fire mouth

[granuccibar]

why do they lose color then it comes back?

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

many cichlids tend to darken or lighten in color depending on whether they're stressed or any other mood

 

[cichlid2006]

i have found angry or extreme excitement means darker and more vivid patterns, where as fear and illness generally show as loss of patterns and loss of colour.

dont know if thats true with all cichlids or not but thats observations from my fish.