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sailor
02-11-2008, 12:55 PM
Good morning all, is it normal for cardinal tetras to appear a little washed out or faded in colour when the lights first get turned on.

Their colour is normal after a few minutes.

Thanks in advance
Sailor
Algenco
02-11-2008, 01:04 PM
yep, normal
sailor
02-11-2008, 01:06 PM
OK thanks for your quick reply
Tooch
02-11-2008, 01:26 PM
They lose their color at night to help protect them from predators. It makes them harder to see and keeps from drawing attention to themselves. Sometimes they will be a complete whitish color when the lights first come on. It happens with neons as well. No worries!
cocoa_pleco
02-11-2008, 02:09 PM
its normal, at night they fade and it takes 5 minutes in the morning to get theyre color back.

on my reef in the morning when the lights go on my yellow tang is almost pure white
KcEE
02-12-2008, 10:42 PM
Yep, it's normal. I think almost all tetras do that. They also become pale when they are stressed.
jbeining75
02-12-2008, 10:55 PM
Yes Sailor it is normal. They are a colorshifting species that uses translucent coloration shifting to protect themselves from nocturnal predators... Alot of the time this shift won't be realized as sunlight shining in on the tank will trigger the daily coloration shift.....
sailor
02-12-2008, 10:57 PM
Yes Sailor it is normal. They are a colorshifting species that uses translucent coloration shifting to protect themselves from nocturnal predators... Alot of the time this shift won't be realized as sunlight shining in on the tank will trigger the daily coloration shift.....


Please ....jbeining75......... no more big words, keep it simple LOL I was just a cook.

Sailor
markbob
02-13-2008, 04:32 PM
Thats funny, I hadn't noticed that, do you guys have a moonlight on your tanks? Could that be the difference?
cocoa_pleco
02-13-2008, 04:59 PM
yep, i have moonlights on my 55g reef
Adrian
02-13-2008, 09:46 PM
Hey Sailor,

First off, thanks for welcoming me to AC:thumb: . I really appreciate being here. Second, some fish, like tetras, lose their color, then regain it after they wake up. My red-tail shark has no red tail in the morning, but it comes back later when he has woken up. Some other fish do the same thing.

Sincerely,

Adrian:c7: