Sarasa Comet Goldfish turning completely white :(

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Adam.S

AC Members
I have had 3 Sarasa Comet goldfish for around 4 years now.
2 are red & white the other one is orange & white.

The strange thing is, the red & white comet goldfish are turning completely white but the orange & white comet is staying its same great colors :confused:

I used to check on them more often, but now I am very busy at my full-time job.

I think it could be a number of things...

1) My tank is illuminated by a light fixture directly above the aquarium in my basement. I turn the light on but whenever I come back home it is off. So the goldfish probably aren't getting enough light.

2) I switched to a cheaper wardley brand generic goldfish food. I used to feed them strictly higher-class Hikari pellets.

Could someone please tell me why they are changing white?

Will they gain back their full color if I change these variables?

Is the red color harder to keep in goldfish? Why is it that the red & white goldfish are having the problems and not the orange & white?



TIA,
-Adam.S
 

aquariumfishguy

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Jul 14, 2003
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I agree with above posters... goldfish can change colors several times in their life... some wont change at all. Weird, yes. But this is just one more thing that makes them more unique than any other fish out there! :D
 

lark

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It is true that goldfish will naturally change their colors as they age but diet and light are also important. Like Cear said freshen the food and also provide some variety such as shelled peas, spinach, or mandarin oranges. You will be doing your fish a huge favor.
 

Adam.S

AC Members
I just bought some Hikari Gold pellets for them (heard they were the best).. I also moved the fish into their pond for the summer (alot more room).

Do you think that the natural light and good food will bring back the color in the goldfish?
 

aquariumfishguy

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Actually, Goldfish will change colors on their own and for the most part, no you cannot stop this. It is natural and "normal".

Be careful about the sun. These fish need shade as they can easily be sun burnt, just as humans would.
 

Adam.S

AC Members
Originally posted by aquariumfishguy
Be careful about the sun. These fish need shade as they can easily be sun burnt, just as humans would.
Ha! That's not a problem. We have a small tree hanging over the pond.. sadly it likes to lose its leaves, which means I'm outside all-day with the pond net. :(

The 2% of the pond that gets sunlight is covered with water hyacinths.

I am just disappointed on how some of them turned out. When I first saw them in the fish store, and for the next 3 years of their life, they had the most striking coloring all over their bodies.

Now I am left with ordinary goldfish, they look like the dull back-yard breeding stock I see in most ponds. Not the Japanese bred, high-quality Sarasa comets that I originally paid for.
 

GulfCstAquarian

Plant Engineer
I've got three Comets I've had in my pond for almost a year now that are also turning white! I started out with one white, one orange and one orange/white. Well, first the orange one turned white earlier this year. Now the orange is fading on the orange/white one! What am I doing wrong?? I feed them various types of fresh flake food (never older than a month old) as well as some Goldfish Pellets (forget the brand). They eat well and look healthy overall. They're only about 3"-4" long and the pond is 150gallons. The only other fish in there are some guppies (that are doing marvelously).
The truth is that not only are they turning white, but I think their eyes are turning red. Can a fish actually *turn* albino partway through its life??
There are plenty of lily pads to give them shade during the 6 hours or so of direct sunlight the pond gets.
 
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