FishProfiles.com Message Forums

hi i awoke this morning and was inspecting my betta who is in a tank with 3 white cloud minnows and noticed he has a small white cyst just behind the "ribbons" that protrude from behind and under his gills. it doesnt seem to be causing him pain or effect his swimming, although he does seem to sit in/on his castle (ornament!) more than usual. i have some "wardley" promethyasul general treatment containg mafenide and aminarine hydrochloride aswell as malachite green and was wondering if i should give him this to try and kill what ever the cyst is. any reommendations. the ph is 7 the hardness is 8 and there is no sign of ammonia.

Cysts are usually caused by parasites, but telling which one is tricky. Can you post a picture, or describe it in detail?

yeah- sorry to take so long to reply, had to nip down to melbourne to pick up my new tank. woohoo! any way the cyst was about 2mm long like a tiny sausage in shape and a cream or white colour. i treated the tank with the multi purpose med mentioned in original post and on returning from melbourne the following day it was gone. any idea what it might be? sorry couldnt post picture our water proof camara failed its water proof test and we are still chasing up pentax to get it replaced!

Well if it went that quickly it cant be a true cyst. Probably just a little local swelling caused by bacteria or a minor thermal burn. Sometimes dead mucuous layers go a little white if fungus or bacteria get in to consume dead tissue, If the fish is strong,and slough's the bad layer and replaces it , the mark can disappear quickly.As long as it stays gone thats all well and good, but if he gets more anywhere else,or another fish gets such a mark, get back to us asap.