I Am Not Happy

[markandhisfish]

a couple of days ago a white lump developed on the tip of vinnys anal fin. took pics and posted in emergencies where i had a lot of help from wilder. seems its either 1 of 2 possible things. either a bacterial growth or it could be something nasty called lymthhocystis . am treating with the med wilder suggested pulling my hair out and hoping for the best

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Doesn't really look like cauliflower disease to me, but who knows it might be the start of it. If it does turn out to be the start of it, the bad news it that it is a viral disease that's impossible to cure, but fish can live regularly with it a lot of the time.

 

[markandhisfish]

thats why im worried vinny as many people on here know is my baby. ive raised from a tiddler to a chunk. hes always been flawless not a single blemish . plus he is a real character and i would be majorly bummed if i lost him

 

[Colin_T]

The white bit on his/her anal fin doesn't look like a bacterial infection. And it doesn't really look like Lymphocystis but could be the start of it. It does look a bit like excess mucous but is unlikely to be that if the water is good.
If the fish does have Lymphocystis then don't worry too much. Many fish carry the virus and only have the occasional problem whereby the white lumpy bits appear. This usually happens when the fish is stressed out (ie: heater failure in winter, or a new fish is added). Once the stress is gone the white lumpy bits go away on their own.

If it is a bacterial infection then it will spread pretty rapidly (within a few days).the area will usually go red as the infection eats into the muscle and skin. Again tho if the tank is kept clean (and it certainly sounds like you keep it well maintained) then bacterial infections are unlikely to be the cause.

How does the fish look now, several days later?

 

[markandhisfish]

cheers for the input colin. yes i do keep on top of regular tank maintinence and this white growth has cropped up out of the blue almost overnight. not sure if its shrunk or not but certainly hasnt got any worse, no redness etc .

 

[Colin_T]

it's possibly just excess mucous. The fish might have scratched itself on something and has produxed more mucous to cover the damaged area. See how it goes over the next few days and if it gets worse then post another pic for comparison.

 

[markandhisfish]

hope so . am treating with the meds just to be safe.