weird iridescent shark behavior and color

Question
  Hello,
 I just purchased 2 iridescent sharks and at the store they were great. Dark in color, very active. But at my house, they weren't so active; staying at the bottom and things like that. The color also went lighter...almost white. My mom says that i put them in the water too soon and they are just shocked but I just wanna make sure. Also I think I saw some black spots on their head but i don't know. Help?!

Answer
Hi Jacob,
Definitely sounds like they are stressed. Most likely a combination of being moved from place to place and the new environment and I am particularly worried they may be suffering from poor water quality since I'm not sure how long this tank has been established. If it hasn't been long (less than 6 weeks) biological filtration (good bacteria) hasn't been established to take care of the ammonia the fish produce. Therefore the fish can be in danger of a highly polluted environment. You must be careful when first introducing fish to a new tank and pay close attention to the water quality. It REALLY helps if you can test the water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Knowing these will help you know when the fish are safe and how far along the tank cycling is.

I hope all goes well! Let me know.

Hope this helps!
Karen~