Why are my goldfish changing color?

Water Gardens & Features Q & A

Q: Why are my goldfish changing colors? – Emily in New York

A: Whether you have a traditional goldfish in your pond or one of the many fancy varieties, you may notice their colors change over time – don’t worry. It doesn’t necessarily mean your fish have some sort of disease! In most cases, it’s normal for goldfish to change color. So before you start dumping antibiotics in your pond, first consider these possibilities:

Genetics

Goldfish naturally change color as they age. Though most do so during their first year or two of life, others change throughout their lifetime. Fish experts have identified two different types of color changes in fish: physiological and morphological.

Physiological changes occur when the pigments in the cells either spread out, which makes the colors more pronounced, or when the pigment clusters in the center, which makes the colors more muted. Morphological changes occur when the actual number of pigments in the cells increase or decrease. An example of a morphological change is when a black goldfish starts to turn orange or a young goldfish loses its black markings as it ages. In this case, as the fish matures, it’s losing its black pigment cells.

How and when their colors change really depends upon their individual genetic makeup. Inexpensive goldfish whose parents are unknown can change in unpredictable ways, while expensive show-quality fish will be a bit more predictable.

Color-Enhancing Foods

Certain types of food, like Pond Logic Growth & Color Fish Food, can accentuate subdued colors in goldfish, too. Sometimes, a dull orange goldfish can be made a deeper shade of red with these specially formulated diets, which contain natural color-enhancing supplements like spirulina, beta glucan, vitamin E and vitamin C.

Keep in mind, however, that some of these color-enhancers may affect other colors, too. White areas on calico orandas, for instance, may take on an orange hue – which may not be the look you’re going for.

Illness, Poor Water Quality

If your goldfish’s color becomes very dull or it starts to become inactive, that could be a sign of illness or poor water quality. Use a test kit, like the Pond Care Master Test Kit, to check your water quality, including your pH, ammonia and nitrite levels. Then, if necessary, add a broad-spectrum medication, like Pond Care’s MelaFix or PimaFix, to treat parasites or bacterial infections your fish may have.

POND TALK: Have your fish changed their “spots?”

Q: Treating Common Fish Diseases: Anchor Worm

A: What are Anchor Worms? Anchor worms are small crustaceans that start out their life as free swimming and find a fish to burrow their way into. The anchor worm will bury themselves into the fish’s muscles where they live for several months while developing. After developing, they make their way out of the fish, a process that often leaves bad wounds. Right before the anchor worm dies, it will release its eggs. The cycle is then repeated over and over again.

What are the Symptoms of Anchor Worms? First off, an obvious sign is a very visible parasite attached to the body of the fish. In early stages, it will look like a red sore or pimple. The fish will also “flash” or try and scratch the parasite off its body by running itself into rocks.

What Causes Anchor Worm and How can I Treat It? Anchor Worms are not caused by high levels of fish stress. Fish are usually infected by newly added fish already carrying the parasite or newly added aquatic plants that have anchor worm larvae on them. Since Anchor Worms’ larvae are free swimming in the water garden, the whole body of water must be treated to get rid of future cases. This can be accomplished with Dimilin. Dimilin is specifically designed to treat Anchor Worms. Although Anchor worms are a parasite in many cases a secondary bacterial infection will occur due to the open soars. To help fight against this secondary infection it is recommended that PimaFix be added along with the Dimilin.

Q: My mother-in-law has a water garden in her yard. One of her gold fish now has no rear fin. It looks like he had gotten stuck between some rocks or something had gotten a hold of it. The fish is now laying in the rocks, but having a hard time swimming. What do I do? -Faith of Granite Falls, NC

A: When a fish begins to lose their fins or tail, it is usually referred to as “fin rot” which is a bacterial infection. This can happen for many reasons such as stress, poor water quality and/or an over population of fish. Any one of these can all cause a fish’s immune system to become weak making it vulnerable to bacterial infections.

If your fish already shows signs of “fin rot”, the following is recommended: Melafix , Pond Salt and Anti-Bacterial Fish Food. This will treat both externally and internally. Depending on the size of your pond and your ability to isolate sick fish you can choose to treat your entire pond or set up a treatment tank.

Good Fish Keeping Tips to Prevent Diseases:

1.) Use Pond Salt to lower stress. Adding pond salt to your pond will lower stress as well as treat for almost 80% of the common fish diseases.

2.) Maintain good water quality! This can be accomplished by having an adequate filtration system, reducing fish population, less frequent feedings (and use high quality fish food) and by adding natural bacteria such as the DefensePAC to reduce excess nutrients.

3.) DO A SPRING CLEAN OUT!!! Empty the water out if possible, power wash and remove bottom sludge and algae. Oxy-Lift can be a great tool when doing a clean out or performing regular maintenance.

4.) Perform regular water changes. You should do a 10-25% water change every 1-2 weeks. When doing water changes it is always recommended to use Pond & Fish Conditioner to remove and detoxify chloramines and heavy metals.

5.) Add floating plants such as Water Lettuce and Water Hyacinth to reduce excess nutrients.

Melafix Dosage rate:
You will need ¼ cupful (60 ml) for every 600 U.S. gallons (2,280 L) of pond water. Repeat dose daily for seven days. Results can be seen is as little as four days.

Dosage rate for Pond Salt when treating for disease:
Use 5 cups of salt per 100 gallons – Note at this rate you will have to remove pond plants from the treated pond. If removing plant is not possible, isolate the sick fish into another tank with vigorous aeration.

Dosage rate for Pond Salt to prevent diseases:
1-1/4 cups per 100 gallons (for ponds with plants) and 2-1/2 cups per 100 gallons for ponds without plants.