Firemouth color

[duanes]

It looks way too young to have any real color yet, and you have it with that mostly white gravel which will tend to make any cichlid fade, to try and blend in.
The other factors mentioned above all come into play, but until it grows, ages and you get something darker, those light colors will be normal.

 

[Gman9272]

I just got my firemouth a couple weeks ago he had red in the store and when I got him home it was as pale as can be just put a dark background up to offset my neutral gravel and he is as red as can be now