4inch rainbow wolf fish no color

[runninlow]

Hello well i just recently got this rainbow wolf and he is amazing! active! hungry! and aggressive! Live by himself in his own 30 gallon tank tons of live plants and hiding spots and driftwood. he is over all pretty healthy, but something is bugging me i got him when he was bout 2 1/2 inch now he is about 4 inch. shouldnt he be showing some type of color (color as of now is pale silver light pink/redish) or do they have to be full grown for the deep orange or red black? He isnt shy at all always roaming around looking for something to attack.

would anyone be able to give me insight on when his full color would show or something i cant find on the internet. thanks in advnace!

 

[bottles]

Yes, it should have color, mine did at 2.5" when I got him. Are you sure it's a rainbow? Pics?

 

[lix.ma14]

can you post pics? There's species that shows the intense red color (erythrinus erythrinus) while the other variant (erythrinus peru) is just a boring purple color around.

 

[runninlow]

thanks ill post pictures once i get home from work.

 

[runninlow]

Here you go he moves around a little bit too much but as you can see the color is kinda pale.

 

[kevinfleming21]

Substrate, background color, and lighting are not helping the color issues and washout.

 

[runninlow]

so are you saying that i should remove the back ground and change the lighting for the tank ? if thats the case i will have to do that, what light do you recommmend me changing too and as for the back ground should i change it to soemthing darker or just remove it.

 

[kevinfleming21]

Darker would help, the same goes for the substrate. If you feed him shrimp it should help the reds come out also.

 

[runninlow]

alright that might be the case, i was thinking he might be trying to adjust himself to his surrounding so it will be harder for his prey to spot him. ill have to go and get some either brown or black sand and either remove the back ground totally or grab a darker one. yes and i have just started to feed him shrimp..so well see in a couple of weeks.

thanks a bunch

these guys are amazing monsters!!

 

[kevinfleming21]

They are a cool little wolf species with a ton of personality once they settle in. Good luck!