Dangerous to add new fish?

[redbucket]

I have a glow light tetra that has had a white lump right in front of his eye for about two weeks. It's too big to be ich, and the fish acts normally. The lump hasn't changed at all, and no other fish have had any signs of stress or disease. I've been planning on getting two bolivian rams for months now, and my LFS finally has them in. I'd love to run out and get a pair, but I'm afraid of adding anything with a fish with a still unknown condition.

My angel is now large enough that it could beat up on my tetra pretty good, but I've never seen it do so and everyone in the tank seems comfortable swimming around eachother. Even so, could the white lump be from an abrasion/bite during an aggressive confrontation?

WWACD? (what would aquaria central do?) Get the fish you've been waiting for and keep a close eye on the mystery lump, or wait until the next time the LFS gets the fish you want (months)?

BTW, I have no quarentine tank/net.

thanks for the advice!

 

[Harlock]

I have a glow light tetra that has had a white lump right in front of his eye for about two weeks. It's too big to be ich, and the fish acts normally. The lump hasn't changed at all, and no other fish have had any signs of stress or disease. I've been planning on getting two bolivian rams for months now, and my LFS finally has them in. I'd love to run out and get a pair, but I'm afraid of adding anything with a fish with a still unknown condition.

My angel is now large enough that it could beat up on my tetra pretty good, but I've never seen it do so and everyone in the tank seems comfortable swimming around eachother. Even so, could the white lump be from an abrasion/bite during an aggressive confrontation?

WWACD? (what would aquaria central do?) Get the fish you've been waiting for and keep a close eye on the mystery lump, or wait until the next time the LFS gets the fish you want (months)?

BTW, I have no quarentine tank/net.

thanks for the advice!

No idea about everyone else, but I would pass on the fish for now and in the months of interim, I'd purchase a QT tank.

 

[redbucket]

No idea about everyone else, but I would pass on the fish for now and in the months of interim, I'd purchase a QT tank.

I have Anti-Multiple Tank Spouse Syndrom, so unfortunately that's not an option for me.

 

[OrionGirl]

Without pics, it's hard to give a good diagnosis. It could be a viral infection--some fish are more prone to them, and they seldom spread in good water conditions. Other options--a tumor. If this is the case, it's not likely to spread, and as long as the fish can still swim and eat, it should live close to it's normal life span. Is the lump smooth, like a mosquito bite, or lumpy, like cauliflower?

In terms of adding: hard to say. I prefer to quarantine fish before adding them to the tank--but in this case, I doubt that you'll be introducing a pathogen to the new fish in the addition, though the new rams may bring in something unwanted. A quarantine tank doesn't increase the number of tanks running, outside of when it's occupied. A tupperware tub works well, and then goes back in the closet when not in use.

 

[redbucket]

Is the lump smooth, like a mosquito bite, or lumpy, like cauliflower?

It is smooth, although it does not appear to be "hard" -- It looks like like what I would think a clump of muscle tissue would look like. The fish is small, as is the growth (although it is definately not the salt-speckle that I associate with ich) so it's hard to describe it in detail.

 

[OrionGirl]

Do you think it's grown at all? The only contagious possibility I can think of would be a subcutaneous parasite...Not that common in tetras, but potentially contagious. Basically--it could be the larval stage of an insect that burrows into the fish, then will grow and incubate in there, ultimately digging it's way out as it moves to it's next life stage--one it's unliekly to be successful at in your tank.

 

[redbucket]

Do you think it's grown at all?

no growth at all since i noticed it. if it sounds at all possible, i'm going to assume it's due to aggression from the angel or other tetra (or the rasbora), because it just doesn't sound like anything else.

 

[suby7272]

Not very sure if what I am about to say would make any sense to you (or to any one at all) - the other day I noticed a thread like something attached near the gills of one of my goldie - I tried very hard to get a good look of it - but this guy wouldn't stop moving - finally I got him in the net - while the net was still submerged in the water - and this guy alone in it - i gently stroked him with my bare hands first on one side and on then on the other - to my delight the foreign body (whatever it was) was gone - and somehow I felt that the fish didnt mind my handling him either
It was quite an experience - I had never stroked my fish this way
So, may be you too can try doing this. This would help you know the nature of the lump.