sunda

Why My Gold Fishes always losing it's bright color. Their original color is disappeared and they're looking dim...but are very active as usual....is that because of water condition or over feeding (am feeding twice or thrice a day small in amounts) or less feeding . one of my bigger goldfish in my tank takes almost 6-8 small balls of Taiyo food and it's chasing it fellow mates (other GFs, smaller in size) while feeding and rest of the time they are okay and are friends.... but am really worried about the color of the fishes....all the gold fishes (i have some 3 in a medium sized tub and planning to put them in a pond in short)...
please suggest me to maintain my GFs, their original colors.....Thanks....

Chief_waterchanger

I don't know much about goldfish, but what size is a -medium tub-?

Most fish that aren't suppose to change colors, that have coloration issues is usually from either bad water conditions or stress. Make sure to do plenty of waterchanges, test your water (post back your nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia levels), what is the temp of the water? is there any chemicals being put into the water?

sunda

gentlemen, women, any other replies from for my query pls...

TheEssigs

Goldfish do change color naturally. Some types of goldfish change color more than others. Koi and comets change most often. What type of goldfish are they?

As a general rule... Goldfish have cells called chromatophores that produce the pigments that give coloration or reflect light. They are born with a certain number of these cells pigments. The color of a fish is determined in part by which pigments are in the cells, how many pigment molecules there are, where they are located within the skin and whether the pigment is clustered inside the cell or is distributed throughout the cytoplasm.

As the fish grows these pigments get displaced and expand. Thats why it may seem as if the colors are fading.

Hope this clears it up a little...

Chief_waterchanger

Thanks for elaborating/filling in where I had little knowledge, Essigs. Hope that helps her.

sunda

thanks theessigs for your reply in zoological terms. understood something.

will be thankful if you tell me precisely vat i have to do to retain the color of my pet. In LFS all the fishes are very colorful, but when i brink them my home after a week they are fade. they are common fancy goldfish.

Chief_waterchanger

How many gallons of water does the tub hold, and how many fish are you housing in that tub? What is your waterchange schedule on it and what is the temperature in the tub? What are you feeding them?

If you answer those questions we might be able to determine if it is something wrong with your water, since it is occuring with all the fish you buy.

sunda

It holds 40 gallon. I have 3 pets in it. I'll change 30 % of water every week. I don't have temperature monitor as of now.