Science and Goldfish

Question

Can I change the color of a goldfish?

Hypothesis

I think the fish will change color if I put food coloring in the water, because food dye stains clothes, skin, etc.

Fish

I named the two fish:

Jazzy Chase I decided I was

going to put the food dye in Chases’ bowl.

Interesting Facts

The food dye barely effected my fish.

It only made Chase duller. Chase went potty a lot

more than Jazzy. Chase also was scared of

the food dye The food dye made Chase

almost impossible to see. Chase is now the same

color as Jazzy in clear water!

Materials Used

Two small fish bowls Two goldfish Blue food dye Fish Food (Sinking) Camera Large plastic

container.

Instructions

First, I added clean water to the bowls. Then I added the fish to the bowls. I labeled each bowl by the fish name. After that I added 2 drops of blue food dye in Chases bowl. I took a bunch of before after pictures. I check up on the fish everyday and cleaned their bowls every 6 days. I added two more drops of food dye every time I cleaned out the bowl for Chase.

Observation

The experiment lasted for 4 weeks. I noticed overall Chase didn’t change. He only became duller and more greenish, but not a lot.

Week 1

The fish are acting normal, so the food dye didn’t have a negative affect.

Chase is a barely blue, only around the light fin areas.

It is also hard to see Chase in the blue water.

Plus, my cat is trying to eat my fishies!!!

Week 2

We changed the water and put Chase in clear water for a sec to get a good look at him. He wasn’t quit blue, but defiantly duller than Jazzy.

Week 3

Chase hasn’t turned blue yet. He is still just duller then Jazzy. He also seems to poop a lot more, yet eat a lot less. I'm scared he might die!!

Week 4 ( Last Week)

Chase did not change much. He is just more immune to the scary blue color. That’s really all. He is a little duller, but not by much.

Conclusion

Overall, my hypothesis wasn’t correct. Chase didn’t change color, even though he did get duller. I would have changed my experiment by not changing the water as much and using more food dye.

References

Google “ Food dyes affect on goldfish” Saudon.com www.scienceline.ucsb.edu www.pbm.com

R.I.P Jazzy and Chasethey died Saturday December 12th.

Rest in peace my little fishies.