I have never heard of a discus paling out due to illness. Seems the standard show is getting dark and showing stress bars when ill. Yours definitely didn't get dark!
Why is my marlboro discus losing it's colour?
- Thread starter Diann62
- Start date
I have never heard of a discus paling out due to illness. Seems the standard show is getting dark and showing stress bars when ill. Yours definitely didn't get dark!
Actually, I wouldn't be so sure that the discus isn't sick. Pigeon blood based fish do get pale when they are sick. I know this from firsthand experience as well as countless experts that have had this happen. Pigeon blood fish lack the ability to darken when stressed as all of the dark pigment appears as the peppering or on the edges of fins. Normally a fish would have bars that would darken along with the rest of the fish when they are stressed. This is one reason why pigeon bloods and albinos can be considered harder to keep than the normal striped varieties. They lack the ability to darken when stressed so it isn't as obvious that something is wrong.
i too agree that the fish could very well be sick or stressed, fish changing color out of their "norm" is always a good indicator or stress, has everything in your local water supply been constant or could there potentially be something added recently?
our water company put aluminum something or other in our water around a month back which could have been deadly to my fish
the reason that some of your fish may not be showing this same pale sign is maybe they are a little healthier and stronger to resist whatever is going on with this poor fish for the time being
our water company put aluminum something or other in our water around a month back which could have been deadly to my fish
the reason that some of your fish may not be showing this same pale sign is maybe they are a little healthier and stronger to resist whatever is going on with this poor fish for the time being
When they get dark, its usually from external problems (parasites, bacteria, etc). When they lose their color and get very pale it is just the opposite....something internal. How well is that one fish eating? Same as others?
-Ryan
-Ryan
I'll keep my eye on him and and see how he eats and poops. The tank isn't in the main area so it doesn't get constant observation. I'll let you all know.
Please do, keep us posted.
i would also agree it is possible the fish may have internal illness. but you do need to keep track of it's behavior(eating normal- not, excrement etc)
hang in there.
i would also agree it is possible the fish may have internal illness. but you do need to keep track of it's behavior(eating normal- not, excrement etc)
hang in there.
Well I've seen it eat normally the past 2 days, and swimming around in the open. I haven't seen any poop.........of course I haven't seen any of them poop. I'll keep my eye on that. Like I said before, it's hard because they're in the basement, but I'll spend more time down there.
Eating and acting normally is definitely a good sign! I still think this fish is not "paled" out. It shows no signs of ever having the same red markings as the other marlboro red, and I can't help but think that as it is maturing it's true colors are what you see now in that picture. You've had the fish for 4-5 months, it's 4", and it's your largest discus. Largest discus tells me it's been doing very well eating and growing. 4" tells me that it might be 7-9 months old which is when a lot of color changing goes on from juvie colors to adult colors.
We don't know if the fish were fed color enhancing foods prior to purchase and this fish's color is actually the natural color without color enhancing.
I know you're not able to watch the fish closely since the tank is not in your living area, but did this happen over a period of time, slowly? Do you watch the fish enough to know this? So what I'm asking is could the color change have been happening over a period of time and not just one week he had red coloration and the next week none?
We don't know if the fish were fed color enhancing foods prior to purchase and this fish's color is actually the natural color without color enhancing.
I know you're not able to watch the fish closely since the tank is not in your living area, but did this happen over a period of time, slowly? Do you watch the fish enough to know this? So what I'm asking is could the color change have been happening over a period of time and not just one week he had red coloration and the next week none?
:iagree:
swimming , feeding and otherwise acting normal is a good sign.I still encourage you to watch the fish and make sure the poo is 'normal'
keep the diet varied. it is possible it may just be showing adult colors for this particular fish.
swimming , feeding and otherwise acting normal is a good sign.I still encourage you to watch the fish and make sure the poo is 'normal'
keep the diet varied. it is possible it may just be showing adult colors for this particular fish.
