Question about goldfish

[MoxieGrrrl]

Everything is going really well with the new tank - all the fish are still alive, and the four molly fry that appeared within a few days of introducing the new group are getting bigger every day. I believe the swordtail fry has been eaten, since I haven't seen it since I caught a glimpse of it the first time (unless he's REALLY good at hiding).

I seem to have between .25 and .75 ppm ammonia, so I typically do a 25-30% water change when it gets high. I have never shown any change from 0 ppm nitrites, but still have 5 ppm nitrAtes.

My husband noticed something odd with the goldfish this morning, though. It looks like she's lost several scales on both sides of her torso. She's not lethargic or showing any other signs of distress, she's the largest fish in the tank (about 2 1/4 inches) and I've never seen any other fish be aggressive towards ANY of the tankmates, let alone the goldfish.

Is she going through growing pains? Is this natural or something indicative of a problem? Was having trouble finding anything other than aggressive tankmates or gravel that was too sharp possibly being the culprit.

PS: for those following my new tank adventure, my daughter is still ecstatic to have them and helps out with feeding AND water changes.

 

[Jchillin]

Welcome back Moxie! I was about to send another APB for you! If you recall, when you advised that you had placed a goldfish in the community tank, a lot of responses were not in favor of it. This was due to the varying requirements of tropical fish to goldfish. Although I can't say for sure what's causing the scale loss (hopefully another member will respond), I'm glad to know that everything is working for you. The NH3 can be controlled with the PWC's and the absence of NO2 could be a good thing. Glad that Sage is still enthralled with the tank!

 

[BASSNMAN]

Do you kave plastic plants? The stiffer varietys can cause scale damage,

 

[MoxieGrrrl]

Yeah, plastic plants.

Is there anything I can do without removing them all?