White patch on Bristlenose Catfish?

[ash101]

I have recently purchased 2 Bristlenose Catfish and introduced them to my 40 gallon tank with Neon Tetras and 2 Goldfish (which were used for cycling).
One of the Bristlenoses has since developed a white patch on their back which was not there when I bought them.
Was wondering if anyone knew what this is! I am quite worried.
I have attached some pictures.

 

[Delapool]

Hello, welcome to the forum

Could the white patch be colour change or is more wispy? Also does that bn catfish hide away a lot?

 

[ash101]

Thanks for responding!
It is not wispy as far as I can tell, just looks like a colour change.
He does hide away a lot and only comes out to get food when I feed him, I assume he is out more in the middle of night but haven't seen it!
Do you think it could be stress related?

 

[Delapool]

Might be ok. Have you tested water chemistry to check?

 

[jessipanda]

I don't see any issues. Those lighter patches are just colour change. Mine does that quite often. It can be an indicator of stress if he has a bully, is lacking sufficient hiding spots, or your water parameters are off--such as high nitrates or a presence of ammonia and/or nitrite. The pH swinging could also cause stress-induced coloir changing.

However, with my BN, I find that it's usually used to show the other fish who's boss or to blend into something better.

My advice would be to check your water parameters and make sure your BN has a few suitable sized caves to hide in and he should be fine.