How do I improve the color on these Cynotilapia Afra Cobue F1's?
Improve Color
- Thread starter jackthefishmaster
- Start date
Looks pretty colorful already, why are you concerned about his color?
Is he a little plump in the belly or is it the camera angle?
Is he a little plump in the belly or is it the camera angle?
Because I wanted to bring out more Yellow/orange. I dont know what happened to the belly, it’s not because of over feeding it just looks fat for some reason ?.
Well good luck in bringing your more color in him lol as far as I know there's so way to do so with African cichlids. As for the gut on him I would imagine it is partially over fed. Even when you don't feed him that doesn't mean he isn't going around the tank eating algea off of the decor. They are grazers by nature, I would honestly recommend feeding more algea waffers rather then cichlid pellets at his size and age. Protein is good for growth of fry/juviniles but once they hit maturity they don't need nearly as much and need a more plant based diet.
Yeah I agree with you completely I will try to change his diet even though it’s hard because I have other juvenile fish that still eat pellets in the same tank.
The amount of orange may be genetic. If he is 2 years old and dominant I would expect him to show his max color now. Have you seen him spawn? At that moment, he should look his best.
I don't think diet will make a significant color change. Assume nitrates are already < 20ppm.
I don't think diet will make a significant color change. Assume nitrates are already < 20ppm.
Best possible color is a simple formula: clean water, including water changes, filter maintenance, and regular cleaning of gravel if you have gravel, and a premium food with few grain ingredients and zero or very few ingredients like: corn, brewers yeast, gluten meal, rice, potato, feather meal, soybean meal, "middlings", gluten products, "starch" as a listed ingredient, etc.
You may not be overfeeding the tank overall but that fish is absolutely overeating. You never want to see a belly like that, it means trouble. The only bulging belly you should see, including immediately after eating, would be a female ready to spawn. An occasional small, temporary bulge after eating is not ideal but acceptable, more so in fry or small fish, but an extreme bulging belly like that is just bad news-- unless it's a female very full of eggs and a spawn is imminent.
It happens sometimes, an individual fish in a tank is a pig. But if he keeps it up he's likely to bloat-- if he hasn't already started. Best thing you can do for him, if possible, is isolate him and fast him for a while, minimum a few days, then feed only lightly until that belly is gone. Sometimes doing that cures a greedy eater and they can go back in the main tank, with some of them you have to do it more than once, occasionally one needs to go where you can feed the whole tank lightly on a permanent basis-- All of this is to save the fish from eventual illness or bloat.
Healthy fish in good water will grow just fine with light to moderate feeding of a good quality food.
You may not be overfeeding the tank overall but that fish is absolutely overeating. You never want to see a belly like that, it means trouble. The only bulging belly you should see, including immediately after eating, would be a female ready to spawn. An occasional small, temporary bulge after eating is not ideal but acceptable, more so in fry or small fish, but an extreme bulging belly like that is just bad news-- unless it's a female very full of eggs and a spawn is imminent.
It happens sometimes, an individual fish in a tank is a pig. But if he keeps it up he's likely to bloat-- if he hasn't already started. Best thing you can do for him, if possible, is isolate him and fast him for a while, minimum a few days, then feed only lightly until that belly is gone. Sometimes doing that cures a greedy eater and they can go back in the main tank, with some of them you have to do it more than once, occasionally one needs to go where you can feed the whole tank lightly on a permanent basis-- All of this is to save the fish from eventual illness or bloat.
Healthy fish in good water will grow just fine with light to moderate feeding of a good quality food.
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Hikari Blood Parrot pellets, in combination with plant based foods as recommended above, should deepen the orange color on his shoulder.