# Please help identify growth on betta



## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 10 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78-80 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? african dwarf frog, snail, neon tetras, red cherry shrimp

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? flakes, blood worms, sometimes mysis shrimp and beefheart
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? once or twice a month
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25-40%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 40-80
pH: 7.6
Hardness: ~100GH
Alkalinity: 80 KH

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? dark growth
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? none
When did you start noticing the symptoms? one or two months ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)?1.5 years

First, I know I probably need to be doing more water changes because of the higher bioload and slightly high nitrates, I am starting now!

A month or two ago I started noticing a dark spot on the left upper side of my betta's body, under the front of the dorsal fin. At first I thought this might be a natural color change starting, but then the spot also starting bulging out. The area has continued to grow. This is only visible on the left side of his body. The area is a darker color and bulging out, like a growth or tumor inside his body. I couldn't get a picture of this but when lit well from behind, when his entire body is somewhat translucent, the entire area of the dark bulge is black and not transparent, when the rest of his body is. Here are the pictures I could get:




























I have read about lots of different fish diseases and ailments, googled, and searched the forum but have no clue what this could be. His behavior hasn't changed and he is eating well. Nothing else has changed. He did tear a fin recently but it is healing well. The only thing I can imagine is this is some mysterious tumor. I was thinking maybe infection from injury, but he has been going strong for a couple months now. Should I just go ahead and quarantine him or might this be something totally benign and it would only be stressful?

I'm hoping someone more well-versed might recognize this and have recommendations for treatment, but if anyone at all has any guesses I would love to hear them!


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

My only guess is that it could be a tumor. I would message Sakura8 or one of the other moderators so they can help you.


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

The second pic makes me think of body rot or some kind of infection, but the others look like a tumor. As you know, your nitrates are way too high. You should be doing a 25% WC weekly IMO. Hopefully now you will start keeping on top of it, I know how easy it can be to put it off, I've done it myself, but never for a whole month, a few days at most. I'm sure you've, like most of us here, put a lot of time and money into your tank and fish, so you should try to do all you can to keep their water at a safe level. 

I hope it's not a tumor though, as that's uncurable...  

Hopefully someone comes along who can help you more.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Thank you. Yes, I have been bad at putting it off for a little too long each time for the past half year and have finally started feeling unavoidably guilty. I've got a reminder set on my phone now to do changes once a week.

So, it sounds like tumor is the best guess so far, I'll have to look into that more.

Does anyone have any experience with tumors? How long can a betta live with one? Is there anything to slow growth?


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Ok today I've noticed that the 'darkness' is spreading up into his dorsal fin slightly. I can't quite tell but I'm afraid it's deteriorating some of the base of his dorsal fin.

I was able to get a nice x-ray picture. 










Any other ideas?

Has anyone heard of fin rot starting INSIDE the body and moving outward? Fin rot would make some sense with my lack of responsible water changes, but I've never heard of it presenting itself like this.

I think I'm going to go ahead and quarantine him with some clean water, warmer temps, and a little salt.

I feel like using any medication at this point would be unnecessarily hard on him since I have no clue what this is. Is there any way to know if something is definitely bacterial, viral, etc?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hi eat6298 and welcome to the forum. Hmm. It's really interesting because pretty much all of the other growths or lumps I've seen end up being translucent under light while the body is solid. My guess then is that this may be some kind of blockage, not a tumor. That's a really, really great pic, by the way. It perfectly illustrates the blockage/lump.

Here's a pic of betta anatomy that I found:









Based on this pic and the pic above, it looks entirely possible that this is a blockage in either the intestine or a possible kidney issue. Have you noticed your betta pooing at all? He could be pretty constipated. If you quarantine him, keep the tank barebottom so you can see if he's pooing or not. I'd suggest keeping him in just clean water for the first week or until you can tell if he's going. If it's starting to look like he's not, then add 1 tsp of epsom salts per gallon to the tank. Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) are a laxative that may help him. Feeding him foods rich in fiber such as frozen daphnia and brine shrimp may help too. I think daphnia is higher in fiber but brine shrimp is a lot easier to feed. You can also feed freeze-dried if that's easier.

The only time I can see the discoloration going into his dorsal is in the x-ray pic. Does it still look like that under normal light?


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Thank you Sakura!

No, the darker color doesn't go into his dorsal fin, I think I'll retract my statement about worrying it was deteriorating his fin. He has crazy amounts of finnage, probably to a fault, and it's always hard to see what's going on, if he has a tear, etc. I got him to flare for me and the dorsal seems ok. The mass does definitely have 'arms' that extend at the top on both sides, where his body meets the dorsal fin, which you can see in the last 'x-ray' photo.

I'm going to go ahead and quarantine him now and just keep the water clean and keep a close eye on things. I will give a poop update when I can!


