Evelyn1919

hi everyone!
i just got home and turned the lights of my tank on to feed my fish and there are a few of my tiger barbs that are looking kind of pale. is this a sign of sickness? it had never happened to me before.

Shawnie

Hi evelyn..can you feed them a few bloodworms or some brine shrimp?? and how many hours a day do you leave your lights on? usually those lil fella's spark right up for some bloodworms.maybe turn up the temp a few degrees? ..or even a bit of a water change....goodluck hope they perk up a bit for you soon!!

Evelyn1919

hi shawnie,
well today the lights were off all day since last night. they are starting to look a little bit better so i think maybe it was cuz when i got home they were waking up or something. they look better now though. i'll do a water change tomorrow morning because it is my bed time now and i am very tired. just in case i added some prime to the water because i checked the water and there still some ammonia (.25ppm), no nitrites and about 10 nitrates.
thanks for the information.

Shawnie

ahhh i c..well if its still cycleing, which with ammonia, it probably is in a mini cycle, treat the tap water with prime and change about 40% a day until ammonia is 0..raise the temp a bit, water changes, and some light, your kids should be fantastic...

Evelyn1919

thanks for the advise. and yes i have been doing daily water changes but today i'm too tired. that's why i'll do one tomorrow morning and then another small one tomorrow night to get back on schedule.
thanks for all the advice.

COBettaCouple

When you turned on their tank lights, was the room light on first? A lot of fish will be 'shocked' by sudden light changes and if you can give them ambient light first (like from a lamp or overhead light), they'll be less stressed by the tank light going on. The reverse is true as well and we like to have a room light on when we turn the tank lights off.

capekate

Fish color is a big factor in whether it is stressed, sick or not. Some fish turn very dark, almost black, such is the case with my Discus fish. Others get stress stripes which are vertical lines through their body. Some loss their bright coloring and fade to pale.
When I notice any of these things in my fish I know something is wrong and this can be a fast indicator that a water change is needed, or another fish is not a compatible tankmate or the fish is suffering from a disease.
As in your case, I am sure that the light on and off suddenly will cause them to pale up for a little while. I have seen this in my own fish and so I slowly introduce them to light without causing any sudden stress for them.

Evelyn1919

yeah the room was completely dark that day and i just wanted to check on them so i just went and turned the lights on. i think that's what did it. i also did research on the topic and found out exactly what you guys say. i had never done what i did that day and i think that's why i freaked out. there were a few of the tiger barbs that were very pale and after a while they went back to their color. since they've been just fine.

Lucy

My neons lose their color at night when the tank and room is dark, but perk right up after the lights come on.
It worried me too, the first time I saw this.