I recently noticed tiny white bumps on one of my fancy goldfish and frantically searched for more on my other goldfish because I immediately thought it was ich. I thought it strange however, that the white bumps were only on the gil covers of the fish. I consulted my goldfish book and found a sidenote under ich that when the bumps are only on the gil covers they could be tubercles, a sign of a male goldfish in breeding season.
The reason I find this strange is I have never changed the water temperature and have not done anything normally suggested to stimulate spawning behaviors. I went on spring break last week and left them with an automatic fish feeder. When I came back, I cleaned the tank more thoroughly than normal because I was gone for a little over a week. Is it possible that these spots are tubercles and not ich even though I have not made any changes to the water temperature and have not been trying to breed? Any input is appreciated.
.
