Rummy Nose Mystery - what do ya make of this?

[The GingerFishman]

Hey all,

Got a small school of 6 rummies today and noticed one of them has this large white splotch INTERNALLY that is visible on the fish's left side at the top of the spine just below the back of the head. I don't know what to make of it. The fish is healthy otherwise, swimming, schooling, active and has great body shape, not skinny or anything. Posting pics below where I've circled it. Hard to get a good photo but you'll see this white splotch. It is inside the fish. Is it a tumor, just something structurally natural, or a parasite of some sort? It's pretty odd.

Thanks for your hel

 

[fishorama]

Well, I'm going to say it doesn't look good, sorry. Neon tetra disease can start almost like that, but usually a bit lower along the lateral line. It's virus, I think, & there's nothing you can do. My best advice is to change lots of water, often.

But if the rummy looks to be a goner, cull it (euthanasia),, hopefully before it infects others.. I'm very sorry, hard choices, best of luck!

 

[The GingerFishman]

Ugh. None of the other rummies exhibit any signs of illness at all. Very healthy looking. Even this guy looked good otherwise. Sounds like whatever that is inside him may be a time bomb waiting to go off? I removed him from the tank for now. Should I worry about that spreading to the other fish? Everyone else looks great.

 

[The GingerFishman]

Googling this more, finally finding the right search key words 'white mass' I found this seems to be a thing that folks have come across from time to tie in rummies. I've never seen it before, even when I had a big 20+ school years ago, but I was able to find some older posts on the web with identical photos. No one seemed to know what it is though and everyone reported exactly what I'm seeing. White internal mass, but the fish otherwise is healthy, robust and active while other fish seem unaffected.

Anyone have any other ideas, or seen this?

 

[fishorama]

Well, your fish looks thin too, so feed them well & often & change lots of water. That's the best you can do for them right now. Good luck!