# Why do Goldfish turn white?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goldfish-turn-white/20731>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 28, 2000, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goldfish-turn-white/20731 "2000-05-28T07:55:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Piig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@Piig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Piig)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2000, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goldfish-turn-white/20731/1 "2000-05-28T07:55:27Z")

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My girlfriends goldfish are all turning white, why is this? only 2/5 have changed, so why them and not the others? are they about to keel over?

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**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2000, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goldfish-turn-white/20731/2 "2000-05-28T08:08:18Z")

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There’s a disease in freshwater fish known as “ich” (which is an abbreviation of the actual disease name that i can’t recall). But basically, the fish develop a white coat all over them. Maybe your friend’s goldfish have acquired this disease.

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2000, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goldfish-turn-white/20731/3 "2000-05-28T15:22:21Z")

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Yep, better put them in their own tank pronto & get the medicine at the fish store. Its very serious stuff too.

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2000, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goldfish-turn-white/20731/4 "2000-05-28T17:41:18Z")

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“Ich” is a clipped form of the scientific name of the protozoan that causes the disease, _Ichthyophthirius multifiliis_.

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**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2000, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goldfish-turn-white/20731/5 "2000-05-29T02:46:05Z")

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And now you know why they abbreviate it to “ich”.

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**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2000, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goldfish-turn-white/20731/6 "2000-05-29T03:19:02Z")

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## If you give your goldfish a good enough scare, they can turn white overnight! . . . . . .

sarcasm can have subtle origins

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**Author:** ![Wicked\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wicked\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wicked_Blue)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2000, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-goldfish-turn-white/20731/7 "2000-05-29T15:12:24Z")

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Goldfish will lose their color if they are in running water. If you have them in a tank with a filter that circulates the water, they will fade. If you keep them in a bowl with no filter, their color should stay bright. If you have them in a bowl and they look like they are covered in a white film, then they probably have a disease.