A tumor. Likely benign, given it doesn’t have the texture malignant ones tend to have, but keep an eye on it in any case to see if it develops further.
Bettas are more likely to develop subcutaneous tumors than other fish species, but they generally don’t have much of an impact on their quality of life.
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Pigment cell tumors often occur in bettas, particularly those with the dragonscale gene. The tumors are not always malignant, nor aggressive, and there is no way of telling what their extent will be with age. For some bettas it hampers their quality of life and swimming ability substantially, for others it has no effect on them besides aesthetics. Not much can be done in the home aquarium, but cryotherapy and surgical excisions are performed by some exotic veterinarians.
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A tumor. Likely benign, given it doesn’t have the texture malignant ones tend to have, but keep an eye on it in any case to see if it develops further.
Bettas are more likely to develop subcutaneous tumors than other fish species, but they generally don’t have much of an impact on their quality of life.
Pigment cell tumors often occur in bettas, particularly those with the dragonscale gene. The tumors are not always malignant, nor aggressive, and there is no way of telling what their extent will be with age. For some bettas it hampers their quality of life and swimming ability substantially, for others it has no effect on them besides aesthetics. Not much can be done in the home aquarium, but cryotherapy and surgical excisions are performed by some exotic veterinarians.