Odd goldfish coloration

[piebaldblue]

I have a fish with coloration I haven't seen before and was curious where it came from (genetic, damage, etc). Their belly is a metallic white color, along their back it is a yellow fleshy color, heavily speckled with grey, and their head has a large patch of the fleshy yellow color, reminding me of a bald face pattern for horses. Hopefully it isn't too hard to see in the picture attached.

I suspect that they had damage, but would like to hear any other ideas as to what this coloration is.

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[jessipanda]

What size tank and what tankmates?
How long have you had it?
Have you checked the water parameters?
Is it showing any other signs of illness such as not eating, clamped fins, gasping, flashing, etc?

There's many things it could be...and it could also just be changing color as it matures (depending on age). More info would help

 

[piebaldblue]

What size tank and what tankmates?
How long have you had it?
Have you checked the water parameters?
Is it showing any other signs of illness such as not eating, clamped fins, gasping, flashing, etc?

There's many things it could be...and it could also just be changing color as it matures (depending on age). More info would help

I have had them for maybe 5 months, and they looked almost exactly the same since I have gotten them, only differing in size. They were in a 20 gal for a week or two with another goldfish and I have since upgraded to a 65 gal.

The 65 tank has 2 goldfish (the other is completely non-aggressive), and 4 nerite snails (purchased 2 weeks ago because they are cute and I struggle with brown algae).

Parameters generally read at amn 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 80, despite my weekly gravel vac/water changes of 30%, and monitored feedings to make sure nothing is being left uneaten :T

They are the first fish I have purchased since learning proper fish care and have been the most lively little guy I've had yet. They eat like a pig, are active, and have not shown any signs of illness. I'm still learning about signs of stress/fear but I don't feel dishonest in saying they likely have not experienced those things while in my care.

I did purchase them from a chain pet store, which makes me think they were injured at a young age and healed over, leaving the strange patch on the head. But they might also be a mix bag of genes that falls into the "unwanted" "non-specific" pattern/coloration category. I haven't seen this...weird speckled coloring before, nor the patchy face. It's what had me compelled to get them in the first place.

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[Coursair]

You need to do larger or more frequent water changes. The Nitrate needs to be lower.

What filter(s) are you running ?

With GF you typically want 4-10x flow.
So a 65g should have a canister rated for 300g or so.

It's great they got upgraded. You aren't swapping out filter pads monthly are you ? Just rinse in used tank water or dechlorinated tap water and use till they fall apart.



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[piebaldblue]

You need to do larger or more frequent water changes.
The Nitrate needs to be lower.

What filter(s) are you running ?

With GF you typically want 4-10x flow.
So a 65g should have a canister rated for 300g or so.

[...]You aren't swapping out filter pads monthly are you ? Just rinse in used tank water or dechlorinated tap water and use till they fall apart.

I definitely know that the nitrates need to be lower and I have been trying forever to get them down. I've tried 50% water changes twice a week for a few weeks, 40% every other day for a month, 10% every day for about the same amount of time, put in "nitrate consuming" plants, and was never able to get it lower than 40ppm 9: I must be really incompetent or unlucky with managing nitrates...but I gotta keep trying.

Hopefully, with the picture, you can see that I have 2 fluval HOB filters (the 30 and 110) totaling 650GPH. I have them set up, bottom to top, filter floss I cut myself, the included sponges, the included biological media, and an additional bag of biological media/ceramics (no carbon... I am not entirely sure what it does or what the pros are for using it). I am also trying the product Algone, setting one packet in each filter, but am not seeing results. I don't plan to use it anymore.

As for cleaning, I don't touch the filters more than once a month. I use pitchers of tank water to squeeze out the gunk from the sponges, dip and shake the biological media to rid of build up, and replace the filter floss. Once every 2 or 3 months I will "deep clean," setting aside all filter media in a pitcher of tank water while i scrub the filter casing clean with my hands and q-tips, rinsing them under warm tap water. I wipe away excess water, and allow them to dry completely before setting them back up on the tank. I use tank water to refill the filters, never tap.

I am planning to have more plants to help combat the high nitrates, and have started doing bigger water changes again recently (bringing the waterline all the way down to the top of the intake for the filters...almost a 50% WC?).

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[jessipanda]

It sounds like you're doing everything right...not sure why your nitrates are so high in a 65 with just 2 goldfish if you have that much filtration. Have you tested your tap water? I'd say test some tap straight from the faucet as well as some that has sat out overnight for everything--pH, ammonia, nitrites, AND nitrates. Some people on here have reported all of those in their actual tap water. Could explain why water changes aren't helping to bring it down much.

Also, if that's what your goldfish has looked like since day 1, most likely that's just his coloring. I've seen lots of goldfish with similar markings at big chain stores...look like calico cats. Just keep an eye on them both.

 

[ImACoolguy]

I'd bet it's got some from the tap, no way is it staying that high with those water changes and only 2 little Goldie's.


Caleb

 

[piebaldblue]

[...] Have you tested your tap water? I'd say test some tap straight from the faucet as well as some that has sat out overnight for everything--pH, ammonia, nitrites, AND nitrates. Some people on here have reported all of those in their actual tap water.

I'd bet it's got some from the tap, no way is it staying that high with those water changes and only 2 little Goldie's.

I did a test on water straight from the tap and...??? Why did I not think about this first?? The results are: amn 0.5 nitrite 2.0, and nitrate 5.0

I can set out some water to test tomorrow too, if it will give insight.


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[ImACoolguy]

If the water truly has ammonia and nitrite in it I would be calling the water company for the sake of your own health..


Caleb

 

[jessipanda]

If the water truly has ammonia and nitrite in it I would be calling the water company for the sake of your own health..


Caleb

+ 1

 

[piebaldblue]

If the water truly has ammonia and nitrite in it I would be calling the water company for the sake of your own health..

Tomorrow I will be bringing samples of tap water into my work place (family owned pet supply store) to get a second opinion/a reading from a completely different test kit...just to be sure my kit isn't way outta wack (it's not expired and I keep it in the stand cabinet, so?? It's not likely)

But, good point Caleb..the water I sampled came straight from the bathroom sink and I often get late night glasses of water from it. With the second opinion, maybe a third, I could easily have enough evidence that something is wrong with the water and report it to the water company.

(Although I'm always willing to consider I am wrong... the whole situation is too weird for me to feel like it is real. We'll have a better idea of how accurate my readings are once I bring in water tomorrow)

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[bigsea]

Wow thats insane..


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[Fresh2o]

From the pic in the first post I was thinking it was a normal color variation (sort of shubunkin or speckled with blue).
Regarding the ammonia/nitrate from the tap, in 2012 I had 1.0 ppm ammonia and 5.0 ppm nitrate straight from the tap. I kept the weekly WCs under 40%. I found if I did larger ones (50-70%) then the next day I would see traces of nitrite. Then in January of 2013 the tap params went to 0/0/0. Interestingly, I found some old notes and in 2008 I experienced the same bad water episode.
If you can, contact your water company. Perhaps they are using more chloramine this time of the year.


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[piebaldblue]

Alright so results from work are in. On the left is tank water, 2 days after a 50% WC, and the right, straight from the spigot. Both are lined up as ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

I notice .25 amn in my tank water, and the ph is far lower than what it normally reads at home when I occasionally check it. Both are concerning to me. I will be double checking it at home tonight.

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