fahaka bad coloration

[jcma]

hi, my fahaka's colors are very bland. and instead of the elaborate, maroon stripes, my puffer has a lot more green and very thin maroon ones. it looks pretty bad compared to most on here. also, it hides a lot. i would like to know if he will color up later or stay like that forever. he is currently 5.5 inches and i feed him raw shrimp. i do water changes every 2 weeks. thankya

 

[Oddball]

Welcome to MFK!!!

Do you have a pic? What size is your fish? Do you have salt and alkaline conditions for this fish? Need more detail before we can offer suggestions.

 

[pufferking]

Test your PH a buddy of mine had the same problem and it was due to poor water quality and a low PH. i would also make sure that your temperature is high enough.

 

[jcma]

salt and alkaline conditions? i have some aquarium salt in there if that helps. and yea my ph is pretty low..last time i checked it was around 5.5-6.5 somewhere between there. but my water conditions should be okay. no test kit thingys though
thanks for the replies. any more suggestions?

 

[prm]

I beleive they need the same water conditions as rift lake cichlids shoot for around 8.0 or so. Get a african cichlid buffer or change substrates to a crushed coral or similar.(something with calcium).