Red Wagtail Platy Fish Health Condition (Dropsy?/Tumour?). Need Help!.

[BIG_AL]

Hi there,

Im new to this forum and this is my first post here (although I have owned tropical fish since early 2013).

I currently have a health issue with one particular fish and thought that I would try posting here to see if anybody can offer any potential solutions/possible sensible courses of action worth giving a try.

My issue is that I have got one particular red wagtail platy fish (my largest fish) which has got what appears to be a nasty looking growth on it (I suspect that it could be dropsy or a possible tumour?). I have included some pictures which now that I look at them I have to say I think the condition looks particularly nasty/horrible (also included a picture of the food I am currently using).

There are a couple of points I think are worth mentioning.

Firstly some small snail like creatures accidentally made there way into my fish tank well over a year ago now (seemingly via/when a new plec fish and also some neon tetra's were added) and shortly afterwards a number of my red wagtail fish died (which was very unusual). Their entering my fish tank seemed to have a notably negative impact on the red wagtail fishes health. I later also discovered that my tank heater hadn't been working at all meaning that the water had been cold (for what period of time I am unsure?). Now that I have replaced the heater it would seem to have made those snail like creatures vanish (although im not sure if they may be still present in the plant life??!).

Secondly (and im ashamed to say due to my own lack of care and attention) my fish tank was getting a bit mucky at times and I wasn't on top of my cleaning duties. This however didn't seem to be having a big effect on the fishes wellbeing. However eventually I did spot the large red wagtail at an early stage of the state described (shown) with the tumour or condition. I guess in all likelihood it may have been this issue which was the cause and I have been trying much harder to keep my tank clean ever since, but the growth has seemingly become larger if anything rather than healing in any way.

I am hoping someone might know what action might be best for me to take to help the platy fishes condition?.

Currently I am considering separating the affected fish and putting it into a separate smaller tank I have and then providing it with nutrients/food (so as to help treat it and prevent any other fish becoming affected). I have a separate tank heater but am unsure as to whether it will be necessary to use this seeing as platies survive quite well at room temperature (and the weather is additionally quite humid currently). I don't currently have an air circulating pump with me to use with the smaller fish tank (although I can probably sort a small ok one out within a week or so).

PS, I do additionally have another red wagtail platy fish with a slight deformity which is that its tail isn't straight and instead is curved upwards. This however isn't as much of an issue and although it does affect its swimming abilities it doesn't actually appear to be causing it any distress (and its been getting by just fine).​

 

[Essjay]

That looks horrible

Colin_T might be able to say for certain, but it looks like either a tumour or the virus lymphocystis.
If it is a tumour, there is nothing you can do. Lymphocystis, being a virus, is incurable and also infectious. Isolating the infected fish is recommended, the disease is usually self limiting.
More information here https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa181

 

[BIG_AL]

I totally agree . Thanks a lot for the link/info!.

Guess had better isolate the chap separately (although am not really certain I can make that a long term solution??).

 

[Colin_T]

It's not lymphocystis or dropsy.

How long has the fish been like that?
How long did it take to go all gross and get to that size?

If it happened within a few days it's a bacterial infection.
If it happened over a few months it's a tumour.

You can't do anything about tumours and you normally euthanise the fish.

If it's bacterial you will need some anti-biotics to treat that and it might help but it might be too late, depending on how long the infection has been there for.

 

[BIG_AL]

Hi Colin. I first noticed it was in this condition about a month ago now (around or about?). It definitely didn't look particularly nice when I first noticed it (probably half the size), but it does certainly appear to have grown over the subsequent weeks quite a bit. Do you think I should be trying antibiotics? (my info probably didn't provide enough details to be conclusive).

 

[Colin_T]

If the fish has been like that for a month then it's a tumour. When the fish can no longer swim properly, or stops eating, then euthanise it.

 

[BIG_AL]

How can I go about doing so?

 

[Colin_T]

To euthanise a fish, you can whack it on the head with something hard. Byron recommends wrapping them in a paper towel when doing this because it reduces splatter.

You can put them in a small container of tank water that is gently aerated. Then add some clove oil that has been mixed with alcohol. You add 1 drop of the alcohol/ clove oil mixture every 30 seconds and wait until the fish sinks to the bottom and stops moving, then freeze it. Once it's frozen solid, bury it in the garden.

 

[BIG_AL]

Yipes!. If that's the only way. Thanks.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I use the Clove oil. One drop and they start to drift off. By 3 or 4 drops they are out. Leave them in the mixture forever another 20 minutes longer to be sure there is no gill movement. You can then bury them. You can add a little vodka too. Clove oil can be ordered on line or purchased where they sale aromatherapy items. It is an essential oil. Good luck!