Loaches Online Forum

Folks,
I far prefer the natural colours, but a month ago i saw a platinum-white juvenile at a local breeder's outlet. For less then a buck i figured we'd break the rule. Turns out it's nearly scale-less, but for gils/operculae and along the chest to the top of the anal fin, so white rather then "blushing". Fantastic.

Fish is doing well, actually pushing around the much much bigger mature girls a little bit. Interested to see if we've actually found a male this time...

Problem: This little fish seems to have developed some sort of growth between the eye and mouth on one side. It's sort of an amorphous blob, not too big and not in the way of feeding or seeing. Fish is otherwise very well.

Suggestions? Doesn't look like fungus, but does look a little like that lip-herpes situation, except that it's not on the lips and my girls don't have it.
It might even be an infection (it's sort of yellow-ish) inside the nasal cavity, visible through the pale skin/head.

Google Lymphocystis pictures and see if this might be what is going on.
No treatment, but it usually does not kill the fish. So close to the eye and mouth though would worry me.

D,
Oi, that doesn't look right, but also doesn't look wrong (enough). Symptoms seem right as well, but that it seems to be inside the nasal cavity.

If so, it seems like it'll be chronic in the tank (?). Wonder if it's there already or if i've introduced it, maybe in this fish. I've not had an angel with lip-herpes (probably the same thing) for a couple of years and have been careful to avoid. Nothing else in the tank this one came from was at all sick.

Any reason to quarantine? Seems like it's too late.
Seems that euthanasia is also unnecessary.

May be present in my tank still and was able to attack this highly inbred little guy, regardless of his/its boundless vigor.

Feedback? I'd hate to put 'im through the stress of QT if it's unnecessary.

A

If it is Lymphocystis I would simply not move other fish in or out of this tank, and let the Angel live out its natural life.
I have seen this on a couple of my other fish, but it never spread to others in the tanks.

Like a wart, it starts so small you might not have seen it on any of the fish in the store, but it did come in with this Angel.

If this is some other growth, then...

Cancerous growths or tumors are not contagious, and again, I would simply allow the fish to live out its life.

Either way, if this growth starts to interfere with the fish's eating or vision I would consider euthanasia.

Keep up the research, though. When you do figure out what it is let us know.