Chameleon Discus

[fish on]

I have a young Snake Skin that is a true chameleon.

One minute it is dark brown, almost black. The next minute it is back to it’s deep reds and blues.

I am not exaggerating; this fish changes colors swimming across the tank!

I have another Snake Skin, same age and size that never changes color.

Is my color changing Snake Skin stressed? If so how come the others aren’t?

Thanks,

Steve

[nicholas76]

HI Steve,

I dont want to alarm you but those are signs of possibly bad things to come. I experienced the same thing with one of my young discus and it soon developed ahexamitis.

Mood swings and sickness are definetly reflected in there colours.

Keep your eyes on it. Is he being bullied?, is he eating all his food?. Make sure your water parameters are not changing to much.

Get a hospital tank on standby

Regards
Nick76

[Ryan]

Discus usually get dark because of something stress-related. Stress could be a wide range of things. He could be getting harassed by tankmates, he may not feel well, he may not like something in the tank, etc. You may want to try and figure out what, if anything, could be making him stressed. Obviously it's not having an effect on your other discus if you say they are not turning dark as well.

I would agree with Nick, is he getting picked on? How many discus do you have in that tank?

I'm going to move this post to the General section where you should get more replies.

Ryan

[fish on]

The fish in question eats like a pig, is not bullied, and is very healthy. It just changes color a lot. I can’t explain why it does this but it sure does.

I have 7 Discus in this tank along with 20 Neon Tetras and 6 Flame Tailed Tetras. The tank is a tall 90-gallon tank.

I bought the Tetras because I liked them. I didn’t know the Tetra was one of the Discus’s favorite foods. I’ve never lost one, the Discus leave them alone. My Mother on the other hand can’t keep a Tetra in the tank without her Discus killing them for food and fun (?).

While typing this note it has gone from dark brown to deep reds and some blue. Go figure.

Thanks,

Steve

[Dave C]

Wow, sounds like a majestic fish!

[Kap]

I'd love to see what your fish looks like in its various "moods." Can you post some pics?

[nicholas76]

How is this fish going?

keep in mind that sickness may take several days or even weeks to appear.


Would like to see how he is now?

Regards

Nick

[jklnbrg]

Wow, sounds like a majestic fish!

Dave,
I'm sending you the bill for getting Coke out of my monitor and keyboard. I'm still laughing ;)
(not to take away from this thread)

John

[fish on]

Thanks everyone, sorry it’s taken me this long to reply.

My color changing fish started to show signs of being sick and stayed dark brown for a long time. I noticed when it was motionless that it would start leaning over until it was almost at a 45 degree angle, then it would correct it self. It only did this while being still never while swimming.

The fish still eats well and is very active.

I placed it in a hospital tank 3 days ago and it is now golden in color with red and blue highlights. I do not know how to post photos but if you email me I can send you some. To be honest with you I have no idea what this fish’s natural color will be once it returns to the big tank in a week or so.

While in the hospital tank I have noticed the fish likes to sit in the corner and lean against the glass at times. It comes to the top quickly for feedings though. Is this a sign of some sickness, if so what meds do I need to buy? I have been doing 50% water changes everyday and half tablespoons of salt. I was also thinking it might lonely. Do fish get lonely, should I place some of my Tetras in the hospital tank as well?

Thanks as always,

Steve