# goldfish with large red spot on head



## dr heckle

anybody know what might be causing this i have a small plain common goldfish and recently i noticed two flecks of red under the scales on his head almost like he was bleeding under his scales i checked it again the next day and thought it was gone however i checked again today and to my surprise the red flecks have developed into a large red almost blister looking thing that takes up most of the top of his head i have looked up ulcers on the internet and it dosent look anything like them his tank has been neglected a little lately (i have had a lot of school deadlines coming to a close all at the same time lately) its probably worth mentioning that in the same tank i recently had a 1 yr old ryukin in perfect health just drop dead for no apparent reason i have been doing weekly water changes and it was the day before a chang i noticed the dead fish followed by this problem anyone got any ideas what this might be or better yet how to kill it?


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## Little-Fizz

Is a picture possible? How big is your tank? What are your water parameters?


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## dr heckle

about 12 liters no heater so about 18 degrees heat no filter either picture not available right now


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## Little-Fizz

:shock: Ummm no wonder. A gold fish in a 12 liter (I don't know how many gallons that is but I know its ridiculously small) WITHOUT A FILTER???? 

Water parameters doesn't mean temperature, it means ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH. 

Your goldfish needs like a 30 gallon tank minimum. And thats just for one goldfish, he is probably living in the worst water quality ever and that would explain the sore. You need to do water changes and get him a new home.


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## dr heckle

so what are the chances of a full recovery and how soon would you recomend a new tank?
p.s thanks for your help i have had the little guy since he was barely 2 cm long and he means alot too me


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## Little-Fizz

I couldn't tell you what his chances are because I don't know the extent of his injury. How big is the fish now? It sounds like hes grown quite a bit since you got him? I recommend getting a new tank ASAP... Like seriously as soon as possible. Until you can upgrade you should be doing daily 20% water changes. Its pretty much his only chance.... You can add meds such as stress coat or melafix to help the wound heal, the only problem is I would need to see it... If theres a sore and nothing he could have injured himself on then he could have a bacterial infection by this point, or the sore could develop fungus. If you can borrow someones camera and get a picture then do so. It's hard to give a diagnoses with the only description being a sore.


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## iamntbatman

I agree - it's impossible to make a diagnosis without a very good description of the sore or better yet, a picture. Improving the water quality would be absolutely beneficial though. I recommend doing a 50% water change as soon as possible, with the 20% daily changes Little-Fizz recommended after that. Goldfish produce a lot of waste and grow very large so getting him a larger tank as soon as possible is quite important. I recommend reading up on the aquarium cycle and purchasing the biggest tank you can afford or have room for. Common goldfish grow to over a foot in length and produce a lot of waste, so something like a 90 gallon tank would really be best for long-term care.


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## ilovemybubbles

These guys are right. I kept having a similar problem with my bubbleeye goldfish. One of his bubbles kept turning red like it was bleeding or something. I had him in a 10 gal tank with a filter and did weekly water changes. As soon as he would get better, it would come back. 

I took some advise and got a 30 gal tank, he is so much happier now. I have not had any outbreaks since he has been in this tank. So, if you put your little guy in a new home he will be happier and he will get better.

With Goldys you HAVE to have a filter. They produce A LOT of waste. It would also be wise to invest in a vacuum, changing the water often is not enough. you have to clean the rocks too.

If you can't afford a new tank, they are expensive, try craigs list or freecycle you can post and maybe someone has one they are not using. Just do something fast! He will be much happier trust me. 

His sores are probably just the quality of water and lack of filter and lack of happiness. Use stress coat, give him a dose and a half at a time, it won't hurt him to use more than the suggested dose.


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## ilovemybubbles

Oh' and put a little salt in there too


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## jollymoon

I read several posts on this "red bump on head" that were several years old.

I have had a regular goldfish for about 3 years. He looked lonely, so I went to WalMart and bought an algae eater and another regular goldfish. Two days ago, overnight, this red bump appeared on the large regular goldfish.

I admit the tank was dirty, about a week. I don't have filters or pumps hooked up, I just change the water in the 5 galllon tank once a week. Never had a problem before. 

I first suspected and injury, since nothing else had changed. Then read several forums about bacteria, wens, dirty water, etc. I had been putting a dime sized tablet of "algae food" everyday for the algae eater....so the water was extra dirty.

I saw a post about a picture and here is mine: goldfish MooPig or











The bump is definitely under the skin right between the eyes. He is very healthy, active and eats a pinch of fish food twice a day. In all respects he is ok, except for this "red bump".

