black patches

Question
QUESTION: i have a medium size goldfish and ive had him for bout a month and i noticed hes getting black patches on him what should i do how should i treat it what causes it its ergant please hurry soorry to bother you well thnxs bye

ANSWER: Hi Andrew
It's no bother!

Do you know what kind of goldfish it is?  
And what size is it's tank?

Being it's a newer fish, and I'm going to guess it's also a newer tank.  If that's the case, it may be from an irritant, like ammonia poisoning.  When you see the black, that's a sign that it's healing.  There's no way to treat it, except to monitor your water quality and do frequent water changes.  If you don't have a test kit, I'd recommend buying one that tests for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.  If you do have a test kit, what are those readings?

Christy


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: its a  normal goldfish about 5 inches long and its a ten galln aquirium and i clean it once a week were would i get a test kit and how much does it cost your very helpful again im sorry to bother you

ANSWER: Hi Andrew
Well thank you!  And it's not bother at all!

Normal goldfish...like a common or comet?  Or one fo the fancier varieties?  I ask, because the comets and commons get up to or over 12 inches long....the ones I have are about 8 inches now.  You're going to need a larger tank for him soon.  The fancier varieties stay a bit smaller, usually around 6 inches I believe, so you may be ok with that tank size.  Here's a link, has a lot of goldfish info on there, the page shows pictures with the different types, so you can figure out which yours is:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/ftypes.html

You can get a test kit at any pet store, if you're in the US, Walmart is even starting to sell some, or online.  Here's a link, this is the kind that I prefer, it's more accurate and better, but it's expensive, about 30.00 at the store:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4454&N=2004+114130

It's a lot cheaper there, but the shipping is about 8 or 9.00, so unless you're going to buy a few things, it's almost worth it to just buy it from the store.  There's 2 different kinds, that one shown is a liquid dropper test, there's also one that's a dipstick test kit:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4494&N=2004+114130

That's what those look like, they can be a bit cheaper, but they're not as reliable.  If you can't afford the better one, then at the very least get the dipstick kinds.  THey're better then nothing.

Either way, you'll want one that tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.  

Let me know if you have more questions!

Christy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: its a commet

Answer
Time to dig a pond outside for him :)  That's the kind I have.  I would venture to say, the black was indeed ammonia burns that started healing(the black is the healing phase).  Just get the test kit when you can, and keep doing regular water changes to keep the water quality good.  Let me know if I can help out with anything else!

Christy