What colour is normal for ember tetras?

[BettaXD]

I have 6 ember tetras and some are a little brown, some bright orange and some light orange. What colour is normal for them or are all the colours normal?

 

[Byron]

There are two colour variants in the hobby, the bright orange and a paler yellow-orange; apparently it depends upon the source habitat. However, the individual fish can pale if stressed, and usually brighten if in spawning mode. And I don't know if this species is being commercially raised (s opposed to wild caught), but tank-raised fish often develop less colour than wild. We will need more data to go much further here, such as numbers, tank size, water parameters (GH, pH and temp especially), other species, water conditions (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate).

 

[otterblue]

I don't know if this helps, but mine have become much brighter since I got them. They started out much duller. There is no discernible difference between mine.

When I added two more from my LFS I could tell which they were by their dull color. Now they all blend in.

 

[BettaXD]

There are two colour variants in the hobby, the bright orange and a paler yellow-orange; apparently it depends upon the source habitat. However, the individual fish can pale if stressed, and usually brighten if in spawning mode. And I don't know if this species is being commercially raised (s opposed to wild caught), but tank-raised fish often develop less colour than wild. We will need more data to go much further here, such as numbers, tank size, water parameters (GH, pH and temp especially), other species, water conditions (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate).

I think it’s just the amount of light. All of them brightened once it was morning.

 

[Essjay]

Fish can change colour when it's dark. Neon tetras turn brown. Some pencilfish have horizontal stripes during the day and vertical stripes at night.

 

[Uberhoust]

Fish can change colour when it's dark. Neon tetras turn brown. Some pencilfish have horizontal stripes during the day and vertical stripes at night.

Would love to know some examples of horizontal to vertical stripes. Would make an interesting addition.

 

[Byron]

Would love to know some examples of horizontal to vertical stripes. Would make an interesting addition.

All species in Nannostomus (except one, more on this in a moment) have a diurnal patterning. There are one, two or three horizontal stripes (not sure if there are four-stripe species) during daylight hours. When darkness falls, these horizontal lines break up into a series of dashes. This has been observed in blind fish, showing that it is an automatic response to the darkness (fish cells are highly sensitive to light) and not controlled by the fish.

The only exception is N. espei which has a day and night pattern of dashes rather than horizontal lines.

 

[Essjay]

I have had both N. beckfordi and N marginatus in the past and I can't remember which one it was that I noticed the stripes changing. They may both have changed but it's a while ago and I just can't remember