brand new aquarium owner

Question
I was given an aquarium for my birthday and immediately bought some supplies and set it up... i've had in for 2 weeks now... i have an angel fish, a dwarf gourami, gold spotted pleco, some glass fish and some neon tetras... and also a baloon ram that used to be mostly white with shimmering blue and purple... it also had a black stripe over both eyes... and it started to form similar black striations at its side... can you tell me what could be wrong?  please?

Answer
Hi Sarah!
Congratulations on the new aquarium! What a nice birthday gift!

Whenever one of your fish seems a little off, testing your water is the best thing to do. If you can, test it for ammonia, nirites, and nitrates.. These levels should be as follows in a healthy tank: Ammonia-0 Nitrite-0 Nitrate- 20 or less.
As always, when in doubt, probably the best thing to do is at least a 30% water change, making sure to gravel vacuum and rinse the filter (in old tank water only). It may be best to repeat these water changes for several days just as a precaution in case there is a water quality issue at hand and especially if you can't test your water.

Sometimes fish change color if there is something different with their environment, either new fish, bullying fish, a change in tank decoration or water quality. These are all things to consider with your ram's unusual color change.

Continue the watch the little ram for any symptoms of illness and feel free to contact me again if you notice anything or if you have anymore questions!

I hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Karen~