# Bulge/Lump/Tumor Underneath Male Beta?



## CooperS (Dec 7, 2011)

Hello, 

Something strange has happened to my male betta fish, Marlin. If you can excuse the quality, I have posted a picture below. It may be hard to see, but there is a strange tumor-looking thing underneath him. I did not (no doubt) notice this earlier today, so it must have appeared within the past few hours. 

I saw another post saying that it could be a disease caused by feeding him too much, but I only feed him ~2 worms a day.

I do not know the exact size of my tank, but it is not too small, not too large (sorry, I may sound stupid). The water is at room temperature, and I do not use a filter or heater. The water is changed a few times a month. 

Does anyone have any general idea at what could be going on?

I love my fish, please help!!! 

Thank you,
Cooper


----------



## EvilVOG (Nov 23, 2011)

is it red? it could be Lymphocitis, Here's a quote given to me when we were trying to diagnose something on one of mine:



> From previous posts from OFL, she says that it really isn't treatable in a sense of a fungus or bacteria. It's more of a virus and just needs to run it's course.
> 
> Keep a close eye on it as it will most likely burst and then be open to infection and keep the water clean. If/when it does burst if it is lymphocytis, then make sure you clean the entire qt tank thoroughly as it might reinfect your betta.
> 
> I think you're safe to run a 5 day course of aquarium salt before just switching to clean water.


I was doing a AQ. salt regimen, but my fish didn't actually have Lymphocitis. So salt probably isn't what you need.


----------



## CooperS (Dec 7, 2011)

Also, it does not appear to be inside of the skin, rather a growth outside of it, like a sack.


----------



## CooperS (Dec 7, 2011)

Thanks for your reply! It's a black sack.


----------



## EvilVOG (Nov 23, 2011)

couple other tips/ advice:

bettas need warm water... 76-82 or so. That is significantly warmer than room temperature water.

bloodworms are not a proper food for a betta. Only to be fed as a treat, once a week, betta pellets should be fed as the staple food, 2-3 pellets a feeding, twice a day, and most recommend a day of fasting every week.

Here's a site to figure out aquarium sizes if you have a ruler handy:
http://alysta.com/books/fishtank.htm

A clearer pic might help us.

best of luck


----------



## CooperS (Dec 7, 2011)

Thanks a lot. Sorry about the pic, all I have is my phone to take pictures with and the lighting is poor right now.


----------



## EvilVOG (Nov 23, 2011)

yeah i take most of mine with the camera. sometimes i have to make the flash come on to get a pic. The virus i referenced is usually a red lump... so i'm not 100% that's what yours has. but clean, conditioned water is always a good start.

And a hospital or quarintine tank if there are other fish in his tank.


----------



## earthworm88 (Jul 8, 2011)

Honestly, it looks like he is trying to have some bowel movement...and that may be a "cinnamon bun" in the making :-D 

Cooper, I am not here to lecture, so I hope you do not take it the wrong way. Your post does not sound stupid, but it does sound irresponsible. 

You need to know:
1) How big your tank is (measure it with something like a milk jug with known volume)
2) what the water temperature is (just get an L cheapo thermometer)
3) Food variety (blood worms are great treat, but should also consider pellets which also pack the nutrients your betta needs)
4) water changing schedule (you need to how big your tank is so you know what is the ideal water change for your betta)- chemistry that is off balance usually will slowly poison your betta for months and you wouldn't even know it. That's why a lot of posters always say their betta was doing fine for however long and all of a sudden something bad happened. 

All of these you need to know in the event that your betta really have an emergency, you will be doing your betta a disservice by being a irresponsible care taker. 

Cheers!


----------



## CooperS (Dec 7, 2011)

I am not an "irresponsible care taker" just because I do not know the size of the fish tank, I take very good care of my betta. I will look up the size and find out the temperature though, should there be another problem. But for an approximation, room temperature is in the low 70's F. 

And, I never said that I was feeding it blood worms daily, I don't even have any. They aren't blood worms, they are worms that are meant for daily feeding. 

And yes, I figured out that it was a digestive problem.

Thanks.


----------



## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

it's not a problem. it's a poop. bettas are ninja-poopers, you rarely see them do it. if it's that big, you might be feeding him too much. i usually see them that size after fasting them for a day or so. x: it's nothing to worry about at all!

what kinda worms are you feeding him? are they live, frozen, or freeze-dried?


----------



## CooperS (Dec 7, 2011)

Yeah, they are freeze dried. They are meant for daily feeding. I only feed him about two a day though. Should I be feeding less? And is it best to fast them one day a week?

I was thinking that it was a digestive problem last night, because the "tumor" was gradually growing off the betta (lol), and I checked this morning to find it gone.

You will have to excuse my "noob-ishness" about betta anatomy, I am fairly new to them.


----------



## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

Freeze dried isn't that great of a staple. Many here just feed them as weekly snacks. they really don't have anything nutritious in them(i've heard it all vanishes during the freeze-drying), so they're kinda like potato chips for fish. Pellets are better for daily feeding, and flakes are okay, too.

oh, it's fine! alot of betta owners are shocked the first time they see a betta poo! they're not like goldfish, who poo all the time. lol


----------



## CooperS (Dec 7, 2011)

Thanks for your help


----------



## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

no problem! glad i could help, even a little bit!


----------



## earthworm88 (Jul 8, 2011)

CooperS said:


> I saw another post saying that it could be a disease caused by feeding him too much, but I only feed him ~2 worms a day.


Did you not say it here that you feed the fish 2 worms a day?! Please kindly reread your post. 

I apologize if my post was not coddling enough. Also, it is really mature of you to call me names. I will try to remember not to post in any of your future threads. Thank you!

Peace out!


----------



## CooperS (Dec 7, 2011)

There are more types of worms than live blood worms. And I don't recall calling you any names, would you like to quote where I did?


----------



## CooperS (Dec 7, 2011)

This thread is closed, no need for more posts. Thanks everyone. 

I am sorry if I offended you Earthworm88, I'm not here to cause trouble.


----------

