Rainbow Shark Born To Be Gray?

[Lawalk]

Hello I'm new to fish forums, but I've used the info from your forums for years. I decided to join because I a puzzling rainbow shark. I've had him for about 6 months now. When I got him he was very small, probably the smallest I've ever seen. He was pretty pale when I bought him, but I thought it was due to his small size/young age and the stressful conditions of the store. He has grown nicely and is now over 3 inches. However, his body never darkened up. His fins are a vibrant red though, so I'm not sure what could be causing the light body color. I know water parameters are a factor and I've had my eye on them. Everything seems fine. He acts normal. Could he just be a naturally light bodied fish or is there something I may be overlooking? Thanks in advance!

29 gallon tank
Opaline gourami
Rainbow shark
3 tiger barbs (had more with a different community, but these 3 kept killing the others)
1 mean ol black Molly (seriously the boss of the tank)

 

[Ninjouzata]

to TFF! Hope you enjoy it here.
 
What are the water parameters exactly? And what test kit are you using?
What is your water change schedule like and what do you feed?
 
Can you get a picture? Is his body white? Some of them have a white body and others have a black one, so it could just be the type you got.

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

By not darkening up, you meant your rainbow shark is bluish-gray/ash-gray/pale powdery gray? If so, that is just a normal coloration. A preparation for maturity

 

[Lawalk]

My current water parameters are:
GH:  180
KH:  180
pH:  7.5
nitrite:  0
nitrate : 5
 
I just use a set of API test strips.  I know GH and KH are a little high, our water out here comes from mountain springs so it's full of minerals.  Most of my fish have seemed to adapt and thrive even with the high ion concentration.  I'm a little embarassed to say that I don't have a rigid water change schedule.  I try to do a change once a week of about 10 percent with gravel vacumming, but I'm in the middle of student teaching so I don't always have the time.  When that happens, I do about a 30 percent change every other week. He's definitely not an albino, he has dark eyes and a black spot near his tail.  I'll try to upload a picture here soon.  I've kept rainbow sharks in the very setup I have now and they have always been darker in color at least when they were young.  My concern is that this particular fish has always been the same pale gray color...  Oh yeah, and I feed flake and algae wafers with bloodworms and fresh veggies as an occasional treat. 

 

[Lawalk]

This is the darkest he's ever been.  Here's the best picture I could get:
View attachment 73630

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

That's just normal. Some of them are just not born to be pure black-bodied individuals. Some are bluish-gray or pale powdery gray. Might be a sign that he is somehow stressed though or his tank is kept too bright

 

[Lawalk]

Thanks that eases my mind a bit. I do have some fairly bright lights on the tank, but I've been leaving them off longer to see if it would help. My guess is that he's just naturally lighter in color then.