Lymphocystis...does it spread?

[Aquanero]

Except that it lives in a host, the fish. Which doesn't pass through the UV radiation. And would kill them if they did.

Yes, I understand that you can't pass a fish through a UV system. Maybe I wasn't clear. What I was takling about was once it ruptures and releases the virus into the water, would the virus be killed or damaged by the UV radiation? The host fish could live with the virus if the owner chose to keep it while eliminating it (the virus) from the water at least to the point where the fishes imune system could fight off future secondary infections, which as the artical suggests is the main cause of mortality. Or get rid of the infected fish and use UV to prevent future infection in that tank. I don't have to be right, I'm just throwing out an idea.

 

[jgentry]

Well, I think you have a couple of options.

You can keep your fish and just deal with it. They will not look as nice when they have an outbreak but everything I've read says it comes and goes. Most likely your fish will not die so as long as you are OK with it there is no reason you cannot keep them.

The problem is that any new fish you get can be infected. Plus if you have any other tanks you run a huge risk of infecting your other tanks if you have not already.

Sorry, but the Festae fry need to be culled. I don't think you can risk selling them to other people knowing what they almost certainly have. You pretty much can't sell anything from that tank unless you get rid of all the fish and take it down and sterilize it.

 

[VRWC]

Alrighty then...thanks for all the info guys. I guess I need to figure out what Im going to do from here.

 

[fishfarm]

There is only one option, euthanize the fish or live with it, none of those fish should ever leave your house alive. They all have it now. Ken

 

[Lupin]

VRWC, I believe I gave you my response about this lymphocystis before? The first photo did show classic case of lymphocystis which is why instead of rupturing or scraping the growth away, I recommended you to trim the affected area with sharp scissors to as much as possible prevent further spreading. The rest of the photos show rather tricky situations.

An excerpt for lymphocystis.

Fish present with variably sized white to yellow cauliflower-like growths on the skin, fins, and occasional gills. Occasionally, this virus may manifest systemically as white nodules that are scattered throughout the mesentery and peritoneum.

Fibroblasts undergo massive cytomegaly with basophilic cytoplasmic inclusion bodies and a thick outer hyaline capsule. The inflammatory response is variable, but a chronic lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrate is common

The disease is self limiting and refractory to treatment. Nodules may last several months and cause infected fish to be susceptible to secondary bacterial infections. Reinfection can occur.

This was also my observation aside from Modest_Man's. I can't recall a case where fish with lymphocystis dies directly from it. It seems the fish remains healthy until the lymphocystis allows secondary bacterial infections to set in which in itself, would be the one more responsible for putting its toll on the fish's health more than the lymphocystis itself.

I have worked with many thousands of fishes of various freshwater and salt water species and do not recall a single death being directly due to a lymphocystis infection.

After lymphocystis lesions are lost, the host tissue heals up. Adhesions and scarring can occur during healing.

 

[TwistedPenguin]

I bought a catfish with it (didn't realize it) but within 2 days the leasion grew huge then burst open. He was quarrantined in a tank with a Green Terror, a Chocolate cichlid & 5 big Cory Cats, none of the others were affected in any way (had them over a year after that). The catfish healed up 100% in about a week and it never came back. Here's a good article if you haven't read it:
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Lawler_Lymphocystis.html

 

[Lupin]

Mitz, VRWC actually posted the same link earlier. See first post.

 

[TwistedPenguin]

Mitz, VRWC actually posted the same link earlier. See first post.

Oops. Shows how well I pay attention, doesn't it??? lol

 

[VRWC]

There is only one option, euthanize the fish or live with it, none of those fish should ever leave your house alive. They all have it now. Ken

Ken...so what else do I need to worry about when "sterilizing" the tank? I have sand, tons of wood and live plants. Do I need to scrap the sand and plants & somehow sterilize the wood?

VRWC, I believe I gave you my response about this lymphocystis before?

Yes, you did, Thanks. It had spread to the sides of the fish and others so I felt it was a different situation than when you had replied.

 

[Sab_Fan]

sorry to hear that it spread . . . I had a juvie cyano that had lymphocystis, and I just isolated him - - for months - - until signs of it went away . . . but once it spreads, I'm of the opinion that there is not much you can do . . .