Fluid Filled Lesion on Pink Watchman Goby’s tail

[Kryssie]

Hello all!

My wife’s Pink Spotted Watchman Goby has a large fluid filled blister-like lesion near his tail.

She has had him for a year and a half. He just moved into her new 75g tank from quarantine a month ago. He has been eating and swimming normally with no signs of disease or parasites. Current tank inhabitants are Watchman Goby, Mandarin Goby, and clean up crew.

Water parameters:
Temp 77.8
Sg 1.025
Ph 8.04
Phos 0
Nitrate 0
Alk 8.0
Cal 420
Amm. 0

Thank you.

 

[Big G]

Keep an eye on this growth. There are two groups that these generally fall into: Nodular disease and tumors. The nodular disease are filled with spores that can infect other fish if the condition worsens. The tumors generally are not infectious but can interfere with the fish quality of life. So in both cases, keeping a close eye on the fish's growth is suggested. In both cases, sometimes the growth shrinks and disappears; other times the growth greatly increases and makes it difficult for the fish to swim.
I have one of these pink spotted gobies in my DT. One of my all time favorite fish. Hoping it turns out well.

 

[Kryssie]

Keep an eye on this growth. There are two groups that these generally fall into: Nodular disease and tumors. The nodular disease are filled with spores that can infect other fish if the condition worsens. The tumors generally are not infectious but can interfere with the fish quality of life. So in both cases, keeping a close eye on the fish's growth is suggested. In both cases, sometimes the growth shrinks and disappears; other times the growth greatly increases and makes it difficult for the fish to swim.
I have one of these pink spotted gobies in my DT. One of my all time favorite fish. Hoping it turns out well.

Thank you so much. Is there a way to know the difference? How easily does it spread? Should we remove him from the display and put him back in quarantine?

 

[Big G]

Thank you so much. Is there a way to know the difference? How easily does it spread? Should we remove him from the display and put him back in quarantine?

Might not be a bad idea to move it to quarantine, especially if it is the nodular disease. The tumor is usually more solid appearing, whereas the nodular disease is more translucent. But this can vary from case to case. The nodular disease spreads when the nodule burst/leaks into the water column spreading, potentially thousands of spores into the water column.

 

[Kryssie]

Thank you so much. One more question: is there a known cause for nodular disease? Is it Lymphocytosis? I’m going to start researching it now and move him to QT ASAP.

 

[Big G]

The spread of this disease is still unknown by most experts. The research indicates that some infection is spread by the eating of dead/dying infected fish. So by extension, bottom dwellers like most gobies would seem to be at the most risk for exposure to dead/dying fish in the wild, storage tanks, LFS, etc. Flukes and other worms are more common in bottom dwellers too. Lympho is a viral disease much like the human herpes virus. Hoping all turns out well for your beautiful fish.

 

[Kryssie]

Thank you for all your help.