I have a 30 gallon aquarium with two fancy goldfish. Snorkel is my Oranda and Velvet is my Black Moore. The other day I noticed Snorkel's wen was "popping" at the top. It looks sort of like two kernals of corn getting ready to come off of the cob. I also noticed that Velvet was nipping at it and chasing Snorkel around the tank so I seperated them with a divider. Below are two links to recent videos of each of them on YouTube. Also below is all the details of my specs. Does anyone know what this is and what I should do?

Also, Velvet seems to have some ''grains of salt" on his gills, pelvic fins, behind his eyes and a small amount on the side of his body. He has had them for a year and half. It has never spread. I thought it was ick when he first devoloped them but am not sure if it is that or breeding tubercles. You can see them on the video. Could someone give me their opinion of what they are?


Video of Snorkel

Video of Velvet

1. Ammonia Level? 0
2. Nitrite Level? 0.25
3. Nitrate level? 30
4. Ph Level, (If possible,KH and GH and chloramines)? Ph level is 6.4
5. Ph Level out of the Tap? 7.8
6. Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running? 30 gallon/3 Years
7. What is the name and size of the filter/s? 1. Whisper 60 Power Filter 2. Aqua Clear 20 Power Filter
8. How often do you change the water and how much? Once a week with 1 teaspoon of salt per gallon.
9. How many fish in the tank and their size? 2 Fancy Goldfish. Oranda & Black Moore. Size ?
10. What kind of water additives or conditioners? I use no additives or conditioners.
11. Any medications added to the tank? No medications within the past year.
12. Add any new fish to the tank? No new fish in over a year.
13. What do you feed your fish? Pellets, peas & blood worms
14. Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt", bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? Velvet seems to have some grains of salt on his gills, pelvic fins, behind his eyes and a small amount on the side of his body.
15. Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, ect..? Velvet (Black Moore) has been chasing Snorkel (Oranda).

Hi Matt and welcome to KoKos! I am not a mod and I am sure one will be on shortly to help you out. The "lumps" on your fish's wen could be a bacterial infection of some sort? I am not sure. The white dots on your moor look like breeding stars to me.
I was wondering why you don't add water conditioner to your tank and has your PH always been that low? Also, on a tank that has been set up as long as yours, you should not have any nitrites at all as the tank should be cycled. How much water do you change each week? Why are you adding salt each time?

Nickie, to comment on your last question first. I got into a HUGE argument with a guy who is a scientist with umpteen years of experience raising and doing all who knows what kinds of testing with fish, but allegedly a fish expert extraordinaire and he advocates salt in the aquarium at all times. I do not, as, it appears you don't nor do most people on here from what I've gathered, but point is, there are people out there who tell people to do this. I believe that constant salt makes the fish too dependent on what the salt does and lowers the fish's natural tolerance levels and abilities to create its own immune system and slime coat, etc. Also, I've always wondered how one keeps a tank cycled when you have salt constantly threatening the (good) bacteria levels. I would like to hear from the experts on this.

Wtih regard to Matt's ph level, my question is, when the ph out of the tap is 7.8, why is Matt dropping it way down to 6.4? Is this intentional, or do you have logs or something in your tank Matt?

Anyway, with regard to your questions Matt, wens are just little blobs of skin stuck rather tenuously to the head and can get pulled off from time to time from what I understand and, when they get too overgrown, actually need and can be cut down a little. So, there might be a concern for infection from any damage that may have been done by the ripping off, but otherwise, that's about it. I have to say that I just couldn't tell what the white bumps are that your moor has by the pictures, but if it were ich or some disease, he'd be a real sick little guy after having it for a year and a half, but then again, having breeding tubercles for a year and a half straight is also a little odd and unlikely.

Do you know what the readings are on your tap water, assuming that is what you're using for water changes? As Nickie pointed out, Nitrites should be zero in-between water changes, unless you have recently had a crash. Your PH is starting out fine out of the tap, but is not sustaining in the tank. You'll need to check your water hardness to figure out what is happening (KH and GH).

