Red1313

Ok so this may sound weird but hear me out. Charlie my little fancy goldfish is living in a bare bottomed tank. He does have a big tea pot with soil under gravel in it but that hasn't been disturbed. For some reason Charlie has a black "smudge" going accross his bottom jaw and on the left side of his face. It starts below his right eye sort of wraps around. It's not a big solid mark but it honestly looks like he was rolling in dirt. Anyone know what this is?

I can't get a pic because my camera is dead and I've misplaced the charger. His tank is in mind cycle right now so I'll do water tests and post the results here for you in a few.

NH3= 0-0.6mg/L
NO2= 0.3-o.8mg/L
I just did a water change last night with prime and used up the last of my conditioner at the time...

aquarist48

Hello Red. Does the "dirty" spot come off? Can you see that it changes or disappears? Maybe he's been playing around in the dirt and you just can't tell that anything has been disturbed? hmmmmmm.
Ken

DeanAsploded

When in doubt, poke it! Otherwise I'm not much help. Never heard of something like that.

gremlin

Did the black just appear? or has it been there from the start? All goldfish are born black and the black fades as they mature. If it has been there since you had him, then it may be a bit of left over from the baby coloring. If it just showed up recently, it might be a reaction to ammonia. Ammonia burns are red, but as they heal the scales can turn black. The black will eventually fade as the burns heal. Since your tank is going through a mini cycle, it could be damage from the ammonia. Or, if he likes to rub his face on stuff in the tank, he may have irritated his own scales enough to cause damage. Once again, it should fade as it heals.

Tony G.

aww red.. sorry he's been a nawty boy...

Red1313

I've never seen it before and it looks like it's spreading. I'm seeing what looks like a few spots on his "wen?"
I'll search for my charger and try to get a pic of it.

shellbell4ever

Did you say "soil under gravel in it" Why would you have soil in your tank(I'm not being sarcastic just asking?)Has he still got a dirty face?

Red1313

Yes it's actually spreading a bit and I still don't know what it is and can't get a pic.

For the soil under gravel thing I converted most of my smaller tanks (the 5's and 10) to this set up. It's about 1-2" of plain old dirt with a layer of small size gravel over it. I got the idea from the 'El Natural Aquarium'. The plants in those tank are looking awsome and growing really well. So when I set up my gold fish tank since goldies eat plants I thought I'd try to give the plants are much of a head start as I could. So in my big tea-pot there's a layer of soil then the plants, then the gravel on top. So far I think it's helped.

gremlin

What type of goldie is it? There are a couple of varieties that grow wens.

aquarist48

Hello...would someone be so kind as to define "wen". I looked it up in the dictionary and it says something about a cyst and subcutaneous matter? When fish are concerned is it the fluffy top knot on the Lionhead fish and or Orandas?
Thanks!
Ken...(didnt mean to hijack!)

Red1313

This is Charlie I think he's a variation of an organda goldfish but he was just labeled as "Fancy Goldfish". This pic was taken prior to the black mark showing up... I'll see if i can get a picture with my camera phone to share but I don't know if I can promise that.

Attached Images

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Red1313

Here Ken...I've always heard the part labeled "F" reffered to as the "wen"...
EDIT: Proof for Ken I didn't make it up.... it's halfway down...

aquarist48

Thank you Red!
Ken

TedsTank

Oh Charlie is just a lttle guy...as mentioned above his color will change....I have them spawn in my pond....some really cool patterns, but Ive learned not to get excited until a year later and their color pattern gets fixed.
When you buy a fancy goldfish as a baby, unfortunatly it doesn't always grow up to look the same. I even have Koi loose colors as they mature. I think the goldies are hatched dark as a protection thing while little...it's easy to hide!!.

Red1313

Lol ken I added in a edit for you in my last post.
TedsTank: Thanks for the advice, However the "new" black that's showing up is a different color/look to it then the rest of the black... It just doesn't look right and it's only around his lower jaw and gills. It's a frustrating thing alright. Fighting with my computer over how to get the pics off my phone onto it but I'll keep trying to get them on.

aquarist48

Thanks again! Very interesting pages! I book marked them for future reference as well. Wen = fluffy top knot
Ken

gremlin

A picture would definitely help to identify what is going on.

Kitsune

It kinda does look like it has dirt on it's face... Naughty naughty fish