About Christy Expertise I can answer some questions regarding freshwater fish ranging from their care to diagnosing common diseases or problems with the fish. I can also answer questions regarding the care and maintenance of an aquarium. I haven't had much luck with live plants, so can't help in that area very much. Not real good with explaining salt water or brackish set ups too well either. Also regarding goldfish, I have some comets, and have a little experience with them but mostly just general info on them. I AM NOT THAT FAMILIAR WITH ANY OF THE FANCY VARIETIES OF GOLDFISH. YOU MIGHT BE BETTER DIRECTING THOSE QUERIES TO AN EXPERT MORE FAMILIAR WITH THEM. If I can't answer or don't know something, I'll let you know, so don't be upset if I reject your question, I'll always explain why. I would just rather not answer then give an answer I'm not confident about.
Experience All personal, first hand, general fishkeeping experience. I've had fresh water aquariums now for about 7 years. I've had tropical/community fish tanks, African cichlids, South American cichlids, brackish water puffer fish, and a lot of other varieties in between.
Education/Credentials None, all personal experience
Question QUESTION: I have notice three red spots on my coldwater/freshwater gold fish. Two are by the gills, and the other further down his body. What are these spots? How can I treat them?
ANSWER: Hi Brian
How big are the spots?
Are they flat or raised?
Open sores like ulcers or closed?
Is the fish showing any other symptoms-darting around, scratching on objects in the tank, eating normal, laying at the bottom, white stringy stuff on the fish, etc.?
What's the tank size?
How many fish and what kinds are in the tank?
What's the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?
How long's the tank been set up?
SOrry, it's not an easy answer at this point. There's so many possibilities as to what it could be-from parasites, to a bacterial infection, to an internal bacterial infection, to a water quality issue and all of those would require a different treatment.
Answers to those questions can help narrow it down.
Christy
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QUESTION: The spots are small. They're flat. I think they're closed. He is acting completely normal. There are 2 goldfish in there and they definitely have enough space. The tanks been set up for about a year. Soryy don't know about the readings.
Answer Hi Brian
Well, my first thought is some kind of parasite possiblym they can cause symptoms like that. But, the fish would be scratching or darting around the tank-showing some other kind of symptom as well. If he's acting fine, and there's no other symptoms, and he's not getting worse, I would just keep an eye on him for now.
Make sure you're doing frequent water changes and not over feeding. I would suggest checking the water quality as well and make sure the ammonia and nitrite levels are at 0 ppm.
Keep an eye out for any red streaking, especially on the fins/tail or the base of the fins/tail. That could be a sign of either ammonia poisoning or an internal bacterial infection called septicemia.
Also keep an eye on the sores if they turn into ulcers or if they get a white fungus look to them, or if the fish starts getting white stringy stuff-then that's a bacterial infection called columnaris which would need an antibiotic.
Like I said, keep an eye on him for now since it may not be anything-goldfish do commonly go through color changes. It's not a good idea to treat for an illness if you don't know what's going on.