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Okay, sounds like a plan. He's a handsome guy. Good luck and keep us updated.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Found a poo this morning. This is pretty normal right? He does seem to be enjoying his quarantine tank at least... he built a bubble nest which he hasn't done in a couple months.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

I also took a couple more pictures today... might not help much but just trying to be thorough. 

The first is a view from the top so one can see exactly how much the mound protrudes. The second pic shows this area on the other side of the betta, where there's not any protrusion or color difference yet, but there is a dark line where the scales are starting to lift up somewhat.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Poo is good and also a sign that he's not constipated.  The downside is things are starting to look more like a kidney infection. For this, I'd suggest treating with Seachem Kanaplex, a broad spectrum antibiotic that absorbs well to treat internal infections. Unfortunately, this med is hard to locate in stores and usually has to be ordered online. amazon.com or Pet Supplies | Dog & Cat Supplies, Pet Meds | DrsFosterSmith.com Pet Products both carry it. 

If ordering online is not an option, another possibility is treating with API General Cure which can be found at Petsmart. This is an antiparisitic but the medication in it, metronidazole, can be effective in treating some anaerobic internal bacterial infections, especially when given via food. To make medicated food, just soak some of his food in medicated water. That's the easiest way to do it.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Kanaplex is out of stock at Drs Foster and Smith until 10/14 and way overpriced on amazon. I already have some API General Cure so I guess I will start with that. 

I've read that it's usually good to both soak the food and treat the water so I will try that. 

First I'll take out the filter cartridge because it has carbon in it. He's in a 5 gallon container now, so I'll mix up a half dose with some water, soak the food, make sure he eats, then pour the rest in. Let me know if any of this isn't correct or I missed a step!


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Nope, that sounds right! Although, if you have any live plants, snails, or shrimp, you may want to remove them.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

I'm treating him in a separate tank so no worries there. 

I did the second and final dose of General Cure tonight. Haven't noticed any changes. If this is a bacterial infection and the metronidazole can treat it, any idea how long it would take to notice a difference? There's obviously SOMETHING in there, so I'm curious if this will all clear up somehow and how long that might take. Since his behavior and eating habits haven't changed I am a little discouraged by the fact that it might be really difficult to determine if a certain treatment has worked or not.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

It could take a week or more and the metro may not have any effect if the bacteria isn't anaerobic. You can continue with the General Cure for up to two weeks. Sometimes it takes more treatments than they say on the packaging.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

good to know, thank you!


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

There have been some weird developments here and I wanted to share with everyone and possibly get some advice.

Be warned, these pictures are a bit nasty.

Since I last posted, I treated for another couple days with the general cure, but didn't notice any changes. He seemed to be a little bored, so feeling discouraged about actually medicating him without really having any clue as to what is going on, I moved him back to the main tank. 

He has continued to act completely normal for the past two months in the main tank, but the lump has been very slowly growing. Finally, 3 - 5 days ago, it opened up. When I saw this (I was out of town for two days and my brother was feeding him, but not very observant so I'm not exactly sure how long) I set up the quarantine tank and put him in there. I added aquarium salt as I've read that it helps with wounds and healing.

When I was moving him, I very gently touched the area to try to figure out what the mass contained. It was complete mush, and a very small chunk and some scales came off. It seems this is just completely necrotic tissue, it has a gray color. 

Here's two pictures of when I first found the opening and moved him: 



















In the photo lit from behind, you can see that there is a normal transparent spot where the dark mass has opened up. 

So, he's been living for days like this now. His color is not good, but he's still very interested in food.

More scales and tissue has been falling off, and this is what it looks like now:










This picture makes the tissue look slightly pink, but it is definitely not, it is a white/gray color.










I feel like many people would tell me to euthanize him, as he's definitely struggling, but the fact that he's been alive this long, and that there's not any bleeding, or organs pushing out, makes me feel like maybe this is something he could recover from once all the dead/infected material comes off (BUT I have no experience with this kind of thing). 

So like I said, I'm keeping his water super clean, and treating with aquarium salt. My next move was going to be to get an anti-bacterial to treat him with, which should help the wound heal. Also, from my very limited knowledge, maybe this is more sign of a bacterial infection? If this is a good idea, which anti-bacterial should I use?

Thank you for your help.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

I just remembered the Kanaplex, I guess I should try that out?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hi eat. Wow. I'm honestly not sure what to say as I have no clue at all what that lump could have been. Possibly a fatty tumor or growth? A lymphocystis lump UNDER the skin? Possibly repercussions from mycobacteria granulomas on the spine? Absolutely no idea. :shock: But the good news is that it does seem to be all dead tissue and the fact that it burst means his body is trying to get rid of it and heal. My biggest concern now is infection; with an open wound like that, it's almost inevitable no matter how clean the water is. I would go ahead with Kanaplex and also add API Stress Coat and/or Kordon Fish Protector to the water along with 1 tsp of AQ salt per gallon. 

