Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Blugill with white round growth on side

I caught a bluegill in my 3 year old pond today and the fish had a small growth on its side. It was about the size of a green pea and felt like grissle. Is this possibly a grub parrasite and is this something I should be concerned about hurting my fish population?

No idea. Bump.

Bill,

About a month ago I caught a mature BG that had a wart like growth adjacent to it's pectoral fin. it was about 7mm in diameter and protruded 2-3mm from the side of the fish. I didn't check it's texture because I had unhooked it and just caught a glimpse of it as I was releasing it. I catch and check around 100 fish a week to measure and monitor growth and haven't seen another one since. I Googled images of fish+lymphoma and got the following image
http://www.welbornpet.com/Presentation/FishTumor/
Did it look anything like that?
Chip

I'm sorry...people actually PAY for laser surgery...on goldfish? Somehow...that just seems a bit off...JMO though.

Not JUST yours - me too.

And I thought I was a fish junkie.

But, to answer your question, it was most likely a grub of some sort. It's not a preferred state of affairs but there's nothing you can do about it. Most likely it came in as a parasite in an originally stocked fish; maybe from the hatchery. Or maybe it came from a birds droppings. Will it hurt the fish? Who knows but you probably don't have any kind of real problem in the pond. If you want to eat the fish, just cut the grub out. If you cook it well, the grub won't bother you. We've all probably eaten cooked fish with grubs and didn't know it.

Bottom line: Don't sweat it.

I've had browns with warty growth on them and now some of my brooks in the same pond also have the same thing. (Lympocystis) It is contagious but harmless if that is what you are looking at.

Without seeing the infected fish, I think Cecil has this diagnosed correctly. Lymphocystis is a viral disease that appears as white to grey-white or pinkish warty lesions on fins or skin. Lesions appear granular or warty. I have seen them as almost translucent warty growths. The disease develops slowly. The hypertrophic cells or tumorous growths are NOT malignant. The lesioins can rupture to release large numbers of infected cells. The disease is contagious and over crowding of fish and or stressful conditions will likely make it more prevalant in a pond. Old infected cells or tissues are shed into the water where they sink to the bottom, thus it is best to remove infected individuals since they are carriers of the virus. Lymphocystis is self-limiting. Any fish living with the lesions for a few years without dying will slough the warty growth and remain free of the disease.

Thanks for the information on Lympocystis. I wasn't sure what it was called before, hence the lymphoma search.I found a lot of good information after I looked for the right thing.
Chip

Thanks for the information. It sounds like I have a problem but it might not be serious. If I catch another one with the growth I will get more specific and take a photo to post for inspection. I did a search for Lympocystis and most of the images I saw looke far more serious that what I have going on. This is the greatest pond information site I have found and feel blessed to have found so many knowledgeable people in one place.