White spots

[ryukins]

THis morning I noticed one of my goldfish has two small white spots on his fins. The other fish don't have any. Should I be concerned about this?

The spots are at the very edge of the fin. All the fish seem healthy and are swimming and eating.

Ammonia 0
Nitrate 30ppm
Ph 7.8

I just did a 70% pwc to bring the nitrates down. I usually do weekly 60-70%.

 

[jlk]

Can you post a pic? Are the spots like specks of sand? Or are the edges of his fins starting to turn white? Or are they larger round white blotches? Does it look white or translucent? Some more info will help!

 

[ryukins]

Sorry about the blurry images he was swimming too fast and it was hard to get a good pic. In the first pic you can see a white spot on his top fin and in the second shot you can see a white spot on his back fin...

 

[jlk]

Thanks for the pics! I see a spot on the top fin but its hard to tell what it is. Its too big to be ich. Does the spot look fuzzy or cottony/rough or is it smooth & looks to be more of just a different color?

 

[ryukins]

Oh thank you I was concerned it was ich. The spots are abit rougher/cotton like. Is it possible he got nipped? My oranda likes to push his head into the other fish when there is food. When it is not feeding time they are all friendly haha.

 

[jlk]

Thanks! Ok, bad news is he likely has a bit of a bacterial infection from being pushed around a bit & probably got scraped a bit. I would not consider meds yet but I would have some on hand in the event it starts to spread or look worse (more cottony). Maracyn 2 is usually very effective & available in most petsmarts.

For now, you do something simple to help limit any infection. First, keep the water very healthy. Second, you can dab a bit of peroxide on the spots 1x a day. Set aside a little cup of peroxide & q-tips. Quickly & carefully remove the fish (hold him either in your hand or in towel damp with tank water- your hand is the easiest), dab bit peroxide on the spots & return him to the tank. It should take less than 10seconds. Alternately, theres a product called 'Bio-Bandage' that some lfs carry- same thing, remove the fish, dab on the spots 1x day & return him to the tank. The spots should start to look smoother over the next couple of days- if they dont or it starts to look worse (fuzzier) or spread, then it will be time for some meds. Hope this helps!