What is this?

[Deschain]

What is growing on/out of my Pygmy Cory? I tried some google search terms but was unable to find anything resembling this. A worm maybe? See attached picture. Any information is greatly appreciated.

1~Pygmy Cory seems happy and healthy. But a rather large white thing is protruding from its body.
2~Tank has stable parameters with a ph of 7.2.
3~ tank is 10 gallon shallow. 60p dimensions but less tall. Tank has been up for 4 months.
4~filter is a bio master 250
5~ population: group of 8 Pygmy Corys , a honey gourami , 10 sundadanio axelrodi blue, a nerite snail and some shrimps.
6~I clean the tank weekly with a 20% water change.
7~the corydoras are the longest present resident at about 2.5 months. They eat a large variety of dry foods.

 

[Andy Sager]

If you can get a better close up pic of the area, that may better help diagnose the problem. I see the redness which can be a sign that something has come out of the fish at that location. That said tho, there is also a possibility that it's the fin that is infected and it's gone down to the body. Both are conceivable with this pic.

 

[Deschain]

Sadly these guys are incredibly skittish. I will try but it took me a couple of days of sneaking up on the tank to take this picture. The fin is visible in the picture tho. It seems to be just above the fin.

 

[Andy Sager]

Sadly these guys are incredibly skittish. I will try but it took me a couple of days of sneaking up on the tank to take this picture. The fin is visible in the picture tho. It seems to be just above the fin.

If that's the case, it's most likely a worm escaping the body. Sadly, bottom dwelling fish of all species are prone to having internal worms. Some are intestinal, some in the flesh. I would remove the fish to a separate hospital tank so that when it fully leaves , usually to reproduce, it doesn't leave anything in the main tank to infect your other fish. Then, once the thing has left, you'll want to siphon out everything on the bottom of the hospital tank and then add something like an Indian almond leaf or other botanicals which have some antibiotic effects to help the wound heal. Once it heals, the fish can then be moved back into the main tank.

 

[Deschain]

I don’t have a seperate/second tank sadly. But I will keep a close eye on developments and do a thorough vac once it has left in case of worms. Thank you for the insights.

 

[Andy Sager]

I don’t have a seperate/second tank sadly. But I will keep a close eye on developments and do a thorough vac once it has left in case of worms. Thank you for the insights.

You can use almost anything as a " hospital" tank so if you have a container that hasn't had soap in it, a clean bucket that you can run an air stone to, or anything like that, you can use those as well.