My ochiba have all been doing the color change thing.
When I bought my first one last summer I brought him/her home, put him/her in the pond and he/she turned as ugly as a grouper. He/she changed back. He/she is the most beautiful fish. He/she changes little by little back to his/her original coloring.
I have four ochiba now. They all look dark and kind of ugly.
I just finished water changes and hope they all come back to their former beauty. Right now they are kind of ugly. Mr Munch is still pretty. His dark coloring is outlining the orange on him. He is so purdy. He is a doitsu Ochiba and I think female.
Ms. Munch. The fish is a pig. They seem to really like salt content in the water too.
LBD