Fish Pigment/Coloration

[JNalley]

Hey all, so I've never really run into this before, but I bought a Banded Sleeper Goby about a week and a half ago and really the only color he has is on his head. I chalked it up to stress or malnutrition because he was kind of skinny when he first arrived. Here we are 10 days later, he's been pigging out on the algae on my sand and rocks since he arrived, he looks like he's pregnant with a food baby, and some of his color came back along his body, but he's still looking sad in that department. How long does it usually take a fish to regain their coloration? Do you think this one will? Or is he stuck looking like 2/3 a ghost?

 

[blaxsun]

That could be the coloration for this particular specimen. Sometimes you'll see more color brought out depending on the lighting.

 

[JNalley]

That could be the coloration for this particular specimen. Sometimes you'll see more color brought out depending on the lighting.

Yeh, I've toyed with the lighting trying to bring out the coloration, the pictures were taken on the setting that showed the most. If this is the way he's gonna stay, I'm ok with it, but all the other pictures online of them have darkened bodies with bold striping and it looks really nifty...

 

[blaxsun]

Yeh, I've toyed with the lighting trying to bring out the coloration, the pictures were taken on the setting that showed the most. If this is the way he's gonna stay, I'm ok with it, but all the other pictures online of them have darkened bodies with bold striping and it looks really nifty...

Most of the stuff you'll find online is of very "select" specimens with just a "touch" of Photoshop...

 

[JNalley]

Most of the stuff you'll find online is of very "select" specimens with just a "touch" of Photoshop...

haha, I made sure to look at ones that weren't being used for sales purposes, there are a few that look like hobbyist shots, but even those have much darker longer bands along the back 2/3 of the body... It's hard to judge really... He had less of the brownish stripes down his back when I first got him, those have started to come in over the last 10 days or so, he was nearly stark white from the head back, and had no coloration in his fins.. the fins are starting to come back too... So I've got my fingers crossed that as time goes on he'll get more coloration but I'm not holding my breath either...

This is the closest to mine I could find, and even it has defined stripes.

 

[blaxsun]

haha, I made sure to look at ones that weren't being used for sales purposes, there are a few that look like hobbyist shots, but even those have much darker longer bands along the back 2/3 of the body... It's hard to judge really... He had less of the brownish stripes down his back when I first got him, those have started to come in over the last 10 days or so, he was nearly stark white from the head back, and had no coloration in his fins.. the fins are starting to come back too... So I've got my fingers crossed that as time goes on he'll get more coloration but I'm not holding my breath either...

This is the closest to mine I could find, and even it has defined stripes.

I have a purple-blue Midas blenny. Great, except he's supposed to be yellow-orange...
He started out yellow-orange and just changed because I guess he was bored.

 

[JNalley]

I have a purple-blue Midas blenny. Great, except he's supposed to be yellow-orange...
He started out yellow-orange and just changed because I guess he was bored.

My flame hawk, when stressed (I've startled him at night a few times, he's up 24/7 every other fish sleeps) turns stark ghost white with a black stripe. But he's only like that for a couple of hours and then goes back to his normal deep solid red. And I have heard of other fish going white and slowly coloring up. Never heard of one that actually changed like yours! (Except for fish that are supposed to change as they mature)

 

[blaxsun]

My flame hawk, when stressed (I've startled him at night a few times, he's up 24/7 every other fish sleeps) turns stark ghost white with a black stripe. But he's only like that for a couple of hours and then goes back to his normal deep solid red. And I have heard of other fish going white and slowly coloring up. Never heard of one that actually changed like yours! (Except for fish that are supposed to change as they mature)

Yes, he was already mature when I got him - and shouldn’t change coloration. Yet he did anyway, lol…