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Post by parker002 on Jun 29, 2011 21:30:48 GMT -5
I have 6 of these fish now and they are my absolute favorite. I discovered early on how they change color.
When I bought them at the fish store, their bodies were nearly white and their tails would be a pinkish rose-red.
I would bring them home and put them in my tank and a few hours later, their bodies would be a bright, almost turquoise blue and their tails and fins a deep, blood red.
I always chalked this up to stress. Usually the fish stores don't feed the absolute best foods, they keep them in smaller tanks, and usually with minimal actual decorations and places to hide.
However, I have discovered that it might not be that simple.
The two fish stores where I have bought my last few fish have similar tank setups - solid blue background, light-to-white gravel substrate, similar lighting.
My tank is heavily planted with 10000K T5 lights and 6500K T8 lights and sand-colored gravel.
My daughter's tank is setup almost identically to mine with one big exception - her substrate is BLACK.
With black substrate, the Columbian Tetras turn PURPLE - the bodies are purple but at the blue end of the spectrum, while the fins are purple at the red end of the spectrum.
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Post by Carl on Jun 30, 2011 8:49:22 GMT -5
Are you saying these fish are like chameleons in their ability to change colors to adapt to their surroundings?
Very interesting!
Carl
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Post by parker002 on Jun 30, 2011 20:39:13 GMT -5
It sure seems that way. I've been watching them since yesterday and they're still a very dark, almost purple color. Very different than before.
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Post by babygeige on Jul 1, 2011 21:07:14 GMT -5
My Colombian tetras' tank has a black/white mixed substrate and the background looks like a heavily planted aquarium. The top part of my tetras' bodies is an electric blue and the rest of their bodies are bright silver. As for their fins, they're all blood red for the most part, except a few of them have a longer top (dorsal?) fin than the others. The longer top fins are more of an orange color than the rest of their fins. So maybe these are a different variation, or a different gender...?
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Post by goldenpuon on Jul 1, 2011 23:03:45 GMT -5
I think it may be color variation based on gender, the individual, and the fish's stress level. However, it does sound like they are being chameleons too. lol Very interesting.
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Post by parker002 on Jul 3, 2011 10:09:56 GMT -5
My Colombian tetras' tank has a black/white mixed substrate and the background looks like a heavily planted aquarium. The top part of my tetras' bodies is an electric blue and the rest of their bodies are bright silver. As for their fins, they're all blood red for the most part, except a few of them have a longer top (dorsal?) fin than the others. The longer top fins are more of an orange color than the rest of their fins. So maybe these are a different variation, or a different gender...? Actually, mine looked very similar to yours until about 3 days ago.
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Post by babygeige on Jul 3, 2011 14:48:38 GMT -5
Hmmm, interesting. I've had mine for almost year, so they should be pretty much full grown by now I'd think. I was looking at them yesterday, they all have orange-ish dorsal fins, just some are longer than others and are lighter in color closer towards the tip. So the ones that have the longest are almost white at the end.
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Post by parker002 on Jul 3, 2011 19:47:39 GMT -5
Mine were greenish-blue with bright red fins while using the sand-colored gravel. With the black gravel, their bodies are much more blue (almost indigo) and their fins are darker.
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Post by goldenpuon on Jul 5, 2011 21:48:57 GMT -5
I actually notcied some odd color changes just today with my own tetras. They are black phantom tetras. I have always attributed dulling of coloration to stress. But in this case, they darkened in color very fast when they moved to the heavily planted part of the tank and became lighter when they went to the top area with clear water. Though it is seems no where as dramatic as with the Columbian tetras, I think they might be trying to play 'chameleon' a little. lol
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Post by parker002 on Jul 7, 2011 5:46:26 GMT -5
I've definitely noticed color changes in my fish (not just the Columbian tetras) due to stress. This doesn't appear at all to be stress-related, however,
I've also noticed that these fish and some of the other brightly-colored tetras lose color at night, when the lights are off...
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Post by goldenpuon on Jul 8, 2011 16:49:58 GMT -5
I have actuallu noticed loss of color at night as well with some fish species -normally when a fish is sleeping. I am not aware of the color change of course unless I turn on the lights at night after dark.
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Post by parker002 on Jul 12, 2011 22:57:50 GMT -5
Yep, exactly.
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Post by babygeige on Jul 13, 2011 20:13:13 GMT -5
Yeah, there's definitely a big difference in the morning, if I have to turn on the lights in my bedroom. I can usually just get ready in the morning by the light through the windows, but every now and then I need to turn the light on. And then I can see how different the fish look!! They are so washed out, it's amazing!
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Post by babygeige on Aug 24, 2011 20:18:37 GMT -5
I bought 3 more Colombian Tetras last weekend! They are so small compared to my full grown ones. I was nervous about the huge size difference (I estimate they are about 1/3 the size of the other 7), but they were buzzing around and mingling with the others within an hour of adding them to the tank. Their color improved faster than I've ever seen with new fish. It was so great.
Now I've got 10 of these great guys!
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Post by parker002 on Aug 24, 2011 20:25:40 GMT -5
Wow! I still only have 6 - I can't get more until the mollies are gone...
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Post by parker002 on Nov 18, 2011 18:11:17 GMT -5
Check this pic out.
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Post by Carl on Nov 19, 2011 13:25:13 GMT -5
This is a very nice school! The plants in the background are nice too.
When I zoom in the picture (since you provided a large picture), these guys really look a lot like piranha which are their cousins.
Carl
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Post by parker002 on Nov 19, 2011 19:01:00 GMT -5
Yeah, the pics are a bit fuzzy because my Hydor bubbler in combination with the Melafix/Pimafix treatment creates millions of tiny bubbles - it's almost like putting soap in the water.
But if you look at them VERY closely, they even have little teeth like a piranha.
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Post by babygeige on Nov 22, 2011 18:27:04 GMT -5
Nice picture!
I call mine little piranhas, especially when it's dinnertime. The big ones I have also remind me a bit of bulldogs. They way their gill covers kind of "hang" on the side look like the jowls or whatever on a bulldog.
Do yours line up all in a row? I catch mine doing that sometimes. One of these days I'll try to get a video of them doing it. It's so funny!
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Post by goldenpuon on Nov 22, 2011 19:44:38 GMT -5
Nice picture. They do look quite a bit like pirahanas and are very beautiful too! About your congo tetras going in a line Babygeige, that sounds very amusing! One of my goldfish like to nibble the bottom of the tank going in a straight line on some occasions as if there is some method to its crazed food searches.
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