tumor like growth on beta

Question
QUESTION: My daughter's beta has a large growth that is protruding from the top of the
head on the right side, almost above the eye.  We have had him for almost 2
years.  He lives in a 3 gallon filtered tank.  I am the primary caregiver to the fish
so I have contact everyday.  2 days ago this growth appeared.  I had not noticed
it before hand and, as I stated, I take care of him everyday.  Should I expect and
prepare my daughter for his final days?

ANSWER: I'm so sorry to hear about your fish, but tumors usually lead to death. However your fish could live on for another couple months, depending on the cause and severity of the tumor.

I also have some questions, is the tumor getting bigger? Are there any other signs of illness, lethargy, torn fins, not eating, sitting at the bottom, white clouds on his body?

Any other information you can give me can help me diagnose him. Also, theres one thing you can try is some Melafix in his water for a couple days. (PLEASE follow the dose instructions on the package as its usually used in 10 gallon aquariums due to its high concentration) Melafix is a broad spectrum medicine used to treat certain types of fish diseases. You can buy this at usually any major pet store. Its usually very difficult to determine the cause of a tumor.

I had a fish thats tumor was caused by a fungus and I used Maracyn and Maracyn 2 to treat it. These are pretty high potent medicines that I would only suggest if you definatly knew the cause of the tumor. The tumor did go away but the fish was about 2 years old, and couldn't recover. Melafix isn't so harsh and I would try this first.

Please let me know what happens with your fish! We get so attached to our little friends, its very hard to deal with such a loss.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your input.  The tumor does seem to be getting bigger, but not by
leaps and bounds.  I did notice today that there are some blue/gray/white
irridesent patches on his tail and edge of body where the tail meets.  He is a red
fish so they show pretty well if you are looking closely.  I will try te Melafix and
see what happens.  Do you think this is a tumor?

Answer
Because of the location, its probably a tumor but you might get lucky and it might shrink if its being caused by virus or bacteria. The irridesent patches could be a sign of fungus or bacteria and if they don't get better with treatment from the Melafix, you might have to try something specifically for fungus (Jungle Fungus Eliminator is a good one) or Maracyn.Just make sure that you don't give him all the medication at once, and do a complete water change each time you change medications. Also, give him a break in between changing medicines so you don't stress him out.