LOSS OF COLOR???

fish_chic

Large Fish
Oct 30, 2006
386
0
0
florida
#1
okay i was looking at my zebra angel and you can barely see his stripes which are suppose to be very black and he as barely any black in his fins and to top it all of i found one of my micky mouse platys dead today. i just did a water change about 25 gallons and cleaned the gravel. i was thinking that maybe i am over feeding them. i do feed them 3 times a day flakes and freeze dried bloodworms. can any one help me. i don't wont to lose him.
 

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
May 16, 2003
8,589
10
38
43
Colorado
#2
can you tell us what your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are?

Losing color can be a sign of stress (which can kill them) and stress can be caused by many things. If you are overfeeding then you'll probably have really high nitrates and maybe a .25ppm reading of nitrites. That sounds like a LOT of food. I'd personally drop it down to only once a day and only as much as they can eat in a few minutes. I feed once a day about 5 or 6 times a week...they dont get fed every day by any means.
 

Jan 16, 2006
69
0
0
Superior, WI
#3
Loss of color is a sign of stress, have you checked your water parameters? Did you age the water or use a dechlorinator when you did your water change?

Yes, your feeding schedule seems a bit much, although that shouldn't be the problem unless the uneaten food is causing your tank to recycle. I have 2 angels in the community 37 and they get fed once a day. About once a week they'll get a treat, usually bloodworms.
 

Mahamotorworks

Superstar Fish
Aug 26, 2006
1,722
6
0
Thule, Greenland
www.myspace.com
#4
Some angels will Darken or lighten their Strip depending on what they are doing. I have a stiped angel that when hunting guppies is very pale. When I am near the tank teasing him wiht my finger he gets very black. My tiger barbs are the same way. The will lighten and darken their colors. This still dose not mean that his is not stressed. I would cut back to feeding once a day. When my tank was cycling I overfed and killed one of my fish, due to high ammoina. To really help you out we need numbers of what you ammoina, nitrIte and nitrAte are. Not just good or bad like a LFS will tell you. If you dont have a test kit, invest in one. It will help you and your fish out.

MAHA

MAHA
 

fish_chic

Large Fish
Oct 30, 2006
386
0
0
florida
#5
i can't give you guys a reading bc i am out of tests. but i am almost positive that i am over feeding. when i did the water change i did you prime for the chlorine. so do you think i should do another wc plus clean the gravel so i can get rid of all the excess water from the food that way if my levels of annomia are high i can get rid of them. what do you all think.
 

fish_chic

Large Fish
Oct 30, 2006
386
0
0
florida
#7
Cichlid-Man said:
With fish such as Angels and Discus, the stress bars can come and go depending on the fish. Its not a sure sign of stress for them to be gone. A better sign is how the fish acts. Sulking in the corner of the tank? Fins clamped?
okay that makes me feel better. bc he isn't in the corner nor is his fins clamped. but when i turned the lights out on the tank for the night his stripes where very noticable i could really see the black in them. what does that mean. are the lights bleaching them out.