Siamese Algae Eater Losing Colour

Hello all,
I was wondering if anyone else has seen this happening to their own SAE and could tell me what's going on..

I have 2 SAE for a few months in a 3ft tank with the correct water parameters and regular w/c. A couple of days ago i came by the 2 of them seeming to be fighting. The smaller one had lost its black stripe. I tried to stop them fighting, and they did, and suddenly the black stripe was back. Then last night I came into the room and had a look at the tank (some of my fish are nocturnal so I wanted to check on them) and I noticed my 2 SAE sleeping, and both of their stripes had again faded.. But then this morning their stripes are a nice solid black again..
Does anyone know what's going on?
Everything I've googled relates to permanent colour loss due to stress or the incorrect parameters.. But this isn't a permanent ordeal.

 

Some fish can change the insensity of their colouring depending on their behaviour and environment. My African butterfly fish goes for brown when the lights are on to almost completely pale light brown when the lights go off. My yoyo loaches also do this mainly when they're chasing each other around.

 

Oh ok that makes sense.. So it's not really something to worry about?

 

If they are appearing dull for a few days then there's something wrong with the water or something is stressing them.

 

well I don't know how long they stayed like this last night, but the time before that it was only a few minutes. And it's been a while in between this happening

 

My two SAE only really lose the stripe and fade when they're bickering with each other, being the same size, usually around feeding time.
I wouldn't worry about it unless they stop eating or show any other symptoms or something out of the ordinary. They look pretty shabby when faded!

 

So maybe it is stress but only due to the fight they're having.. Makes sense! I'll keep my eye on them but they seem healthy. Thank you!

 

They sound 100% ok. If you have ever seen a rainbow change color you won't be surprised with other fish being able to do it. Go on youtube and search kutubu male flashing. You will see what I'm talking about

Sent from my SM-A720F using Tapatalk

 

So it's quite common for fish to be able to change colours to a limited degree .. The more I keep fish the more I learn about them. I love it! They're so fascinating!

 

This is exactly what happened to my SAE. So I'm convinced now that they're perfectly fine

 

Yes I have heard about this as well. It does make sense that it could be unwell for them.
Unfortunately this tank is in my study so I can't help the light situation. But also it's hardly ever on so they should be fine
Thank you for that advice though