Royal and Watermelon lost colour.

[sterlingtjones]

I have a Royal and a Watermelon.

The white stripes and spots are drab and dark grey.

I recently got the Watermelon and he had great contrast of white and black.

Now after 2 weeks he is just as drab grey as my royal.


I know fish, and plecos, can adjust there colour to suit the environment.

I just want to know what can I do to bring the white back in these plecos.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?


I have a 125 gal, I have 2 x 40 watt T8 tubes of Aquarium/Garden bulbs I forget the spectrum but they are pinkish. My tank is bare-bottom and has lots of drift wood.


I suspect the lighting could be the largest factor here...

 

[Linus_Cello]

Maybe if you add some colored substrate to your tank? I notice in my L52 butterflies that the white and black is most contrasted against green and brown. On my black gravel, they turn a darker murky grey. Maybe the color will be sharper on "natural colored" gravel (browns and beige).

Yah, I suspect lighting is an issue too. What about adding a bunch of floating plants?

 

[bcarlos]

I'd check your water parameters, too.

Other than DW, what are you offering in the way of food? You should be supplementing with fresh veggies, and even the occasional protein treat will do these guys good.

If there's plenty of hiding space, the lighting should not be an issue. Loss of colour is usually due to a) stress or b) poor diet. If the diet is good, then perhaps there are some internal or external factors stressing these fish out.

Internal stressors include poor water flow/filtration, aggressive tankmates, poor water parameters, parasites, etc.

External stressors include loud noises around the outside of the tank, infrequent light schedules, etc.

I find with larger panaques, it helps to spend some time around the tank and get them used to you. It's all about positive reinforecement, and the easiest way to do this (as with any animal) is to have them recognize that you being around usually = food.

 

[sterlingtjones]

water parameters are all good.

Diet is all good... fresh yams all the time, spirlina waffers, and raw Market shrimp.

There are plenty of hiding spaces, tank mates aren't aggressive, and fish are not noticeable stressed.


I have plenty of water flow, aeration, and filtration.


I am not going to put in any substrate, but I might tape some water paper to the bottom of the tank, not sure if they will see it though.

 

[theunytedone]

are the fish behaving any differently?
+1 for spending quality time with your fish. i just sat in front of my baby royal panaque tank last night for a good 20min after i threw in food to just wait for them to eat. they're learning well.

They are also on black gravel as well, and are very very dark.
i believe more light or light colors will give them back their contrast. seems to be the only variable.

 

[matubula]

TBH sounds very normal to me. Once settled they often lose contrast with their background colour and stripes. All my L190 are duller than when I first got them but a couple of my L027 are almost yellow. It depends on the environment they are in and the fish itself. I've seen a fully spotted L330 become totally black and when moved completely coloured up again.

 

[Astrea]

I've seen an L190 go from perfectly colored to a gold, flesh-tone looking color.

http://s934.photobucket.com/albums/ad183/Astreaphotos/

Same fish, the color change happened over about six-eight weeks while at the LFS. On the tank they had him listed as L330, but I think that was wrong. I was afraid to buy him and they threw him in the display tank eventually. Planet Catfish has a pic of an L190 that has gone through the color change. The only thing I ever found about why it happens is stress.

 

[theunytedone]

I've seen an L190 go from perfectly colored to a gold, flesh-tone looking color.

http://s934.photobucket.com/albums/ad183/Astreaphotos/

Same fish, the color change happened over about six-eight weeks while at the LFS. On the tank they had him listed as L330, but I think that was wrong. I was afraid to buy him and they threw him in the display tank eventually. Planet Catfish has a pic of an L190 that has gone through the color change. The only thing I ever found about why it happens is stress.

wow...that definitely is a dramatic color change. i take it that the fish was still healthy in the after-pic?