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Weird Rainbow Darter Coloration
Started by
Guest_BUGGEEK_*
, Aug 06 2010 11:53 AM
15 replies to this topic
#1
Guest_BUGGEEK_*
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Posted 06 August 2010 - 11:53 AM
Has anyone else have their darters show off this kind of coloration? Any ideas as to why this fish is doing this? Coloration has been normal up until yesterday.
#2
littlen
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Posted 06 August 2010 - 01:44 PM
I've not seen darters do this, but have seen it before. I think it's an indication of stress. A lot of species express verticle bars like that when stressed. Although the colorless anterior portion is very strange! It still looks very healthy. What are the tank conditions? No just water parameters, but tankmates, etc. It could be stressing due to increased ammonia/nitrites, tankmate aggression, breeding stressors, temps...
More information would be helpful. Cool pic btw.
More information would be helpful. Cool pic btw.
Nick L.
#3
Guest_schambers_*
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Posted 06 August 2010 - 03:00 PM
That's really odd that it's half pale. Usually if I see one go pale, it's gonna die. I had one pale one that lived for several months, but usually it's a sign the end is near.
#4
Guest_CATfishTONY_*
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Posted 06 August 2010 - 03:50 PM
i have seen this before after a larger fish has the smaller fish in its mouth for a few seconds but did not finish eating it.
i hope this is knot the case as all fish did pass on the the under world shortly there after.
SORRY to sound like irate mormon here.
i hope this is knot the case as all fish did pass on the the under world shortly there after.
SORRY to sound like irate mormon here.
#5
Guest_gerald_*
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Posted 06 August 2010 - 04:23 PM
That half light /half dark pattern can sometimes be a symptom of Mycobacterium infection, but it's certainly not the only possible cause. Something is messing up her neurological control of chromatophores.
#6
Guest_bumpylemon_*
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Posted 06 August 2010 - 06:32 PM
that is actually what my fish start to look like before they died with my recent fish kill.
#7
Guest_Elijah_*
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Posted 07 August 2010 - 02:11 AM
I had a serious myco (fish tuberculosis) break out in two of my tanks. I hate to say it, but some of my fish did exactly that, while other got bloody pimples on their foreheads. I lost some fish, but not quite as many as I thought I would (in one tank). I spent a fair amount of money on meds, but saved many of the fish I thought I would lose. I found one web site online that had a suggested treatment and went with it. A day or two later fish that had bloody pustules (I was sure were going to die) looked totally healthy again. In my other tank it went rampant and I euthenized the remaining fish. I did not medicate the second tank with all the different meds.
If you check you can find my posts and details of what I did to stop it.
BTW it was Gerald who called it. Thanks Gerald! I might have lost all the fish in my prized tank otherwise.
If you check you can find my posts and details of what I did to stop it.
BTW it was Gerald who called it. Thanks Gerald! I might have lost all the fish in my prized tank otherwise.
Edited by Elijah, 07 August 2010 - 02:12 AM.
#8
Guest_BUGGEEK_*
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Posted 07 August 2010 - 11:03 AM
He is the only fish showing any kind of odd coloration or distress. All the fish, including the darter, are acting normal. He is eating fine and swimming around normal.
#9
Guest_Elijah_*
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Posted 07 August 2010 - 12:29 PM
Well usually when fish get a white body section from tb it gets a bit stiff and they swim differently.He is the only fish showing any kind of odd coloration or distress. All the fish, including the darter, are acting normal. He is eating fine and swimming around normal.
#10
Guest_Okiimiru_*
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Posted 10 August 2010 - 07:38 AM
Yes, my darters have been pale like that before. I've got orangethroat darters, Etheostoma spectabile. There are 11 of them in a 55 gallon long, 6 males and 5 females. Their tank mates are swordtails and bettas, and don't bother the darters.
There are two reasons I've seen for color change in a darter; discomfort and social interaction. They get pale when they're not happy with water conditions. And they change their color in order to broadcast to the other darters what mood they're in and dominance level they are. Let me explain why I think this:
All of the darters were pale the first few days I had them, when the temperature was 78 Fahrenheit and the water was stagnant. Paleness was their expression of discomfort, and their whole body was pale not just half of it. After lowering the temperature to 70 F and adding a powerhead, the majority of them colored up. So that's why paleness can be associated with distress and, logically, disease. But paleness can also be for social reasons.
Two of my males are still pale right now, and it's similar to your photo; about two thirds of the body is pale. Their tail has orange and blue stripes on it still, the last four or six bars, but the chest and head are pale. Their eye tear drops barely show up and the fins are clear with a single dark blue stripe on the head-most dorsal fin. I think it's a social interaction thing that they're pale now. Sort of like when a dog rolls over on its belly. It's saying "I'm submissive! Don't kill me!" to the other males. Those two pale males stay in the stagnant part of the aquarium, sitting on the gravel among the plant stems and staying out of the way of the other darters. I added some caves to increase hiding space and reduce bullying. It seemed to make them more comfortable. Their color perked up.
I should add that the most colorful male darter is not the most aggressive one; the most strongly striped male is. The most aggressive darter in the tank has dark black and white high contrast colors. He's a male. The most colorful male (with the bright orange and blue colors) occassionally gets landed on by that high contrast black and white one. They both hang out in the high current area. The brightly colored one, when landed upon, moves out of the way of the smaller, higher contrast colored one. That seemed weird to me because you'd think the bright colors would mean aggression. But apparently it's the strong stripes that correlate with inter-male dominance, not bright colors. And the female darters like the colored male, not the strongly striped one. The colored one is bigger and probably older.
