Goldfish with red spots

Question
Hello, my goldfish has been developing some red spot and blotches on it's head and down the back. These spots seem to come and go. Is this fish sick? he has no filter and I do  a partial change of it's water about once a week. This fish is about 1 1/2 years old.

Answer
Hi Shannon;

Red blotches, spots or ulcers indicates irritation from dirty water or bacterial infection. Sometimes both. You are doing great by doing weekly water changes but it really isn't enough I'm afraid. Goldfish are very messy guys that get very large so they need good filtration on their tanks. Power filters that hang on the back of the tank or canister filters that attach to the tank with hoses are excellent choices. Here is a web page about goldfish and what they need to stay healthy;

http://www.firsttankguide.net/goldfish.php

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins