White Pristella Tetra?

On Saturday I bought seven Gold Pristella Tetra to add to the three regular colored Pristellas I already have in quarantine. But it wasn't until I got home that I noticed some of them are clearly gold colored, but then some of them are very white.

I see that the gold is sometimes referred to as semi-abino/gold, but is there also a fully white version?

The pictures didn't turn out too great, but the video shows all the different colors.

 

It's also possible the colorful ones are males and the less colorful ones are females.

 

They are not (semi)albinos btw

 

It's also possible the colorful ones are males and the less colorful ones are females.

I hadn't considered that. That's definitely possible.

I might be seeing things, but today one of the fish that I thought was white has a bit of a gold tint to it now! (I remembered this one because it's skinnier and smaller than the rest, so I've been watching it closely)
It's not as bright yellow as the others, though. Maybe they'll change colors back and forth, but the biggest white ones are very very white. There's no trace of gold.

They are not (semi)albinos btw

What do you mean? Are you confirming that there are only two colors? Regular and Gold?

I've tried researching with different search terms and now I'm seeing some places refer to an albino version, but also some articles that lump all of them together. They'll say something like, "there is another version called albino/gold pristella" so it's all very confusing

 

I think the albino ones have red eyes.

Technically albinos are without all black pigment.

Yours are pale with black eyes and are known as leucistic.

You seem to have two colour forms in your latest batch. They are all lovely.

 

I think the albino ones have red eyes.

Technically albinos are without all black pigment.

Yours are pale with black eyes and are known as leucistic.

You seem to have two colour forms in your latest batch. They are all lovely.

Yeah, these guys have been pretty cool. They're very active, eat like piranhas, and were completely unfazed during acclimation! I can't wait to put them into the 55 gallon tank so they can really zoom around.

I'm going to keep observing them to see if any of them change colors as they get more comfortable in the tank. They actually do have red eyes. They're reflective when the light hits them -- like a bicycle or highway reflector. But you're right, a true albino would have no pigment, and all of these guys, gold and white, still have the black and yellow bands on their fins.

 

I see I didn't pick up the red eyes on the video. I had a Guinea Pig that had red eyes and we only noticed one day when the light shone a certain way (see pics). It kinda freaked us all out. Her name was Marshmallow, she was the cutie of the trio and lived longest at 8 1/2 years.





Another term I've come across when I was researching info describing the colour of my Common Pleco (see pic) is hypomelanistic, meaning low amounts of melanin (the black pigment). Now when people ask me I'll say I've got a Hypomelanistic. It sounds rare and special ! The fish is special to me anyway.

 

I got a group of albino pristilla tetras a few weeks ago. They look so stunning in a school. I didn't think they were albino either until the light hit their eyes JUST right and you see the red. They do still have their black and yellow bands on their fins. I wonder why that is. Aren't there some colors that don't lose their pigment with albinism?

 

There is clearly a lot a variation in nature. Genes that control eye pigments may not control fin colour. As always the real situation is vastly more complex than our simplistic explanations which exist for basic understanding and communication purposes.

 

Thank you so much for the info you two. This has all been pretty interesting!

I got a group of albino pristilla tetras a few weeks ago. They look so stunning in a school. I didn't think they were albino either until the light hit their eyes JUST right and you see the red. They do still have their black and yellow bands on their fins. I wonder why that is. Aren't there some colors that don't lose their pigment with albinism?

Do yours ever turn gold/yellow? The night I took that video I counted 4 white and 3 gold Pristella. Now when I count them I swear there are 2 white and 5 gold! The color change is subtle, not as deep as the others, but they're noticeably off white to pastel yellow. I'm going to try and take a video of them tomorrow so I can show you guys.
Also I don't think I've mentioned, mine still kind of have the red tail, so that's another color mixed in there. These guys are weird

 

That's interesting. I know that genes can be switched on and off too. That is why the glofish was developed, to switch the colour on and off in response to environmental changes relevant to water quality.

Also, Goldfish donated to my school turned pink in the elevated school temperature before they were taken to a suitable pond.

 

A true Albino has no black pigment at all. It can still have yellow, blue, and red pigments, but the gene causing albino completely blocks the production of melanin. However, there are some hypomelanistic lines that have red eyes because the melanin in the eyes is not being deposited properly. Certain diets can cause fish like this to actually develop some limited black pigment, such as Gold Severum or Pink Convicts that might develop pale stripes. Also, genetic aberrations that produce excessive melanic pigment other than the normal melanophores can have melanin show up. I've noticed this a lot in true xanthic morphs, which actually have excessive yellow pigment, and so you get things like Chocolate Mollies.

The fish in question are all Gold Pristellas, not albinos. As such, they normally have the black pigment reduced, and should have some yellow color where the normal specimens lack such a color. I have had "white" swordtails that turned out to be gold when given the right foods. The added production of xanthic pigments usually reduces, sometimes nearly to the point of complete elimination, melanophores. That's why the normally black areas are only a light grey color.

 

The fish in question are all Gold Pristellas, not albinos. As such, they normally have the black pigment reduced, and should have some yellow color where the normal specimens lack such a color. I have had "white" swordtails that turned out to be gold when given the right foods. The added production of xanthic pigments usually reduces, sometimes nearly to the point of complete elimination, melanophores. That's why the normally black areas are only a light grey color.

Thanks for the info
The Pristella are on day 10 of quarantine. Two of them are a bit skinny but they're all eating well. Only the two biggest ones appear white while the rest look gold. They're all tired of the camera now so they dart away when they see me get close with it. heh

Here one more video of them:

This was the best comparison I could get (screen grab from the first video, and then what I believe is the same fish today). I guess they just needed some time to settle in and get comfortable.

 

Love the video! The golden pristella tetras always catch my eye at the pet store. How are they settling now?