lionfish blotchy coloration

[karnivorous]

hey guys, just a quick question, i watched my Zebra lionfish shed his cutuicl yesterday, and read that it was normal periodically, but today his coloration is vry blotchy, hes acting normal, no clamped fins or anything, just weird blotchy color. what should i do with him?

 

[jarrod13]

Any way to get a pic? They do change shades from time to time, for instance in the morning mine is usually very pale, then darkens up when he "wakes up"

 

[namxas]

What Jarrod sez. As long as you don't seen any outward signs of disease/parasites, and the fish is breathing OK (not gilling hard/fast), I'd just see how it does. Our P. sphex is like that...it can be sitting around looking pale, but then colors right up if it thinks food is an option. We've seen this in fuzzies as well.

Has it ever done this before?

Are there any new stressors in the tank or have you changed anything lately?

 

[karnivorous]

yes, i actually just added a fairly large yellow fuzzy dwarf, a male i believe, to the mix, but im not sure they have had much interaction

 

[namxas]

Ah...that's likely the issue then. How long ago did you add the fuzzy? Is it larger than the zebra? What size setup?

And, of course, PIX!