Why does my seahorse turn white when the light is off

Mell03 · 04/18/2015, 09:22 AM

Im kinda of worried about my sea horses, i have a male and a female they are both active and they eat on a regular basis. But the other morning my tank light is off and they look like ghost..... Any idea why ???? And by the time i come home they are back to normal... Are they camouflaging to blend in at night ???

PLEASE HELPPP

rayjay · 04/18/2015, 01:18 PM

Seahorses often change colour to suit what they percieve is needed to be able to blend in with their surroundings. When you turn the light off, they perhaps feel safer with the change.
It's also a reason people should not buy a seahorse for it's colour, as a beautiful red or orange upon purchase, could turn out to be brown or black or combination of the colours after they adapt to the new surroundings.

tjdouglas · 04/20/2015, 12:06 AM

Mine usually fade out a lot at night too...usually nothing to worry about.

btreyes · 04/20/2015, 10:00 PM

All of my seahorses were that way, they were really quite beautiful at night. I've noticed other fish like aiptasia-eating filefish turn white as well.

04/18/2015, 09:22 AM	#1
Mell03 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 1	Why does my seahorse turn white when the light is off Im kinda of worried about my sea horses, i have a male and a female they are both active and they eat on a regular basis. But the other morning my tank light is off and they look like ghost..... Any idea why ???? And by the time i come home they are back to normal... Are they camouflaging to blend in at night ??? PLEASE HELPPP

04/18/2015, 01:18 PM	#2
rayjay Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 3,969	Seahorses often change colour to suit what they percieve is needed to be able to blend in with their surroundings. When you turn the light off, they perhaps feel safer with the change. It's also a reason people should not buy a seahorse for it's colour, as a beautiful red or orange upon purchase, could turn out to be brown or black or combination of the colours after they adapt to the new surroundings. __________________ Seahorses. Culture nanno, rotifers and brine shrimp. Current Tank Info: Seahorses

04/20/2015, 12:06 AM	#3
tjdouglas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Long Beach, California Posts: 218	Mine usually fade out a lot at night too...usually nothing to worry about.

04/20/2015, 10:00 PM	#4
btreyes Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 190	All of my seahorses were that way, they were really quite beautiful at night. I've noticed other fish like aiptasia-eating filefish turn white as well.