I think that when a fish loses contrast in its stripes, it's broadcasting submission to the other darters. Bright colors seems to be associated with behavior towards the ladies, and dark and white stripes to behavior towards other males. Some of my male darters have bright colors, some have strong stripes, and some are paler. It's interesting. And each darter changes color in different times in order to have different social interactions. When I turn the light on in the morning and wake them up, they're all brightly striped and colored, but when they see one another, they change how they look.
Judging just from your picture, I'd say your rainbow darter is looking that way to communicate with the other males in the tank, not the females. He's got inter-male rank, not breeding, on his mind. His head-most dorsal fin is down, so that means he doesn't like you taking that photo of him. He's trying to intimidate you and he's about to swim off and hide when that doesn't work.
But I have a different species of darter, so I might be way off. And I'm new at darter body language still, so I might be way off.
There are two reasons I've seen for color change in a darter; discomfort and social interaction. They get pale when they're not happy with water conditions. And they change their color in order to broadcast to the other darters what mood they're in and dominance level they are. Let me explain why I think this:
All of the darters were pale the first few days I had them, when the temperature was 78 Fahrenheit and the water was stagnant. Paleness was their expression of discomfort, and their whole body was pale not just half of it. After lowering the temperature to 70 F and adding a powerhead, the majority of them colored up. So that's why paleness can be associated with distress and, logically, disease. But paleness can also be for social reasons.
Two of my males are still pale right now, and it's similar to your photo; about two thirds of the body is pale. Their tail has orange and blue stripes on it still, the last four or six bars, but the chest and head are pale. Their eye tear drops barely show up and the fins are clear with a single dark blue stripe on the head-most dorsal fin. I think it's a social interaction thing that they're pale now. Sort of like when a dog rolls over on its belly. It's saying "I'm submissive! Don't kill me!" to the other males. Those two pale males stay in the stagnant part of the aquarium, sitting on the gravel among the plant stems and staying out of the way of the other darters. I added some caves to increase hiding space and reduce bullying. It seemed to make them more comfortable. Their color perked up.
I should add that the most colorful male darter is not the most aggressive one; the most strongly striped male is. The most aggressive darter in the tank has dark black and white high contrast colors. He's a male. The most colorful male (with the bright orange and blue colors) occassionally gets landed on by that high contrast black and white one. They both hang out in the high current area. The brightly colored one, when landed upon, moves out of the way of the smaller, higher contrast colored one. That seemed weird to me because you'd think the bright colors would mean aggression. But apparently it's the strong stripes that correlate with inter-male dominance, not bright colors. And the female darters like the colored male, not the strongly striped one. The colored one is bigger and probably older.
I think that when a fish loses contrast in its stripes, it's broadcasting submission to the other darters. Bright colors seems to be associated with behavior towards the ladies, and dark and white stripes to behavior towards other males. Some of my male darters have bright colors, some have strong stripes, and some are paler. It's interesting. And each darter changes color in different times in order to have different social interactions. When I turn the light on in the morning and wake them up, they're all brightly striped and colored, but when they see one another, they change how they look.
Judging just from your picture, I'd say your rainbow darter is looking that way to communicate with the other males in the tank, not the females. He's got inter-male rank, not breeding, on his mind. His head-most dorsal fin is down, so that means he doesn't like you taking that photo of him. He's trying to intimidate you and he's about to swim off and hide when that doesn't work.
But I have a different species of darter, so I might be way off. And I'm new at darter body language still, so I might be way off.
Edited by Okiimiru, 10 August 2010 - 07:54 AM.
#11
Guest_schambers_*
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Posted 10 August 2010 - 10:44 PM
Okiimiru, you are absolutely correct about darters changing colors depending on environment and mood, but I think there is something more going on with this one. Normally their whole body pales or colors up. Since the fish is eating and behaving normally, maybe it's a harmless abnormality, but I dunno. I'd keep a close eye out for a body.
#12
Guest_jblaylock_*
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Posted 16 August 2010 - 08:09 AM
What's the status of this fish?
#13
Guest_Irate Mormon_*
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Posted 16 August 2010 - 09:32 PM
I have seen this kind of thing before - it was the result of some kind of neurological damage (that's what the experts told me). The fishes seemed OK otherwise.
#14
Guest_BUGGEEK_*
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Posted 18 August 2010 - 12:13 PM
The fish is still doing fine. The dark coloration seems to have moved a little farther back on the fish so not as much of his body is dark. Maybe it's a mood ring fish, don't know.
#15
Guest_Okiimiru_*
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Posted 19 August 2010 - 11:04 AM
The fish is still doing fine. The dark coloration seems to have moved a little farther back on the fish so not as much of his body is dark. Maybe it's a mood ring fish, don't know.
Are there other darters in the tank? Are there any predatory species that the darter might feel can eat it?
Edited by Okiimiru, 19 August 2010 - 11:04 AM.
#16
Guest_BUGGEEK_*
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Posted 19 August 2010 - 01:55 PM
There is one other rainbow darter which is much smaller than this one. The only fish that could be deemed "predatory" in there would be a white perch which is still smaller than the darter. The perch spends most of its time near the top of the tank. All the other fish are omnivorous. When food is put in the tank the darter will swim up into the water column to get it so he isn't scared of anything. I will see about getting a new pick to see how much of the dark coloration has gone away.
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