Small White Lumps

One thing it's not is whitespot because that looks like grains of salt on the fish - unless in real life it does look like that in which case it whitespot, though I would expect more fish to have spots. Is this fish new or have you had it a while?

The only other disease I've had which looks a bit like that is lymphocystis, which I only hope your platy doesn't have. That has white lumps which develop a cauliflower like appearance. I've only had it once, on a dragonscale betta. At first it just looked as though he'd caught himself on something and lifted a scale, then it grew into a distinct raised spot. Please tell me your platy doesn't look like that.

Hi Carol,

One of my blue marbled platys developed a whitish spot which grew in to a very sizeable lump, which I thought could have been lymphocystis. She didn't appear to be suffering at all and still eat well, but nevertheless, she died within a week. None of my others were affected and all remain healthy.
I have a photo somewhere of her with the lump, I'll see if I can find it and get it on here.
Meanwhile, I'll keep my fingers crossed that your little fishy gets well soon.

It is and it isn't contagious. From what I could gather when my betta had it, it is contagious when the lump splits and releases spores.

People of a sensitive disposition, stop here   


I bought the betta on line as I couldn't find any plakats (short fins) in the shops. I put him in my 50 litre tank with a shoal of pygmy cories. Within a few days he looked as though he'd caught a scale but instead of getting better it stayed there. Then it started growing and I realised it was a lump. Because dragonscale bettas have very thick scales, it never showed as white. After several weeks I decided something wasn't right and google found lymphocystis so I set up the QT and moved him there as I still had another betta in the betta tank, though he died of old age shortly afterwards. The lump continued growing and every now and then it sort of burst and showed a grey gooey mass in the sunken crater of a lump. I presume this is when spores get released. I had a separate siphon tube and bucket for this tank and I never used anything in this tank in another. Eventually, he grew several lumps down the same side and the first one, which was just above his gill, got so big it moved into the gill itself. That's when he went downhill, refusing to eat, sitting in a plant all day, so I put him down. Then sterilised the tank, filter, heater etc, threw the plastic plants and filter media in the bin.

He was in the same tank as the pygmy cories for a few weeks, but I'd moved him out before the first time the lump split. The cories never caught it.

Attached - a couple of pics taken shortly before the end.

It does look quite similar. You can see from the smaller lumps in my pics how that horrible mass started out, and what the first small lump turned into.

The betta was quite happily swimming round for a few months. It was only when his gill became enveloped that he went downhill. If you don't mind giving up your hospital tank for an indefinite period, and don't mind getting another siphon tube and bucket then leave her in there till she starts to go downhill.

It may well not be lymphocystis, but the risk is too great to put her back in the main tank till you know for sure.

I'm sorry to hear that. If it was lymphocystis, at least she was spared it developing badly.