expert fish help

[sp33dy25]

i have posted this on other forums ... no help there
here we have discus keepers. i think theres more brain power here
so here i go.

i have a flowerhorn. 1 yr old in a 180 gal tank.
water is GOOD. temp is 80.

who can tell me what this is on his tail ?
i have knocked off chunks before.. its a white powdery substance.
fish is seems good not sick or anything.
has had it for the last 7 months.. no one seems to know what it is.
no treatments yet cuz i dont want to be dosing meds left and right.

http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt357/sp33dy25/fh001.jpg?t=1239917689
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt357/sp33dy25/fh007.jpg?t=1239917750
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt357/sp33dy25/fh006.jpg?t=1239918043

[poconogal]

I can't see from the picture but does it look like cauliflower?

[Graham]

I know where Connie is going with this and I agree......... it looks excatly like Lymphocyctis. This is a virus and there is no cure. It generally will not kill a fish unless it interferes with gill function or eating.

Knock the fish out for a few seconds with some clove oil and scrape it off and swab with some iodine...it may or may not come back. It also may go completely away on it's own

Some say it's contagious but I have not seen enough evedience to back that up...any other fish showing it.? It's fairly common in marines especially with angels

[brewmaster15]

Hi,
Best guess is its some kind of virus.. maybe something akin to lymphocystis...

http://www.vet.uga.edu/VPP/clerk/Kurkjian/index.php
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Lawler_Lymphocystis.html
http://www.fish-helpline.co.uk/health/lymphocystis.html
http://library.enaca.org/Health/DiseaseLibrary/LymphocystisDis.pdf

There is a ton more out there on it but unfortunately...It has no known cure if its lymphocystis and it is thought to be contagious.

hth,
al

[brewmaster15]

Looks like Graham and I posted at the same time...;)

-al

BTW Graham... on the contagious issue...I think along the same lines as you... something interesting here..

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Lawler_Lymphocystis.html


Lymphocystis does show some host-specificity, i.e., each strain (or species) of lymphocystis can infect only its primary host fish, or some additional closely related, fish.

DNA studies have showed that there are different species of the virus. This has been suspected for some time because the viral particles from different fishes vary in size plus the virus from a fish usually will infect only that species of fish or a few other species closely related to the primary host.

The virus enters through broken skin or injured tissue (usually skin or fin). If the virus gets into the blood (usually via gill infections) then various internal organs can be infected. In l974 I showed that the spleen, tissues behind the eye, eye, and many other internal organs can be infected via systemic infection. One can easily infect fish by putting them into a bucket of water, introducing the virus, then injuring fish by vigorously swirling a stiff bottle brush in the bucket. One can also run a sharp probe on the skin or tail (see warmouth picture below) and expose the fish to the virus to infect them.

Incubation times (until lesions are visible to eye) range from about 10 days at 25 C to longer, depending on species involved, temperature, and other variables. I found that interesting.

[sp33dy25]

yea i just read that article .. it says it will go away on its own..
but if i recall its been on the fish for 6 + months..

can this infect humans??? i been stickin my arms in his tank to clean and maintenance

[brewmaster15]

can this infect humans??? i been stickin my arms in his tank to clean and maintenance it should not....Its specific to fish...

http://www.vet.uga.edu/VPP/clerk/Kurkjian/index.php

-al

[Rod]

Well it sure looks like a species of lymphocystis, though way bigger than any other i have seen....very interesting. Let us know the results if you decide to lance it off.

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

We have a channel catfish down on the farm that has this exact same thing. We have him in his own tank and we even named him "Bob". Bob is not affected by this one bit and he has had it for quite some time from my understanding.

-Ryan

[DiscusKeeper403]

I know where Connie is going with this and I agree......... it looks excatly like Lymphocyctis.


Definitely, without any doubt in my mind, think you hit the nail on the head.