Oranda Help!

[BrittneyCollins]

I Hi! I would like to start off saying I'm new and this may not be in the right spot. But I have just recently started an aquarium. I have a 30 gallon tank, all the levels are fine and the water is heated to 72. I have one large Oranda in the tank. I have just recently noticed that he has developed some white spots on his head. He has been acting alright, sometimes laying down and seeming unusually hungry. I was just wondering if this could be ick?

[madagascariensis]

How long has your goldfish been in the tank? Ich usually appears after adding a new fish, so if things have been the same for a while, it should not be ich. If the white spots are limited only to his head and possibly also his pectoral fins, they likely are the so-called breeding tubercles which appear on mature male goldfish in breeding condition.

[Cermet]

First off, if the filter has not been cycled, the tank ammonia levels will get toxic - this can take a while and water parameters will read fine - at first. If the filter isn't cycled, read the instructions on how to do a fish based cycle in the beginners section of this forum.

As for Ick, if it is, the treatment is simple and you can google (what to look for, dose level for treatment, length of time) that more esaily than explaining it here - salt and higher temps are used.