clown loach colors

[FreshwaterHawaii]

Hello MFK,

I know that a fishes color is a great indication of health and stress. When i first got my clown loaches they were quite white where there should have been orange and faded black where it should have been black. They have since darkened up a bit, but not completely. I do notice that when im not near the tank, they are much darker than if i were to sit infront of the tank. And ive also noticed that one of them is dark no matter where i am relative to the tank. So i guess my question is, why are some of my loaches colors faded and others are not?

Water parameters are good, temp ~80 F, only other tank mates are (2)Tinfoil barbs about 3 inches.

 

[andyjs]

Color in loaches doesn't always mean the same thing it does in other fish. Clowns fade quite a bit as they age. They also gray out as kind of an aggressive dominant display, so the most dominant loach often has the grayest color

 

[arodini]

All my loaches are not in a good contrasting colors of golden base with dark stripes any more since I put in white PVC pipes for them to chill in. They all love it but their colors are fading. Should've painted the pipes with dark color...(?)

 

[FreshwaterHawaii]

Do decorations and colors of decorations affect the loaches color?