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Eastern Mudminnow Looking Pale


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#1 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 18 January 2009 - 03:41 PM

i've had my two mudminnows for 18 days now, and the past couple days i've noticed that my bigger mudminnow (3") has been looking pretty pale. the smaller mudminnow is still looking very dark and vibrant.

any idea what the cause of this is?

i haven't really done anything different with the mudminnows since i've gotten them. the big one is eating a lot more now, it can eat an entire 5 inch worm once a day, but i dont feed it that much every day.

could it be lighting? i've noticed that when the mudminnow is hiding in the cave i built, its colors appear darker, but when its in the open it seems very dull.

any ideas?

comparison photos:

before:
Posted Image

now:
Posted Image

Edited by dsaavedra, 18 January 2009 - 03:43 PM.


#2 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 18 January 2009 - 04:15 PM

Probably the amount of lighting and the light colored substrate. As they get larger, they tend to become just a drab weak brown.

#3 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 18 January 2009 - 04:22 PM

ok, so nothing's wrong? thats good.

#4 Guest_mikez_*

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Posted 19 January 2009 - 06:24 PM

It does look unusually pale in the second pic.
Watch for the small one to pick on the big one.
If the big one is female [as big ones often are], and the smaller one is male, there may be some frustration aggression going on. If the female isn't ripe but the male is getting fired up, he may chase and harass her if she doesn't respond to his displays.
If that is the case, she will need some serious hiding cover to avoid the male as he can be most insistent.

#5 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 20 January 2009 - 01:04 PM

i have been thinking that the smaller one is male because of his size and his colors, but these two stay away from each other most of the time. their only encounters are when they get too close the big one usually nips at the little one and thats it.

does not appear to be any spawning behavior going on.

do you think the big one could be colored this way because of its diet, which consists 100% earthworms (unless its secretley eating shrimp pellets without me seeing)?

i can't find any other food it will take. it goes into stalk mode on anything that moves, but it quickly decides if it wants to eat it or not.

it really likes live food, and i have a bunch of worms that i collected but the creek is frozen or else i'd go and get some scuds (i've seen it eat scuds)

i'm able to get the little one to eat shrimp pellets, but i cant get the big one to. any ideas? maybe just stop feeding it worms and only feed it shrimp pelelts until it catches on?

#6 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 17 February 2009 - 10:48 AM

well for about a week now, this mudminnow has found itself a new home inside a hollow log i have in my tank, and since then, it's colored up quite nicely. most of it is nearly black.

so i guess it was just too much light that was causing it to turn pale.



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