White fish after darkness??

Well, I have neon tetras in my tank, and when I first turn the light on in the morning, their red pigment is almost totally faded sometimes, but always returns within like, 10 minutes or so. I'm not sure if this happens because of an absence of light, or a reaction to being scared by the lights being turned on suddenly. Try turning the lights on in the room first, leaving them on for a few minutes, then turning the tank lights on. This will help to minimize the shock of the lights coming on. I don't really think it's anything to worry about, but turning lights on and off, then on will stress them a bit.

It is not really anything to worry about. Alot of fish will do this. It is for the reason stated above, the sudden shock of the light. It might be a good idea to try the idea of turning on a room light first if the room is totally dark. Lighting helps bring out colors in fish and when they are sleeping there colors will also fade some.

Just my 2 cents for you.

ooh, that's a good question. I haven't looked into the cell physiology of it yet, but could if you want me to (Ichthyologist here ). But it's a behavioral thing. Fish will change color and get either really dark, almost black or very pale when sick or stressed. Other times it's just a display. Like cichlids and many saltwater fish will change colors depending on their mood. Like if they're chasing another fish away from their territory, the aggressor will turn dark or its colors will get extra bright, while the submissor will turn pale as if to say "I'm sorry I didn't mean it, please don't hurt me". It saves them the energy of fighting, as well as reduces risk of injury.

I still haven't been able to figure out why fish turn light at night. It may just be their nighty-night coloration. I'm guessing it's either to blend in with the pale, washed out colors in moonlight or just to save energy (don't know how much energy it really takes to keep their colors vibrant, though).

does that help?

don't worry about asking questions. It's perfectly fine, and not just when you're 15 How else are you gonna learn?

You know, I've never heard the thing about goldfish becoming white permanently if left in total darkness. But I think doing that would be cruel. It kinda sounds like an urban legend to me. :huh:

Don't know. I know it'll happen over generations, because like cave fish don't have any need for color or even sight. So blind cave fish don't even have eyes, and they're all a ghostly white. But I don't think it'll happen in one lifetime.

If you really want to know, I can take a look into the scientific literature to see if this has ever been confirmed. But I can't promise I'll be able to do that anytime soon, with all the other stuff I'm supposed to be doing