Tiger Barb color fading

[oliverosuna]

2 or 3 of my Tiger Barbs seem to be losing their bright color. Their black stripes are looking a little grayish, and just not as a black as remember them being. Any one have ideas what's going on? Any suggestions as to what I can do?

 

[mollielover]

Hi could you provide a little more information about your tank? what size is the tank and what other occupants are in with the barbs? How long has the tank been set up? Have you tested the water for ammonia, nitrItes, nitrAtes and ph? if so what were the results. Anytime you notice change in your fish the first step should be testing the water to make sure that is not where the problem is.

 

[CompMage]

Sounds like POOR water to me.

Here is what I would do.

DO a 10% - 20% water change every day for 2 weeks.

Please provide us with your water stats. It sounds like high Ammonia to me.

Please provide us with more details about your tank and water.

 

[oliverosuna]

20 gallon tank
I did a fishless cycle, and was testing with a liquid test kit, not the strips you guys hate. After the cycle was done I added 3 fish at first, 3 more afrter about a week. I've had fish in the tank going on 3 weeks now.
6 small (maybe 1 1/2 inch.) Tiger Barbs

Results of today's tests:
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
8.0 pH (has been a steady 8 since about the 3rd week of cycling)


I should note that the color of all the barbs are bright once again. I've notice this before. 2 or 3 of the smallest barbs will have very poor looking color, then later in the day they all look bright. Also, despite having poor color at times the barbs are still very active in the tank. They don't act sick, they just look it.

 

[QTOFFER]

It's normal for fish to look washed out when the tank lights first come on. Other than that, faded colors are usually caused by stress - caused by poor water quality or from aggression. Tiger barbs are notorious for bullying each other, but usually in a group of six or more, no single fish takes the brunt of it.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I agree with QTOFFER. All of my fish are pale in the mornings. It's only normal. Your water parameters look ideal, so I wouldn't worry about anything.

 

[oliverosuna]

Thanks for the help