Hi - we have 5 goldfish in a barrel pond. They're doing really well since we got them last year & we have a filter etc set up.
Over the last couple of weeks they've been chasing each other around like mad, so much so that a couple of them seem to have the odd scale missing. After checking out with the fish shop it seemed that this could be breeding behaviour so we weren't too worried, although they were VERY boisterous!
However, I've just noticed that a couple of them have white dots around the gills & on their fins/tails. I checked on the internet to see if this could be whitespot (it doesn't look the same as the whitespot some of our tropical fish had a few years ago) & now I'm wondering if it could just be that these are the males & it IS down to breeding patterns.
The ones being chased (& with now missing scales) are rounder than the other 3. The ones chasing have more flamboyant tales & it's 2 of those that I've noticed the spots on.
Phew - long post, really sorry! I just wondered what people thought. Thanks for reading this far & any comments would be appreciated. ;D