help my Umbee changed colors

[qtrhorse89]

So sorry I know I've been posting a lot about my mysterious sex changing umbee but she/he did something really weird just now. When her lights came on this afternoon she started fighting with her reflection on the back of the tank. Immediately her color, which has been more on the male side bleached, completely yellow/light orange and her pelvic fins turned a dark black color and there was a slight black color on the dorsal fin. Now I've been reading a lot on umbees and I know this coloration is typical of a breeding female. Watching her now from the couch after about five minutes of the light being turned on she has ceased flaring and biting at her reflection, her colors have returned to her typical coloration i.e. no black, and more of a copery background. What is going on with this fish? Does this make her a female who just happens to exhibit darker coloration unless stressed or provoked? Her light is on a timer and it comes on and goes off at the same time everyday. There was subdued lighting in the room prior to the lights coming on so it wasn't a big shocking difference other than the fact that her reflection can now be seen. Did she freak out or was she just fighting with herself? I desperately hope the light hasn't been scaring her all this time I'm not usually home when the light turns on. She's my first large fish so I'm paranoid as all get out with her. Please help. Any suggestion would be great. Like I said this episode lasted about five minutes and now she's dark colored again and swimming around checking her territory out like nothing happened. She maybe has the tiniest bit of yellow streaking in her background coloring now. When I approach she eagerly comes up to the glass and starts begging for food.

 

[LOPAKA]

The light turning on in the tank makes a her reflection appear (in her mind another fish) like walking in a lighted room with the walls covered in mirrors, you see yourself everywhere and if you turn out the light its not so evident. The coloration change is typical when a fish feels threatened or scared (mine do it all the time). No need to worry she is acting normal.

 

[qtrhorse89]

Thank you that makes me feel a lot better that it's normal for her to do that. I was freaking out over here. I will assume then that her drastic change in color to pi**ed off ready to fight female colors does indeed make her just an oddly colored female and not a male like we had been suspecting.

 

[LOPAKA]

Thank you that makes me feel a lot better that it's normal for her to do that. I was freaking out over here. I will assume then that her drastic change in color to pi**ed off ready to fight female colors does indeed make her just an oddly colored female and not a male like we had been suspecting.

yeah w/ everything you have said nothing appears to be abnormal. My umbee's will even change color during feeding given how intense they get. You might also experience a color change in her if she gets ready to lay eggs (possible even w/o a male being present)

 

[qtrhorse89]

Excellent thank you. I'll keep an eye on her. She has been digging a lot more her lately than she normally does. So maybe she is about to lay eggs. As long as she's healthy I don't care what she does or what color she turns lol.

 

[knifegill]

Changing colors is the first stage of morphological transcendence! Soon your fish will become a spiritual being of unlimited power and will grant your every wish!!! Oh, wait. Umbee you said? Sorry for the confusion. Umbees do not carry the spiritual transcendence gene. My bad.

Nothing to worry about. My Oscar turns green when he sees himself or just gets 'emotional'.

Normal dark:

Crazy mustard:

 

[qtrhorse89]

aw darn I was looking forward to owning a spiritual being. Nice looking oscar and what a difference in coloring! If I'd sat still and thought long enough about it I would of realized what was going on. Instead I saw it, panicked, and said Holy Batman! to the fish forum that knows all. It's mighty prowess will know what to do hehe

 

[jslayz]

Now that does sound like a female......but all your pics look male....
What you have described above says female, Ill have to change my call on the sex of the fish.
Any chance of a photo?

J

 

[qtrhorse89]

Yeah J I know she has me confused as hell. My roomies are calling her the cross dressing fish of doom. I'll try and get a pic of her tomorrow when the light comes on or I can try and show her a mirror to see if I can get her to do it. The pics and videos you've all seen are of her normal coloration but when she goes to trying to attack everything her colors immediately blanch to what I described above.

 

[weedamese]

So sorry I know I've been posting a lot about my mysterious sex changing umbee but she/he did something really weird just now. When her lights came on this afternoon she started fighting with her reflection on the back of the tank. Immediately her color, which has been more on the male side bleached, completely yellow/light orange and her pelvic fins turned a dark black color and there was a slight black color on the dorsal fin. Now I've been reading a lot on umbees and I know this coloration is typical of a breeding female. Watching her now from the couch after about five minutes of the light being turned on she has ceased flaring and biting at her reflection, her colors have returned to her typical coloration i.e. no black, and more of a copery background. What is going on with this fish? Does this make her a female who just happens to exhibit darker coloration unless stressed or provoked? Her light is on a timer and it comes on and goes off at the same time everyday. There was subdued lighting in the room prior to the lights coming on so it wasn't a big shocking difference other than the fact that her reflection can now be seen. Did she freak out or was she just fighting with herself? I desperately hope the light hasn't been scaring her all this time I'm not usually home when the light turns on. She's my first large fish so I'm paranoid as all get out with her. Please help. Any suggestion would be great. Like I said this episode lasted about five minutes and now she's dark colored again and swimming around checking her territory out like nothing happened. She maybe has the tiniest bit of yellow streaking in her background coloring now. When I approach she eagerly comes up to the glass and starts begging for food.

I had a similar situation with my males had the lights off all night..that day I happen to wake up super early at around 5AM it was still very dark stil and they were still sleeping. I turned my lights on and notice that my males changed colors rite away. The males were all stripped up and had lost a lot of colors even had some black on dorsal fins..after awhile they went back to normal. All umbee's hate there own kind so if they see a reflection of another umbee they will flare specially when that umbee is already used to the tank(he/she might think that his reflection is trying to take over its territory). What I know is that the stripes can go either way sometimes my males get those black stripes on the dorsal fins too and that doesn't make them females. Females have black dorsal fins that almost covers the whole fin and not the stripes I was talking about. My males try to bite there reflection all the time. But anyhow If you take a mirror and let your fish see its own reflection you will see that this will happen again. I can bet my money that your fish is a male no doubt.

Females black dorsal fin notice that they are not in stripes