Flowerhorn Color is gone

[robfishies]

View attachment 1451391Noticed orange is starting to come in on his face and fin. His pearls are becoming more visible

Little update added some parrots in the tank and theyre doing great. His colors are really starting to come in. Looks like he’ll be full orange

 

[Cich Mind]

Hello robfishies ,
Nice Flowerhorn you have there. He's definetly changing a bit. I'm sure he will be just fine color wise. His colors may seem a bit washed out because of the bright white sand you have in your tank. Many keepers have noticed that a darker substrate or background will bring out more colors. Just my 2 cents. GL

 

[Aquatic Aggression]

I have been wondering about that, fish are only supposed to loose melanin based pigments (melanophores) and pearls are based on guanine (iridophores). Your fish still has me intrigued. Only thing I found related to loss of pearls was oxidative stress.

Melanin is below the guanine. If all the color below the pearls disappears the pearls become less visable and less iridescent. The guanine deposits are still there.
This fish is doing the exact opposite of "turning into a thai silk"