gold fish color

[darrell]

Hey guys,
Im having trouble with some of my goldfish losing their black colors. Ive had 2 lionheads that when i bought them were a beautiful black and orange, with the black being dominant on both fish. Now both fish have lost all of the black colors and are totaly orange with out a trace of black. I have a black moor that kept her color and a calico lion head that kept their color, but it happened to a comet that i have as well. I bought them at different times, but with the same result. Is it food? Is it light? Ive had them all for 1-2 years, and its happened to each one of them at completely different times. They are all very healthy, get plenty of water and filter changes(25-30% weekly) and i dont overfeed them. My temps a little warm though, 78 degrees. I feed them pellets and live bloodworms. Can you help?

[smaug]

Diet and environment have a big impact on color for goldys,for that matter most fish.I have only had 1 goldy [comet] lose color,he had very pretty red markings and he eventually turned totally white,the other comets were unchanged.As you know your temp is pretty warm and should be lower [mid 70s],I doubt that is it though.Just curious,what is your ph and nitrates?

[OscarFan]

Its common for goldfish to change colors as Smaug said it has to do with diet and temperature. And also the age of the fish. Mature ones will lose their juve colors

[Fishguy2727]

It is almost impossible to get goldfish that are not black moors or calicos to keep their black. I have a few that I bought because of the black pattern on them and they have all lost it all or are on their way to having lost it all. I have heard that they keep it better in a pond because of the sunlight. There is nothing wrong with yours, it just sucks that the black goes away.

[evesta]

Black is not a stable color in goldfish. Most will lose their baby black eventually. Even some moors if they live long enough will turn orange. Some fish do keep their black but that is a rare find and very desirable and mostly up to genetics. I do think calicos are more likely to keep some black but it can change over time too.