Help! My Goldfish Has A White Growth!

[MichelleDecker]

HELP!

My little goldfish has been slowly growing a small now medium sized growth on it's head. It is white and hard. I first thought it was some sort of cottony fungus until I reached a q-tip in there to apply medicine to the area and found it was not a fungal growth because it was hard and didn't seem to have characteristics like one. He is behaving fine. He is happy and eating well, I keep my tank clean and everything but I'm scared that it'll just keep growing and soon he won't be fine.. Someone please help!

 

[fluttermoth]

Does it look sort of waxy?
 
It could be carp pox, which is incurable, but rarely causes any harm to the fish; a bit like warts in humans. It would help if you could get a pic up (you'll need to upload it to a hosting site, like Photobucket or Flickr, and use the IMG code in your post) as it's always difficult to diagnose things just from a description.
 
Also, how big is the fish's tank and have you tested the water at all? Many fish diseases are caused by poor water quality and goldfish are potentially large, messy fish that really need big tanks and big filters to stay healthy.

 

[pawsplus]

I'll be interested to hear more about this.  My comet George had something just like this last year.  I cleaned the tank, then cleaned it again (I do 40% changes every 2 weeks but wanted to be sure), and added a little aquarium salt to the tank.  3 days later the thing burst--I guess it was an abscess? I did another water change, added a little more salt, and that was that.  It cleared up and has never come back.

 

[MichelleDecker]

I'm not sure what you mean by waxy, I'm sorry.

My fishes' tank is fairly large for the size of my fish, I do clean the tank and do water changes regularly so this is not a problem. My water is perfectly habitable for my fish.

I was treating his water with some fungus medicine called Pimafix (or something like that), and it started to make him less active and unwilling to eat. Once I realized this, and that it wasn't helping anything I preformed water changes and stopped treatment and he returned to normal. The growth has only grown slightly since them but he doesn't seem to be affected at all. He is acting normal now. But I do see another growth beginning to grown a little lower from the first one. I really have no idea what to do.

 

[Joshwainwright]

If his behavior hasn't changed then I wouldn't worry about it. However, I think you should still post a photo so we can get a better look and decide what it might be.
 
Also, I wouldn't recommend adding any treatments unless you know what the problem is. I know it seems as if it's better to be safe than sorry but as you found out, it ended up causing more problems than it did good.
 
Anyway, get a photo uploaded and more people may be able to help

  

 

[MichelleDecker]

Sorry for awful photo quality and lighting. My fish wouldn't stay still for anything! The water looks orange because of the lamp I have on in the back ground, not because I put something crazy in there or anything.

I attached a picture to that last post but idek where it went!

 

[Lunar Jetman]

My fishes' tank is fairly large for the size of my fish, I do clean the tank and do water changes regularly so this is not a problem. My water is perfectly habitable for my fish.

Can you give us more details around the size of the tank and the water stats? Are there any other inhabitants in the tank with this fish?

 

[Joshwainwright]

The best way to post an image is to upload it to an image hosting website such as ImageShack or PhotoBucket
 
Then, all you need to do is get the direct URL by either clicking "Get Direct Link" or viewing the image, right clicking it and selecting "Copy Image URL"
 
This URL should then be pasted into the box that pops up when you click the little icon that is a photo of a tree, next to the "<>", at the top of the box when you write a post

 

[MichelleDecker]

http/s1348.photobucket.com/user/MichelleLDecker/media/image_zps69c61373.png.html

This is the best picture I could get.

And I have a 10 gallon tank, I'm not very good with water stats or anything usually I have a friend of mine do all that. But there is currently a scum sucker fish in there with him. They don't interact much though.

 

[fluttermoth]

it's hard to be 100% sure, but that does look like carp pox to me.
 
All you can really do is keep a close eye on it and see if anything changes.
 
I hope you don't take this too badly, but a 10g tank is in no way big enough for a common goldfish, like yours. It really needs a tank that is at least four feet long, but preferably a pond; it's really only fantails and other 'fancy' type goldfish that are suitable for tanks.
 
Could you get a pic of your 'sucker fish' as well? Some of them also grow very, very large indeed. And can you get your friend to write down the actual numbers from the water tests to pass on to us, please?

 

[JamieO]

Anyone have any idea what this may be and how to treat it?

 

[Colin_T]

Hi JamieO and welcome to the forum

Normally we prefer people to start a new thread for a new fish health issue so it is easier for people to follow. However, since you are here, it looks like an ulcer but I need a picture of the whole fish from the side, not from the front facing along the body.

If it is goldfish ulcer disease you will need to get some medicated food and feed it to the fish 3 times a day for 2 weeks.

Check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH and post the results in numbers here.

Try doing a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week and see if it helps.

Make sure the fish gets plenty of plant matter in its diet.

 

[FishGuest5123]

To original OP, I believe that is just a cyst that will grow and eventually burst. He may have had a small injury that healed over and caused scar tissue to grow. I have one with a cyst like that right now. Just watch it closely for now.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Anyone have any idea what this may be and how to treat it?

You really should start your own post on this or you’ll be highjacking the OP’s post. However, I think you have Koi Pox which is genetic but also contagious. The fish will show signs then go in remission just to show symptoms again later. No treatment for it but fish can live a long life with it. I don’t think it is an ulcer as ulceration usually show red bloody areas and skin deterioration. Keep an eye on it. You should feed a high quality fish food to help fight off the pox and warming water temp a little has proven to slow down progression of the pox. Good luck!

 

[Colin_T]

Koi Pox is a virus not a genetically inherited issue. All viruses can be treated by improving the tank conditions and feeding a nutritious diet with lots of vitamins (preferably dry powdered fish vitamins). This isn't Koi Pox tho, Koi Pox appears as white lumps over the body and fins and this looks soft and marshmallowy (not a word I know but it's the only way I can describe it).

Viruses are in the fish and water and when new fish are introduced or exposed to the virus contaminated water, they contract the virus. When fish eggs hatch the fry are exposed to the virus and contract it. The fish can carry the virus for years and never show any symptoms unless they get sick or stressed, then the virus kicks in and starts causing problems.

In severe cases medications might be needed to treat secondary infections but normally big daily water changes, cleaning the substrate and filter, and feeding a nutritious varied diet will help get the virus to go back into remission.

Any fish known to carry the virus should not be used for breeding purposes and you should not add healthy fish to a pond or aquarium containing fish that have shown symptoms of the virus. Once fish have this virus they have it until they die.