goldfish laying eggs

Question
hello,

this has nothing to do with pond fish, but i do have 2 goldfish and a pretty (i think) basic question about them.

i've had my fish for about 4 years now. yesterday morning i was doing a water change. usually when i do this i take all the decorations out and wash them with very hot water to get the algae and other stuff off. i then took the tank and dumped some of the water out and started cleaning the sides. it wasnt until then that i noticed some eggs sticking to the sides of the tank.

i felt horrible but i have never seen fish eggs before. so i quickly put everything back. i probably dumped most of the eggs out, but there were a few left stuck on some of the rocks.

most of the eggs that were left on the tank and rocks have been eaten already. i've gone online searching for answers since i never knew what sex either of them were. i now know one of them is female, but not which one.

since yesterday morning, the eggs have remained the same color (mostly whiteish with a bright white center). i have no idea if the other fish i have is male, as i havent seen any unusal behavior or changes in appearance in either.

basically, i'm wondering if this is normal. would a fish spawn with another female fish if there was no chance in the eggs being hatched? also, should i remove the eggs if they are not going to hatch? i read that they become clear with a black dot when they have been fertilized, but have not seen that yet.  

Answer
Congrats on the eggs!  The male will have white dots on his gill plates.  The female's vent, where the eggs come out will be swollen since she just laid.  You lifted up the tank?  If so, I'm guessing it's a small tank so I'm surprised they spawned.  Fertile eggs will be clear for a day or two and then get a dark black center from the baby's eyes. On rare occasions, a female can lay eggs without a male present.  Then, the eggs would not be fertile and will turn white from fungus.  If the eggs turn white, you should remove them.  If they are fertile, you should remove them anyway (or the adults) because the goldfish will eat any and all eggs or newborn fry that they can find.  Also, read these pages on my site.  Good luck!

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/gfish3.htm
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/breed.htm