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As some of you (probably none) may remember, in November of last year I posted about a sick cory, which had what I thought to be fungus. I took some terrible pictures, and offered a limited description of the affliction. [link=Here]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/The%20Hospital/50745.html?200411282121" style="COLOR: #808080[/link] is the original thread.

Well, that same cory still has the lump at the base of its tail. It has not spread anywhere- not to another part of the cory, nor to other fish. The poor catfish is getting along quite well, and is acting as a normal cory should. The only difference is the lump, and that the location of the lump seems to hamper the fish's swimming. This "thing" has not grown or receded in size, even with my new schedule of twice-weekly water changes. Melafix and Pimafix (though they were only used for a couple of days) have done nothing to it.

It has been suggested that this affliction could be a worm. Now that I look at the details of this case, that seems very possible. It isn't bacterial, it probably isn't a fungus, and I doubt that it is a small parasite. Is this thing truly a worm? Hopefully, the below pictures (still not of good quality, but much better than the other shots) will help in identification.

If this thing is really a worm, what is the best way to get rid of it? Since water changes don't seem to have much effect, I'm thinking that a medicine would be my best choice. What is the best medicine to get rid of these things?

I really appreciate all of your help, I want to finally free this cory of its impediment!



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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Wow! Yeah, that's a big one. Is it more grey in color or is it kind of pinky grey?

Did it start kind of small then grow gradually to the size it is, then kind of stop?

One thing that comes to mind is lymphocystis, aka cauliflower disease. It's a viral affliction. Provided it doesn't cause locomotor problems or doesn't get grossly out of control (some can get huge), they can live out normally. There is some testing that has been done using a long term acriflavine treatment. But, since he is a cory, there's no telling how he will respond. Here's more info:

lympho pictures

And here is more on the latest treatment. Read the entire thing carefully. Cories are generally tolerant of acriflavine if it is not too strong. Acriflavine will kill plants. The problem is with quarantining a schooling fish. Will it stress him to quarantine him so you can go for a good while with the acriflavine treatment to see if it responds?

http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/articles_details.php?article_id=96&category=17&name=Diseases

There are different ways to get acriflavine, with Kordon being one maker. Buy it from an online source if you can't get it locally.

Another would be some kind of mass, be it a cancer or whatever. I have a white cloud with something almost identical. He's been living with it for two years. It started at the site of an injury when "jaw" the dominant male, decided to keep ramming him right behind the top of his head. I saw it bloody once or twice, then this mass started to grow. It's much too dark to be lymphocystis. And, when it grows, it grows like the wen on my goldfish. First a small spot turns white, then a few days later, it's taller in that spot. That is what makes me feel it could be a type of cancer which is nothing more than a bunch of cells that don't know to stop growing.



Last edited by Cory_Di at 31-Mar-2005 18:04

It looks gray to me, and there are some tiny black spots present if you look hard enough.
This "thing" appeared one or two days after purchase of the fish, and wasn't much smaller than it presently is. It has always looked the same except maybe growing a *little* way back, and has never turned bloody or white.

The site on cauliflower disease says that the fish becomes lethargic upon infection, and that the disease does not attack catfish. Cauliflower disease can probably be ruled out, then.
I don't know if it is a cancer either, because it appeared suddenly, and also stopped growing. I still feel that it could be a worm/mass of worms, and the black dots are eyes or something creepy like that.

Thanks for your help thus far.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

- Remember, fish can get benign tumors and masses too. I believe your catfish has what my white cloud has because they look pretty much the same. It followed an injury in my case and I think the cells just didn't know where to stop repairing.

Mine has stopped for the most part, but every now and then it appears to grow a little more.

Wish I could be more help. I would not attempt to remove it as it looks like structural damage could happen in the tail area. Plus, you never know what you are unleashing into the bloodstream.

Hey - Maybe it's a wart . Seriously. I wonder if fish get them in their own way.

I will say that he looks more skinny to me than the others. His body does not look as robust. I would drop food right in front of him to make it easier.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 01-Apr-2005 00:13

Okay, thanks for the help. I guess that the cory will just be stuck with this thing for the rest of its life then. That sucks. You don't think that it will shorten the fish's lifespan, do you? From observing the fish and the lump, I doubt it. Still, you never know...

The cory is a little skinnier than the other C. septentrionalis in the pictures, but that is because the other one is my largest, a plump female. I can't sex this afflicted cory yet, it is between the two females and two males in size. I'm *thinking* that this could be a male, and is just older than the other two males. This would explain why the fish is longer than the other males, but not fatter.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Just can't predict how long one or another may live. I thought for sure, my afflicted male would be the first of the white clouds to go, but it ended up being a female who just deteriorated without any other signs (found a fatty liver when I opened her).

I have had handicapped fish, including an oranda with a pretty severe mouth deformaty. I could have returned her and the shop owner offered to take her back. But, once she was in my tank, I told her she would be welcome there for as long as she is destined to live. She didn't make it one year. The boys at probably 5x as much as she did and she struggled so much. She didn't starve to death, but just was sickly and weaker.