The most encouraging sign to me is that he still wants to eat. If you feel comfortable with giving him a chance to fight, then treat him. Because he's eating, he obviously has some life in him. 

However, because of the possibility of mycobacteria, be extremely careful to not cross-contaminate with any other fish you have. Get him his own equipment if you can and always wash your hands before doing anything with your other fish.

You're doing a great job with him, you two are both fighters so keep it up.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Wow. Totally forgot something I saw when I was first transferring the betta and researched it today. I think he has camallanus worms. I only saw one, and really wasn't even sure it was a worm, but now that i looked into I think that's definitely what it was. I have never seen any signs of callamanus before, and don't see anything like it on any of my neon's in the community tank.

It was only one long worm protruding from the betta's anus, not the "paintbrush" thing some people see. I just kind of hoped it was poop and was distracted by the gaping hole forming in his side. When I put him in the quarantine tank I immediately treated with some General Cure and Aquarium Salt in the hopes that would ward off some bacteria from the wound. Would it be possible this dose could have killed the worm? I haven't seen any sign of it since then, just remembered to google it today.

I read that these worms can be devastating to a tank and the the fish. When a worm is attached to the intestines it can cause injuries and bacteria buildup. Could this be what the tumor is? Just a buildup of infested tissue? That didn't actually affect his system enough to kill him already? I have no idea how that works, but it seems a viable answer. Also, the tumor has been growing for around 4 months though, could the worms have been in there for that long without me seeing anything on him or any other fish? I haven't added any new fish for around a year, but I did get two new snails over the summer, could they have carried larve? Or could it be a different type of worm than callamanus since it isn't really spreading around, I haven't seen any signs of all the babies sticking out of any of the fish, and the betta definitely hasn't had any other symptoms like not being able to poop, looking skinny and malnourished, etc? The one worm did look nearly identical to the ones on the finger in the first picture here: Camallanus Treatment - Use of Levamisole HCl

Ugh I'm so frustrated that I haven't seen any signs of this worm until now. Sakura, I read a thread where you had an infestation of them. How did that turn out? What medication ended up working?

Maybe I should start a new thread on the worms. It seems like it will definitely be a miracle if the little guy pulls through, his color is worse today, and his breathing seems difficult, more scales/dead tissue is falling off, BUT he stills wants food. Oh! I also haven't seen any poops since he has been in the new tank, which I'm guessing could be the worm but also could just be him struggling in general. 

Any advice with this new info? Because he's hanging on by a thread, I'm guessing I should just keep focusing on the possibility of healing the open sore (has anyone actually seen this happen? this big of a booboo healing back up completely?), treating for bacteria, and then if he pulls through, dealing with the possible worm situation, which I'm sure will be a nightmare if it is all over the community tank since I have african dwarf frogs, snails, and shrimp. When/if the time comes,I may have access to some good deworming medications through the wildlife rehab place I volunteer for, we'll see.

I felt like there wasn't really enough time to order Kanaplex, so I just got some erythromycin from the pet store. I read on the erythromycin and tetracyclin boxes about open red sores, which can also have gray/dark spot type symptoms from narcotic tissue. I wasn't able to find any more information about this kind of symptom online related to open red sores though. Should I have gotten maracyn, maracyn 2, or tetracycline instead? Should I use multiple at once? I guess I can at least order some Kanaplex now and hope he lasts long enough to use the more effective medicine.

Right now he's got the erythomycin, stess coat, and aquarium salt in his water.

Should I fast him for the constipation or try some pea? Seeing him eat is the only reassuring thing I got, and he still seems super happy to get fed, so I'd rather not fast him. Is pea pretty gentle on their system? Certainly not any worse than being constipated is I guess?

Aw my poor baby. This is so crazy, and actually really interesting from a scientific/educational aspect, but definitely just sad at the moment.

And here's a pic update for anyone who's interested:


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Spent 30 minutes staring at my neon's, saw another worm. It kinda explains everything. 

It probably came in through a new plant or snail that I got over the summer. Apparently they can be nearly impossible to notice for a couple months. This callamanus stuff sounds awful.


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## Weaver (Sep 8, 2013)

Gods, I hope it isn't Callamanus... Poor neons and I hope your Betta is doing better.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

I have read that! And a lot more... not looking good. Check out the thread I started on my possible solution if you have any insight: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/tropical-fish-diseases/agh-camallanus-worms-will-they-die-315314/


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Eat . . . was the worm red? As far as I know, the most commonly encountered type of camallanus worm is red; some types I believe may be white though. If it was white, it may not have been a camallanus worm but another type of nematode. Treatment would most likely be the same though.

I ended up using levamisole which you can get on aquabid from MVP for a reasonable price and quick shipping. I found the fenbendazole (aka, dog wormer Panacur) did not dissolve well. I will note that I lost all but one affected betta, mostly because they had stopped eating. 

