Goldfish w/ white spots- normal or bad?

[Kat_Rigel]

Hey all, I recently took a big leap and got a fancy goldfish- a Thai ranchu. But it's been a bit if a saga. Let me explain.

The first fish I brought home was looking kind of lethargic and so I acted quickly, adding aquarium salt and erythromycin. Unfortunately the fish died overnight- less than 24 hrs after being brought home! The aquarium had Lapis Lustre Cemex sand substrate, the aquarium was new and had no previous fish in it, and I used mature filters from my other tanks. Tank temp was room temperature at 70* F and I used dechlorinator several days prior to adding him. Should have been ok, but he kept floating and getting worse and worse. I was heartbroken!

I called up the LFS store owner and he was kind enough to give me a replacement (he would have been entitled to tell me "too bad, so sad," I'm glad he was kind enough to consider my situation.) He gave me precise instructions on getting the new fish home- use a different new tank, no substrate, use Prime to dechlorinate and bubble it for 30min, then float the bag for 30min, then drop him in. It worked like a charm and he has been active, curious, and derpy.

I have only had him for 3 days and I am worried because I can't tell if these white spots on the head are part of normal coloration or something to be worried about. They are on the wen on his right side, kind of above his eye.

Could some people familiar with fancy goldfish give me some feedback on this? The fish is active and appears to be happy, but I might just be missing anything abnormal because I do not have experience with this type of fish. I read something about breeding stars, could this be it? I thought the fish was female based on vent shape (therefor it would not be stars) but it's tough to tell.

Current set up:

Bare bottom

Filters, all mature: small sponge filter for aeration, 70 aquaclear, small internal filter (I keep reading GOLDFISH ARE MESSY! so I would rather overdo things until I am familiar with the fish.)

Just added some anubias and Java fern today, cholla wood, and a rock, hornwort, duckweed, and a light designed for a 10gal

Parameters:

71* F

Ammonia: edging between 0 and 0.5; just did a water change and added prime; I would be surprised if this reading is accurate after only 3 days

Chlorine: 0

Nitrate 10ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Hardness: weird color that doesn't match, but probably 300ppm+ based on previous readings of my aquariums

Kh: 300

Video from today: https://youtube.com/shorts/MJ5dXZ2s1Ao?feature=share

Picture from Wednesday clearly does not show the spots. I am afraid to treat with anything because I am not sure if that's what caused the first fish to die.

Tl;dr: are these white spots normal or a sign of disease?

From 3 days ago, no white spots present:

All other photos are from today.

[Fish Folk]

This can be serious.

Found this thread on another forum: https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/new-ranchu-with-white-spots-ich-fungus.461144/

They claim it's Ich. I'm not entirely convinced . . . might be a fungal infection. But in any event, I think the Med-Trio is important. Maracyn, Ich-X, ParaCleanse. Alternatively. we've gone with API Ethromycin, API General Cure, and Ich-X.

Here's an essential 2 min read on it form Co-Op: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/faqs/how-to-use-quaratine-med-trio

[Kat_Rigel]

3 minutes ago, Fish Folk said:

Here's an essential 2 min read on it form Co-Op: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/faqs/how-to-use-quaratine-med-trio

Yes, I am familiar with the med trio. But as I discussed in the post, I am concerned that the meds somehow stressed the fish more and caused a rapid death. I can't identify a reason that fish died, and I can't identify a reason this one would be sick. Perhaps simply stress of moving to a new tank?

[Fish Folk]

28 minutes ago, Kat_Rigel said:

Yes, I am familiar with the med trio. But as I discussed in the post, I am concerned that the meds somehow stressed the fish more and caused a rapid death. I can't identify a reason that fish died, and I can't identify a reason this one would be sick. Perhaps simply stress of moving to a new tank?

So sad . . . very sorry about the fish. We've lost goldfish before with moving between tanks. Heat was a major factor on one occasion I recall -- we "cooked" them.

I do believe that the Ranchu has something. If you do _not_ see any white Ich spots on the fins, it may be some sort of fungus. That is how body fungal infection looks. In any event, I'm guessing it's external. Keep an eye on it. If it gets worse, you'll need to choose some form of treatment.

[BaRanchik]

I'm sorry about the fish. In case you are still thinking of getting a new goldfish, I'll tell you my experience with this.

Anyway, this looks to me just like normal growth of the fat layer fancy goldfish like Ranchus and Lionheads have.
It looks like pimples and if you watch it carefully for a few days, you'll see it's 'healing' and it's now normal colored and a part of the fat layer they have on their face. If it's somewhere other than on its head, I'd be careful and look for a different answer.

My lionhead had these many times and he is healthy and fine, without any medication.

[Kat_Rigel]

4 hours ago, BaRanchik said:

I'm sorry about the fish. In case you are still thinking of getting a new goldfish, I'll tell you my experience with this.

Anyway, this looks to me just like normal growth of the fat layer fancy goldfish like Ranchus and Lionheads have.
It looks like pimples and if you watch it carefully for a few days, you'll see it's 'healing' and it's now normal colored and a part of the fat layer they have on their face. If it's somewhere other than on its head, I'd be careful and look for a different answer.

My lionhead had these many times and he is healthy and fine, without any medication.

Thank you, I also posted this to a fee goldfish-specific forums and they told me the same thing. (So it is good to hear 3 different goldfish people say the same thing.) These ranchus are so weird, I thought the first one was sick from the way he was swimming!

Thanks for the insight and I will keep an eye out- if it grows into something fluffy or really strange looking I'll take action.