Ammonia level 0
Nitrite level 0
Nitrate level 0
PH level about 8
10 gallon tank, running for 3 years
Internal filter with a sponge in it
3 fancy fish, between 2 and 3 inches long
I add de-chlorinator to new water and waterlife bacterilife once a week
I feed them sinking pellets and pre-prepared pastes of bloodwrom, daphnia and brine shrimp

I bought a new fish yesterday, and when I got it home I noticed wierd white lumps on its head. Its an Oranda and the lumps are growing on and around the lumpy cap bit (sorry, don't know what its actualy called). They're about 1mm across, and some of them are red around the outside. I've had a good look, but can't see anything that looks like worms and such like, if anything they look like mild acne!

I've been looking around the internet all morning, but can't find anything that accurately describes them, I'd be really grateful for any help.

you might be right on in the acne department.

it seems that goldies that grow wens are succeptable to "wen zits". but, to be really sure, is there any chance of posting us a picture. if youve got a digicam, just snap a few shots and go to a photo hosting site such as photobucket.com or something. once its loaded to that site, you can post the link to it here.

if you cant get a pic, maybe you could try desribing them in a bit more detail.

paul

I'll charge my batteries and try and get a picture up tomorrow ta. I've been watching it today, and it does seem to be hanging at the top of the water a bit if it sheds any more light...

One thing pops up in my head here - its a 10 gl tank, with 3 fish in it, and there isn't any NITRATE reading?? The tank is overstocked right now, so there should be a reading there. Nitrates are the "endproduct" of the cycling process, and they are always detectable, unless you would have a heavily planted tank.
How old is the test kit, do you know by any chance?

The thought that the test kits are out of date has occurred to me. I'm going to get another tomorrow as soon as I can make it to the shop.

I've put some pictures up here
fish picture
another fish picture
They're pretty fuzzy, but the best I can manage

What is recommended for stocking an aquarium then? I have a book (which is admittedly pretty old) that reckons 1" of fish per 30 square inches surface area and the tank doesn't exceed that.

Its just occured to me, my tank is 10 UK gallons, that's about 12 US ones or 50 litres...

ranchugirl has a good point. i didnt catch that the first time i read your post. any new test results yet?

from the looks of the pics you posted, it looks a bit more like ulcers to me. this is evident by the redness in them. you can either treat these ulcers manually, or try waterborne meds. i would try manually first. heres a link to another members thread that seems to have the same ulcers your oranda does: ulcers by the way, gorgeous goldie!

firstly, before any treatment can be considered effective, youll need to know what the water quality is in the tank and fix it if need be. once you know what these levels are actually at, youll know how much water you need to change each week to keep it clean and the nitrAtes as low as you can. any ammonia or nitrItes that are in readable amounts (or high nitrAtes) are considered to compromise most any treatments and should be kept as low as possible.

as for the rule of thumb that you read (about 1 inch per....etc), its regarded more for small tropical fish species (warm water fish). goldfish (coldwater fish) have the ability to grow very big and are voracious eaters. being that they eat so much, they poop alot. knowing this, its best to keep them in as large a tank as you can keep for them, starting at ten gallons per fancy goldfish. the common "feeder" (term used loosely) type goldfish can grow even larger than fancy types and need even more gallonage (15-25 plus gallons per goldie) because they can grow to a foot in length, even larger. so, in short, its best to provide goldfish as much gallonage as you can coupled with efficient filtration. keep in mind, 95% of the manufacturers suggestions for filters and the tanks they are for is unacceptable for goldfish. it seems that in the end, goldfish are the exception to almost every rule in general fishkeeping. i think thats why i like them so much to tell the truth.

anyway, let us know about the water params as soon as you can.