My goldfish !

Question
I have several goldfish in a large tank, my mom no longer wanted her 4 so i took them. I put 2 in my large tank and 2 in another. The ones in the smaller tank are fine but the ones i added to the large have dots on their "gill plates" i have seen no change in behavior in either but now i have noticed my fantail has them also. I have tried a fungi treatment but they did not go away. I am concerned that they may all become ill or am i worring over nothing. I also just noticed a red scratch next to a dot on one of the 2 fish in question. The fish are common's and are 4"-5" inches.thank you.

Answer
Good evening Lisa, thank you for your question.

I would keep a close eye on the goldfish, but do not be hasty with medication! Those symptoms don't sound like a fungus, but medication directly in the tank will affect bio-filtration and cause ammonia spikes which can indeed lead to problems, so discontinue the medication as of now.

What you describe sounds normal to me, have a look here:
http://www.goldfishinfo.com/identify.htm

You don't mention the color of the spots, but they could simply be tubercles. Here's a picture, if that helps:
http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/articles_details.php?article_id=86

Don't treat for ich unless you see other signs like flashing against rocks. Anytime you suspect there might be trouble, do a water change, and if all else fails add a bit of salt. Aquarium salt is a fine general tonic, Epsom salt helps with popeye, swelling, and bowel troubles. 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of each is fine, don't keep adding more since it doesn't evaporate - only replace what is lost in the course of water changes. Make sure you pre-dissolve the salts in warm water so the grains don't burn your goldies.

I understand you didn't have much choice in the matter, but do know that goldfish do best with 20 gallons of room per each fish, a minimum of 10 gallons per individual. Between your fish and your mom's I suspect it's getting "intimate" to say the least! ;) All the best to you and your goldfish.

Nicole

P.S. Besides the website I linked to previously, check out http://www.kokosgoldfish.com if you haven't already, and http://www.goldfishparadise.com - a wealth of information in both sites for goldfish owners!