Do Red Texas cichlid colors intensify or change with age?

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eyespot

eyespot

Piranha
MFK Member
Mar 17, 2007
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Williamstown, MA
I'm new to the world of flowerhorns and I couldn't seem to find a solid answer in my research. I recently bought a 4 inch Red Texas male which is orange with light red around the head (he's actually a washed out pink at the moment because he just arrived three hours ago after a long stressful trip). I've kept a lot of cichlids over the years and their colors generally intensify and get bolder as they reach full maturity. Is it the same for Red Texas? I have no idea what grade he is but I spent 200 dollars on him from a reputable supplier so I assume he has decent lineage. He's a good looking fish either way and it's not like I'm going to show him but I was curious as to what I might be able to expect. Also, I know they sell color intensifying foods for flowerhorns but I wasn't sure if that's because they're packed with hormones. I feed a varied diet of prepared and freeze-dried food with NLS pellets as my staple.
 
eyespot said:
I'm new to the world of flowerhorns and I couldn't seem to find a solid answer in my research. I recently bought a 4 inch Red Texas male which is orange with light red around the head (he's actually a washed out pink at the moment because he just arrived three hours ago after a long stressful trip). I've kept a lot of cichlids over the years and their colors generally intensify and get bolder as they reach full maturity. Is it the same for Red Texas? I have no idea what grade he is but I spent 200 dollars on him from a reputable supplier so I assume he has decent lineage. He's a good looking fish either way and it's not like I'm going to show him but I was curious as to what I might be able to expect. Also, I know they sell color intensifying foods for flowerhorns but I wasn't sure if that's because they're packed with hormones. I feed a varied diet of prepared and freeze-dried food with NLS pellets as my staple.
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With the proper tank size and food it should start coloring up once it gets acclimated to the tank. Just like ya said it's pretty much like any other cichlid and will color up with maturity. Just give it some time and it'll be back to normal again, only reason it's washed out atm is like ya said with the transport over and being in a brand new environment. Btw if ya don't mind me asking, ya got any pics of it and the tank?
 
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Magnus_Bane said:
With the proper tank size and food it should start coloring up once it gets acclimated to the tank. Just like ya said it's pretty much like any other cichlid and will color up with maturity. Just give it some time and it'll be back to normal again, only reason it's washed out atm is like ya said with the transport over and being in a brand new environment. Btw if ya don't mind me asking, ya got any pics of it and the tank?
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Not yet. I was going to hold off on pics for a day or two until he colors up. He's very similar to this other Red Texas from Aqua Craze. He's in a 125 he's sharing (for the meantime) with some roseline barbs, a couple of peaceful cats (blochii pim and big-eyed syn) and a broken-line pleco. I had a female blue carpinte in there but she was hassling him a bit so I removed her. My hope is to re-introduce her once he gets established after a few days. If it doesn't work I imagine I'll have to get a divider. She's quite a bit bigger and heavier than him.Aqua Craze Red Texas
 
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eyespot said:
Not yet. I was going to hold off on pics for a day or two until he colors up. He's very similar to this other Red Texas from Aqua Craze. He's in a 125 he's sharing (for the meantime) with some roseline barbs, a couple of peaceful cats (blochii pim and big-eyed syn) and a broken-line pleco. I had a female blue carpinte in there but she was hassling him a bit so I removed her. My hope is to re-introduce her once he gets established after a few days. If it doesn't work I imagine I'll have to get a divider. She's quite a bit bigger and heavier than him.Aqua Craze Red Texas
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Lol I'd definitely keep an eye on them Barb's tho, they could easily become a snack for him. Yeah in my experience breeding cichlids is that more often then not a female won't breed with a smaller more cowardly male. Granted if he decides to grow a pair tho then it could be possible as long as he is the aggressor.
 
Magnus_Bane said:
Lol I'd definitely keep an eye on them Barb's tho, they could easily become a snack for him. Yeah in my experience breeding cichlids is that more often then not a female won't breed with a smaller more cowardly male. Granted if he decides to grow a pair tho then it could be possible as long as he is the aggressor.
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Yeah, I don't know how long the barb situation is going to last. He's actually already really curious and outgoing. The female is usually pretty timid but when I added him she kept following him around and harmlessly harassing him. He just needs a couple of days to recoup and adjust to the lay of the land.
 
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Magnus_Bane said:
O nice, kind of looks like my female FH I got atm. Pretty well the same colors atleast. I'll post a pic of her for ya to compare to your male Texas.

View attachment 1411470
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Nice! Yours has redder eyes. I think mine will look more like the one in the link from Aqua Craze in the next couple of days (that's more or less what he looked like in his pic) but who knows.
 
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eyespot said:
Yeah, I don't know how long the barb situation is going to last. He's actually already really curious and outgoing. The female is usually pretty timid but when I added him she kept following him around and harmlessly harassing him. He just needs a couple of days to recoup and adjust to the lay of the land.
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Yeah ik I rarely ever have a fish that is immediately adjusted to a tank. Granted like ya said, give him a few days and he should settle in nicely.
 
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eyespot said:
Nice! Yours has redder eyes. I think mine will look more like the one in the link from Aqua Craze in the next couple of days (that's more or less what he looked like in his pic) but who knows.
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Yeah ya never quite know how a fish will look in the end. My female FH she started out pure white as a baby and has been slowly gaining more and more color as she's grown.
 
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