# Cardinal Tetra With Big White Lump on Head



## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

i just found a dead cardinal tetra with what appears to be a large, white bump on its head. right on top, above where it brain would be. not ich, the spot was too huge for ich. it looked like a white mole....any ideas appreciated, thank you.


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

no one even has a guess?! wow...well, im scarred now. im going to treat for parasites and bacterial diseases.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

It could just be from a poor diet or it is fungus. 

It could be the fish had some sort of parasite living in it and when the fish died the parasite left it's host who was the fish. You can see this happen with bigger fish who are infested and given meds to kill the parasites or fed garlic. The parasites will make their way out of the fish.

The worst it could be is septicemia. This stuff kills very very fast 24hrs sometimes. I think EM tabs are good for this but that med will kill your tank. The best way to treat septicemia is to get rid of the fish with signs of it and treat the rest a.s.a.p. With tetras you will need a mild med I think maracyn is ok. I am not sure I have never had to treat such a small fish.

Another thing just because one fish dies does not mean the whole tank is diseased. Maybe the fish was in poor condition and just kicked the bucket.

What is going on with the rest of them?

Also adding meds not knowing what you are treating can make things worse. First you have to know what you are treating for. 

Some salt might help and raise the temp a bit.
keep the lights off or even cover the tank to block all light if it is parasites. That way you will mess with the life cycle of the parasites causing them to die off at a faster rate. Raising the temp will help with that as well it speeds up their metabolism and that will speed up their life cycle as well.

What I would do first is~
Do a heavy water change. See how the rest are doing if you see signs of sickness then treat but treat after you have an idea as to what it might be. 

I am just trowing ideas out there. I hope this helps a bit


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

If you only noticed the lump post-mortem it's quite possible the fish was picked at there by others in the tank and what you're seeing is just the normal decay of the body although it'd be hard to say without me seeing the fish. One dead fish is not always a cause for panic but keep your eye out for signs of illness with the others.


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## sunjwd (May 31, 2007)

Do you have any other details to share? It could help with ideas.
1. is there a picture?
2. was this an overnight lump, or did it grow slowly over time? The chronology
detail would give experienced members important clues.
3. what has been the water parameter history of this tank?
4. how long have you had this fish in this tank?
5. what else is in the tank, and how much change in the past 3 months?

The best thing would be a picture.

I had a neon that developed what looked like a gray spec
on it´s lip. 
There were no new fish nor plants added to my tank in the previous 6 months.
My tank had neons and cories only.
The water parameters had been good: 0 amm, 0 ´trites, ~10 ´trates.
Over a period of approx 6 months the spec grew until it prevented the fish
from feeding. The fish showed no other symptoms of distress over that time.
But when it could no longer eat, I figured it had to be suffering so I put it down.
The fact that this ¨growth¨ took that many months eliminates many of the common
diseases and parasites, so the regular fish medication would not have helped.
I figure it was a tumour which you can´t really expect to cure.

Attached is a picture for your reference.


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