betta has redish lump, wont eat, plz help

[tazmajazz]

Hi all,
my betta, fishrodamas, has a lump on one side of his belly that the fish doctor says is a parasite, feces blockage, or tumor. It has some red on it. He also has a smaller bump on his other side closer to his top fin. And, right where his top fin connects to his body, there is some grey matter there that looks like possibly a tear in his skin or maybe some sort of fungus. He stays at the bottom of his tank and only swims when he goes to the top for air. he wont eat either.

15 gallon tank, undergravel filter, 79 degree temp, he's the only fish in tank, no other fish or plants.

any suggestions? I'm a novice...
thank you

 

[WILDER]

Sounds like i could be bacerial and parasite to me, any flicking and rubbing against objects, are the gill glossy looking and greyish trialing mucas on the fish.
http/www.fishpalace.org/danscomments.html#Lump

 

[black angel]

How long has the tank been going for and how much and how often for water changes?
could be costia which is a parasite.
Check your water quality and if thats ok then treat for parasites.

 

[WILDER]

That's what i was thinking black angel costia.

 

[tazmajazz]

we just re-setup the tank about 2 weeks ago, then I was afraid he had fin-rot, so I tried a fin-rot medicine...he seemed to get worse so after the medication period was over, we did a 30% water change, added fresh activated carbon, and added aquarium salt.

Could a parasite be causing the lump? we tried some anti parasite fiz tabs a few weeks ago when we noticed he was swollen and it didnt seem to help. I'm not sure if it was the right medication though.

He's VERY inactive and hasnt eaten in days, I'm really worried about him now.

following the suggestion of a local fish doctor, I have left several gallons of tap water out for a few days and plan on doing a 75% water change tonight. She said that leaving the tap water out should get rid of the ammonia/chlorine, etc.

could the black angel costia cause the lump? all the help is greatly appreciated!

That's what i was thinking black angel costia.

[snapback]906152[/snapback]​

 

[WILDER]

I would get a med for costia, as parasites can cause bumps as they bite then they can get infected, how big are the bumps.

 

[tazmajazz]

one bump is red and fairly large, the other bump is smaller and not really red. the area where his top fin connects to the skin is kind of grey. Its like a thin grey line that runs part of the way along the seem where his body connects to his top fin. The fish doctor said she thought it was a tumor but from my research, it seems as though he may have something else. Her advice was to not treat him cuz she thinks its a tumor but I'm afraid I should be treating him for something or he'll just get worse. I just need to diagnose it properly first...

thoughts?

 

[tazmajazz]

to clarify, she thought the main red bump was a tumor, not the grey strip by his top fin...

 

[WILDER]

Sounds like it could be a tumour, found an article on costia for you.

http/www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/costia.htm

 

[WILDER]

Not the author of this information


Tumors



Symptoms:

Fishes with tumors have distended bodies or lumps on the skin. Unusual growths or swellings may occur in any part of the body. If they occur in internal organs they tend to cause firm, noticeable swelling to the general body shape. Tumors are usually confined to one area of the fish but they will continue to grow over time, weakening the fish until death occurs.



Cause:

A variety of environmental factors such as chemical pollution or severe viral infections. A predisposition to tumors may be inherited from a fish's parents.



Treatment:

There is no chemical remedy for this condition. Surgical removal of tumors can be attempted, but there is a high frequency of recurrence.

 

[black angel]

Ok, youve tried treating for parasites and fungus.
How long have you had him for?
You said you re-set the tank a fortnight ago, does this include a new filter or is it the same one and the tank is still cycled?
A tumor is possible as they can come up anywhere, and look like a bulge rather than a spot.
Describe the spots more. Is it looking like acne, is there any white area or is it totally red and pushing from under the skin like a boil? Any threads coming from them?
Any chance of a pic? Trying to diagnose an unseen fish is really hard and all i can say now is to keep him warm and do regular water changes with temperature matched water.
Salting to .2% may help as well for a short time. How much salt have you added already?

What was the cleaning routine before you re-set the tank and what do you do now?
Have you had the water tested for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph?

 

[black angel]

Just thought, are the spots a different colour to the fish? If it was a tumour then the skin wouldnt change colour.

 

[tazmajazz]

Q) How long have you had him for?
- A) for about 6 months

Q) You said you re-set the tank a fortnight ago, does this include a new filter or is it the same one and the tank is still cycled?
- A) You'll have to forgive me, I'm a novice at this, by the filter, are you referring to the white air diffuser things or the activated carbon or something else? I'm not sure what you mean by asking if the tank is still cycled...

