stripes fading on blue ring angel

[salty joe]

I got a pair of little bitty blue rings almost three years ago and they have done well. Today though, I noticed the bottom stripes on the big male are fading. @Jay Hemdal

Their diet consists of Marine life spectrum and TDO pellets in the morning and alternating whole mussels, oysters and clams in the afternoon.

Sorry about the dirty glass.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I got a pair of little bitty blue rings almost three years ago and they have done well. Today though, I noticed the bottom stripes on the big male are fading. @Jay Hemdal

Their diet consists of Marine life spectrum and TDO pellets in the morning and alternating whole mussels, oysters and clams in the afternoon.

Sorry about the dirty glass.

I don’t see much of note in the photo, any other symptoms?
Many fish fade in coloration in captivity, but this species doesn’t usually do that, they keep their colors pretty well.

Jay

 

[salty joe]

The bottom two stripes were as vivid as the others until very recently. The picture shows it like it is.
Fish seems fine.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The bottom two stripes were as vivid as the others until very recently. The picture shows it like it is.
Fish seems fine.

I think I can see it - the forward portion of the two bottom stripes? Is it the same on both sides of the fish? Can you get clearer pictures?

Jay

 

[salty joe]

Yes, both sides of the big male are the same. His much smaller mate's stripes are all still vivid. They are the same age.
I'll get a better picture tomorrow.

 

[FUNGI]

dont they change color as they age?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Yes, both sides of the big male are the same. His much smaller mate's stripes are all still vivid. They are the same age.
I'll get a better picture tomorrow.

I wonder if this is a male/female thing? I have a trio in our 90,000 gallon exhibit, and to be honest, I never compared them closely.
Still, this was a rapid color change, right? That’s more concerning as age/sex would create a more gradual change.
Jay

 

[salty joe]

I do think the faded stripes happened pretty suddenly.
Other than that, he looks great gliding around the tank doing his thing.
Any chance you can see if the same sort of thing is going on with your blue rings?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I do think the faded stripes happened pretty suddenly.
Other than that, he looks great gliding around the tank doing his thing.
Any chance you can see if the same sort of thing is going on with your blue rings?

I was going to check when I went in to work today, but my father is sick, so I didn’t go in. Have you tried searching Google images to look for a similar case?

 

[salty joe]

I hope your dad is OK.

I didn't see any blue rings with faded stripes until I got to the very end and there was my picture I posted here a couple days ago!

This picture is the best I could get today. Sometimes he cruises right up against the glass, maybe I can get a good shot tomorrow.

I don't see any sign of disease, the bottom blue stripes are faded. Big time.

 

[salty joe]

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I hope your dad is OK.

I didn't see any blue rings with faded stripes until I got to the very end and there was my picture I posted here a couple days ago!

This picture is the best I could get today. Sometimes he cruises right up against the glass, maybe I can get a good shot tomorrow.

I don't see any sign of disease, the bottom blue stripes are faded. Big time.

Are there white lesions around its mouth or are those on the glass? How is your water testing out? Especially pH and nitrate.

Fading and color loss is pretty common in angelfish EXCEPT in this species, these usually hold their colors well. I just don’t know of any disease that would cause color loss without some other symptom(s).

 

[salty joe]

I can't see lesions or anything like that. He looks great other than the fade, all other fish look great. The glass is clean, that was in the water. The clowns were stirring things up.

The pH is 7.91 right now. This time of year, it fluctuates between 7.8 and 8.1.

I'll see if I have a nitrate test after work.

It occurred to me that I dropped salinity to 1.024 on Dec. 5th to ease the acclimation of a few fish and have not fully gotten back to full strength.
Thanks.

 

[salty joe]

Well, I do have a Salifert nitrate test but it expired six years ago...I ran it anyway and came up with 25ppm.

The last ATI lab test I had done is from June. Nitrates on that are 5.4 mg/l. There were three red cautions-
Iodine 17.57ug/l, low
sulfur 1071mg/l, high
molybdenum not detectable, low

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Well, I do have a Salifert nitrate test but it expired six years ago...I ran it anyway and came up with 25ppm.

The last ATI lab test I had done is from June. Nitrates on that are 5.4 mg/l. There were three red cautions-
Iodine 17.57ug/l, low
sulfur 1071mg/l, high
molybdenum not detectable, low

Ugh, my fault for sending you down the water quality road. Unlikely to be that as when you have two fish of the same species in the same water, but only one fish has symptoms, it is rarely a water issue as that would affect both fish to at least some degree.

 

[salty joe]

Lol. They are the same age too.
He is the undisputed king of the tank, to the point of not bothering to run off other fish at feeding time. Why bother? He lets his smaller mate take care of that detail.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Lol. They are the same age too.
He is the undisputed king of the tank, to the point of not bothering to run off other fish at feeding time. Why bother? He lets his smaller mate take care of that detail.

My wife now has covid, and I'm probably next in line, so I won't be able to get to the Zoo to check our annularis out anytime soon. Here is a thought though - the resolution may not be good enough, but here is a live cam of that tank. I just checked and saw two of the angels swim by:

 

[salty joe]

Thanks Jay! Hope it's mild for you guys.

I'll check it out tomorrow when it comes back online.

 

[salty joe]

I saw the pair of blue rings in the distance but the single BR came close and all his stripes looked good. Also saw a pair of foxface, very cool! Wow, what a tank.

 

[salty joe]

I haven't seen the pair of blue rings up close. If you get a minute at work, could you take a look at the mated blue rings and see if the male has faded stripes? It's a stretch but maybe it has something to do with being married. JK. But can you look just for anyhow?