I purchased a red cap oranda about 2 weeks ago. I actually bought two and Tom (who is still living) killed Tim.. which was the smaller fish. Anyhow In the past few days Tom has been having little black spots on the bottom of his little head and his fins have been trimmed in black. I called the pet store and they are NOT able to figure out whats going on. They asked me to bring him in however I am very unsure as to what to do at this point.. please help if possible ! I really do love this little fish to death ! Thanks

The black marks on your fish are more than likely ammonia/nirite burns. When you first set up a new tank you have to go through the cycling process. During this time there will be an ammonia spike, followed by a nitrite spike. When this happens the water becomes extremely toxic to the fish. Once these two spikes have happened nitrates start to build up an dthe ammonia and nitrite start to decline. Your tank is only cycled when the ammonia and nitrite return to 0 and the nitrates are over 0 (try to keep them below 20 though).
While a tank is cycling you need to test the water frequently (I test mine everyday) for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. You can buy the test kits at any lfs. As the levels rise it is necessary to perform daily water changes of about 30% in order to make the levels less toxic to the fish.
You need to get yourself these test kits and start doing water changes of 30% a day immediatly to save your fish from a lot of suffering. Once the water quality is ok again the black marks will heal and go back to their normal colour.
Problems during cycling are made worse by overstocking. It is generally advised that each fish has a minimum of 10 gallons to avoid water quality problems in the future.

Thank you so much for that information. I am a NEW fish owner. My mom has had a big tank since I was younger.. So I wanted to start off small and got this little 2 gallon tank. I dont think the fish is happy there so for the time being I am upgrading to a 5 gallon and evntually I will get a 10 gallon once I move out of this apartment. I did go and buy a test kit today so that I could keep track of the water. I really appreciate you replying to me and any other fishy information you have I would appreciate. Thanks again !

How long will it take for his color to return ? He seems to be doing well with his new water (knock on wood) ... I called the pet store and they were not able to give me a definate answer. Thanks again !

It will probably take a few weeks for him to heal properly. As long as you keep the water good though you should start seeing an improvement fairly soon. Try to get hold of some melafix from your lfs. This will help with his healing and also stop nasties such as fungus appearing on his wounds.

thanks ! the local pet store should have this stuff right ? If not I will order offline. I am very fond of my little oranda. He's my little "party hat." Thanks

It should be fairly easy to get hold of at your fish shop.