Fading color gourami

[Chikadee]

Hey guys, I think my gourami is sick. I have a dwarf fire gourami that was a vibrant orange/red when I first got him. In the past few days, his color has been fading and now he is only orange/red towards the back of his body. The rest of him is now a whitish color with a fading orange gradient towards the back. He's still pretty active, doesn't look bloated or anything. But when I feed them, he doesn't seem as enthusiastic about the food as he used to. Also, when he eats, he doesn't seem to be able to keep it down and spits most of it out. Do you guys have any idea what may be the problem? My boyfriend looked at him and thought he was fine, but he just doesn't seem as perky as he usually is...

Thanks!!!

 

[tkos]

Sounds like my gourami. Seems the colour got less the older he got. Don't know if it is problem or not but he seems healthy otherwise.

 

[lmw80]

Colors fading on gouramis can be many things. My blue gourami actually gets darker when he is stressed. It can be the envoronment, stress, age, or an illness. I would definitly keep a closer eye on him, just to make sure.

Look for signs of lethargy, scratching, or visible illness. If nothing, then he probably is having a bad week, lol, I know I certainly have them!

 

[Allivymar]

Double check your water parameters Chikadee. High ammonia lavels can cause fish to fade.

 

[Chikadee]

All water parameters are fine. I don't know what's wrong except his colors are much less vibrant than when I orginally got him. That maybe a factor of me introducing an angel fish. Maybe he's just not the dominant fish anymore? I can't think of another reason for him to be losing color like this...