Q) A tumor is possible as they can come up anywhere, and look like a bulge rather than a spot. Describe the spots more. Is it looking like acne, is there any white area or is it totally red and pushing from under the skin like a boil? Any threads coming from them?
- A) the main lump does look more like a bulge, the one spot is small and has no real coloration...it looks like a slight boil under the skin rather than a spot. The main lump has mostly red and it does look like its pushing up from under the skin. I'm not sure if it has any white, I'll check tonight when I get home.

Q) Any chance of a pic?
- A) I tried last night but couldnt get my camera to take a good enough pic, I'll try again tonight.

Q) How much salt have you added already?
- A) I'm not sure exactly how much salt I've added but I took the water to have it tested and they said it was very salty. She said it was on the high end of salinity but not dangerous.

Q) What was the cleaning routine before you re-set the tank and what do you do now?
- A) before we reset the tank, we would do a 20% water change every week or 2 and scrape the algae residue off the tank. We also would use anti algae tablets. Now we've been doing larger water changes including a 75% that we're doing tonight.

Q) are the spots a different colour to the fish?
- A) the large lump is redish, the small lump has no color change

Q) Have you had the water tested for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph?
- A) I have had the water tested and its ok on everything except for the ammonia is high and the water is a bit hard. I had an ammonia tester that said the ammonia level was ok but when I took a water sample to a fish doctor, she told me that the ammonia was real high. She also told me not to worry about the ammonia level now as it was of the least of my concerns. I thought this was odd. She also said that I shouldnt use ammo-lock as it just releaes the ammonia again after it locks it. I'm not sure what else I should use.

I plan on doing a 75% water change tonight with water that has been left out for 2 days...the fish doctor said that should make it safe for him, is that correct? He's really not doing well, I spend all my free time talkin with him or researching what I should do to make him better.

your help is really appreciated. THANK YOU!

 

[black angel]

With you being in america or canada then trying to find out which filtration you use is going to be difficult unless someone else can help. A filter is a mechanical machine that draws water through it and over sponges and carbon and then returns it to the tank. The white thing you are on about is a diffusor and adds extra oxygen.
Where does the carbon go? You havent mentioned cleaning out any filter so maybe you dont have one?
15 gallons is a lot of water for one fish and i would have thought just doing a water change once a week would be enough to stop the ammonia from building up, but if you fed him too much or didnt gravel vac then you could have food building up in the gravel so feeding the bad bacteria and releasing ammonia, especially if you havent got any proper filtration.

As for the lumps, you are going to have to play a waiting game and see if any of them erupt out. It might look nasty but we need to know if they release anything or not into the water and what the wound looks like.

I would slowly get the salt levels down as well and you will eventually need to get the salt at .1%, which is 1 level teaspoon per gallon.

For changing water just now i would say no more than 40% at any one time as you dont want to get rid of too many of the beneficial bacteria.

For feeding, what are you offering? You could try some bloodworm if you havent already.

As for letting the water sit, you dont need to do this. As you have dechlorinator you can add a little bit to the tap water as you pour into a bucket and add a kettle of boiling water to take it to the temperature needed. Always temperature match the water you add in.

So basically keep his water really clean by doing regular water changes, add salt to .1% and keep an eye on the bulges.
And buy a filter, i think most people go for a hang on back type.

 

[tazmajazz]

I guess maybe I dont have a filter...I thought I had an under-gravel filter but I dont really have anything to clean out. you'll have to excuse me, I dont know much about aquariums. what I thought was my filter is tw plastic square peices that sit under the gravel of my tank. Each sqaure peice has a tube that comes up in the corner which the diffuser sits in and has an activated carbon cartridge that attaches to its side and a tube going into a machine that plugs into the wall and causes water and air to pump up through the tube and the activated carbon. I dont really think theres any filter to clean...am I missing a part? should there be a filter somewhere that I have to clean?

I had already done a 75% water change with the water that had been sitting out before I read your post so I hope thats ok. I'm not sure what the salt level is now because I just did a 75% water change and didnt add any additional salt. I'm taking my water to get tested after work so I should know then.

I did try blood worms which he didnt eat any of at first, then he finally ate some one day about 4 days ago and then hasnt eaten again since then. per this fish doctor's recomedation, I havent been trying to feed him again since then cuz she says that it might be a blockage in which case he doesnt need to eat. do you disagree?

another issue, he seems to be breathing real heavy with his gills and keeps cramming himself in the corner of the tank by one of the tubes that attaches to the undergravel filter or whatever it is. what can I do to help him breathe easier? I've got the two diffusers working?

thank you very much for your assistance!