My Goldfish.... white fish.

[JSK]

Hi all

'Escobar' - my normally 'gold'fish, has lost all his colour. He's now a white fish. He's not ill and has been this way for weeks now. Could it be cos i have rehoused his tank in a totally white alcove in my flat??

will he ever recover his gold again??

[B00]

No, it will not have been due to his new abode. Fish skin colouring is a complex subject. Fish skin contains different types of pigment cells or chromatophores, which are under the control of the hormonal and nervous systems.

Fish which are diseased often change colour, but this is usually a fading/darkening/dulling of the skin rather than an actual colour change. There are a few conditions in which there is a colour change but these are rare.

The most common causes are either nutritional deficiencies, so one could try a change of diet, water chemistry such as pH or hardness, or simply genetics.

In virtually all cases the fish appear perfectly healthy apart from the colour change and eat and swim normally. So apart from perhaps changing the diet and checking water parameters there is nothing that can be done to reverse the colour change

[Noweia]

Also, goldfish may go silver if the tank is kept in a dark area!

[Mrs_Pegasus]

I have a chocolate oranda and it lost all its colour. I regularly check the water and all was fine. I put it down to changing the light to one that enhances colour and plant growth. I did ask a similar question here and no-one could actually explain it. The fish is happy, the water is healthy so I wouldnt worry.

[JSK]

Thank you all for your replies, much appreciated