Help ! I don't want to douse the tank with ( light gravel bottom and some glass beads) chemicals unless I have a better idea of what this is. I hope it is just a Wen...

Thanx and MooPig thanx you too.


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## JouteiMike

Is the algae eater you speak of a plecostomus? I would highly suggest you remove it from goldfish tank. From personal experience with goldfish, I once had a plecostomus living with fancy goldfish and noticed one goldie had a sore developing closer to its tail. I suspected it got injured somehow so I kept an eye on it. It showed no signed of improvement until I caught the plecostomus attached to the goldfish, sucking on it right where the sore was. I immediately and hastily removed the pleco and put it in a different tank with different species of fish. I am not saying the sore is directly correlated to the pleco, it's just a precaution I want to express due to personal experience.

Also, I notice the goldfish to look like a common, or comet. What type of set-up do you have as far as the "pumps" go? 5 gallons is significantly too small for even one goldfish, let alone 2 goldfish and pleco. Common goldfish, or comets, are usually kept in MUCH bigger aquariums, but more commonly in ponds. For aquariums, I would suggest sticking to no smaller than 75 gallon for 2-4 fancy goldies, not comets. They will grow BIG! And generate mucho waste. I do hope you plan on getting a bigger aquarium, or giving them back the pet store and picking up a betta, ghost shrimp, or maybe a dwarf puffer. 5 gallons are rather small in general and may be difficult to maintain due to their size in relation to water chemistry and temperature. If you get a 10-30 gallon tank your choices increase.


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## jollymoon

*Red spot on goldfish head*

thank you so much for replying...MooPig thanks you !

I guess I should have left things alone. Funny, after I cleaned the water (3 days ago) the spot has faded a whole bunch !

I never suspected the pleco...weird... but they seem to not like to be near each other...

MooPig has been living in that 5-10 tank for 3 hears... I think it might be a 10 gallon tank (walmart special)

I will keep a close eye on the little critters and see if the spot goes away any more. If it keeps fading this fast and I didn't do anything but clean the water...then maybe it was the pleco...at least I THINK it is a placo??

thanks again.


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## Tobias168

Yup, Past experience for me was to find Plecos "Attached and Sucming" to the goldfish, because goldfish has a layer of slime on there bodies, this is to protect them from bacteria and other harmful bacteria away from their bodies, the Pleco for some reason really likes to stick itself to these goldfishes lol


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## jollymoon

*pleco is a little vampire*

Moopig got better in just a few days. I forgot to return here and give an update.

Sure looks like the pleco put a "hicky" on the goldfish's forhead...

go figure... certainly glad I didn't have to buy a bunch of chemicals and medicine !

All is well now and no more "vampire sucking" ...


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## Tobias168

Happy Ending (Y)


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## JouteiMike

Glad to see things are looking better for you and your fish!


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## swtcindy

I brought 2 gold fishes and 6 months back.. i dont have a big place to keep them in a big tank.. so placed them a small bowl.. 
uptil now they were good.. but few days back i noticed the same thing.. theres a red region on their head between there eyes.. 
looks like they have some blisters or red thing under the skin..
i dont know what to do...

please somebody help ... :-(


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## thekoimaiden

swtcindy said:


> so placed them a small bowl..


This is your problem right here. Goldfish make a lot of waste and get rather large. They need a big tank to survive long term. They are hardy enough to survive these terrible conditions for much longer than most fish, but isn't a justification for keeping them in a small bowl. These sores are probably bacterial infections caused by poor water quality. With a one gallon bowl you need to do daily 100% water changes to keep the water from becoming toxic. I strongly recommend you upgrade to a larger tank. Even a 10 gal plastic bin from walmart will be a better home.


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## swtcindy

Thank you so much.. i brought a bigger bowl for my fishes.. n a filter, air pump as well..  n they seem better now ..


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## thekoimaiden

swtcindy said:


> Thank you so much.. i brought a bigger bowl for my fishes.. n a filter, air pump as well..  n they seem better now ..


You're very welcome! While it's great that you got them a larger bowl, unless it is more than 20 gallons you are still in the danger zone. With proper care goldfish grow over 10 inches. Twenty gallons is the minimum for one double-tailed goldfish, and 55 gallons is the minimum for a single-tailed goldfish. Ideally single tailed goldfish should be in a pond and the double-tails should be in an aquarium longer than 3 feet. Despite what the people at the pet store say (very rarely do they have any knowledge about fishkeeping), goldfish aren't great beginner fish due to their large size and high waste production. Reading this will help you learn more about goldfish: TFK Gold fish information


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