[grinling]

I have an orange goldfish and it appears to be turning white!! Should it be doing this?

[Chookiechook]

Some do this with age.... is it an oldy goldy??

I bought a nice blue oranda which has magically turned gold..... just like the other four which originally were, gold, gold and white, yellow and blue.

I wanted a multicoloured tank

[Lindeggs]

Over what period of time is it turning white?  If it's changing gradually, it can just be a natural change in pigmentation.  If it has happened all of a sudden it can be in response to toxic conditions in the water.

Is the fish in a tank or an outdoor pond?  How long have you had it? Does it have any companions in its tank/pond? What has changed recently about its living conditions? 

For example, have any chemicals been sprayed nearby?  Have you done a sudden, large water change?  Have you moved the fish to a new home?  Have its lighting conditions changed (eg major prune of overhanging plants)?

I have heard of fish turning white in response to a sudden change in the pH of their water too.  So for example if you've added a new cement ornament to the water and it's leaching lime, this will rapidly raise the pH.  Or if something is decomposing in the water the pH can drop suddenly.

On the other hand if nothing has changed, water perameters are steady and the colour change is happening gradually (over a few weeks) it may be nothing to worry about at all.

[8doubles]

It often happens the other way and young goldfish you have kept (instead of given to friends who have been heroned) because they have interesting  white spots or patterns decide to turn all gold.

[Y.E.A.H]

my goldfish were gold and then they turned white, and now they are going gold again  :blink:

[8doubles]

I reckon they are females,
never can make their minds up !

[CluelessCarrot]

It's unlikely to be old age. Goldfish can live into their 40's, so unless the goldfish is truly old, age isn't going to be the cause.

I think it's more likely to be lack of light. The fish needs natural daylight to maintain it's pigmentation.

[spottymint]

Hi

Could just be genetics.

O/H has fish bred from an orange/white fish, which are now all white including the parent.

Had one as a kid, black, then white & then orange.

Had blackmoors turn orange.

 

[grinling]

Thank you for all your replies. They were cleaned out recently, but only the usual water change. They have a light and the ph is fine.
The other 3 are still the same, so will see how things go, they could be about a year old.

[Ma and Pa Snip]

The natural colour of any member / variation of the goldfish family is the same as course carp, since this is what they originated from.

Therefore it is quite common for them to change pigmentation during their lifetime.
When eggs hatch  the young are usually either black or the muddy gold colour of common carp, some take longer then others to change colour, some never do.

As suggested it is possible, although unlikely in isolation to other indicators, that goldfish may change colour due to stress caused by poor water quality, lack of food variation or poor living conditions such as overcrowding.

Having now noticed your latest reply, if they are only a year old they are still developing their colour pigmentation, to us it is called growing up. Don't panic, its all natural stuff by the sounds of it.