# Goldfish: Brown Spots



## the_limit (Jul 24, 2008)

So, I am indubitably back. And with me I bring forth a new problem. I am acting on my father's advice to "go and ask the computer" so here it is,

On the 13th of August (which also happened to be my birthday), fate smiled upon me, and Big Al's stocked Ranchu Goldfish. My pocket was $60 lighter, but I had three new beautiful fish in my aquarium. Prior to introducing fish to the tank, I did a 20% water change, added salt, Prime, tested for water quality, and finally released the fish.

On the 14th of August, I applied some Ich/Protozoa medication (just in case!)

August 17th; Upon close inspection it was noticed that one of the three Ranchu had about 10 or so brown spots on is body. One of them is slightly larger and is just below the lateral line, and above the pectoral fin. The rest are small dots of varying sizes (a pin head or so, with +/- differences), located on the dorsal area, just behind the head.

The brown spots are not protruding in nature (like ich), but appear to be quite flat, and they appear to originate from under the scales. The spot on the side looks very similar to the ones on the top, and I think they are of the same cause. Right now it's not noticeable unless you walk up to the tank and actually inspect the fish, but I dont want to leave it until it's too late...

Any suggestions? 

Some more info:
*Tank size*: 35 galons
*Inhabitants*: 3 Ranchu Goldfish, 1 Weather (Dojo) Loach
*Filters*: Aquaclear 70, Aquaclear 50 (working simultaneously)
*pH*: 7.4-7.5
*NH 3/4*: 0
*NO2*: <0.3mg/l
*GH*: 8 dH
*KH*: 4 dH

Fish are fed once a day with goldfish flakes. They clear it up in about 5-7 minutes. The loach is also very good as it finds all the small bits and leftovers. After about 10 minutes it is safe to say that no food remains are visible.

P.S. Ranchu's are friggin' awesome! All three of them nibble on my finger when theyre hungry


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

the_limit said:


> On the 14th of August, I applied some Ich/Protozoa medication (just in case!)


You shouldn't treat 'just in case' ever with these meds, or any others (besides maybe mela/pimafix, which are much less harsh, or maybe some antihelmintics like prazipro to get rid of any potential internal parasites), as medications cause stress to the fish. It's like if I gave you antibiotics for no reason; it really does you no good, and is for no reason.

Sorry, can't help you about the brown spots (Kate probably can), hope they get better. Clean water is the key


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## aaronc (Jul 24, 2008)

i don't keep goldfish but my guess is the flat brown items stuck on your fish could be fish lice. They anchor to under the scales so treatment is going to be quite hard to remove with meds. but what i have done in the past is remove them manually with tweezers (tedious but at lease i was getting paid at the fish store to do so). i googled this page hope some info help you out.
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/Fish Lice.html


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

said lice:


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## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

any change in the situation? were the spots actually fish lice?


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