describe what you're having - or very close. I'd give it a try. There is also a "Fin and Body Cure" but none of the diseases described even remotely matched yours.

To me it sounds fungal given that it just scrapes off and isn't embedded into the fishes body. But most of the antifungal ones are very specific - Pimafix seemed closest.

If that doesn't work I would assume it's bacterial and tread with any broad spectrum antibiotic or even sulfa antibiotics. Erythromiacin is a good broad spectrum antibiotic - it also mentions it's a good follow up for fish that have been treated with ICK.

Make sure you remove all carbon filters since they will absorb any medication you add. Return the filter when done and it will help remove it from the water, then rinse out the carbon filter after a couple of days.

Jan Cavalieri said:

Look up PIMAFIX by API and see if that doesn't describe what you're having - or very close. I'd give it a try. There is also a "Fin and Body Cure" but none of the diseases described even remotely matched yours.

To me it sounds fungal given that it just scrapes off and isn't embedded into the fishes body. But most of the antifungal ones are very specific - Pimafix seemed closest.

If that doesn't work I would assume it's bacterial and tread with any broad spectrum antibiotic or even sulfa antibiotics. Erythromiacin is a good broad spectrum antibiotic - it also mentions it's a good follow up for fish that have been treated with ICK.

Make sure you remove all carbon filters since they will absorb any medication you add. Return the filter when done and it will help remove it from the water, then rinse out the carbon filter after a couple of days.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your advice, Jan!

I’ve just been reading all of your comments and seeing what you guys figure out. Oh, but don’t scrape off the bumps. You could start a nasty infection. We know it’s either bacterial or fungal. You can 1). Do large 75% water changes each day and add 1 tablespoon of salt to every 5 gallons of water. Be sure to dissolve the salt first. Next day when you do the 75% w/c add 3/4 tablespoon of dissolved aquarium salt. Do this each day for a week and see how it goes. Or: 2) Go got the big guns and treat with Furan-2 and Kanaplex both according to package directions. If it’s not getting any worse, I would go with choice 1 first.

Deanasue said:

I’ve just been reading all of your comments and seeing what you guys figure out. Oh, but don’t scrape off the bumps. You could start a nasty infection. We know it’s either bacterial or fungal. You can 1). Do large 75% water changes each day and add 1 tablespoon of salt to every 5 gallons of water. Be sure to dissolve the salt first. Next day when you do the 75% w/c add 3/4 tablespoon of dissolved aquarium salt. Do this each day for a week and see how it goes. Or: 2) Go got the big guns and treat with Furan-2 and Kanaplex both according to package directions. If it’s not getting any worse, I would go with choice 1 first.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the information. Someone suggested that it could be Epistylis. What do you think? I am planning to get some chemical treatment.

I have no experience with that.

Update: I applied Victoria green to the quarantined fish, although they appear healthy and boisterous so far. Will let you all know if I have more update. Thanks.

_____________ UPDATE ____________________

On 11/18, on the very first fish having the issue, the German Blue Ram, another white bump appeared (this time, on her right cheek instead of forehead). She did rub her cheek against the rock, but otherwise ate/behaved OK. Again, the bump was easily removed with some gentle finger scrubbing. She is now in the quarantine tank treated with malachite green.

See the picture, which clearly shows the size (much larger than an ick), shape (not strictly a sphere, more like a cylinder) and color (white) of the bump. Such a large bump seemed to appear out of nowhere as I observe the fish a few times a day. Please help!

Is the spot fuzzy?

Deanasue said:

Is the spot fuzzy?

Click to expand...

A little bit. Not extremely fluffy (unlike cotton/mold).
Solid, but not hard, and the surface is not smooth either.

_____________ UPDATE 2 ____________________

Texture of the bump: soft, but not fluffy (unlike cotton/mold). Its surface is not extremely smooth either.

I feel it might be lymphocystis.

I have stopped removing the new growth. And no more chemical.

I am just going to wait them out.... fingers crossed.

Thank you all.

I’m afraid I don’t believe it is Lymphocystis. I have a fish with it and the growths are cauliflower shaped and hard. You can’t scrape them off and they stay the same color as the fish’s skin pigmentation. They may eventually burst like a cyst but they grow back in a few months.