Coloring Baby Goldfish

[mattscheck4]

A friend just have me several goldfish that were born while she had her pond fish inside last winter. The parents are those cheap, 25-cent feeder goldfish, but all the adults were orange, white, black, or a combination of those. All the babies are silver. Is there something I can/should do to influence their color, or will that come as they mature? Thanks in advance for the help. : )

 

[jeffp]

i believe goldfish take several months before they start showing their color

 

[Homer8]

here is a better irrelevant question. why in the **** do they call them goldfish

 

[swimwithme]

here is a better irrelevant question. why in the **** do they call them goldfish

I know right?!?!?

 

[glassbird]

I had 23 baby goldfish join my family two years ago when I bought some water hyacinth for an unoccupied pond in my yard. Apparently there were fish eggs stuck to the plant roots. Most developed (after several months)into what I call calicos...white with red and black patches. But some were silver, and stayed silver. I found homes for most of the silvers, but kept one out of curiosity. Would it stay silver, or change into something else?

The one that I kept goes to a velvety bronze/black when he is outside in a small pond for the summer. In the winter he goes to a silver tone when he (and his siblings) spend 5 months in a stock tank in my basement. I have heard from the people who took the rest of the silver babies that they are silver all year around in the various aquariums that they use for their fish.

Which is all a long winded way of saying that environment may play a big part in the color of your fish.