# My fish has strange spots/lumps on his head



## Adam10010 (Mar 27, 2009)

My poor pacman (after seeing pictures below, you will understand why he has this name) is ill.

on his head, he has a few spots that seem to be getting bigger. 
the largest is about 2mm in diameter and 2mm tall.
the other two are still quite small but look the same as the largest one did about a week ago.
im sorry if these pictures arnt the best quality, but both pacman and ms pacman get very excited when someone goes near the tank (they expect food ) so yes, he is still eating.









this picture doesnt give great scope on their size, but does on colour etc.










and this gives a bit better scope on how far they stick up.


detail:

these spots seem white underneath the scales... the scales look like they have been pushed upwards from underneath.

he has recently been treated sucsesfuly for fungus at the base of his tail. before he was treated for that, he floated when he was 'asleep'. after he got better he became just like any other normal fish and i was so relived, but now he has these, he has started floating again, even when awake you can see its takeing effort for him to stay down in he tank.

he shares the tank with his wife (ms. Pacman) who hasn't got anything wrong with her (and never had).

they are small fat fish (young), iv been told they are 'Ranchu' but i don't know if that's true. im not sure what their tank size is, but i'm pretty sure that its not too big and not too small. they have weekly partial water changes (usually 1/3 sometimes 1/2 depending on how messy they make it). the water is filtered and aerated by the water filter. they have live plants and are fed with a sinking food (so they don't get swim bladder). the food was suggested to us when we bought the fish and they have had it since (with the occasional treat of live food... ew)

i really want him to get better so ill be active on the forum regularly so dont hesitate to ask a question as i should be able to get back to you quickish, im going to try to get some better pictures but it may have to wait until he 'falls asleep'


thankyou.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Please answer these:
http://www.fishforum.com/tropical-fish-diseases/must-read-all-members-please-read-652/


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## Adam10010 (Mar 27, 2009)

1. Size of aquarium (# of gallons) - ??
2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water? - Freshwater
3. How long the aquarium has been set up? - about a year
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know) - 2 and maybe something called ranchu
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium? Yes
6. What temperature is the tank water currently? around 20*c 
7. What make/model filter are you using? Vita Tech
8. Are you using a CO2 unit? no?
9. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? - No
10. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed? 10 days ago 1/3
11. How often do you perform water changes? weekly/fortnightly 
12. How often and what foods do you feed your fish? twice a day (morning and evening) Hakari Lionhead Mini-pellet (by Kyorin i think... difficult to tell as the packet has LOTS of japanese writing on it ^^ )
13. What type of lighting are you using and how long is it kept on? a florecant tube turned on in the morning, left on untill about 6pm.
14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time? - As mentioned in the first post
15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. - no idea
16. What test kit are you using and is it liquid or test strips? - none
17. When was the last time you bought a fish and how did they behave while in the pet store tank? both fish have been together since they entered the pet shop.


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## Adam10010 (Mar 27, 2009)

1. Size of aquarium (# of gallons) - ??
2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water? - Freshwater
3. How long the aquarium has been set up? - about a year
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know) - 2 and maybe something called ranchu
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium? Yes
6. What temperature is the tank water currently? around 20*c 
7. What make/model filter are you using? Vita Tech
8. Are you using a CO2 unit? no?
9. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? - No
10. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed? 10 days ago 1/3
11. How often do you perform water changes? weekly/fortnightly 
12. How often and what foods do you feed your fish? twice a day (morning and evening) Hakari Lionhead Mini-pellet (by Kyorin i think... difficult to tell as the packet has LOTS of japanese writing on it ^^ )
13. What type of lighting are you using and how long is it kept on? a florecant tube turned on in the morning, left on untill about 6pm.
14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time? - As mentioned in the first post
15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. - no idea
16. What test kit are you using and is it liquid or test strips? - none
17. When was the last time you bought a fish and how did they behave while in the pet store tank? both fish have been together since they entered the pet shop.



ooo also, water is treated with King British safe water, Interpet treatments have also been used to treat previous illness as mentioned in the first post.


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Ok, I am no expert in fish disease or treatment, but your fish looks like it has hole in head disease to me.
Read up on it and see if you think that could be the case.
I have not treated for this, so maybe you can find some good advice online.
If it is hole in the head, I dont think this will cause you fish to have swimming problems. You may have two different things going on.
Dont think a fish cant have swim bladder problems because you give it sinking foods. I tried to do everything right with my goldfish and also started it out on sinking food. Well, it has swim bladder problems regardless. Some goldfish are just prone to it do their poorly shaped body structue. 
I cut back on feeding, and he gets some skinned peas daily. Although it has not cured the problem, he is still going strong almost a year latter after developing the problem.
Do read up on hole in the head. I hope I am wrong about that one.
Good luck! Hope your fish gets better!


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

I would invest in an API water test kit or take some water to the fish store to be tested.
Water quality problems can cause poor health in fish as well.
Its best to know your water quality before starting ant kind of treatment.


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## Adam10010 (Mar 27, 2009)

Twistersmom said:


> Ok, I am no expert in fish disease or treatment, but your fish looks like it has hole in head disease to me.
> Read up on it and see if you think that could be the case.
> I have not treated for this, so maybe you can find some good advice online.
> If it is hole in the head, I dont think this will cause you fish to have swimming problems. You may have two different things going on.
> ...



from the pictures google has shown me, i dont think it is this


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## catfishtabbi (Nov 10, 2008)

Hi adams welcome to the forum. I didnt study the post but i recall your mentioning these dots seem to be growing upward? they may be breeding tubes, if they're males and about 2 years old. If they start popping up on the body it could be ick which you will have to treat immediately. Goldfish are prone to swimbladder which can be remedied by feeding de-shelled peas.Are you sure the fungal treatment was complete and successful ? You need to use a dechlorinator nova-aqua is a good one. I'll log on later after i do research and have evening time i.e. dinner.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

1) You need a liquid test kit. If you want us to help at all, we need a water parameter listing. 
2) If you give us the dimensions of the tank, we can figure out the gallon/liter size for you.


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