Oranda losing its red cap

[gmcb]

It seems I always am seeking answers...

My beautiful Oranda, Walsy, is completely white except for his cap (wen, I believe) which in the past several weeks has started to turn from fuly orange/red to a situation where the color is disappearing or something. Any thoughts, is this normal? What can be the problem? Thanks.

 

[Inka4040]

Entirely normal, color change in goldfish is something that basically just has to be tolerated. Buying fish for merits other than their color is a good way to avoid consternation over it. As far as what you can do about it, foods high in astaxanthin, beta carotine, and other color enhancers will help the fish produce more red pigmentation, as will abundant sunlight. Keeping it all contained to the head however, is a bit of an impossibility, and I wouldn't be surprised if the fish developed significant red splotching and speckling on the body if switched to a color enhancing diet. Apparently higher quality ingredients/food lead to a clearer demarcation of color, but if true, I have no understanding of the mechanism by which it would happen.

 

[Lupin]

Entirely normal, color change in goldfish is something that basically just has to be tolerated. Buying fish for merits other than their color is a good way to avoid consternation over it. As far as what you can do about it, foods high in astaxanthin, beta carotine, and other color enhancers will help the fish produce more red pigmentation, as will abundant sunlight. Keeping it all contained to the head however, is a bit of an impossibility, and I wouldn't be surprised if the fish developed significant red splotching and speckling on the body if switched to a color enhancing diet. Apparently higher quality ingredients/food lead to a clearer demarcation of color, but if true, I have no understanding of the mechanism by which it would happen.

:iagree: So true, Rick.

 

[gmcb]

Thank you. I thought perhaps he was ill etc. He is perfectly healthy as far as I can tell. I feed the Hakoi (spelling?) sinking pellets. He likes them.

 

[Lupin]

Hikari? I like Hikari Lionhead best for my goldies. They absolutely love it and ohmigosh, I can't remember my goldies growing big already that they seem to have caught up more than halfway to my 7" oranda.