I Have No Idea What To Call This

[phoenixfire]

has anyone noticed that when your fish are sleeping at the bottom of the aquarium or just sleeping...that when u turn the light on in the morning...there color is extremely dull...i especially notice this in my emperor tetra...its scary at first...but soon after there color comes back...anyone have an explanation or am i insane? lol happy to answer any questions thank yoou!

Jared

 

[Lynden]

This happens with most fish(because of muscle contractions in their chromatophores), and with some, such as my marine green chromis, they develop colour not seen in the daylight, such as black bars. With fishes with very opaque colour (such as my albino and black tiger oscar pair) the black colour may turn grey, as on my black tiger, or it will not change, like on my albino oscar. Some fish, such as albinos or goldfish, have a near inability of changing their colour. Most fish have a colour-change ability that far outcompetes a more well-known colour-changer, the chameleon.