Darkening Colour In Belly Area

[Biulu]

Hello!

This morning I noticed that my 2 blue striped dwarf gouramis are becoming dark blue (almost black) in the belly/fin area. Is this a normal aging effect or are it symptoms of a sickness? They seem to be behaving normally, and are as hungry as ever....

I feed them flakes and bloodworms. Just tested the water the day before yesterday, and these are fine. Maybe the pH could be lower as it is at 8, but the water is really very hard here, and I have to use drops to lower the hardness.

My tank is 60 l with a population of: 2 pearl gouramis, 3 dwarf gouramis, 1 corydora, 4 neon tetras and 1 goldfish (left from the tank start up). Water temperature is 24 degrees.

Has anybody seen this before, and can help me out?

Thanks! Eleonore

 

[goldencomet]

I'm not too sure but i remember reading like this to do with breeding

 

[puddle_inc]

it may be babies/eggs. especially if it's near the anal fin. is it starng to get a bit fatter? you may have babies before long, if so, get us some pics of the lil guys

 

[sylvia]

Get some pics definitely - but it's not eggs. For a start, females are not brightly colored so yours are males. It's also not aging - they live relatively long if healthy (at least three years - could be five with luck). They are probably just darkening because they are in better condition but they could also have caught something - so a pic would be useful.

 

[Biulu]

Get some pics definitely - but it's not eggs. For a start, females are not brightly colored so yours are males. It's also not aging - they live relatively long if healthy (at least three years - could be five with luck). They are probably just darkening because they are in better condition but they could also have caught something - so a pic would be useful.

I am not an experienced fish photographer, but managed to take some pictures. Now the question is: how do I attach them? If I click on the picture link, it only allows me to put in a web link.

 

[Biulu]

Get some pics definitely - but it's not eggs. For a start, females are not brightly colored so yours are males. It's also not aging - they live relatively long if healthy (at least three years - could be five with luck). They are probably just darkening because they are in better condition but they could also have caught something - so a pic would be useful.

I have tried to upload a picture of the gourami in my profile. Hopefully this works. The darker area is in the front of the fin/belly area.

 

[sylvia]

It's a small pic (nice BTW) - but the fish looks absolutely normal to me.

 

[Biulu]

It's a small pic (nice BTW) - but the fish looks absolutely normal to me.

Both are behaving normally, but the colour comes and goes. It seems to be darker on some days, and I have noticed that it is an expansion of the blue area they have in the front, only that the colour has become more intense. Is it because of the food?

How can I upload pictures directly into the message? The pics are lare enough (around 800 kB)....

 

[sylvia]

I'm not sure but you should be able to post them in the member's pics section and then link to your new thread over here. Alternatively, start an acount at photobucket.com Then you can link to the pics directly by copying and pasting the code photobucket provides when you upload pics.

 

[Biulu]

It's a small pic (nice BTW) - but the fish looks absolutely normal to me.

Both are behaving normally, but the colour comes and goes. It seems to be darker on some days, and I have noticed that it is an expansion of the blue area they have in the front, only that the colour has become more intense. Is it because of the food?

How can I upload pictures directly into the message? The pics are lare enough (around 800 kB)....

Hello,

Could the darkening colour have to do with the fact that they are ready to mate? I read somewhere that this happens with gouramis, and might explain what's happening to mine, as they are both males.....

 

[sylvia]

Gouramies are a huge group of fish. Many species do darken (like three-spots) others just develop new colors altogether (like honeys) and others just get a brighter patch of color (like pearls) but most don't experience any drastic changes (like dwarfs and bettas).