Goldfish Changing Colour?

[jim_uk_2006]

my friend at work keeps goldfish and they have changed from orange to white, hes asked me if i can find out why this has happend and if they will be ok?
would love to be able to go back to work on monday with an answer to his question
thanx

 

[black angel]

Goldfish do change colour throughout their lives.

What you can do is get him to check the water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph and also ask if its just one or two fish or all of them. Is the tank in direct sunlight or a dark corner and if theres a strong light on it. If so how long is the light on for each day. What food is he feeding them.
What size of tank and how many fish and size. Whats his cleaning routine as well. Which filter is he using and how does he clean it out and how often.

A lot of questions I know, but we cant see the tank so dont know enough to comment.
A pic would also help.

 

[jim_uk_2006]

ok i will try to do as much of that as possable, and i think he has about 3 or 4 and i also think its all of them thats gone white!!

 

[black angel]

Its unusual for all to go white at the same time so there may well be something wrong. Could be the tank is too dark or too light.

 

[what a load of pollocks]

all 4 goldfish turn white at same time hmmmm strange.......

one of my goldfish once half quarter as top is orange and bottam is white and been like it since had him in my 60 gallon tank, ever since move him/her to the pond completely change colour to white all over to me i wouldnt worry abt it as i think it part of there colour change breeding

 

[black angel]

Goldfish dont change colour to breed, maybe a bit more intense but not like this.

 

[what a load of pollocks]

acccording to google serch and few result came up saying that the goldfish lose the colour in the dark i have never heard such thing wierd but maybe true i dont know

 

[black angel]

Yes they can as they need strong light to keep the pigment. Without it they bleach out, a bit like you in a dark room for a few months. Too much sun can get them to turn black, red lighting in tanks has the same effect if i remember right.

 

[sharkbaitwoohaha]

i know its not a goldfish but if its too dark oscars go very light coloured. could be similar

 

[jtnova13]

someone mentioned a great post about fish losing color. more specifically neon tetra at night time. I know goldfish lose their color if put in a dark place. I don't think it affects their health, but it probably has something to do with something that produces fish coloration needing light to produce the colors. I dont know if you move it into a lighter area if it will get its color back.

 

[b.c.f.c]

many gold fish go through thier lifes turning from black to redish orange to white, many stay black the whole of thier life but many also stay orange or red then in later life turn white or may even be red and white or even all 3.
i dont know why this happens but it doesnt seem to be a problem as my grandads goldfish do this all the time and he has had many for over 10-15 years and they seem very healthy.

 

[funnibunni80]

also with goldies, black is the most likely color to go bye bye.

 

[IANANDCLARE]

i would just like to say i built my own pond and was given some wreeds from fatherinlaws freind and 4 weeks later had 4 littel black fish swimming around with gold fish i had put in these fish turned out to be gold fish also but it took a year and a half for them to change coulor 2 went redy orange 1 went white with red and black spots and 1 has stayed blackafter reading this forum checked my water all ok allso pond in sun light from morning till night and as i haveonly lost 1 fish since starting i dont think i have any problems

 

[guppler]

I agree that some goldies just change color. I've seen it happen in my house. The light/dark theory sounds logical, sort of, but I've also heard of stranger things. A kid just told me tonight that she had a female betta that went from white to black. i haven't seen that. I've had several gold fish over the last 3 years and 3 of them changed color enough to surprize me. My orange spotted white commet has stayed about the same for years, and I'm sure my shubunkins changed some, but they were so colorful I could notice new spots that were there all along, and the overall distrubution of color didn't seem to change drastically. Cracker, the common had black a black stripe on his back that faded away as he grew, and now he has some whiter spots, but he's always been basically orange, and I think he's typical. Chicken was mostly white and turned more yellow and orange gradually. Nugget started out a light brownish bronzy metalic goldish color and got darker pretty quickly during his last few months. By the time he died he was almost black on top and kind or orange below. I wonder how much their diet affects color. I have used foods with color enhancers.