Fading Comet

[scruffy]

My Comet Timmy has been fading for several weeks and he is now almost white. I admit it's a little crowded where he lives - 2 other comets and a blackmoore and I have been trying to do a little more with the water changes since the last time I posted about this. Actually, this tank usually does the best because none of them have lots of babies like my mollies. I did a 50% water change and I discovered a slight ammonia peak appx .25ppm. Not sure where that came from, but I'll deal with it tomorrow. It's almost midnight and the goldies and I both need our sleep. The Nitrate and Nitrite were A-OK.

My question is, if I ever get my water perfect, where the Nitrate never gets above 20ppm and the other stats are zero, is there a way for Timmy to get his color back? Or should I consider changing the color scheme so he shows up better? He really doesn't go with the earth tone gravel and the off white wall behind his tank.


S

[scruffy]

I forgot to add, the last water change was Saturday, this is Tuesday night or maybe it's Wednesday morning.

[tropfish]

How big is the tank?

[gm72]

Unless this is a quite large tank you'll never be able to manage adequate water parameters as the fish get larger.

[scruffy]

It's a 55 gallon. This is odd. I was using the last dregs of an ammonia test kit last night and when I tested the ammonia with a newer kit, a couple hours ago it was fine. I think I'll test the whole thing later tonight, if I have time.

By the way, what about the color?

S

[gm72]

Color fading is in direct correlation to stress.

[smaug]

That happened to my wifes comet in our pond,he is all white now.we have 5 other comet and they are all still colored.My pond store said this is normal to happen occasionally and is nothing caused by params.It wont come back either.

[kid_fishboy13]

ive heard that sometimes goldfish turn white just because of age

[smaug]

gm:Color fading is in direct correlation to stress.
I have talked to a few friends of mine that have ponds with diferent types of goldfish.Color change to white seems to be a fairly common occurance.None of the situations I know of were especially stressfull for the fish.They just faded.

[scruffy]

Thanks all. I got some extra plants so he shows off better. I have wondered if diet would be a factor. Are there color enhancing foods for goldfish? In terms of stress, I don't think there have been any major changes in Timmy's life. By the way, I think he is not even a year old. It was February or March when I got him and he was still very tiny and still in the olive drab stage. Now he's the biggest fish I've got. They grow so fast!

S