Finally, I found a disease description that seems to fit the problem with one of my Danio's. Lymphocystis, Glugea / Henneguya is listed in your Symptoms/Causes section, which I read and then Googled the terms for more information. Sounds like I have been treating a nasty case. I began treatment with CopperSafe today, after reading your description, along with other articles. I had been treating for Popeye from a bacterial perspective, then with salt from a parasitic perspective, both without success. :huh:

Let me back up a bit... it started with one Danio that appeared to have Popeye :blink: (reason unknown). No other fish were affected and a cause was not evident by testing the tank water. I started treatment with Melafix, then Maracyn-two, then Maracyn, Tetracycline (still in progress) and Maracyn Plus was going to be for my next attempt. In between, I also tried aquarium salt and epsom salt.

When I first noticed the Popeye, I didn't recognize it for what it was until it worsened. Then, by and by I noticed these white growths emerging from the gill area. Over time, these too have become worse. I had no clue, even after researching many web sites with freshwater fish diseases, what the cause might be. So here I am after reading the description of a parasitic disease that may be the problem. I could not help but wonder if it was the cause of both the Popeye and the cysts. :unsure:

Thanks for the info and I will report back with information as the treatment progresses. The fish has been in a hospital tank and so far, no other fish in the main tank have been affected. From the information I've read, it is surprising that the disease has not spread to other fish. Very lucky.

Are the white growths like a fungus or cysts? If it's like a fungus, then that's really got me stumped, because the salt should have taken care of it. If it's more like a cyst, then it could very well be Glugea/Henegua or Lymphocystis. The only other thought that comes to my mind would be Tuberculosis, but that doesn't really fit all that well.

I'm sorry, I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. But look into Columnaris, AKA mouth fungus. It can often enter in through the gills and create lesions like those you mentioned. It can also spread very quickly. You should be on the right track for treating it though... here's the treatment steps for it:

:star: Change water
:star: Vacuum gravel
:star: Add aquarium salt
:star: Treat with copper sulfate or broad spectrum antibiotic (such as erythromycin)
:star: Discontinue carbon filtration during treatment

Thanks Sargent Major. Nope, it's definately lumps and not fuzz. I tried to get a photo, but it was practically impossible, with the little guy buzzing around the tank. I tried for a vid, but I haven't figured out how to adjust for lighting with my digital camera. I can get a still from the movie, but even with PhotoShop, it's a fairly lousy image. You can see the white blob around the gill and one around the eye area. Same thing on his other side. I'm dosing CopperSafe and Tetracycline.

Ok, looking at the photo, it looks like Lymphocystis to me, now. Which isn't curable, but is rarely fatal, too. Look for recovery to start in 2-4 weeks if it's Lymphocystis, with complete healing definately before the 8th week.

Wow. You mean the cysts would actually disappear? I figured I'd be lucky to get the parasite killed off.

I googled each of the three terms for images (below). There are some pretty decent pics and informative articles to go with. One of them said the cysts may be inside as well. dam.

http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=n...tis&sa=N&tab=wi

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&h...A%3Aen&q=Glugea

http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=n...uya&sa=N&tab=wi

[Edit] Ok, after reading several of the articles under all three terms, I am leaning toward Henneguya, because the gills are involved more than with the other two diseases, which are more inclined to focus on fins and other areas of the body. Formalin or Malachite Green are the treatments of choice. I may go that route if the CopperSafe that I've already started fails.

Keep us updated. With Lymphocystis the cysts will heal for sure... with the other two, it will probably leave some scarring. The only reason Lymphocystis heals so easily is that it's just the virus enlarging the cells to 4x their normal size. But once the fish recovers and the viral infection is gone, the cells return to their normal size.

Will do. Just finished up with the Tetracycline. I did a 25% water change yesterday and replaced the Coppersafe removed during the change. The Tetracycline leaves a mess in the tank, that's for sure. So far, I see no change. Nearing the end of the first week with CopperSafe.

Any changes?

Yeah, there are changes. I was holding off a bit in case I was just seeing what I wanted and not what was actually happening. Then I got side-tracked by the loopback login thingy.

The oldest cyst that is near the left gill is almost gone. The one on the right gill is getting smaller and the one behind the right eye is the same size as before. No new cysts have appeared.

