Pond Goldfish Has Lumps in The Skin: Goldfish Lumps & Pox Virus

There are three different reasons for lumps like that and the most common is a carp pox virus, there’s a papilloma virus and there’s a sarcoma that looks like that. They almost never “kill” and the incidence is low. Better still, transmission of the viral “lumps” is not “easy” (the morbidity is low) so in any collection where these bumps exist, you might have 5% or less with lumps. Some people would be like “I’m killin’ everybody with lumps” which is FINE except you do that, and a month or two later someone else shows up with a lump, either a continuation of the original spread or just a random new fish brings it in. At my house, I’d move the affected fish to another tub, vat or feature on my lot and “see how it goes”. I’m a veterinarian who treats fish. ( drjohnson,com )

So, no treatment?

Well, yes and no. If it’s sarcoma, the lumps are *usually* meaty and pink (not the color of the fish) and those can be resected “fairly easily” and should be, if they grow to bother the fish especially around mouth or eye. Pox viruses SOMETIMES leave when the fish is in warm water at optimal health. Sometimes not. Acriflavine is a treatment for Lymphocystis and this is NOT lymphocystis, avoid the suggestion. So no, besides a humane surgery under the right circumstances, there’s no treatment nor need for any. These fish typically act like nothing is wrong.