Mystery disease on barred midas

[hugeblackhawksfan]

Hello, my fish for the last few months has started to lose his colours, he is constantly fighting with my pless, whic is the same size as the cichlid. It started with its anal fins, the turned pink, and now his dorsel fin is see through?. I would apreciate any facts or advise thanks this has stumped me for few weeks now.:(:(:(

[chc]

Perfectly normal color change for a Midas. Nothing to be concerned about.

You indicated he's a "Barred Midas." That's sort of a catch-all term to describe the 90% of Midas that in the wild stay grey or barred in appearance. The situation is the same with the several closely related species. Only in less than 10% of the wild population do you see the bright orange, yellow, red, etc. However, even in that 10% of fish that are destined to become brightly colored, the barred coloration remains until they are of a size that protects them from easy predation. After all, a brightly colored two or three inch fish is an easy target for a host of predators!

A few things have happened over the years that these fish have been in captivity. One, the vast majority of imported fish were of the colorful varieties since that's what most consumers were attracted to. Also, over years and years of captive breeding there was a selection process which favored those fish that colored up at an early age (also because of their higher demand -- much easier to sell a brightly colored 3" fish than a drab one!). So after a few decades we ended up with very few "natural" fish in captivity.

Several years ago some of the purists were clamoring for the rarer (in captivity at least) grey or barred fish. Several were imported and sold at very high prices. A sort of market was again established for these unusually colored fish, and everyone was selling them again.

In your case, it is important to remember that deep in their genetic makeup all of these fish have that "colorful" gene in them. So what once seemed to be a barred fish can turn, sometimes even years later, into a brightly colored one.

Here's an example. I had this fish (Amphilophus labiatus, a close cousin to the Midas) for about three years into its adulthood, and it looked like this the whole time:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c115/colemanch/MYSTERY-FISH-2-500-pix.jpg

Then, over the course of a month or two, it turned into this:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c115/colemanch/labiatusfemale300500.jpg

Neither the colored nor the barred variety is necessarily more valuable than another - it's all about personal preference. However I've always enjoyed that you never quite know what you're going to end up with!

Incidentally, some researchers think that the fish that are brightly colored as adults have evolved that way as an adaptation to their preference to breeding at very deep depths. The theory is that their fry can see them more easily in the less brightly lit waters.

Enjoy your fish, and keep posting pictures of its color change!

[afrabat]

Chris, you're the man when it comes to answers like this. Awesome info.

[Red Tiger]

Great info.

And both of you have amazing amphilophus.

[smitty]

Chris the midas is my flagship fish. You have some an awesome one. One of the things I always thought was neat was how they change.

[Red Tiger]

I would take that Citranellum in a heartbeat lol.

[chc]

Chris, you're the man when it comes to answers like this. Awesome info.

Thanks! I keep telling my wife I'm THE MAN! Hahaha!


Chris the midas is my flagship fish. You have some an awesome one. One of the things I always thought was neat was how they change.

Forest Gump's favorite fish too......... "Midas are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get!"


I would take that Citranellum in a heartbeat lol.

Yeah..... I'd love to "nurse him back to health" too. ;)