[Toad]

I bought a few feeder goldfish for my son's first small tank. One started out as a very even brown color - but now the brown is fading from the bottom up. It might be turning to the typical goldfish orange. He appears healthy. Is this usual? Thanks.

 

[B&Kbassist]

Hey Toad, I'm new here but I own 4 goldfish (carp) that I raised from feeders, they're about 2 years old now. All 4 started out gold, but one about a year or so ago began getting patches of white scales, and eventually he turned completely white. He's still very healthy (except for a nagging lip injury due to him feeding off of things on the gravel in his spare time) and active, doesn't seem to have affected his health at all.

Hopefully this is the same for your fish! Just keep an eye on his behavior and take note of/research/ask about anything that seems strange!

 

[Toad]

Yep. still seems completely healthy, but less brown every day...

 

[B&Kbassist]

Hey Toad, just checking in, how's the fish doing?

 

[j.farrand]

My gold fish lost all of its orange on its body. Solid white body now. It is around 10 inches. I bought it as a 2 inch fish 2 years ago. They got their pond now(90 gallons).

 

[Toad]

Goldfish still seems to be fine, but as I suspected he seems to be picking up orange coloration. Faint, but it is there.

 

[littlefish]

Sometimes goldfish change color because of lighting, If the aquarium doesn't have enough light, the goldfish tend to lose their colors.

 

[Toad]

Hmm, that might be part of it. It is a very small tank and the light seems to warm the water a bunch, so I don't leave it on much. We'll see what happens in the fall when the house is cooler and I can leave the light on more.

 

[Brenna]

I think it was just a normal sign of your fish aging into maturity.

 

[Toad]

So changing color is a normal sign of maturity?

 

[Cole]

Every young, brown goldfish that I've ever seen has turned orange with age. So yes, this is normal.

 

[J-Pond]

It is absolutley normal for a goldfish to change/loose color. Most that are brown or bronze will change to white & orange. It is also true that if they are kept in sunlight, as in a pond there is a better chance of the color remaining as it started.

 

[Ukonline]

when i raised goldfish i asked the pet shop about this. they suggested i get some particular fish food for them which are specially formulated to enhance the colour pigmentation in the fish. go to your local pet store and ask them about it.
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[J-Pond]

There are some foods that are supposed to help enhance the color. I have used several different foods and have noticed no difference it there coloring. Most of the color change is genetic.

 

[Toad]

Hey Toad, just checking in, how's the fish doing?

Healthy as a horse.

 

[oodles]

My red ryukin had clear/white fins. they are all now turning red to match his tone. He looks even more beautiful now. I'm not sure if it's due to the food I've been feeding him, but I really like the change.

 

[tangerineCow]

Try not to worry too much about young fish changing colors. My ryukin is 4.5" and 2 months ago I freaked out thinking he had some kind of fungus. Slowly but surely a patch of his scales turned a nice black color. Now more are following, but its definitely just coloration.

Something important though, you said it's a small tank. How small is it and how many "feeders" do you have? Its a common misconception that these fish stay small and thrive in small setups. You and your son may be better off with tropical fish or a betta. While goldfish are hearty,they require a lot more space if you really want them to grow and lead a decent life.

 

[nathan786]

Yeah its growing day by day thats why its behaving like this but you have to be careful if its getting healthy. Its not good but if its just growing its length then there is no need to be worry, finally it will come up in the orange color. :fish-in-bowl:

 

[Utter Nutter]

I was just going to ask the same question.

My fish has gone from

to

It seemed to happen over night, will the brown ever come back. She is in a well lit tank so dont think that is the issue. I got her because of the chocolate effect so a little sad that its gone.