AquaMom

I bought a small red cap oranda goldfish about a year ago. She is in a well established 55 gallon tank with 3 other calico oranda goldfish. Lately, the red on her cap has faded and is almost completely gone and she is almost completely white all over. She gets plenty of tank light, still eats very well (is one of the largest goldfish in my tank) and acts normally so she's not sick. Her wen also has never grown at all. The three other calicos that I got around the same time, give or take a month or two, have had substantial body and wen growth in the last year. Her body has grown a lot but her wen is still flat. You have to look at her closely to even tell she is an oranda. Is there anything that I can do? Thanks in advance.

Amanda

Is the fading recent?
What are the water parameters in your tank? Maybe she's reacting to an ammonia spike in the tank. Although she's acting normally...hmmm....
Could you post a pic of her?

AquaMom

Yes, the fading started about a month ago and now she has almost no orange at all. The tank is a 55G with a 110G filter and has been established well over a year. The ammonia and nitrites is always 0, nitrates at 20 PPM, pH is 7.6 and the temp is consistent 68-70 F depending on day/night. It's definitely not the tank. Here is a picture of her when I first brought her home a year ago and then one I just took with my blackberry so it's blurry. I had to stick my finger in the tank to get her to hold still for the pic : )

http://www.picturetrail.com/flicks/6432542/preview

Amanda

Wow, that is a big difference...
I'm trying to think of something else that it could be.
I've only kept tropical fish, so hopefully somone with more goldfish experience will come by soon.

gremlin

What kind of lighting does the tank have? I know sometimes, if the lighting is not full spectrum, a goldfish will fade, then get it's color back when it has proper lighting again. Other than that, it almost looks like either a reaction to ammonia (but you tested, so it can't be that) or a burn. Could she have jumped against the light and burned herself? Goldfish can be very curious, so if there was any way for her to jump up and bump the light, it may be a burn. Ammonia, injury, or lack of full spectrum lighting are the only things that I can think of that would cause her to lose color - especially since she is acting normal and eating fine.

AquaMom

Well, it's not a jump, the tank has a glass cover and the light is on top. And it's not the ammonia, my tanks are always pristine, my fish are my babies. It could be the lighting, I don't know jack about tank lighting. It's just a basic florescent strip that came with the tank. I'll try upgrading the bulb. Thanks!

gremlin

No problem. My sister had a tank with one little goldfish in that was a pretty dark orange when she bought it and within a week it was almost white. She brought it to me to put in the pond and it got it's pretty orange color back over the next month.