Black smudges on my goldfish

Oct 11, 2008
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0
#1
Alright, so I got a little goldfish, and kept him in a goldfish bowl for a month or so and he was fine, we fed him flakes but he didn't eat them and gave a betta fish pellet one day and he ate it so he was fed those... The other day I bought a "goldfish starter aquarium" and transferred him to that because the bowl broke (he wasn't in it at the time). He was fine the first day of so, and we started feeding him flakes again. Lately, he's had black smudged on hi head, and the tips of his fins but he acts like his normal, very active self.
Is it some disease, or the food/aquarium? I've read about ammonia/pH burns, could it be that?
 

Rayneuki

Large Fish
May 29, 2008
228
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0
35
Memphis, TN
#2
Ammonia/PH burns are white/clear to my knowledge. A PH burn is very unlikely at that.... How big is the tank, for one, you really need a 10+ gal for a goldfish. Yeah I know... sounds big... But that fish is gonna get HUGE. They don't tell you that.

Does it actualy look like... it HURTS the fish? Not like the fish is showing pain... but like does it look like it's a wound? It could possibly be markings just showing up? I'm not sure...
 

AlyKat

Large Fish
Aug 3, 2007
255
0
0
New York
#5
I had this on one of my goldfish too...seemed to be nothing...that was well over a year ago...it used to be an orange goldfish, then all of a sudden it had some black streaks...but he's still alive...and still has the black streaks...so I'm gonna say don't worry! :)
 

jo3olous

Large Fish
Aug 6, 2008
909
1
0
Philadelphia, PA
#6
i think the brown spots are healing ammonia burns. The good thing is that the brown means it's healing...

do you have water test kits?? Too high ammonia can kill your fish.
well ehh, goldfish emit a ton of ammonia dont they? and the min tank for a goldfish should be a 15-20, then +10-15G per goldfish after the first.

Gold fish are slobs, they eat a ton and produce lots of waste. They also get rather big... I sense another tank upgrade in the future! Or a hurt fish*SICK*