My little "Leroy" fish has a swollen belly. Tonight I was doing a water change and noticed lots of slimy clumps floating around the tank. I thought that he was sick and that his slime coat was coming off...but then...when I was vacuuming the gravel I noticed all of these clear, perfectly spherical balls going up the vac. I only have two goldfish in the tank (nothing else). Some of the slimy stuff is stuck to the silk plant that I have in the tank.


Could these be goldfish eggs? Is Leroy really a she? If so, do you think that Leroy a bad name for a female fish?

hahahaha!

thats a perfectly fine name for a female goldfish! heh, you be surprised to know that many of us here hav gone and bought a goldie, gave it a name only to find out later on that he was a she or vis-versa.

as for the round things in the tank, yes, those were most likely eggs. its up to you if you want to raise them or not. if you dont want to or dont have the time and space for it, just let them eat the eggs. given the chance, they most likely will.

hope this helps!

Well, I'm not sure if the other goldfish in the tank is a male - so, I don't know if the eggs are fertilized or not. Do female goldfish lay eggs even if there isn't a male present?

If they are fertilized, it would be pretty neat to raise some little fishies- but that seems like soooo much more responsiblity to me. I have my hands full taking care of the ones that I already have!

Oh my god (I just re- read what I just typed up there) - now I know that I have truly lost it. I sound like a woman who just found out that she's got an unexpected pregnancy.

I am officially a nutball.

A friend of mine keeps one female goldfish in a small tank and it layed eggs a couple of weeks ago so I guess it's possible I myself am raising gf fry for 4 weeks now and speaking from my own experience,fertilized eggs will be clear and in a day or two will develop little black eyes and wiggle inside the egg.Not fertilized eggs will be whitish and will grow fungus eventually.so you might want to observe the eggs just to be sure good luck!

I just found the eggs yesterday. They're clear and in some of them I can see something inside. It looks like a yolk sac. My husband is super excited- what a weirdo, he barely pays any attention to the fish, and then is all excited about the possiblity of fry- I don't even know if I'm going to keep them or not. I'm so new to caring for goldfish; babies just seem like tooooooo much responsibility.

So? any progress with the eggs? did any hatch?

Nope! They changed a bit- I could see a white "yolk" (?) thing inside, but nothing. My water just got really cloudy again for a day or two, and Monty has a white thing on each "cheek". I'm not sure if they're breeding stars or what. If they are spawning, I wish they would quit it. I don't want any baby goldfish right now! :angry:

yep, white dots on cheeks are definitely breeding stars, you may start to see them on the leading edge of his pectoral fins as well. as for the eggs, just let them be and theyll get eaten.

oh, and the milkiness to the water is milt. thats how the male fertilizes the eggs.

good luck with them!

good luck with your eggs, dont let anything bad happen to them!! =p

Like getting eaten? Actually, I don't want any babies right now. So, keep your fingers crossed for me that any new eggs DO get eaten!

*gasps* noooooooooooooo!! poor babies. :[ i would of kept it. knowing me, id keep an ant..