Goldfish are not actually gold but can be one of many shades from pale orange to almost red. These brightly colored fish are prone to fading and can actually lose their color to become white fish. Why does this happen and is it a cause for concern?
Your goldfish turns white as a consequence of environmental conditions. In the majority of cases, a white goldfish is the result of exposure to excess light. Brightness literally bleaches the color from a goldfish’s skin. That said, over-exposure to light is only one of several reasons for a goldfish becoming a white fish!
When a once orange fish becomes a white fish it is easy to worry. Owners assume their fish is ill or they have not cared for it correctly. Here’s what you need to know if your goldfish is turning white.
Why Goldfish Turn White
It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a gradual process and, it’s often difficult to see it actually happening. It’s not uncommon for a fish to change color over time. Sometimes, they can even change into some kind of pattern!
There are many reasons why goldfish fade to white. These are factors to consider:
- Has the water been changed relatively recently and did the process of changing the water differ from previous changes?
- Has the tank been moved?
- Has the temperature of the water changed?
- Is the tank in direct sunlight?
- Have you introduced other fish into the tank?
Aside from any of these reasons, it could just be that your fish is aging, with an associated and connected color change.
Giving goldfish the correct amount of natural light
Although goldfish shouldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight, they shouldn’t be kept in the dark either.
Without light, goldfish will lose their pigmentation. This is because the individual cells that provide the color of the goldfish have responded to the lack of light and the resulting outcome is the original color is lost.
Too much sunlight, can also affect a goldfish’s color. The pigmentation in their skin reacts to UV rays. When they are exposed to these rays, they can lose their color and turn white.
Common Reasons For Goldfish Losing Color
Goldfish turning white (or to be more accurate, losing their color) is actually quite common. The typical reasons why this would happen (in order) is the below, note that it could be a combination of these.
- The quantity of sunlight that the fish is receiving. Too much or too little can make a goldfish turn white.
- The fish is maturing. A bit like our hair goes grey or white in old age, a goldfish’s color can fade.
- Poor diet can lead to loss of color.
- The quality of the water in which they reside. You need to check your fish’s water quality frequently. A poor environment will cause goldfish to lose the quality of their color. Here’s a great fish tank test kit.
- Diseases can cause loss of pigmentation.
Is Goldfish Color Loss Reversible?
Once you’ve resolved the issue that caused your goldfish to turn white, you might hope it will get it’s color back.
If a goldfish loses its color due to poor diet or incorrect lighting, amending these can sometimes lead to its orange color returning. However, if your fish remains white, it will still live a perfectly normal life.
Rarer Reasons For Goldfish Color Loss
The most common cause of this kind of color loss within goldfish is related to bacterial infections. Unfortunately, these can be quite serious.
You may well see other symptoms of problems within the fish, such as a lack of appetite. There are other issues though, such as tuberculosis which can cause color loss and unfortunately, this can be fatal.
Make sure you keep your goldfish tank nice and clean and check your levels of ammonia and nitrate at least every month.
Color or no color
The color of your goldfish isn’t necessarily a problem, they can survive just as long without their color as they can with. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ignore it totally.
It could be a symptom of a problem that you will want to sort. For instance, maybe the color change is indicative of the water quality is sub-par. Or maybe your fish isn’t in tip-top condition. Either way, don’t ignore the signs.
Another thing to consider is the food that you’re providing. Have you changed your fish’s diet recently? Make sure you include lots of veggie-type foods and peas.
If they don’t go for it straight away, give them some time – they may need a day or two to become accustomed to the new taste. If they do leave the food though, make sure you remove it before you go to bed to ensure you don’t spoil the water.
Also, consider whether you really want your fish to be back to its original color for the right reasons. Is it just because you prefer your fish to be the ‘right’ color?
Your fish changing color may well be just part of its development and its natural flow through life. My point here is, does it really matter? As long as the color change isn’t an indication of something more serious then it doesn’t really matter what color it is, right?
Hopefully, this article will have helped you put your concerns to one side, it’s most likely nothing to worry about but do follow the above suggestions if you can. Enjoy your fish, let your children enjoy your fish but don’t let your cats enjoy your fish! 🙂
Fascinating Goldfish Facts
Did you know that goldfish are a type of carp? Also, did you know (I should charge for all this information I’m giving) that in the wild goldfish aren’t typically gold but are an olive green color? They have also been bred to be different colors such as yellow, red, black and brown.
Also, did you know that goldfish were first introduced around a thousand years ago in China when the people there started breeding the silver carp?
From this point, a mutation occurred and the result was a fish with orange-yellow scales. However, the royal color was yellow and no one else was allowed to use that color apart from the royal family.
Therefore, the population had to just make do with the orange variety, hence the goldfish.
Also, did you know that the goldfish that you have (the specifically bred commercial fish) is only suited for indoor living and if you tried to ‘let them loose’ into the wild, they wouldn’t survive?
However, there are breeds of pond goldfish that can survive quite happily of course in outdoor ponds and you’ll find these get quite a bit bigger than the one in your aquarium.
Goldfish are by far the most popular pet fish and are easy to find. They’re so popular most likely because they’re cheap!
However, what some people forget is after they’ve bought their goldfish so cheaply, they then have to buy all the equipment that goes with it! This can be more expensive!
Whilst you’re learning all this amazing stuff about goldfish, did you know that the larger species of goldfish can reach over 18 inches (about 45cm) in length! That’s huge!
Also, they can weigh up to about 10 pounds, which is the same as a very large watermelon. Or a small microwave oven. Or a small dog. How can a goldfish weigh as much as a dog?
Anyway, the size of the tank that you keep your fish in will have an effect on its growth (to some degree), other factors include how clean its environment is and how good its diet is.