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Posted by Chris Lewis ·
You check the tank after lights out and your neons and embers look washed out, almost gray. It's alarming the first time. In most cases it's completely normal.
Night coloring is normal. Many fish, tetras especially, pale out when they rest. Color in fish comes from pigment cells that expand and contract, and at night they contract. Neon and cardinal tetras are famous for it: the blue stripe dims and the red fades. The color comes back within minutes of the lights coming on.
It's also a good sign in a way. Fish that pale at night and color up in the morning are sleeping and waking on a normal schedule.
When faded color IS a warning
- The color stays faded in the daytime with the lights on
- It comes with clamped fins, hiding, gasping, or not eating
- Only one fish is faded while the others are bright
- You see a dusty gold or rust sheen on the body under a flashlight (that can be velvet)
Help them color up
- Keep a steady day and night: 8 hours of light is plenty. A cheap light timer makes it automatic.
- Give them cover: plants and dark substrate help small fish feel safe and show more color.
- Stable, clean water. Our Water Check tool will confirm your numbers are where tetras want them.
Species pages: neon tetra, ember tetra, emperor tetra.