White lump on Tetras mouth...

[fishjamin]

So I've moved my fish to a new tank today and in the process noticed one of my tetras has a lump on his mouth (see photos).

He seems otherwise fine, is swimming naturally with the others and doesn't seem especially bothered by it.

Any ideas what I'm dealing with?

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

There is a disease called cottonmouth that can be common in fish. Not sure if this is it, or something else. Might be worth @Colin_T having a look.

 

[Colin_T]

looks like the thing we assume is a new virus that has been affecting neon tetras for the last couple of years. there doesn't seem to be a cure and fish live with it for a while.

 

[fishjamin]

Where could it have come from? I've not added any new fish since the tank was new about 9 months ago and parameters have been pretty stable every time I've checked.

I've ordered a QT tank which arrives tomorrow so hopefully it's not too late to protect the others..

 

[Colin_T]

There's no point moving it, just leave it in the main tank. If it's a virus (and we are pretty sure it is), then the fish can carry it for months before it appears. When the fish get old, weak or stressed, the virus kicks in. All the neons in the tank will probably have the virus as it comes from the breeders (probably located in Asia).

 

[fishjamin]

Is there any risk to other things in the tank? At the moment there is only some shrimp in there but the move to the bigger tank was with getting some other stuff in there too in mind.

 

[DoubleDutch]

There's no point moving it, just leave it in the main tank. If it's a virus (and we are pretty sure it is), then the fish can carry it for months before it appears. When the fish get old, weak or stressed, the virus kicks in. All the neons in the tank will probably have the virus as it comes from the breeders (probably located in Asia).

Funny you mention this Colin.
On other forums I mentioned my suspecion this issue being a (Irido)viral problem.
Do you have any scientific info ?
It seems to be pretty neon-specific, untreatable and indeed appearing mainly by environmental factors (stressless and a clean environment can cause improvement).

 

[Colin_T]

Is there any risk to other things in the tank?

It doesn't seem to spread to other fish that are in a different genus to the neons but there have been a few cardinal tetras with a similar lump on the lip. So it is probably able to jump to similar species like the green neon and cardinal tetra, but nothing else has had it.

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Do you have any scientific info ?
It seems to be pretty neon-specific, untreatable and indeed appearing mainly by environmental factors (stressless and a clean environment can cause improvement).

No info other than what I see on here.

It's not a bacterial infection because it can stay on the fish for months and people have used anti-biotics on it to no avail.

It's not a protozoan infection for the same reason, it doesn't spread over the fish and people have used medications designed to kill protozoan infections.

It's not fungus, again because it doesn't spread and people have used salt and anti-fungal treatments with no success.

That basically leaves us with a virus that seems to appear on newly imported fish or old fish. This suggests a stress induced virus. Combine this with neons in America being the fish affected but not in Australia, would suggest it's viral.

 

[DoubleDutch]

It doesn't seem to spread to other fish that are in a different genus to the neons but there have been a few cardinal tetras with a similar lump on the lip. So it is probably able to jump to similar species like the green neon and cardinal tetra, but nothing else has had it.

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No info other than what I see on here.

It's not a bacterial infection because it can stay on the fish for months and people have used anti-biotics on it to no avail.

It's not a protozoan infection for the same reason, it doesn't spread over the fish and people have used medications designed to kill protozoan infections.

It's not fungus, again because it doesn't spread and people have used salt and anti-fungal treatments with no success.

That basically leaves us with a virus that seems to appear on newly imported fish or old fish. This suggests a stress induced virus. Combine this with neons in America being the fish affected but not in Australia, would suggest it's viral.

Same thoughts overhere !
Thanks

 

[fishjamin]

Thanks for the info guys.

I've noticed what looks like early stages of fin rot on maybe 2 or 3 others (see pic) so something must have gone awry in the old tank to cause this and whatever the lump is. I check the levels pretty regularly do a 20% water change weekly, and haven't changed any of the setup so not sure what triggered it. They've come from a 40l tank so I guess it was more susceptible to shenanigans. Picked a good time to put them in a fresh tank I guess!

Levels in the new tank are all looking normal and they're all behaving and eating ok. I've put some melafix in to try and fix anything residual (assuming it is fin rot in the pick) although looks like the lump won't be affected by this?

 

[fishjamin]

Hi guys,


I've just (2 days ago) moved my tetras into a new, bigger tank and in the proces noticed that 3 of the 8 appear to have what looks like fin rot (see pics).

A lot of the advice seems to be about water changes, cleaning tanks etc however this seems possibly redundant given they're in a new tank. They've gone from 40l to 125l and although some of the old water came with them it's probably no more than about 5l.

Everything seems stable so far, there's no ammonia, nitrites and very low (if any) nitrates.

Given its a new tank that's still settling I don't want to get into daily water changes with it, is this the right approach?

I've started using melafix but also have some salt which I've not used yet. Am I using the right thing, should I use both?

Nothing else in the tank with them for now other than a couple of snails and a few shrimp.

 

[Avel1896]

this issue being a (Irido)viral problem.

What you call "iridoviral problem" the Neon Tetra Disease (Pleistophora hyphessobryconis) ??

 

[DoubleDutch]

What you call "iridoviral problem" the Neon Tetra Disease (Pleistophora hyphessobryconis) ??

No a viral issue related to Lymphocystis and Dwarf Gourami Disease. There are hundreds of viruses and several fishspecies have "their own" due to pressurebreeding / conditions in mainly Asian fishfarms. They cause different issues.

 

[OBXfishkeeper]

Hi! Sorry to revive such an old post, but this sounds a lot like what I’m dealing with. How has this turned out? I have a school of neons that I’ve had in quarantine since purchase ~10 weeks now. About half have these mouth growths (not cottony or white but just a small bump). The bump has actually come and gone and come back on them, and I’ve had no deaths or other symptoms that point to Neon Tetra Disease. I’m afraid to add them to my main tank but unwilling to cull the school since they are thriving otherwise: eating, schooling, and have great color.

This is the 1st post I’ve found pointing to something other than bacterial infection or NTD. Would love to know how this turned out for you! And if it ever ended up effecting other species in your tank.