White bumps on lips

[caylentor]

Hi folks,

 

This morning I've noticed two white bumps on the lips of several of my White Cloud Mountain Minnows.

 

I don't think they've been there before and with them being on several fish I'm a little worried it could be something sinister like Columnaris. They have been sparring a lot so it could be more benign like a lip injury but given it's on a lot of fish I would seek some advice.

 

Current parameters:

• pH: 7.2
• Ammonia: 0 ppm
• Nitrites: 0 ppm
• Nitrates: 0 ppm
• Water Temperature : 18.0 C

I know the 0 Nitrates looks odd but it's been reading that consistently since about October. We've had a staghorn and blackbeard algae outbreak since then so I suspect that's where the nitrates are going.

 

Behaviour wise they seem normal, everyone is eating ok and being social.

 

I've managed to get a few photos (sorry they're a little blurry, the fish are incredibly fast and won't sit still to have their picture taken):

 

Any thoughts?

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 12/11/2022 at 12:25 PM, caylentor said:

They have been sparring a lot so it could be more benign like a lip injury

That would be my first guess.

@Colu

[caylentor]

On 12/11/2022 at 11:32 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

That would be my first guess.

@Colu

It was my first thought too, but it's on quite a few of them including my really tiny female who I've never seen get into a fight (not that it doesn't mean that she hasn't when I'm not looking).

[Colu]

On 12/11/2022 at 11:37 AM, caylentor said:

It was my first thought too, but it's on quite a few of them including my really tiny female who I've never seen get into a fight (not that it doesn't mean that she hasn't when I'm not looking). 

It's difficult to see on your picture if the white patch or spot on the mouth starts to spread then you could be dealing with columnaris I would just monitor closely for next couple of days update if you notice it getting worse 

[caylentor]

Just an update on this:

 

• The fish still have the white bumps on their lips
• It doesn't appear to have spread to other fish
• It doesn't appear to have spread across their bodies - I can only see the two bumps on either side of their bottom lip
• They're still gregarious and eating happily, no hiding or spitting that I can see

 

I can't really tell if they're getting bigger or not, but I'm hopeful that it is just a temporary injury or maybe a breeding pattern or something?

 

Thanks for the help - it's appreciated!

[caylentor]

Follow up again:

• The boys still have the white bumps on their lips but they haven't got bigger, changed texture, become fuzzy and they don't have any more
• One of my adult females now has a big white bump on her chin - not sure if it's related or not

Picture of the bump:

 

It looks almost like a bubble. I noticed it last night and it's still there today. She's eating fine and seems happy enough. Any idea what it might be?

[Colu]

As other  fish have developed these lump what I would do is treat with a combination of aquarium salt 1 table for 2 gallons and maracyn2 in food the active ingredient minocycline also has  anti-inflammatory properties 

[caylentor]

Thanks Colu, what do you think it might be?

[Colu]

It's could be caused by a number of things viral infection or cysts encapsulated nematode worms what I would do is salt and maracyn2 for one week if you see no improvement after a week I would start treating with levamisole once a week for 4 weeks @caylentor