Hey guys, I'm still a newb at keeping Cichla and was just wondering at what size do Ocellaris start to turn green? I have 6 @ about 5" to 6" all eating shrimp, worms, biogold, massivore, and crickets. They are all more of a gold color than green. I see alot of you guys pics, and they're all bright green, whats the deal? Do ocellaris not get as green as some of the others or what?
cichla color
- Thread starter callen
- Start date
Great question! I was wondering the same thing. I was under the understanding that the ocellaris was one of the more plain peacock bass in color. Some of the pictures on this site are changing my opinion.
I THINK IT ALL DEPENDS WERE YOU GET YOUR CICHLA I HAVE TWO 8 IN OCELLS AND ONE IS A BRIGHT GREEN COLOR AND THE OTHER IS MORE GOLDISH
That makes sense...Has the bright green one always been bright green, or did it start off more gold and then turn green as it grew? Do most cichla "color up" as they grow? Sorry for the stupid questions...just trying to learn a little more.
colors on real ocellaris can vary a lot. you will see anything from yellow/gold to a lime green color. some lower quality farmed/hybrids may even be a brownish color.
for reference, this is my 18"+ florida ocellaris
for reference, this is my 18"+ florida ocellaris
Damn he's nice...Doubt mine are wild, I guess what i'm asking is, @ 6" are my fish the color they're gonna be when bigger, or do they tend to become greener as they grow. I know every fish is different, and there are low quality cichla just like any other fish, but say your 18" Ocellaris...was he always that bright green when small?
well i got him when he was about 14", but yes, generally all cichla will color up as they grow. 6" is still very young, so yours still has a lot of coloring up to do. search for recent threads by "chaitika". he posted the progression of his ocellaris from when it was young and brown to a full grown lime green monster!