Cant believe this is the same fish

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MikebNJ said:
The Oscar is out. Im not going to let the Oscar get beat to hell by putting it back in so the Dat has nice colors lol
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That was just joke,we didn't think that you would do that nor would we want you to.
 
What you are seeing is quite normal, and not necessarily always caused by stress. I posted about this a few yrs back in the following past thread. (which should be a sticky IMO)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/datnoids-stability-mystery.435766/

I think that both camps are correct, that being the colors seen in a "stable" dat, and an "unstable" dat, can be caused by the same environmental triggers. Stimuli that may frighten or stress one fish, may trigger dominance or aggressive territorial behaviour in another.

The pigment cells in fish that are involved with color changes are called chromatophores. These cells can be altered due to morphological changes in the fishes environment such as background and/or substrate color, or from physiological responses to aggression, stress, etc.

In a stressed fish plasma cortisol levels increase, and cortisol levels are how researchers typically determine stress levels in fish when exposed to various conditions. Not all species, and perhaps even individual specimens within each species will react exactly the same to the same environmental or physiological stimuli.

As an example, in Nile tilapia a blue background causes an increase in aggression, where as a blue light causes a calming, protective role in stress in this species.

http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bjmbr/v34n8/4190.pdf

Hormonal color changes could explain why with an increase in age/size dats often become more stable, and tend to show what most would consider dominant coloration, vs camouflage (sub-dominant concealment) vs younger, less mature dats kept under the exact same tank conditions. In some tanks fish take on more dominant, territorial behaviour early on in life, even as small juvies, and this could also very well be sex (and hormone) related.

None of the above is outside the norm for many species of fish that are kept in captivity.


Clearly there is no question that some dats kept in a stressful environment appear to be what many refer to as "stable", displaying dominant colors, and there are dats that kept in these exact same conditions appear to be "unstable", as in displaying dark camo/concealment stress pattern & coloration.

Perhaps some fish fall under the "fight" response, and some fall under the "flight" response. Same stimuli, but opposite reaction based on size/sex/dominance/tank mates/overall health etc-etc.

IMO the reason for no real definitive answer to the "stability" question, is that no single answer is correct for all fish, of various age/size/sex, kept under all of the various conditions possible in captivity.



This is why in Indonesia hobbyists will state: That is the challenge of keeping tigers - swee swee kim kim (stable) one moment and then suddenly "orh-orh". (black/unstable)

With datnoids, this just seems to be part of the enigma and challenge that makes keeping them so interesting.
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HTH
 
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RD. said:
What you are seeing is quite normal, and not necessarily always caused by stress. I posted about this a few yrs back in the following past thread. (which should be a sticky IMO)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/datnoids-stability-mystery.435766/




HTH
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I agree RD. I believe for the dat in my situation he shows color for dominance and may have actually been stressed with the Oscar. He is alone now in good conditions (water/flow/oxygen) but still dark so not necessarily stressed.
 
Lots of fish show dominant colors when riled up, and I agree it sounds like that's what took place with your dat. He was simply flexing his muscles to show your O who was boss.
 
A fish that is normally stable like this (not any other Dat, this one) Dat goes unstable when there is a change in it's environment like the removal of the Oscar. The changed stressed it so now it goes black once it is used to its environment it will go light again if it doesn't like its situation for what ever reason a fish has for that it won't. So while you can go round and round about this test the theory by putting the O back for a while and see what happens or try the blood parrot idea.
 
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