Growth time?

pakash

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Feb 9, 2009
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Mexico
Hi guys i was wondering how long do cynotilapia afra jalo reef take, to get a nice blue color, i have 8 of them not sure if they are females or males, but they havent changed their colour, they are 2" maybe a lit less, they are all brownish with most of them top yellow fins, but none of them turning blue. How long do they take to turn to blue i know only males will, not females. I have them in 125g tank with 6 aceis. I FED them with NLS THERA A, and HIKARI GOLD. Once a day every night, give them quite a lot and smash the pellets for them to be able to eat them. Once a week i give them squash. And thats it. Weekly 20% waterchanges with prime and stability.
 

Deadeye

POTM Curator
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Aug 31, 2020
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I’m starting to see some color already. I haven’t kept the species, but I’d say by 3-4 inches you should definitely be seeing some nice colors. Shouldn’t take too long as mbuna grow pretty fast.
 
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Milingu

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Jul 19, 2015
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I have seen smaller males showing colour.
As long as they are not dominated by another fish I would expect at least one male to show some colour.
But in the last two pictures it's hard to tell if that is the first hint of the typical male colour or just a nicer coloured female. I would just wait two months to see if they show more colours
 

DJRansome

Aimara
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Mar 16, 2008
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As Milingu said, "as long as they are not dominated by another fish". If you have too many males, they could all keep their colors toned down to avoid conflict.
 

pakash

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Feb 9, 2009
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Mexico
As Milingu said, "as long as they are not dominated by another fish". If you have too many males, they could all keep their colors toned down to avoid conflict.
But not sure if they are males, cant see them in full color to keep an eye on the dominant male, since they are not full grown
 

DJRansome

Aimara
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Mar 16, 2008
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The max size is 3 inches and they don't have to be that big to start coloring and spawning. If you have a spare tank choose the one that is biggest and/or has the brightest blue body or yellow dorsal and separate him. If he colors, he is male. You may have to keep doing that until you have a small enough number of males in your tank for one to color with the rest of the population.
 
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pakash

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Feb 9, 2009
73
36
51
Mexico
The max size is 3 inches and they don't have to be that big to start coloring and spawning. If you have a spare tank choose the one that is biggest and/or has the brightest blue body or yellow dorsal and separate him. If he colors, he is male. You may have to keep doing that until you have a small enough number of males in your tank for one to color with the rest of the population.
I think it is cuz they´re really small, thats why they are starting to show some colour, and at some point they will, i will let them alone, avoiding stress for them when trying to catch them.
 
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