Help explain fish with discolorations.....

[Mmathis]

If you read my recent post regarding "green pea diet," you know that I brought Spaz, my Ryunkin-like fish inside temporarily so she could have a chance to decompress [so-to-speak], away from the other pond fish. I wanted to be sure she was getting her special diet -- she was having trouble competing with the faster, more agile fish.

Well, there was more to my decision to bring her inside. For her coloring, she is normally a beautiful combination of golds, oranges, and black, and there is a lot of depth to her colors. But I noticed that her color was "off." She seemed to have lost the depth of colors, was pale, and had taken on an almost dusky or ashy look on some parts of her body. My first thought was that it was because of the season change, but I wanted to have her inside so I could keep an eye on her. The same thing might have happened last year and I just didn't notice it.... This "ashiness" is well blended in with her other colors -- IOW, it doesn't look like a "patch" of something. Sorry the pics aren't any better.

Other than the discoloration and her "swim bladder issues," she looks and is acting perfectly normal.

I thought about doing a scrape, but thought I would talk to you guys first. Why put her [and me] though the stress if this is a normal thing.

P.S. -- I'm almost certain that she is my main [if only] spawning female. Some of the bulge is just her, and some might be eggs. But it's the discoloration I'm concerned about.

 

[j.w]

She has the colorings of a Shubunkin type fish sort of and I thought they were always changing colors throughout their lives. Just a thought. Maybe any goldfish type fish w/those colors keep changing?

 

[Mmathis]

She has the colorings of a Shubunkin type fish sort of and I thought they were always changing colors throughout their lives. Just a thought. Maybe any goldfish type fish w/those colors keep changing?

Hopefully it's something along those lines, or something related to the seasonal change.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

What does her present diet consist of?

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Since you have a scope and this fish was in an outdoor pond I would do a scrape. She could have some type of parasitic or possibly columnaris infection going on which is affecting her slime coat.

 

[sissy]

I feed my fish krill and shrimp all freeze dried so they have to be soaked ( they stink also ).I think it really helps keep them healthy .It could be his diet and slime coat like said .

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I feed my fish krill and shrimp all freeze dried so they have to be soaked ( they stink also ).I think it really helps keep them healthy .It could be his diet and slime coat like said .

Caroteniods are a very important part of a balanced diet for most animal species. Commercial fish food that is sold a 'color-enhancing' is high in carotenoids, although most better brand foods will contain them. These color pigments are known to bring out the 'Hi' (Red) in Koi and Goldfish. They are found in many algae, most notably Spirulina and Chlorella. Carotenoids are also known to be immune system enhancers.
Spaz's diet not contain a sufficient level of carotenoids. You might consider a change of diet for this special pet.

 

[Mmathis]

What does her present diet consist of?

When she was still in the pond, she was getting Tetra foods. When I moved her to the inside tank, I started giving her green peas, earthworms, and softened Tetra pellets. I'll look for something that contains carotenoids.

She's even more pale now than she was when I first moved her indoors. But again, no apparent health or behavioral issues. She's active, eating [like a hog!] and pooping.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

When a fish turns pale it can be caused from stress.

I recently brought home a king betta who was a very pale white and black. He didn't look good at all (in a small cup of water that was much too small and cold for a betta especially his size) I knew once I got him home and put him in a larger container (20 gallon tank) with warmer water and some good food he would color up. Sure enough he did just that, he is beautiful now. The black markings which were so very pale has darkened up now and looks great against his white body.

What is the temperature of the tank you have this little gal in?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

When she was still in the pond, she was getting Tetra foods. When I moved her to the inside tank, I started giving her green peas, earthworms, and softened Tetra pellets. I'll look for something that contains carotenoids.

She's even more pale now than she was when I first moved her indoors. But again, no apparent health or behavioral issues. She's active, eating [like a hog!] and pooping.

I would take her off the Peas and worms for a while, both have a laxative effect on fish. She is not getting sufficient overall nutrition because the gut transit time has been decreased. Feed her only the pellets for a few days to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Mmathis]

When a fish turns pale it can be caused from stress.

I recently brought home a king betta who was a very pale white and black. He didn't look good at all (in a small cup of water that was much too small and cold for a betta especially his size) I knew once I got him home and put him in a larger container (20 gallon tank) with warmer water and some good food he would color up. Sure enough he did just that, he is beautiful now. The black markings which were so very pale has darkened up now and looks great against his white body.

What is the temperature of the tank you have this little gal in?

It's 72F. The pond is running around 64F.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Read this link http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/disease/technique/technique.html#Jo_Ann's_Fish_Physical specifically Jo Ann's Fish Physical #6 Is this what you think you are seeing? It's really hard to tell from the photos.

Jo Ann imported, sold and showed fancy goldfish and koi for years (she used to own Dandy Orandas) Has shared lot's and lot's of good info on the subject.

 

[Mmathis]

Here's a follow up.

She has done very well being inside. Changed her food. Her de-coloring did get a little worse initially, but seemed to "even out," if that makes sense. She NEVER showed any signs of illness. Her behavior, activity level, appetite...... All perfectly normal. No flashing, fin clamping, gasping.....

Her "swim bladder" symptoms greatly improved and she was swimming more normally, even for her, LOL! She was pooping like a champ and lost all of the bloated look she had [because of her body shape, it's hard to tell, but I've looked at her enough to know when she's having SB issues, but if you asked if she was heavy with eggs, I wouldn't be able to differentiate there.]

I did finally do a scraping and microscopic exam. I never saw a thing out of the ordinary on the slides [but still a rookie].

I needed the indoor tank to QT a couple of new purchases, so after about 3 weeks under observation, I put her and her companion [one of last year's fry -- not so small any more] in the pond yesterday. I had pre-soaked some pellets and put those in when I released them. She immediately started eating and acting like a normal fish -- I think she was happy to be back "home!"

So, will continue to keep an eye on her, but still wondering what was the cause of the discoloration.

But, now that I think about it, at about the time I started noticing her discoloration [along with her "swim bladder" symptoms], she was being chased and harrassed by some of the other fish and I wondered at the time if it was spawning behavior. Could it be that she was just stressed out by this? (per @bettasngoldfish post around #9)

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Spawning can hard on the females. I have read (although have not had it happen) they can actually be harassed to death by the male fish. So yes, I would certainly say stress from spawning /being chased could cause her color to lighten or go pale.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I had a 16.5 pound female Koi die last year from spawning stresses. There was no change of color.