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i am not sure what it is but my rummynose first got it
i had them in a separate tank for a week before moving them into my main tank
2 days after which they were covered in small yelloish dots
it had spread to my neons n cardinals as well
ive been treating with out activated carbon n using Quick Cure (a.i. formalin n malachite green) added a lil ick gaurd at first (a.i. victoria green, nitromersol, acriflaine) and em tablets (a.i. erythromycin)
i resently added primafix as well n doing 25% water changes per day as i slowly increase the water temps
i believe the growths to b aeromonas or furunculosis i think
has anyone had this before n if so how can i cure it as all of my fish seem to have at least 1 growth

in the tank alot of java ferns
roughly 50 neons mostlt fry
20 cardinals
10 rummies
2 guppies seem uninfected
2 bolivian rams seem uninfected
1 peacock eel who also seems unifected
ammonia is 0
nitrites r 0
nitrates less then 5

ive lost 2 rummies n 1 cardinal so far
n to loose the entire tank wood b very costly
temp is 76 degrees currently

any help wood b greatly appriacated thanks

Yellow dots? How big? Does it look like gold dust? If so, it is velvet (oodinium).

Does it look like a boil/pimple?

Are there sores associated with it, like bloody?

Describe if it is bloody in the middle and white outlined, or is it white in the center and red outlined.

If you can get a picture that would be best. Especially, if another fish expires and shows symptoms, take a pic of the fish in a shallow pan of water to contrast. Place it on the affected side.

I would caution you against making a medical soup. YOu've got a lot going in there and ich meds, in particular, should never be mixed. There are lethal combinations. Your plants are likely to suffer as well. Only time will tell.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 20-Mar-2005 15:36

there jsut tiny yellow dots
2 more of my cardinals died today n i think i lsot my neon eggs
it seems to b clearling up a bit but it is mostly the rummies that r infected

Look at these pics of velvet and see if that looks like it.

[link=http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html#Velvet]http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html#Velvet" style="COLOR: #C000C0[/link]

If you can't take a picture, breeze through those on the website above to see if you can find something that closely resembles it. I'm baffled without a pic.

cant take pictures
it looks almost like Lymphocystis
Cauliflower Disease
but smaller n distributed like velvet
the growths r larger then velvet n are throughout the body
it only attacked my rummynose n cardinals n 1 neons that was pragnant
all other fish in the tank r healthy n seem fine

other neons
bolivian rams
german blue rams
peacock eel
guppies
were all uninfected
butthanks for ur help

Wow, that is strange, but without pics it's impossible to say for sure. I'm just wondering if it isn't a bacterial infection of some type. Are there any left in the tank that have the condition?

Lymphocystis is not aggresive; it is rather slow.

Two questions.

One. Does your collection of growths attach themselves principally to the fins of the fishes, and the parts of the body immediately adjacent to the fins?

Two. Have you any freshwater clams in the aquarium?

Only what you describe sounds to me as though it could (though this is not a definitive diagnosis by any means without pictures) be an infestation of Glochidia.

Glochidia are secondarily parastiic larval stages of freshwater clams. A heavy infestation can overwhelm small fishes and prove lethal.

If it is a Glochidia infestation, then a copper-based medication should kill them off swiftly.

Here is a highly magnified picture of typical Glochidia.

This is a picture (magnified again) of Glochidia attached to gill branches. When Glochidia attach themselves to the gills, they can become quickly fatal in small fishes such as Neons and Cardinals.

This is a drawing of a Glochidium. It illustrates the barbed hooks that it uses to attach itself to a fish. The hooks can leave unsightly damage in fins whe the Glochidium unhooks itself after its parastiic life cycle stage is over.

Glochidia look like greyish, whitish or sometimes yellowish tufts of cotton wool on fins and gills to the naked eye, smaller than the cauliflower growths of Lymphocystis, but bigger than the specks associated with White Spot.

A small infection of them is stressful to fishes, but not lethal. An overwhelming infestation can prove lethal, however, because they attack the gills, and in sufficient numbers can induce respiratory arrest.

A typical freshwater clam produces several hundred of these larval stages every time it reproduces. In the confines of an aquarium, this can prove dangerous even to substantial fishes such as Cichlids.

This may or may not be what is affecting your fishes. If you have any freshwater clams in there, particularly any native American species, I would remove them quickly. Otherwise, the problem is going to recur again and again when the clams reproduce.

This page includes a movie illustrating how the clams attract certain fishes as hosts for their Glochidia.




Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

no i dont have clams
my dad has a masters degree in biology n has never seen it either

it was widespread over the entire body

all fish r now fine however i lost my neon that was pragnant
my neon eggs
all my cards n rummys

ill eventually replace them
as im going to get im thinkin 25 cardinals n 15 rummys next time i make a trip to london