does colouration have anything to do with the tank lighting and colour? my ammonia & nitrites read 0 but from time to time the cubans get quite dark(and remain so for some time before turning bright again). the tank is pretty dark with black tape on the sides.
How often are you feeding your adult gars?
- Thread starter CTU2fan
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referring to the pics:
yours looks relatively normal for its size, which is much larger than the Cuban in my first pic when that photo was taken (at the time that fish was only about 12" long). the second pic was likely when the fish was slightly stressed, although it was slightly darker while in that tank and before moving to Gar-Den II.
in most cases, however, at least in my experience, Cubans don't change much color with the tank lighting or substrate (except at night). if they are regularly turning dark and then returning to normal, but your ammo/nitrites are zero, i wouldn't be too concerned. just keep track if there is a pattern to the color change...how long are they dark, and how long before they go light...and how often does this happen? they should really be their normal light color most of the time unless stressed--
--solomon
yours looks relatively normal for its size, which is much larger than the Cuban in my first pic when that photo was taken (at the time that fish was only about 12" long). the second pic was likely when the fish was slightly stressed, although it was slightly darker while in that tank and before moving to Gar-Den II.
in most cases, however, at least in my experience, Cubans don't change much color with the tank lighting or substrate (except at night). if they are regularly turning dark and then returning to normal, but your ammo/nitrites are zero, i wouldn't be too concerned. just keep track if there is a pattern to the color change...how long are they dark, and how long before they go light...and how often does this happen? they should really be their normal light color most of the time unless stressed--
--solomon
they've been dark for the last 2 days, in which they've been really aggressive. biting my hands, cleaning sticks, and even at the water surface when there are ripples(they were last fed about 4 days ago). but after a large feeding today(in which the water could not have improved) they turned gold once again. just a slight update. water parameters are perfect. thanks for all the help!
I feed my 13" gar once a week with 20 goldfish feeders, only once a week since I'm trying to slow down his growth rate because it will be a matter of time before he outgrows my 100 
so I'm waiting for someone to house him for good.
so I'm waiting for someone to house him for good.
I feed once every two to three days... My cuban was always a high gold when he was by himself and since I added to my main community tank he stays really really dark always. threatened i guess
One of my gator gar changed colors quite drastically. When i had two in a glass aquarium, the dominant big one was light colored while the smaller one was really really dark. When i moved both to a much larger enclosure, the smaller one started to change color as it started to accelerate its growth. they are both the same color now (lightish).
Feeding schedule is daily.
Feeding schedule is daily.