The real key to beating any kind of worm infestation, camallanus or not, is to make sure the fish is eating. If they don't eat, they don't poo and if they don't poo, the worms don't come out. 

If he's had worms though, that explains why he looks emaciated as well and it could also easily explain both the dark mass that we see when he's backlit and the burst ulcer. 

Soooo . . . I think the first step is to get some levamisole on aquabid. You'll want to treat all of your tanks with it; you may have a small crash in any cycled tanks though. 

Remove snails, shrimp, and plants from the tanks and isolate as none of those will survive treatment. 

Once treatment is finished with the levamisole, go ahead and start treatment with either Kanaplex if you have it or API Furan-2 if you don't have Kanaplex. This will take care of any bacterial infection in the open wound. Go ahead and stop with the erythro though since it won't be effective; erythromycin is a gram positive antibiotic meaning it only treats gram positive bacteria. The vast majority of bacteria encountered in our aquariums is gram negative so you need either a gram negative antibiotic or a broad spectrum one.

Above all, encourage the affected fish to eat.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Thanks Sakura! 

The worm was reddish brown. Almost 100% sure it's camallanus.

As far as just the betta goes, it sounds like you think I need to treat with levamisole before worrying about an antibiotic? My elementary thinking was that I needed to heal the wound first as the betta has lived with the worms for months now, so it shouldn't be a problem for another couple days, but with a new huge open ulcer, bacteria or something will kill him in no time. Any chance both medications be effective used at once?

Thanks for the info on which antibiotics to use, exactly what I needed. Should've done more research before going to the store but I just wanted to get something asap. I should be able to find Kanaplex or API Furan-2 when I'm in the big city tomorrow.

Regardless, buying some levamisole now.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Because of my own history with those dumb worms, I'm inclined to nuke them as soon as possible because I'm really afraid that if they are in there much longer, his stomach lining will take too much damage to recover. However, since it will take a few days for the levamisole to come, it makes more sense (now that I think about it, haha) to treat with the Kanaplex or Furan-2 first while waiting for the levamisole.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Just another update. I started with the Kanaplex today. Levamisole should be here tomorrow or Thursday. He's still very happy to eat, and he pooped! Energy and color are still very bad. The gray parts of the wound are falling off and there's pink tissue showing, but a deep crevice has also developed in the wound... not sure what any of this actually means, hah. Anyway, here's some new pictures. I'm still very curious, regardless of the camallanus worms, how common it is for a fish to heal from this large of an open wound.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hmm. In my own personal experiences, the only two fish I've encountered with wounds that large died. BUT - and this is a big BUT - they were at pet stores where they weren't receiving good care and they were being harassed by other fish. Their immune systems were stressed beyond breaking and that is most likely what caused them to succumb to their wounds. Because your guy is eating and because the wound appears to be healing cleanly, I think he has an excellent chance of recovering from the wound. As you note, the camallanus worms are another matter entirely. You're doing a fantastic job with him.


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## eat6298 (Sep 10, 2012)

Another update, things are looking worse. He's had trouble swimming and I've found him on the bottom of the tank a few times and had to ease him back up on top of the fake plants near the water surface. He's more reluctant to eat as well, though still has eaten every time I've tried with some encouragement. The wound actually looks better, the fuzzy stuff is all falling off. I'm starting to see signs of dropsy, his scales are starting to pinecone around his head and belly. His spine seems to stay curved, and his fins also look pretty bad. I really didn't think he would make it through the night last night but he's still hanging on. Today was the 3rd treatment of Kanaplex, which is the maximum on the instructions. I just got the levamisole HCL in the mail today and am thinking I'll start that tomorrow or the next day, as you're supposed to do a massive water change first, and I want some time to let this last dose of Kanaplex work. I'm worried about bacteria developing without the kanaplex and with only being able to do water changes every 3 days because of the levamisole. Should I add a different antibiotic? Anyone know about any interactions or hindrances using aquarium salt, stress coat, levamisole, and an antibiotic together? Also worried about medicating too much, hah. Feeling kind of guilty for keeping him alive and struggling like this, but I really want to see how it plays out, especially after putting this much effort into it thus far. Any other advice?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

You CAN use the Kanaplex far more than it states in the instructions but I don't believe it can be used at the same time as levamisole. 

The wound is indeed looking much better but I see the pineconing you're talking about and I'm becoming increasingly worried about internal damage from the worms. 

What I would suggest (and I know I'm a little late in replying) is if you haven't taken any action yet, go ahead and start the levamisole and treat him with that. It is a bit light sensitive so try to keep his tank covered. Once that is finished, start him back on the Kanaplex immediately. Again, keep trying to encourage him to eat.

You're doing a really fantastic job with him.


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