# Why is my goldfish turning silver... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 19, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017 "2004-09-19T18:14:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carvanal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/57b2e6/32.png) [@Carvanal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carvanal)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017/1 "2004-09-19T18:14:02Z")
I have 2 goldfish, and had them for years, for about a year now, one of them has been turning silver and is now about half silver! Any explanations on why this is? I heard that it’s something to do with if you keep goldfish in the dark, they lose their colour but if so, how come the other goldfish isn’t turning silver? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017/2 "2004-09-19T23:27:11Z")
> [@Carvanal](#): > > I have 2 goldfish, and had them for years, for about a year now, one of them has been turning silver and is now about half silver! Any explanations on why this is? I heard that it’s something to do with if you keep goldfish in the dark, they lose their colour but if so, how come the other goldfish isn’t turning silver? > > Thanks. age ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017/3 "2004-09-19T23:36:34Z")
What kind of goldfish? If it’s the black kind, it’s not uncomon for them to turn silver as they age. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017/4 "2004-09-20T01:27:13Z")
Please return my Alchemy tool to me ASAP. I never should have told that bum that it worked in reverse on everything that wasn’t metal… \ 🙂🆒 -Butler ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017/5 "2004-09-20T01:37:08Z")
It’s inevitable, so you might as well not carp about it. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017/6 "2004-09-20T04:07:07Z")
This colour changing sure smells fishy. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017/7 "2004-09-20T04:28:09Z")
Obviously it was just electroplated, and not solid gold. Now the plating is wearing off. Goldfish may change color with age simply due to genetics. Some sites also mention that lack of light could be a factor. And another consideration is food - perhaps the fish are not getting enough caroteniods in their food. (And different genetics could also mean that one fish might be more affected than the other by light or food problems.) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017/8 "2004-09-20T05:54:58Z")
_All that glisters is not gold Often that we have been told. . . ._ I would look to **yabob** ’s jest for the answer. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017/9 "2004-09-20T06:07:05Z")
We’ve got a ten-cent feeder going on four years old now, proving it’s who you know that counts. Anyway, at just about a year old, all of his orange coloring turned not silver, but black for about two months, than gradually turned back to orange. The white parts stayed white through out this process. Some kind of puberty-thing, perhaps? DD ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-goldfish-turning-silver/265017/10 "2004-09-20T07:07:44Z")
He’s decided to adopt a fiat standard?