# Fantail goldfish with lump



## Grimbo007 (Sep 4, 2010)

Hi we have two fantail goldfish one of which has developed a lump in the middle of his dorsal fin. We have been to the vet and he wasn't too helpful but said as the fish is otherwise fit and health all would be ok. 

The fish is very active and eats well, but the lump is growing and I am worried. Where the lump is there is no fin. 

I have tried different treatments including melafix to no success. Can anyone suggest anything?


----------



## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

can you get any pictures of it at all? goldfish are prone to tumours, its quite common. how old and what size are your fish?


----------



## Grimbo007 (Sep 4, 2010)

Hi, the fish are 50mm long and 3 years old approx.
















If you need the images to be bigger let me know.

Cheers


----------



## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

:gasp: that doesnt look good. personally ive not seen anything like that before. could he have been injured at all? what is your water change routine and tank/filter cleaning routine? im guessing that they are in a small tank too given how stunted they are. 5cm long at 3 years old is extremely stunted growth, it could possibly have weakened the immune system allowing something to take hold. is there anything in the tank that he could have gotten stuck inside and struggled to escape?


----------



## Grimbo007 (Sep 4, 2010)

Sorry the fish are 2 years old and they are in a 30litre tank. Periodic water change is every 3 weeks and a full change every 4 months. I think that if any damage occurred it would be to the front of the Dorsal fin? There isnt anything that would trapped the fish other than getting behind the filter.


----------



## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

ok, so you have other issues than just that lump. these fish are very much stunted, at 2 years old they should easily be at least 6" long. 30L which is less than 7 gallons isnt anywhere near their recommended tank size. unfortunately the damage will be irreversible but they may still grow a little more given a larger tank now. the water changes should be more like 50% water change twice per week with a tank this small, although id be more inclined to say every other day.30L is tiny so doing a partial water change with a gravel vac every other day will take minutes. these 2 need a tank minimum of 30 gallons, which is approx 130L. im not trying to get on at you, but they are still very much babies, these fancy type goldfish can reach 10 years old or more, and hit 10-12" long. 

im not sure what to say about the lump. i would go with the clean water route, not add any other chemicals to the tank except the tap water dechlorinator and see how it goes with water changes every other day. do not net the fish out of the tank, just drop the water enough to leave them upright swimming in there. with the usual water change routine you have of every 3 weeks, you will need to build it slowly, so do 10% a time for the first few times, then up it to 20%, and take out a little more each time you do it.

maybe, if you cannot give these 2 the tank they need to thrive, you could possibly look at rehoming them to someone who can. a plain 3ft clearseal tank with an internal canister filter would do these 2 perfectly fine for life. they would be much happier and healthier for it too. if you look around on aquarist-classifieds.co.uk you can pick up some real bargain 2nd hand tanks for very little cash. both my tanks were 2nd hand, my 6ft fancy goldfish tank was just £75.


----------

