What Is That On Him?

Summary: This is Iycho my 40 dollar halfmoon and plakat cross betta. Got him December 17th 2018 and since I’ve got him he’s had this lump thing.

About it: he doesn’t seem to acknowledge it. Thought it was just a weird scale but it never went back down. It has maybe grown since I bought Iycho and is of the same pallet as his scales (water blue and white).

What is that on him, is it harmful, is it permanent? Is it fixable?
I rarely do a water change, he originally was in a very old (outdated in stores) 1 gallon tank, then moved into 1.5 gallon and now the planted 5 gallon. I purchased him on the day he just arrived from shipping, the store he was shipped to was Pisces Pet Emporium. I feed him New Life Spectrum and sometimes Pete’s.

 

It's a tumor. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about it, but it's usually harmless and shouldn't affect him It's just a cosmetic issue.

Your profile says that you don't know about the nitrogen cycle and suggest that you research more about it. Basically all tank inhabitants produce ammonia as waste which is toxic, but you have beneficial bacteria which live in the filter. That bacteria helps convert ammonia into nitrites then nitrates which are less toxic than ammonia and can be removed with a simple water change.

You say that you rarely do water changes. Can you give an estimate as to how often you do it? You look like you have a lot of ramshorn snails in that tank. Do you test your water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates)?

 

I don’t have a kit to test that stuff, let alone afford it or have room. I maybe so a water change every 3 weeks. I have explained in the past that Iycho kills and eats the snails. I thought I changed the thing on my profile about the nitrogen cycle, I am aware after Norm’s freshwater planted tank seminar.
How long will he have in this world with that tumour?

 

Your tank looks to be pretty heavily stocked and that means you have more waste building up. You'd have to do water changes more often to keep the levels down.

The tumor is usually harmless and shouldn't affect him so he should live normally as any other betta.

 

With the thinning numbers of snails and little leftovers it shouldn’t be too concerning. Iycho resides in my very messy bedroom, not easy to do a lot of water changes. Anyways thanks for the opinion. (I can’t make heads or tails of something with only one mind, if you understand)

 

I should mention I thought that lump was a bent/lifted scale. He was a very expensive boy and my first betta in over seven years. I'd be heartbroken if anything happen to him too soon his life.

My aquarium filter has two sponges on either side of the carbon fibre cartridge keeping the tank clean, I also use those waste and ammonia removal rocks and culture beneficial bacteria. The ramshorns in there are ones I desire to keep, I got them for free via the fact they hitchhiked on some plants. While I'm just getting started with aquariums, that doesn't mean I haven't done hours of research in advance... Sorry if I seem annoyed a lot of people seem to throw an opinion on my questions.

 

It just got worse, he’s now got two more lumps. At this rate he won’t have long.