The bubbles are definately not normal, so I'm sure someone will come along shortly and help you sort that out. They are protruding more than new wen growth, so it's safe to assume it's something that has been introduced. Is your tap water source free and clear of chlorine and chloramines? If not, you should be treating your water before adding it back in. Also, it's not necessary to use salt on a regular basis, as it tends to make the fish susceptible to infections as bacterial colonies build resistance to it.

Is your water cloudy? It was hard to tell. That could be a clue as to something going on as well.

Your fish do look large though...what size are they, and how long have you had them?

As most here will affirm, I know almost nothing about gf, but given the explanation of wens above and your need to divide the tank space because of Velvet's tendency to chase and nip at Snorkel's wen, isn't it possible that what you see sticking up from the wen are wen-skin segments previously "plucked" by Velvet?

Oliver

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their kind assistance. I can always count on everyone here for help. Everyone is so nice.

To begin with, let me address the Ph issue. I do use water from the tap for water changes and change about 35% every week. I also vacuum when I do this. I have 3 seashells and 4 fake plants and some aerator stones. However, for some reason my tap water seems to change Ph levels quite often. I don't know why. I've never really been sure how to maintain the Ph level in my tank without adding chemicals and I'm not a big fan of chemicals. I guess I've always thought that if nature doesn't use them why should you put it in your tank. Of course, I could be wrong. (Lolafish, I know nothing about KH and GH, what is it?). Any suggestions on how to maintain the Ph level in your tank? I also don't know why my nitrites have spiked. Maybe I need better filters or less gravel. Maybe I'm overfeeding. It's been suggested that I get a Plecostomus.

Secondly, the salt. Why do I use salt? 4 years ago I started with tropical fish. I had a heck of a time. They were constantly dying or getting diseases no matter what I did. Then I decided to switch to Fancy Goldfish because they were more resilient and I thought they were more beautiful. I had much better luck until one of my goldfish came down with ick and eventually died. Someone suggested adding salt for maintenance. After reading all the different opinions on the salt controversy, I decided to try it. I have now been doing this for almost 3 years and haven't had 1 fish contract any disease so I am assuming that it works. However, once again, I could be wrong. Should I stop using salt?

Thirdly, Snorkel's wen. I was kind of leaning toward what oliver_black said in that they are are wen-skin segments previously "plucked" by Velvet. However, I have never seen that aggressive behavior in the past. And if they are a bacterial infection as Nickie73 suggested then I'm not sure how to treat it. I definitely don't have the courage to perform surgery. The wen is still very much attached cause I touched it. There are no holes. It just looks swollen like it's ready to pop. I still would love some feedback on this.

Lastly, the white spots on Vevet. I'm hoping they are breeding tubercles but I often get worried they are not because they are so prominent and widespread. I'm pretty positive that it isn't ick or else it would have spread drastically by now and as lynda441 said, "he'd be a real sick little guy after having it for a year and a half." I don't want to treat something if I don't know what it is or treat something if it doesn't need treated. What does everyone think I should do?

Thanks again everyone for your help. Please don't give up on me now, I need your input.

Hi Matt, You have two very beautiful, gorgeous and large fish there and for the most part they look to be very healthy.

I have a question for you regarding Snorkel's tank position. It seems she is spending a lot of her time at the top of the tank. In the video I can see quite clearly how the 2 bubbles are actually exiting the water surface. If this is a fairly constant tank position recently it is possible that the wen has been affected by constant exposure to air. I have a little topsitter in one of my tanks whose dorsal periodically gets a lump on it from where that part of the dorsal bobs up out of the water. Also if she is at the top a lot, I would really worry about this unstable pH you have. It may be that you need more sea shells in your tank and some crushed coral in the filterbox to keep the pH buffered.

Of course this theory is ungrounded if Snorkel is only feeding there at the top in the vid.

In which case I would go with the suggestion that these bubbles of wen skin are are a result of breeding activity. Wens are loose 'skin' and there are many stories here at kokos of members who have had other tank mates nibble on, bite, attack and damage fellow fishes' wens.

So you'd need to watch out for any redness or deterioration.