FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I noticed several small white spots on the gills of one of our 3 goldfish. After work today I found that all 3 have the same small white spots only on their gills. Can ick be only on their gills? I read on several sites where this could also be a sign of being male at breeding age. Anyone have tips to offer?

they could definitely be tubercles, which appear on the gills of your male fish when they are ready to breed. They do look like ick spots, so it's easy to confuse the two. If your fish has ick, you will notice it flashing and scratching, and it will generally look like it has been attacked by a salt shaker

Thanks so much. That's what I was understanding from what I read. I don't know much about fish. My 5 & 6 year old sons were given these at a birthday party. And here we are. I thought surely we didn't get 3 males but I guess so! Thanks for the fast response.

that's no problem! They were given them at a birthday party? That's a pretty expenisve gift when you consider hat goldies get to be about a foot long... What are you keeping them in? Goldfish do require a very large tank, because of how large they get, and also because of all the waste they produce.

Actually it didn't cost them much. The grandpa has a goldfish farm/hatchery? and let them have lots of them for the Nemo party. But it cost me. We bought a 10 gallon aquarium and all the extras my boys could find. I know goldfish don't need air but the boys love the bubbles. I had promised them that the could get an aquarium for their birthdays. This just came a month early.

The goldfish are common goldfish about 1 1/2 - 2 inches long. I was told they needed 1 gallon per inch. Is that right?

Good job on doing the best you can for the fish! Goldfish are wonderful and loving fish with tons of personality! NEver thought I would say a fish had personality ...

By the way, the bubbler is an excellent idea, as it increases aeration and dissolved oxygen in your aquarium. Goldies also happen to be VERY oxygen hungry fish!

The 1 inch per galon rule really doesn't apply to goldfish, because they get so large, are so active, and produce SOOOOOO much waste. The thing about waste that confuses a lot of people is that they think since they can't see a ton of poop floating around, they're doing just great. All fish excrete ammonia and other waste products, which are *clear* into the water, which are very toxic to them. Goldies just excrete a heck of a lot more than other fish It'd good to think of it this way, would you keep a 10 inch fish in a ten gallon tank? The poor thing wouldn't even be able to turn around!

A good rule for goldies is 1 per 10 gallons when you are just starting out, although commons do need more room once they grow older and bigger, and would do best in a pond. My advice for you would be to get a 30-50 gallon tank pretty soon, so your goldies stay happy and healthy

Usually you can find them in the bargain finder or classifieds for cheaper than new, and you can transfer over most of the accessories from your ten. It is important to give your goldies as much room as possible, because they stunt easily. I know, I know, Stunt their growth? But it's true, and extremely painful for the fish, because their insides grow, but their outsides don't. I have often seen goldies that have been returned to local fish stores with crooked spines bulging through their skin because they have been stunted.

I just recently upgraded to a 50 gallon tank for my black moor and baby panda telescope, and they have already grown measurably (about half an inch) in just three weeks! It's pretty amazing, the buggers just grow like crazy if given the chance

here's an AWESOME goldfish site
it has tons of info and articles, as well as a very informative and helpful forum

http://www.goldfishparadise.com/


Check it out, and have TONS off fun with your goldie pals! With proper care, they can be around for over 20 years

P.S. do you know about cycling your aquarium?

read here

http://www.fishprofiles.net/faq/begin-cycling.asp

sorry for the small novel

The dots are probably not tubercules as signs of "breeding age."

Even if they are siblings, it is unlikely that they would develop these white specks within 24 hours of each other. This is more typical of a disease.

ahhhh.... excellent point mr bubbles. here, have a read of this, and see if that sounds like what your fishies have

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ich.htm

http://eric.petfish.net/ich.htm

in the second link it mentions that ick often targets the gills first....

That's what I needed to know. I read the sites and will pick up the meds in the morn. I have a heater I can add to raise the water temp. I just changed the water yesterday do to a cloudy water situation. After 4 months of healthy fish, our little cousins came over and put a handful of food in the tank last week. I did not realize what problems could occur from that. Four days ago we awoke to find very cloudy water and one dead fish. There was no time to empty the tank before work and nowhere to move them. By the time we got home the water was so cloudy you could bearly see the fish and another fish was dead. We cleaned the tank and "medicated" the water before replacing the fish. Everything looked great for the last 3 days. Then suprise! Ick! Do I need to change out the water again? And one link said something about removing the carbon filter while using the ick med. Does that mean just unplug the filter for the entire duration of the treatment? Sorry I'm just new to all this.

no problem! The more questions you ask, the more you know

yeah, handful of food in tank = BAD! The excess food rots and turns into ammonia (YIKES) and your fish eat too much and excrete even MORE ammonia!!! Glad to hear it's under control now, though

Did you read the link on the nitrogen cycle, by the way? It is absolutely key to keeping fish alive in aquariums. If you have nay questions about it, feel free to ask!

About the filter, what kind is it? If it is the kind that hangs on the back of the tank, you can just take out the carbon insert. if it is a corner sponge filter, same thing, just remove the carbon. you don't want to unplug the filter and remove it as their is beneficial bacteria living there ( refer to the cycling link) that will die if left i stagnant water for long. The reason you remove the carbon is because it sucks out the meds and absorbs them before the meds can do a thing for your fish. It's kinda like throwing your money out the window

When you say "cleaned" the tank, you just did a small (30%) water change, right? You NEVER want to tear down the whole tank and scrub it out unless you have a horrible disease like fish tuberculosis in your tank. Small water changes and gravel siphons every week or so are the way to go. You give your fishies clean water, don't shock them with a huge load of new water, and preserve the beneficial bacteria you have grown. You also NEVER want to use soap or detergent of any kind when you scrub out a tank as they are highly toxic, even in trace amounts, to your fish, and they will kill them.

One of the best things you can do is get a aquarium test kit. you can buy htem at just about all LFS's with a fish section, and they are probably one of the MOST essential items you will ever purchase for your tank.

OOPS!! This is my 3rd complete water change in 4 months. I thought it should be clean to be healthy. I never use soap. I knew that was bad. I just scrub everything with hot water and a brush. Then put the "tank buddy" tablets in the water and let it set to room temp (an hour or two). I have to add about a 1 gallon of fresh water per week. I'll check into one of the kits and start changing out part of the water each week when I add the extra water that has disappeared.

Thanks again.