dark discus

[fishkid26]

I have a discus that is always dark and the only time it gets lighter is when it eats. I have been watching it and it does not seem to be acting different then any other the other discus and i have also seen that it has dark feces. Does anyone know why it would always be dark?

[Ardan]

Hi,
Sometimes discus are darker when they are stressed. It could be that other fish bully it, or maybe water parameters are not good enough (ie more wc's) ( or aged water needed)
Or it could be just how that fish is.
Check all water parameters and wc water (chlorine, chloramine, ph fluctuations) (usually all fish are affected, but sometimes one is more sensitive)
How long have you had them, how many , what size fish and tank?

hth

[fishkid26]

I have 6 fish in a 55 gallon tank they are 3.5-4" and 1 is about 5". i have had this fish for about a month. i change about 20% of the water everyday and the water is aged for 24 hours.

[Mykiss]

How is the pH? I notice with my fish, some breeds of discus will tolerate low pH i.e. ph 4-5 and high pH i.e pH 8-9. However, some breeds do not like too high or low. Once I set the pH to about 6.5, they all seem to do fine.
The other thing I have noticed is if the discus is always scared, they seem to be a bit dark. Is there any place for shelter in the tank? I used to have a few discus in a tank that would almost always be dark and there would be the few in the same tank that were normal color. However, when I added plants and sand, the darker ones turned normal color. I guess it makes them feel at home and they become less stresses. However, it sucks to do water changes with sand and plants on the way. Cheers
PT

[fishkid26]

The ph of my tank is 6.4 and yes i do have a place for it to hide. They usually dont chase each other around all 6 usually stay together.

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Sounds like to me he is at the bottom of the pecking order. There is nothing you can do to prevent this and it is totally natural. The only time you will need to worry is if he starts to get picked on and stops eating and/or is injured by onther tankmates. HTH

-Ryan

[fishkid26]

Thanks for the help everyone.