Oscar color

Question
hello i got an oscar about a week ago and i looked in the tank and noticed he changed color from brown and white to white(he not albino)but his orange sripes didn't change.hes in a 55 gallon tank with another oscar.i heard there color reflects there mood is that true?if it does what does it mean?Thanks for the help

Answer
Hi Brian,
 Yes oscars use color to indicate mood and this can change minute by minute.  Part of the joy of keeping fishes like oscars is figuring out what their color changes mean.   There are no simple hard and fast rules but in general if there are two fishes in the tank and one of them is dominant over the other, the more dominant fish will have brighter colors.  The less dominant fish will either go light overall, or go dark overall.  

-- Ron C.
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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