BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish betta tumor??

[color:"purple"]i have a male betta thats about 6 months old and for about 3 weeks give/take, ive been eye-balling a strange bump on his left side just past his fin and belly. its in a patch of little black lines that look like scratches--however, a picture of when i first got him shows me that the "scratches" have always been there. but the bump has not. if i look above him, it looks as though something is trying to poke out of his side. i tried giving him some more food thinking maybe he was just really skinny, but the bump is still there and looking suggestive! he is otherwise showing no other symptoms pointing towards other sicknesses so im at a loss. i went thru a long sickness with a previous betta and it was just awful watching him suffer. i am very much loving my little fish now and if this is something i can prevent, i would love to! any advice ANYONE can give me, would be wonderful! thanks all--ps im new <img src="/images/graemlins/fish.gif" alt="" /> [/color]

I think the best thing you could do is to speak to the shop owner where you bought him (hopefully, they would have some knowledge of their product and merchandise!) or speak to your vet.
Sometimes, these things are caused by stress, (transport from country or location of origin) parasites, inappropriate conditions or poor hygiene... the fish might even have had the first symptoms of the tumour befor you bought it, so it's not your fault.

Good luck. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

[color:"purple"]for you very quick reply! ive gone in a few times to ask other random Q's reguarding his health b/c of course i want him to be healthy..but ill take your advice! my fish is kept in good conditions, a clean tank, and i clean it once a week and use only distilled water. i keep live java ferns inside for him to hide in. recently i added a background of random plants to give him something else to look at. the only thing that concerns me as that my bf smokes in the room my fish is in. could/would that bother him? thanks again [/color]

If it is a tumor, it is highly likely he's had it since before you bought him, since it has grown so big. Like people, fish can get tumors even after being properly cared for. You sound like a very caring parent, so I'm sure you were treating him well. I would advise against using distilled water in your water changes, however, because fish need the ions found in tap water (at least that's what I've heard). Most people on this board use tap water with some conditioner, and our fish couldn't be happier, so he will do just fine with "ordinary" water <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Bonus: it's cheaper too!

Also, I don't know how the smoke might affect the betta, but I would advise your boyfriend to stop smoking for his own sake! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

NEVER use distilled water!

stop doing that right now first off. secondly, howis your boy doing now? how large is this bump? does "wander"? what colour is it?

here's a really simple water recipe:

Bottle water - no stistilled water! try staying away from spring water, it could have heavy metals in it.
just a few drops of NovaAqua or Stress Coat for one gallon of bottled water. make sure the bottle say it also rids Chloramines, but they both remove Chlorine and detoxify heavy metals and Copper.
i always mix in somewhere between a small palm full of Aquarium Salt (NOT table salt) and a few pinches of it. smaller amounts for smaller water containers.

Tap water:

i put the water in clear plastic bottles (left over from fruit juice). never washed with soap just hot water. anyways, my water has high chlorine content so i not only put in recommended amount for one gallon of water conditioner, i also place in my window sill with the lid off.
the sun will shine through and evaporate the chlorine. if chloramines are in the water hey dont go away without conditioners. i leave them in the window for 2 days to be sure. (you could leave them outside but i live next to a freeway)
add Aquarium Salt as mentioned above.

as jilly always says, K.I.S.S. keep it simple stupid!


this recipe has been excellent for my fishies for about a year now.