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Author Topic: So much conflicting info on black spots - help!  (Read 806 times)
Cari
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So much conflicting info on black spots - help!
« on: January 24, 2010, 12:45:52 AM »
My kids got two goldfish for christmas in a 2 gallon tank, which we are very shortly upgrading to a 5 gallon with live plants and a filtration system.  When we got the fish, one was entirely gold, and one had black tips on all of the fins, which has since spread to other parts of his fins and his mouth.  The second fish has a few small black spots.  We do a full water chane every 5 days, and the second we change it, we set a new bucket of water out to start cycling, still with such a small tank, I'm sure by the end of the 5 days our ammonia levels may be getting high. 

Are the black spots ammonia burns?  Part of their natural color changes?  Do they have a parasite?  There are so many reasons out here on the Web for black spots that I'm not sure what do think!  Help please?
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Cari
Guest
Re: So much conflicting info on black spots - help!
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2010, 12:47:58 AM »
Oh my goodness, just checked on the fish again and noticed long sausage-link type "tails" coming from underneath both fish, near their back bottom fin.  Is this their poo?  I've never seen them go before and I'm very worried this might be something horrible happening to them.  Are they sick?  Is this related to the black spots?  I'm starting to wish my kids were not gifted fish for Christmas as we have no idea what we are doing with them, and my kids are very attached to the fish now and I would hate for the fish to die or suffer from our ignorance.  Please help us!
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Kashe
Guest
Re: So much conflicting info on black spots - help!
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2010, 01:03:53 AM »
With a two gallon tank and 2 goldfish, i would lean more on ammonia problem (i.e. wastes from the goldfish and food decay) more than a color change. The only way you will be able to tell 100 % for sure is to use an aquarium water test kit, which you can get at any pet store. Do a check for ammonia concentration over a period of days and it will tell you if the levels are safe or not in the tank. If you see a lot of ammonia spikes , chances are the ammonia is hurting the fish.  The only way to really prevent ammonia from rising up and down too fast is to have an adequate volume of water to dilute this toxic chemical, which can only be done with a larger aquarium.   If your tests do not show any dangerous level over several days , then it could be just a color change.

Black spots are not associated with parasites so you can pretty much rule that out as a cause.

As far as upgrading to a 5 gallon tank, i'm afraid that size will not be adequate for 2 goldfish since the water will become polluted too fast in such a small environment and will pose a significant health risk to the fish over time. You will probably need at least  20 gallon aquarium for the 2 goldfish.
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Katarine
Sr. Member
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Posts: 1247
Re: So much conflicting info on black spots - help!
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2010, 02:38:08 PM »
and the strings are poop. Dont worry, thats healthy. I'm not a poop expert, but theres a forum on here related to fish poop (fancy that! hahaha) As for black spots, I have no idea.
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Littlefishy
Jr. Member
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Karma: 9
Posts: 54
Re: So much conflicting info on black spots - help!
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2010, 03:32:12 PM »
Ther stringy stuff is almost deffinetly poopie. Ask the pet shop for if his 'poopie' is healthy.
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