oscars changing colors

Question
i have a 2 1/2 year old oscar named Vlad. when i first got him he was small and darker colored, with bright orange bands. now that he is a beast, ive noticed that on ocasion he is REALLY LIGHT colored, then after a few minutes he goes back to normal. The other day i was having my morning talk with him ( i greet all my animals in the morning, all 57!) and actually watched him turn almost snow white, then go back to being normal! I checked the ph, and it was right about 7.0, i have a penguin bio-wheel filter that removes toxic amonia, fresh carbon packs, keep the water at 80 degrees. i feed him a wide variety of food, earthworms, crickets, flies, shrimp, steak, chicken, pork, mussels, oscar grow pellets, feeder fish, and night crawlers. is it normal for him to change color like that, and so rapidly? is it something were not doing, or that we are doing? What can we do to get him better if it is a sickness. PLEASE HELP he is my baby, n im worried about him alot. thank you.

Answer
Hi Brandon,
 Color change is a normal and healthy part of an oscar's life. They use changes in color to communicate information to other animals.  They indicate such things as general mood, willingness to mate, the fact that they might be nesting or guarding babies, etc. So, that kind of color change is perfectly normal.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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