Hi all, someone came in to PetSmart the other day asking about a tumor her betta has developed. She told me it was right behind the gills and I asked about the feeding habits, thinking it might just be overweight. She told me she feeds her betta once a day and only a few betta bits or bloodworms. He is acting normally, swimming around and such, but she was curious how to get rid of it. I asked about the scales to see if they were pointed out like dropsy and she said no. I told her to try some bettafix or melafix in a half dose, because she had some at home. Anything else she could try or what causes a tumor like growth in a betta?

Thanks!

There are tumours from a virus called lymphocystis (I hope I spelled that right). They are lumpy, cauliflower like growths, although they can be smoother and more scaly. It is a virus that is not very contagious to other fish (not to humans, either). It doesn't kill the fish, but causes these lumps. I don't think there is a cure for it, but under good conditions, it sometimes disappears.

There are also cancerous tumours that fish can develop. I don't really know what these look like.

Quick Cure claims to cure lymphocystis, however, anything I have read on the internet says that there is no cure.

Can goldfish get this two? My black moor has had a cauliflower like growth on on top of his gill for a while and I had no idea what it was! And the scales arent poped out so i had no idea what it was. But since you said it looks like cauliflower i realized thats gotta be it! Wow thats a relief.

Yes, goldfish can get this, too.

Here is a picture of a fish with Lymphocystis....The lump itself can also be a plain white, with no redness.....
http://www.ageofaquarium.com/diseases.asp?...me=Lymphocystis

thanks guys!

One of my older female bettas developped several tumours over a long period of time, they were raised, and the scales were distorted looking, and parts of the lumps were actually shiny. Sometimes the scales actually fell off, exposing pink flesh. She lived with these for about 7-8 months, with no other problems. You can't cure tumours, just have to let them do their thing and hope for the best.