Breeding blue acara turning black

[Amanda5150]

She’s currently watching over her fry that just hatched in a 40 gallon with a few other fish in the tank and her fins and half her body is turning black… is that normal? Water parameters are perfect and nothing else has changed other than her having fry.


Tank stock
2 blue acaras
2 small jack dempseys
2 ballon rams
2 black German rams
5 kuhli loaches

[Andy Sager]

Would need to see a picture to confirm it's not a medical issue like the fish in this picture: https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...bums10376.html but Blue acaras will turn dark to black when breeding.

[Redonmyhead]

I had a Blood parrot that turned black. He wasn't breeding tho. I still to this day have not figured out why he did that. First the tips of his fins them his body and after most of him was black he turned back orange and has not turned back black... It was very strange

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by Redonmyhead

I had a Blood parrot that turned black. He wasn't breeding tho. I still to this day have not figured out why he did that. First the tips of his fins them his body and after most of him was black he turned back orange and has not turned back black... It was very strange

Turning black can be a sign of neural pathways being effected by "pinching" or infection. Since blood parrots are not natural fish, the creating of them could cause this condition if the fish are over fed or develop tumors or excess fat in certain areas.
If there was also swelling and pineconing of the scales, this can be a sign of a tumor or a flagellate infection.

Since the fish turned back to it's " normal" color, it's more likely the first scenario and it resolved itself.