Tumour or growth?

[SkippyAlto]

I have 1 male betta, Rufus, in a 2L tank on my desk at work, I noticed yesterday that he seems to have a bump or growth on his back that wasn't there on Friday.

At first I thought it was some fish food flakes stuck to him, but it hasn't come loose today...

He's been very lethargic since last Thursday, and the last two days all he has done is swim at the top of his tank, staring into a corner.


He's been in this tank for about 3 weeks, I do 50% water changes every 2-4 days. Water is pH neutral today.

No live plants, just gravel and a castle. No filter, lighting is only the office fluorescent lights.

I feed Rufus 5 TopFin Color Enhancing Betta Bits every evening, but gave him some flake food on Friday... which he didn't eat at all.

Please excuse the blurry quality of the photo... I only have my blackberry with me to take pictures. The bump is the lighter coloured part on his back.

Has anyone seen anything like this before?

[Oldfishlady]

I can't see anything in the pic, have you googled it to see if you can find pic anywhere? Is the bump white and looks kinda like a grain of salt..ich? maybe....

In a 2L unfiltered container I would increase the water changes to 100% every-other day if not daily. If on city water supply make sure and add dechlorinator with any water added to the fish and try to keep the water temp within a couple of degree of new and old water to prevent temp shock issues

Can you get a larger tank for him for your desk, I know sometimes you have rules and limits for office fish, but even a 1g tank so that you could add a small 7.5w heater to keep the temp in the 76-78F area at least, I know often offices can be kept pretty cold....

What about heat, do you know the water temp?

Sorry you are having problems but with poor water quality their stress level can go up and cause the immune response to shut down and soon they will be symptomatic.

Fresh clean dechlorinated water can often be what helps them help themselves
Clean water and proper water temp are really important