Paranoid betta owner.

[kellyyoungmoney]

my brand new betta, Horton seems to have a bump/lump near the back of his body. its not terrible and im hoping it will go away now that he is in a nice, clean, big tank. but being my paranoid self i wanted to make sure it was nothing to be worried about. the picture is kind of terrible (thanks iPod.) but on the back of his body you can see its shiny on the lump. so im just wondering if it is anything bad, if there is any warning signs i should see.

[Kenny G]

It looks like a parasites could be causing the lump. I would do daily water changes, and you might want to try an antibiotics like Maracyn and Maracyn II. Check the internet for cures for parasites just in case this is the problem.

[xShainax]

All betta's have those bumps. :)

[Aus]

Two of my bettas don't have that bump, which is the swim bladder. Both are short finned and quite fleshed-out. My two long-finned, slender-bodied males both had it though.

It isn't parasites.. the lump is nowhere near his belly. It's his swim bladder.

You can see in the 2nd pic below where that is on a betta's body:

http://www.bubblenest.net/anatomy.html

I'd say it's pretty normal.

For goodness' sake, don't start throwing parasite meds and antibiotics at him unless he's actually behaving like a sick fish! That's one sure way to make your fish sick...