Blue Gourami Odd Coloration

[saratogaslim]

Hello all, I've had my male Gourami (his name is Ping Pong ) about 5 months now...he's great! Cranky sometimes, but he's very friendly and likes to putter about when I'm doing water changes and is in general so inquisitive. I love him! He looks great, very colorful, and he lets you know when he's annoyed as his colors dull and he's a much lighter blue...likewise when he's mad about something, he's a very dark blue.

So obviously, his colors are expressive! Lately, he's had a bit of an odd reddish-brown tint around his fins, eyes, and midsection. He is his usual active self, eats great, tells the Bolivian Rams he shares his tank with what-for when he feels the need. The only change I notice is the coloration.

Any idea what this could be? My Rams are new...is this just related to the change of tank-mates? They get along fine, and everyone has their own space (Gourami up top in a big plant, BRs in a grouping of plants/rocks at the bottom), and everyone seems genuinely interested in each other within reason.

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[clay]

im not an expert on gouramis, but all fish change color all the time. they change color like you said depending on mood, on temperature, on diet,and on territory issues. and correct me if im wrong but gouramis are anabatids just like bettas so yours could be seeing the bolivian rams you mentioned, so he might think they are other gouramis so he might be showing his dominance of the tank by showing agressive colors. i would if some unknown new neighbor came and trounced around my home. if he shows agression towards them, he should become used to them after a while and stop pestering them. also how big is your aquarium that could also contribute to the colors?

 

[saratogaslim]

You are right, Clay, he's very expressive with his colors. The red on such a very blue creature was just a concern for me...I wondered if there was something strange with bloodflow, etc.

Thanks for your thoughts, so far still good as far as alertness, behavior, etc! He enjoyed bloodworms for dinner tonight for sure!

 

[clay]

did you use live blood worms or freeze dried? i personally like freeze dried because some fish fry will eat it when they wont eat anything else.