Black Moor Goldfish ...black color disappears!

**pamgough** · 12-02-2010, 07:03 PM

Hi there....looking for some info on a black moor fish who looks bad.

He has the large eyes and was completely black...within the last few weeks he has lost most of his black color...looks like a skunk right now.

Otherwise he seems fine...eating well and active!

any ideas on what is happening to him???

thanks, pam

**Brhino** · 12-02-2010, 07:24 PM

how big is it? How long have you had it? Baby goldfish start out black and then change color after a year or so. If it's still quite young it's possible it's not a black moor at all and its now changing to its true colors.

**pamgough** · 12-03-2010, 02:18 PM

hi....we have had our tank for 7 months....Bugsy was one of the first fish in there. He is about 2 inches long now....has a long flowing tail, bulging eyes...just seems to be losing black color in a a random way....body is mostly silver now.

My son named him Bugsy because of his bug eyes...it is his favorite fish and he even occasionally pets it. We only have one other goldfish...a 4 inch with the traditional color but the massive head with brain type tissue.
He also has been there for 7 months and is very healthy....his bad trait is eating the neons.

Another question....what do you do to lower ph? I put in ornamental wood...but it has made the water brown.

any suggestions?

**Brhino** · 12-03-2010, 02:26 PM

Keep an eye on the one that's changing color for any growths, fin damage, etc, but it's possible the color change is natural.

Goldfish will, like most fish, eat anything that fits in their mouth. For this reason keeping goldfish with neons or other small fish is not a good idea.

The "brain type tissue" is called a "wen", and several varieties of fancy goldfish have them.

How big is your fish tank? A lot of people don't realize how much space goldfish need to growth healthy and happy.

There are ways to adjust your pH, but generally it's preferable to leave it alone unless it's really strange or you're stocking a particular type of sensitive fish. What is your pH currently?

The water has turned brown because of tannins released by the driftwood. It is not harmful and will gradually pass as you do water changes, and it is also absorbed by activated carbon.

**pamgough** · 12-09-2010, 07:55 PM

Hi there,

think you were right about the color change....he is starting to get a lot of orange in place of the black. Even his tail has hints of orange. I just thought all the bug eyed black fish stayed that color!

took the wood out for now. Could not stand all the brown water.

The fish all seem healthy and we have a water frog that is thriving also.

thanks, pam