What do you think this is?

[C L O W N K N I F E]

????

Read more carefully...he said what they were...

 

[Madness]

You are correct, its not a cure. But I have been successful getting it to disappear quite quickly.

 

[Modest_Man]

Fingers crossed it's a bacterial infection. I frankly don't have much experience with diseases, and haven't had a fish with a bacterial infection to compare this to. I have seen lymph before, and this looks pretty similar. The fish are small though so I'm not 100%.

Lymph is viral and there is no cure. It can go into remission, even for the life of the fish but any water or other fish that come in contact with it can easily pick it up. Hence why I hope it's not lymph.

 

[duanes]

With water changes (and I know you do plenty) and lack of stress, lymph seems to go away. Had some breidhori that developed it just after being shipped, took a week or 2 to go disappear.

 

[dogofwar]

+1

Could just be bacterial infection from being shipped and put in a new tank, different water params, etc. Could also be lymph which I assume is what you are thinking. I would just treat with salt and water changes. If it goes away and continues to come back after any stress or fighting you will have your answer.

 

[WildCAught]

Is lymphocystis synonimous with "fish pox"?

 

[Modest_Man]

With water changes (and I know you do plenty) and lack of stress, lymph seems to go away. Had some breidhori that developed it just after being shipped, took a week or 2 to go disappear.

By going away you mean goes into remission. Going away sounds like it's gone, when it's not.

I believe fish pox is a herpesvirus associated with koi and is not the same thing as lymphocytosis, though as I said I'm not that great on fish diseases.

 

[RD.]

No, fish pox, aka carp pox, is a viral disease typically seen in coldwater pond and aquarium fish such as koi & goldfish.

A large part of the problem with diagnosing & treating some of these ailments, let alone attempting to "cure" them, is that without proper diagnosis from a qualified vet in many instances one disease can easily be confused with another.


A good read from the U of Florida.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa181

Can lymphocystis be confused with any other diseases?

Yes. In early stages of the disease, the nodules may be relatively small and may be confused with the parasites Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ich, freshwater white spot disease), Cryptocaryon irritans (marine white spot disease), digenean trematodes ("grubs"), or heavy infection with Epistylis (a stalked, ciliated, protistan parasite). Lymphocystis nodules may also be confused with epitheliocystis (an intracellular bacterial disease), clumps of fungus, or mucus tags. Some skin neoplasias (cancers) may also be confused with lymphocystis.

Because of the potential confusion with other disease agents, diagnosis of lymphocystis should be accomplished by a qualified fish health professional to rule out these other potential causes.

As MM stated, the lymphocystis virus can go into remission, and it can also remain dormant & undetected for some time in a fish, but it never "goes away".

 

[WildCAught]

Got it, thanks.

 

[duanes]

Yes remission, but more like in chicken pox, as opposed to cancer. When they get old or stressed, could come back like shingles do.
Seemed to never relapse in my breidhori, and never spread to other fish(knock on wood).