why is Fishie's face changing color?

[OrangeAugust]

Fishie (the one in my avatar) has always had a metallic blue body and a darker face. I've noticed that the color in his face seems to be fading. Actually today, it totally changed color to a sort of brass color... why is this happening? I haven't tested the water today, but the color-fading started maybe a week ago. The water params have been totally normal since I changed his water Saturday night (ammonia 0, nitrites 0, and pH 7), so I don't think it's ammonia burns. Is there another reason why his face is changing color?

[Canuck Fins]

How old is your fish? Do you have pictures from before and after? Marbles can change colour.

[OrangeAugust]

I've had him for almost a month.
The top picture was from the day I got him, and the second picture was 5 minutes ago.
If you notice, the edge of his gills turned kind of silver, and his chin area is brassy/brown.

[rosy delta]

im not sure if this is a bad thing, he looks healthy to me. he certainly is pretty in any event. where did you get him?

[OrangeAugust]

Originally Posted by rosy delta

he certainly is pretty in any event. where did you get him?

Hehe thanks! He is. I got him at Petco. He was labelled as a delta tail. But since he got moved to his 5 gallon tank, he has fin-flaring parades around his tank and he's definitely a halfmoon.

[LittleWatty]

Sonas has kind of the same body color as Fishie. Black with the blue iridescence. After a while, his face looked like it kind'a got pale, and his stomach turned sort of a brassy color. I thought it was velvet, but after a huge scare about it, I found it was normal. Now, his face kind'a changes from the grey color to the black depending on his mood. If he flares at something daily, he tends to stay black. The more laid back he is, the paler his face tends to get.

[Goldie2nd]

ah cool stuff to know

[OrangeAugust]

Originally Posted by LittleWatty

Sonas has kind of the same body color as Fishie. Black with the blue iridescence. After a while, his face looked like it kind'a got pale, and his stomach turned sort of a brassy color. I thought it was velvet, but after a huge scare about it, I found it was normal. Now, his face kind'a changes from the grey color to the black depending on his mood. If he flares at something daily, he tends to stay black. The more laid back he is, the paler his face tends to get.

Oh, that's interesting. Thanks.

[Alcemistnv]

Buddha did the same, but it was over the course of a longer time period. I've had him for 7 months and what I thought was the onset of velvet was actually just his coloring changing. It's definitely scary at first, but unless your fish is changing ehavior, I wouldn't worry :)

[Goldie2nd]

Cool!