I have a 2-3 inch gold fish that lives in a bowl, recently i noticed he has a large fluid filled thing on his head, like hes from some creepy sci-fi movie with super smart fish with brains outside their heads, it really creepy, whats wrong with him?

If it looks like a raspberry it's an Oranda.........anyway, you need to get it into a proper tank PDQ, otherwise it WILL get sick, and it WILL die.

Goldfish can easily live for 20 years if properly cared for


[image]


Common Goldfish:
40 gallons (48 US gallons, 180 litres) for the first fish with an extra 12 gallons (14 US gallons, 55 litres) for each extra fish. The tank needs to have a minimum length of 4 feet (120cm) to allow swimming room. Single tail goldfish are more suited to a pond when they are near full size to give them swimming room.

Fancy Goldfish:
30 gallons (36 US gallons, 140 litres) for the first fish with an extra 10 gallons (12 US gallons, 45 litres) for each extra fish. The tank needs to have a minimum length of 3 feet to allow swimming room.

In addition, an external filter is highly recommended.

well, i dont think it is an "oranda" or whatever because i won it at the fair and it is a big (if there were somthing the same size on a human would be VERY concerned) kind of clear buble almost,with veins on it, i've had this fish for a year, this is the first i've seen of it

Hi bunnygirl and welcome to the forum,

As others here have said, bowls are not suitable for goldfish, despite the popular belief. This is because goldfish should be growing up to 10 inches, some breeds can reach 12 inches, so when kept in small environments they become stunted.
The other reason, is because of the goldfish's waste, they produce a lot of it and so when kept in small environments, with un suitable filtration, the waste can build up to harmful levels which can weaken the fishes immune system, damage it's gill's and sometimes even cause death.
Smaller environments also give very little room for the fish to exercise.

Not sure what area of the world you are from, but the RSPCA here in the UK have some information about goldfish and bowls you might want to read- (Link is not visible to guests. Please register to view.)

But the general jist is this quote;


So all in all, the bigger the tank, the better really. What's your current maintenance?

As already mentioned a larger tank no smaller than 20 gallons would be extremely helpful.
I would personally think that it's either an Oranda goldfish, developing a wen, so the growth on it's head will look like this ->
[image]

[image]


So if it doesn't look like those pictures, then I'm not sure, as Nossie said earlier it could be a tumour.

hello Bunnygirl,

Sounds like you got stuck with someone else's fish.  Thanks for giving it a home.

I'm in the states too.  I've been watching criaglists for a bigger tank.  You can find a larger tank for a very reasonable price.  I just saw a 10 gallon tank with hood and filter for $20.  I, too, live in a very small apartment.  My living room is about 300 square feet.  I found a 16 gallon tank to fit nicely in a corner. 

Like yourself I got myself a goldfish and put him in a small tank.  He got sick very fast.  I'm no expert like others here, but your fishy was probable sick from his tank.  I found with my small 2 gallon bowl I needed to change 25% of the water 2xday.  It is very hard to keep the water clean and your fish will get sick again.

Believe me....when you put your fish in a larger tank....they will swim around so happy and will grow.  You'll see it's a much better environment for it.

It's true they grow very fast and can get very big. I have a small bedroom and I have managed to find some room to fit a 180litre tank for my fish. I am hoping they will be ok in there until I can get my own place and fit a bigger tank in or a pond in the garden. Look at the room think is there anyway I can make room for a tank if the answer is no you may have to think about re-homing him, its hard to think about but so much better for him. Just like scrivens said we are not trying to be nasty we are just tryin to help you and your fish.

If you already stated that you didn't even want the fish, why bother buying a bigger tank for it? Why make such effort for an animal you don't even want to keep?

Please give him/her away, to the pet shop or something! Don't keep the fish just so you can slowly kill it in the bowl

the black spots are probably ammonia burns

The fish will most likely not get better if kept in a bowl. Thing is, it's had a symptom that something is wrong, you haven't changed anything and the fish will not be recovering in return. It's that simple. A sick fish needs a calm and clean environment to heal, with a good, varied diet. A bowl can't do that, and flakes everyday won't do.