Large Bump On Back End

Hi,

My betta has had a large bump on the right side of his body towards the back end for the last 3 weeks. I’ve tried not feeding him for a few days and it still has not decreased in size. I’ve also tried changing his water every few days and using API Betta fix. He has not been pooing regularly and when he does it is a large pellet. Does anyone know what his condition could be and how to treat it?

 

I'm sorry. I have to say that is something I have never seen before. Has the white has been there for 3 weeks as well, or did it develop after the bump appeared?

 

Looks like a tumor. You can't do anything about it. Unless you have an aquatic vet that you're willing to pay to take it off. You just have to make sure he's comfortable for the rest of his life. As long as he's acting normal, you're fine. It also sounds like he has constipation. What do you feed him? How much of it do you feed him? And how many times a day do you feed him?

 

Gypsy13 Rtessy Repolie Goldiemom midna. Looks like a tumor to me. What say ye?

 

Has your betta had an injury recently such as a cut? I think that could be a fungal infection. Lower your temp to 75 - 77F to slow fungal growth. It grows quicker in warmer water. Get some API Fungus Cure or Maracyn-2 by Mardel and use according to directions. Keep us posted.

 

I'm sorry. I have to say that is something I have never seen before. Has the white has been there for 3 weeks as well, or did it develop after the bump appeared?

The White developed after the bump appeared.

Looks like a tumor. You can't do anything about it. Unless you have an aquatic vet that you're willing to pay to take it off. You just have to make sure he's comfortable for the rest of his life. As long as he's acting normal, you're fine. It also sounds like he has constipation. What do you feed him? How much of it do you feed him? And how many times a day do you feed him?

He was fed dried bloodworms once a day.

Has your betta had an injury recently such as a cut? I think that could be a fungal infection. Lower your temp to 75 - 77F to slow fungal growth. It grows quicker in warmer water. Get some API Fungus Cure or Maracyn-2 by Mardel and use according to directions. Keep us posted.

He has not had any injuries prior to the bump forming.

 

Huh, strange. I will say I haven't seen anything like that before. Generally with a tumor (in fish, from what I've seen) discoloration appears before a bump does, but there are always expections.
I recommend stopping the bettafix, it won't do anything and can potentially damage his labyrinth organ.
If you can, I recommend trying a methylene blue bath, 30 minutes at 20 drops per gallon. To do this you'll need two separate containers, one of Methylene blue, and one to rinse in afterwards. Also, this stuff stains like nuts, I lay down painters tarp when I do a bath, but it's probably not necessary. When I got it, it was $4.99 off of Amazon, so pretty cheap.

 

there was someone that posted weeks ago with a betta with a very similar bumpy white patch of scales. I can't recall the thread or anything, or what it was diagnosed as, if anything :/

 

Closest I've come to this was a blue betta suddenly started turning white on the body in several places, but a few M Blue baths (2) cleared it up after a few days. And the patches were about as large as yours, but there were three and they weren't raised, so likely something else, but I think the Methylene blue is worth a shot.

 

Rtessy I've seen tumors grow from bumps first then white discoloration. I haven't seen your way yet which makes me wanna go see one. But why methelyne blue? It's for water parameter poisoning, antifungal/fungus infections, or parasites. What will it do for a tumor? (Sorry if I sound aggressive, I don't mean to). Sorry Goldiemom, gotta disagree with you about fungal infection. It doesn't look fuzzy, appeared from no injury and some scales are still on there. It looks like a internal tumor that grew outwards causing some scales to fall off due to how large it grew.

 

He was fed dried once a day.

You can't be feeding a betta just only bloodworms. It doesn't contain all the nutrients they need like a staple pellet food. Feeding it dried will also cause constipation, which your betta is showing from what you are describing. You need to soak it first, then feed it because feeding it dried will make it swell up in their stomach causing a blockage. Go buy some betta pellets, I recommend New Life Spectrum Betta Pellets or Omega One Betta Buffet pellets because of their high quality ingredients. It also contains the nutrients they need.

 

Rtessy I've seen tumors grow from bumps first then white discoloration. I haven't seen your way yet which makes me wanna go see one. But why methelyne blue? It's for water parameter poisoning, antifungal/fungus infections, or parasites. What will it do for a tumor? (Sorry if I sound aggressive, I don't mean to). Sorry Goldiemom, gotta disagree with you about fungal infection. It doesn't look fuzzy, appeared from no injury and some scales are still on there. It looks like a internal tumor that grew outwards causing some scales to fall off due to how large it grew.

I do agree that M Blue will do literally nothing for a tumor, and I don't think you're being aggressive at all. I also don't believe it to be fungal in nature. Lol, strange we've seen such different tumors!
Really it's just because of the other weird thing on the betta I was taking care of, I don't believe they are the same thing though. Since nothing can be done for a tumor, I just think its worth a shot is all.
But bloodworms are way too fatty for bettas, they really should only be fed once a week.

 

Rtessy I've seen tumors grow from bumps first then white discoloration. I haven't seen your way yet which makes me wanna go see one. But why methelyne blue? It's for water parameter poisoning, antifungal/fungus infections, or parasites. What will it do for a tumor? (Sorry if I sound aggressive, I don't mean to). Sorry Goldiemom, gotta disagree with you about fungal infection. It doesn't look fuzzy, appeared from no injury and some scales are still on there. It looks like a internal tumor that grew outwards causing some scales to fall off due to how large it grew.

I have to agree with you on the fungus. I glanced at it while eating dinner and thought it was fuzzy. On closer look, it’s not. My apologies.

 

Hey guys. From what I’m hearing this must be a raised area. No one has mentioned how big or whether it’s uniform or irregular. In any case I do believe it’s a tumor. Possibly an overgrowth of the cells that give bettas their shine. Really common. But keep watch for any other symptoms. Other sores, bumps, failure to eat, lethargy. Anything else out of the ordinary. Especially if it occurs in another part of the body. Without looking through a microscope at the cells, it’s impossible to say benign, cancer or even TB. So watch. And keep us posted of any further developments. And yes a fish vet could remove it and identify it. Also if the tumor itself ulcerates, you might want to have tetracycline on hand. Hopefully it won’t come to that. Thinking positive

 

Hey guys. From what I’m hearing this must be a raised area. No one has mentioned how big or whether it’s uniform or irregular. In any case I do believe it’s a tumor. Possibly an overgrowth of the cells that give bettas their shine. Really common. But keep watch for any other symptoms. Other sores, bumps, failure to eat, lethargy. Anything else out of the ordinary. Especially if it occurs in another part of the body. Without looking through a microscope at the cells, it’s impossible to say benign, cancer or even TB. So watch. And keep us posted of any further developments. And yes a fish vet could remove it and identify it. Also if the tumor itself ulcerates, you might want to have tetracycline on hand. Hopefully it won’t come to that. Thinking positive

It's at the back of the abdomen where the swim bladder is and it's irregularly shaped. The surface of it looks very bumpy where the scales used to be, before they fell off. There are a few scales left around the edges. The tumor is white in colour.

 

It's at the back of the abdomen where the swim bladder is and it's irregularly shaped. The surface of it looks very bumpy where the scales used to be, before they fell off. There are a few scales left around the edges. The tumor is white in colour.

If it’s very large on the caudal peduncle, especially heading onto the caudal fin, he may lose the use of his tail. I’m sorry for this little one.