Lumps on goldfish

[Miket]

Hi 2 of my gold fish have lumps they Do not seem to bother them and have been there for months but they seem to be getting more and larger. My Koi have none of these I have searched but still not sure how to treat these.
Thanks

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome @Miket !

I have to admit that I can't make out much from your photos. Hopefully someone else will have better luck.

In the meantime, can you tell us more about your pond - how big, how many gallons, how old is it, how many fish, what kind, what kind of filtration, etc. More information is always helpful. Do you do water testing?

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

I second what @Lisak1 said. And keep in mind that you need to know what it is before you can treat it. Are your koi and goldfish in the same pond?

 

[Miket]

Hi thanks for your reply
My pond in approx 700 to 1000 gallons.
Yes I test the water and all is ok.
The pond is about 2 years old now.
I am using the easy pod automatic and also a pressure filter.
The fish are 7 koi 2 comets 3 goldfish.
The gold fish are about 15 years.
You can see the lump on the goldfish side it stands out quite a lot and has been there a while

 

[Miket]

Hello and welcome!

I second what @Lisak1 said. And keep in mind that you need to know what it is before you can treat it. Are your koi and goldfish in the same pond?

Yes the koi and goldfish are in the same pond

 

[Miket]

Yes the koi and goldfish are in the same pond

Managed to get a better photo it does not look very good they seem to be all over. Only 2 fish have theses the koi see ok

 

[j.w]

@Miket Does not look good whatever that is on your fish. Looks like some kind of ulcers. I'm no expert so I will leave the diagnosis up to a koi person w/disease experience.

 

[Tara]

Hopefully someone will have some advice for you soon. I do not know much about fish illness, so I just look and see what I can learn from others posting. In the photo that is not enlarged it looks like a worm is in the lump. Maybe if possible you could bring that photo to a shop that deals with fish, maybe someone there can help in the meantime. Best of look in getting treatment for your fish.

 

[j.w]

This may be a job for @Dave 54 if he is feeling good enough right now to take a look.

 

[MitchM]

That's a nice long life for goldfish.
Would you be willing to sedate him/her and remove the tumor yourself?

 

[Lisak1]

Oh I missed that - 15 year old goldfish! That's awesome! Where were they before they went in the pond? Have you added any fish to the pond recently? Or did all these fish go in at the same time?

I am concerned about two things - 1. you say your pond is 700 to 1000 gallons... that's a significant difference and 2. you have a lot of fish in a small pond. I don't know that it's related to what you're dealing with now, but overstocking will definitely affect water quality, so maybe something to think about for the future.

 

[Stephen Noble]

I rescued a 'feeder' goldfish with a similar issue. When the was fish young, it suffered from multiple episodes of severe ammonia poisoning. The owner just didn't understand the nitrogen cycle and told to me, "Hey, the thing only cost a few cents!" The ammonia was so bad, that the outer layer of skin was pealing off. I brought it to my home and housed it alone, in a 180 gallon garden pond. I had it over ten years and guess the cauliflower-like growth was probably a virus that infected weak tissue. Initially, the cauliflower growth would subside after partial water exchanges. So I kept those up with a strict regimen. In the later years, the growth remained regardless of what I did. It did not seem to bother the fish but was unsightly. I consulted a vet and was told to just keep the fish comfortable given its elderly status. So, perhaps increased water exchanges might help. You never know.
Stephen

 

[Miket]

Oh I missed that - 15 year old goldfish! That's awesome! Where were they before they went in the pond? Have you added any fish to the pond recently? Or did all these fish go in at the same time?

I am concerned about two things - 1. you say your pond is 700 to 1000 gallons... that's a significant difference and 2. you have a lot of fish in a small pond. I don't know that it's related to what you're dealing with now, but overstocking will definitely affect water quality, so maybe something to think about for the future.

I had them in a small pond for years, 2 of them have a lot of these growths even around the eyes I have decided the best way is to put them to rest as is distressing watching them they have had a good life thanks for you help all the koi are ok really fit and happy

 

[Mmathis]

@Miket Please tell us the results of your water tests. We really need to know the actual numbers of the results rather than “OK,” or “normal.” What tests do you do? Do you use test strips or liquid test kit?

 

[Miket]

@Miket Please tell us the results of your water tests. We really need to know the actual numbers of the results rather than “OK,” or “normal.” What tests do you do? Do you use test strips or liquid test kit?

Hi I use test strips and all the colours are in the safe zone

 

[Mmathis]

Hi I use test strips and all the colours are in the safe zone

If you can possibly get hold of a liquid test kit (like API), that would give a more reliable set of results. We recommend to test for pH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and KH and GH (but these 2 aren’t included in a standard kit so have to be purchased separately).

And if you can’t get a liquid kit, maybe take a few pics of the strips next to the indicator for comparison.

 

[Miket]

If you can possibly get hold of a liquid test kit (like API), that would give a more reliable set of results. We recommend to test for pH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and KH and GH (but these 2 aren’t included in a standard kit so have to be purchased separately).

And if you can’t get a liquid kit, maybe take a few pics of the strips next to the indicator for comparison.

Thanks for the advice will get a new test kit and post my results