Cherry Barb

[bennett]

i've recently (a week ago) bought an existing tropical fish setup(including the fish) and installed it into my flat. since then everything has been going fine, but a few days ago the cherry barb developed what looked like a tumour on one side of it. being pretty unsure what to do i left it and thought it might solve itself.

today it appears to have popped as there is a slight crater where the tumour and before that scales used to be.

now the fish is swimming pretty aimlessly (even for fish) and does not seem well at all.

this is a real stab in the dark but, any advice?


thank you
andy

 

[bennett]

http/img.photobucket.com/albums/v513/fat...poorlyfish2.jpg

****=a rude word that shares 3 letters with mUCK(i'm assuming there's a no bad word filter on, so this link won't work unless you type in the bad word)


sadly this is the best i can do picture wise

he really is not swimming too well

 

[WILDER]

What's your location, you will need to issolate the fish and use an antibiotic, plus do some water changes on the main tank.

Also what colour was the lump, and did it have a fluffy coating on it.

 

[bennett]

What's your location, you will need to issolate the fish and use an antibiotic, plus do some water changes on the main tank.

Also what colour was the lump, and did it have a fluffy coating on it.

i'm in london, england. the lump was white and looked like a series of little spots. unfortunately i don't have a separate tank or filter yet....

 

[WILDER]

Did it look like a clusters of berrys or cauliflower.

 

[bennett]

cauliflower

 

[WILDER]

Yes you can get a desease called cauliflower desease.

Not the writer of this information below.

Lymphocystis



Symptoms:

Fish infected with Lymphocystis will present with clusters of whitish, berry-like growths on the skin and fins. These "clusters" may resemble small clutches of eggs or cauliflower (hence, it is sometimes called Cauliflower Disease). They will be clearly visible and may even become extremely large. This disease often affects the fins first.



Cause:

Viral infection. The virus will eventually kill the fish if it is unable to mount a strong enough immune response as the virus rampages through the fish’s tissues, destroying its cells.



Treatment:

As with all viral infections, there is no suitable cure or efficacious treatment; however Quick Cure claims to be helpful. I have also heard of people who trim the fish's fins, followed by several baths in Malachite Green. Fortunately, this disease is uncommon and in some cases, infected fish are able to recover quickly without treatment.

Lymphocystis is highly infectious. When infected cells from the fish’s skin or fins burst the virus is spread throughout the aquarium and can remain contagious for periods of up to two months. Fish not showing symptoms should be removed from the aquarium and placed in quarantine, away from other fish, for at least 60 days. Note, remove uninfected fish, not the other way around because the aquarium has become contaminated. The infected aquarium should be emptied and thoroughly disinfected before returning any fish to it. Do not use soap to clean the aquarium.

 

[bennett]

where do i go from here? i feel like saying lots of banned words very very loudly

 

[WILDER]

Does it sound like that, if so with it bursting the tank is infected now, can you issolate the sick fish, no good using antibiotics they don't work on viruses, i would just follow the instruction below, sorry.

 

[bennett]

it did look like cauliflower on the left flank of the fish. however the fins seemed to be untouched.

sorry i'm being a simpleton and making sure i'm doing things right, how can i isolate the fish?

sounds a bit like a lost cause already, only had the swines for about 10 days

 

[WILDER]

The only other thing to do is quarantine the sick fish, and totally strip the tank down and sterlise it, that's all i can think of doing, you don't hear of the desease much, but it does happen a few on the board have had it, i would make a post in tropical chit chat, hoping to find members who had to deal with it, sorry.

 

[bennett]

thank you. hopefully everything will be well soon!

 

[tttnjfttt]

Here is a little more info for you. I had it PMed to me whne i brought home a fish with this from the LPS. I'm not sure where this came from though.

Found abit more info for you.
Viral Diseases
Lymphocystis

Symptoms: Nodular white swellings (cauliflower) on fins or body.

Lymphocystis is a virus and, being a virus, affects the cells of the fish. It usually manifests itself as abnormally large white lumps (cauliflower) on the fins or other parts of the body. It can be infectious, but is usually not fatal. Unfortunately, there is no cure. Fortunately, this is a rare disease.
There are two suggested treatments. One treatment is to remove and destroy the infected fish as soon as possible. The other treatment is to simply separate the infected fish for several months and hope for remission, which usually does occur.

 

[bennett]

One treatment is to remove and destroy the infected fish as soon as possible

is it callous of me that this was my course of action?

(i do have a backup plan should it flare up again though)

 

[tttnjfttt]

If you did euthanize the fish (hopefully by a humane method, not just flushing it) that was your choice. Here is my take on this disease. It is contagious to other fish in the aquarium, sometimes lethal, and since there are no affective treatments, it is either time or death. When you have a tank full of fish and no way to quarentine the fish, you need to make decisions based on the well being of all the fish. You didn't even have the option to medicate the whole tank.

I recently brought home a cory with this, and had to make some decisions like you did. I would not want a fish with lymphocystis (cauloflower disease) swimming in my main tank. I even had the option to put him and his two buddies into a 10 gal and see how things went. I chose to take him back, simply because i didn't have the time to deal with one or possibly three sick fish for an extended period.

I would recomend what wilder said and completely steralize the entire tank. When you do this, make sure you re-aclimate the fish (treat them like you just broght them home from the pet store)