I gave the fish a break after 5 days of Tetracycline, but kept up the level of Coppersafe between water changes. I'm not sure which caused the cysts to shrink... the Tetracycline or the Coppersafe. Staying on course with the Coppersafe for the time being. The fish is still quite active and is eating. If it appears that shrinking has stopped, I will lay off the Coppersafe and start back up with the Tetracycline.

The Popeye seems to have backed off a bit as well, but not as much as I would like. At least the little guys eyes are not facing front as much instead of to the side.

Well that is good news. :up:

So is there any more news on this? Or a happy ending at least? SM, or FishyFry?

Yeah, good timing jdizine. I was just checking out the fish after a change in treatment. I let the fish rest after a week of TC and just left the CopperSafe in the tank, replacing it as I did 25% water changes to clear the cruddy water from the TC. After a week, I noticed no new cysts, but I also noticed no change in the existing cysts. I started up the TC again and after 4 days, the 2nd of the larger cysts has disappeared and the third seems to be just starting to shrink.

This problem existed for several weeks before I posted here and I had been working my way through a variety of treatments. My fish seems to be losing weight the last couple of weeks and he is not swimming as effortlessly, but rather stiffly. If there are cysts internally, the are not visible from the outside., but that doesn't mean they don't exist. The fish seems a bit more slender in the back half than previously and that half seems to be turning upward.

I have one more day of the Tetracycline treatment and then a another short break, I guess. Meanwhile, the Popeye has not changed much, if at all. The cycts seem to be disappearing in the reverse order they appeared. Since the Popeye showed up first, maybe it will be the last to leave.. if the fish lives long enough, that is.

[Edit:] I forgot to mention that the fish is still eating normally.

Did the improvements end when the treatment ended?

Yeah, it seemed so. So I started up the 2nd round of Tetracycline after a week of just the CopperSafe. It has been two days since that round ended. I did a 25% water change yesterday and a 50% today, without replacing the CopperSafe. We'll see how it goes for a few days break and maybe start again with the Tetracycline. I wonder if there is something stronger that I should be using.

Meanwhile, it turned out that the cysts on the left and right gill covers were actually multiples. They have shrunken quite a bit. I thought they were gone, but upon closer examination, I see that they are still there a bit... or they are coming back. Not sure. At any rate, there is still one cyst behind each eye, which is what is making the eyes pop out.

The little bugger has a great appetite and is still swimming around. Just can't figure out why his tail is turned up. It's making him swim funny.

I have been looking for everything online about the upturned caudal fin. I can't seem to find anything. Can anyone please let me know if you find anything of the sort? How is he doing by the way, fishyfry?

He's about the same. I'm going to give him a few days to chill whilst I think about what to do next. The tail thing is wierd. Thanks for checking around. It is sort of like a pig tail flipped up in the wind from just behind the vent toward the tail end.

I have a hunch the problem is actually Fish Tuberculosis.

Are any of your other fish affected? I the little guy still making it?

Nope, no other fish affected and the Danio is still making it. He's on his next round of treatment with Maracyn Plus this time. Too early to tell if it will make a difference or not though.

To: Your Fish
Best of Luck with the treatment! Get well soon!
From: My Fish

This was from me, jdizine, it just signed me on as guest. PC was acting up earlier.

Hiya. Sorry I didn't notice jdizine. I was just wonderin' how a guest could post. :) Thanks.

Anywaaaay, I put the little guy down on Friday night. This last round of Tetracycline didn't shrink the tumors down any more than from the last round. He was starting to have trouble swimming, though his appetite still seemed normal. I just didn't see putting him through anymore meds. I would have been curious to see if other meds had an effect, but I'm no scientist and I can't put an animal through that. In addition, I had two Platy's that have been deteriorating slowly over the last few months and they got to a point where I decided it was affecting their quality of life. I put them down Friday night too. I stopped at a health food store on the way home from work and found some clove bud oil. The stuff works like a charm. Much better and easier on the fish than any other method I tried in the past. As a result, it was easier on me too. I will make an article sticky for it, but here is the link to the article about clove oil in the meantime.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-most-h...nize-a-fish.htm

Hmm, I didn't know about the clove oil... learn something new every day. Thanks.