Angel Makes His Stripes Disappear?!

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confused mermaid

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Tolek, this is one for you.

My son named our silver Angelfish Presto because his black stripes will be really dark one second, then about 10 seconds later they can fully disappear and reappear again later. I know I have seen posts as to why this is but I can't find them now. Can you tell me? This has actually been a great source of amusement for guests to watch as he always hangs out in the front of the tank and is very sociable. It's almost as if he's performing. :good:
 
I wouldnt mind knowing this as well as I have a few angel fish that do the same....
 
from my experience fading stripes have always been a sign of stressed fish. if i'm messing around in the tank and scaring the fish, the stripes tend to go away, then i leave and they come back. when they're spawning or defending their eggs the stripes get darker and better defined. so the fact that your fish's stripes keep doing that would indicate that it is being stressed constantly by something in the tank or perhaps all the commotion outside the tank...
 
from my experience fading stripes have always been a sign of stressed fish. if i'm messing around in the tank and scaring the fish, the stripes tend to go away, then i leave and they come back. when they're spawning or defending their eggs the stripes get darker and better defined. so the fact that your fish's stripes keep doing that would indicate that it is being stressed constantly by something in the tank or perhaps all the commotion outside the tank...

Hmmmm, interesting I suppose that would make sense since it only seems to happen when we go over there and turn the light on to interact with them for a few minutes or to feed them. But he sure doesn't act stressed. He stays right in front and usually if I'm vacuuming or fixing stuff in the tank he's messing with my arm and hand.
 
haha, cool fish.
but yeah its a mood thing, my silver angel will usually show his stripes, but when he's asserting himself (to other fish or to me) his stripes go very dark. or on the other hand when i do water changes they disappear completely due to stress.
 
My male angel was like this and would fade in and out when he was stressed or sometimes when he was asleep but once he was about 3 years old (or I had him 3 years) they started to stay solid.
 
id suggest buying non-striped angelfish but i dont like them much myself

striped ftw
 
I've a group of 6 now in my tank and once I read this I thought I'd sit and observe them closer for a while, well it's a good enough excuse to put the feet up with a couple of coffees, and when you sit and watch them the stripes fade in and out all the time depending on interaction within the group and also with the other fish around them...very subtle and interesting.
 
Probably whats called stress bars. Discus also have these. They are used to help hide them in their natural habitat. It can be a sign of stress, but if their spooked they will show stress bars along with various other reasons.
 
I bought two angelfish recently, and they were the only ones in the tank, besides a bumblebee catfish. One died so I went back to the store where I bought it, they tested my water and it was fine, so they replaced it. A day later another died. Not sure if it was the replacement or the original one. So I was left with one again, that just mopped about and the stripes had completly gone. I googled about the stripes and noticed that 'no stripes' could be due to stress. I moved it to a larger community tank that I have downstairs, and hey presto the black stripes returned immediately !

Thanks folks for posting your comments ! Cheers Gary <:O><
 
I would say it is entirely a mood and or signaling behavior to change the stripes from bold stripes to nearly no stripes. My breeding silver male can have an brief interaction with the female, reduce his stripes to nearly not visible then make them a very deep black again all in less than a few seconds. All the striped young ones from him do the same. Typically normally fish/human interactions result in rapid changes in stripe color, but more intense actions such as removing the fry or changing the water result in a longer term loss of color, though usually measured in minutes. If they want to be noticed they darken their stripes but if they are standing down they lighten their stripes, ie backing down to the dominant male. If the tank is bright the stripes are usually a bit more subdued. They also all lighten up at bedtime.
 

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