Lumps on fins, what are they?

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Psylant

Fire Eel
MFK Member
May 24, 2011
1,079
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Canada
I've been keeping fish for a while and occasionally cichlids get small lumps on their pectoral fins, no big deal. These look a little larger, and more numerous than usual. It was tough to get a good pic to show this well. One side is worse than the other. He has a couple on his dorsal fin and tail as well. He acts completely normally, minus an occasional "twitch". He doesn't flash off anything, and I can't tell if the twitching is a courting/warning behavior or if he's trying to shake something out of his gills. I couldn't get a twitch on video.

There's a video and picture. Be sure to turn the video up to 1080p so you can see them. Does anyone have any idea if I should be worried? He's had them for 2-3 months now and it doesn't appear to be getting better or worse.

DSC_1633.JPG

[video=youtube;muksnb9B9L8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muksnb9B9L8[/video]

Thanks for any input anyone could provide.

DSC_1633.JPG
 
I wouldn't be too worried about it if He/she has had it for a few months and it is eating normally and your water perimeters are correct. I could be small cysts or tumors. I had some on a fish of mine and I upped the water changes and eventually they went away .
 
Looks like lympocystis. My Viejas came in with this which caused a panic.They infected viejas were in with midas, umbee and other species and it did not infect these other species. I researched the incection amd came across a article that stated that with in this disease it has sub diseases so to speak that is only contagious to the same species.
Well its been about a year and they come and go. I notice if an infected vieja is gettng beat up or stressed alot they worsen. When water is clean and the infected fish is dominant they go away, as I had a small bocourti and heterospilus that were littered with it and only a month later in there new inviroment they are almost gone. I believe it will not hurt the fish and its nothing more then unsightly distraction
 
Appreciate the comments so far. Hopefully more will come.

Extra information: It's a 450g+120g sump that is pretty heavily understocked. There are 3 large cichlids, and a pack of loaches. They get about 250g of water changes a week. The water quality is very good all the time. The Bifa is the dominant fish in the tank by a long shot. Nothing bothers him really. I guess he could be stressed out "defending" his fry, even though nothing tries to eat them lol
 
Psylant said:
Appreciate the comments so far. Hopefully more will come.

Extra information: It's a 450g+120g sump that is pretty heavily understocked. There are 3 large cichlids, and a pack of loaches. They get about 250g of water changes a week. The water quality is very good all the time. The Bifa is the dominant fish in the tank by a long shot. Nothing bothers him really. I guess he could be stressed out "defending" his fry, even though nothing tries to eat them lol
Click to expand...

Holy crap! How that one loach looks bigger than your Bifa!
 
Does it look like this. I have seen that in my Vieja, Green Terror, and African Haps, present as small white bumps on the pectoral fins in older fish. I am not sure what they are, and appear to be infection from fighting. Young fish don't seem to be affected or they shed them quickly.

IMG_2501.jpg
 
viejafish said:
Does it look like this. I have seen that in my Vieja, Green Terror, and African Haps, present as small white bumps on the pectoral fins in older fish. I am not sure what they are, and appear to be infection from fighting. Young fish don't seem to be affected or they shed them quickly.
Click to expand...


It doesn't look like that. Those appear to just be wounds from fighting.
 
Does anyone else have some input? Would love to hear any similar stories, or ideas on treatment if possible.
 
I acquired an older Severum a while back that had the same looking thing on it's pectoral fins. I assumed it was Lymph from what I had read online. It never seemed to hinder the fish in anyway and would come and go. From my understanding, it is a viral infection that can take hold with any kind of injury (cut, scrape, torn fin, ect). It is contactable, however an infected fish may not show it until some kind of stressor induces it; so it can basically remain dormant in it's host.
 
When it looks like it does in your pic, I wouldn't think lymph. I see this in some fish and just equate it to "scar" tissue. Some fish seems to be more prone to it than others. Lymph is pretty obvious.


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