Jack Dempsey color

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Buphy

Buphy

Dovii
MFK Member
Jun 10, 2015
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Texas
So I was thinking about it driving around today but so often when I see pictures or videos of JD they're very dark in color under their iridescence. Mine on the other had seem to be much more tan like you'd find in a pet store. You can still see their dark strips though.

Is this something that should change as they get older (currently around 3-4 in) or is it something that is food and water quality dependent?
 
As you have identified , there are many more factors to the dark color and iridescence....
Food , water quality/frequency of changes , tank mates , tank size , stress , breed quality and age.
Can you please provide some of these details....
 
For food I feed a mix of flakes, frozen krill and occasionally feeder fish. Water changes... Not near enough, about once a week, 10%. It's a 55g tank and there are 2 JD, 2 EBJD and a Bleekeri. (Thinking of removing the smaller of the 2 JD and EBJD) stress may be running alittle high because of the new addition of the Bleekeri but it hasn't effected their color (was like that before he was introduced). And age I can't be 100%, just know the size.
 
Feeders arent as nutritious as a quality pellet plus they can carry pathogens. Alo ya def should up the water change schedule. Your fish could also be under stress from competition for territories. ..just an idea
 
Biggest thing I have noticed is stress and surrounding colors. My females will be light colored, almost tan when they are in the tank with a light color sand. Same females are almost black with the blue colors drastically more defined when she is over black substrate.
Most local pet store chains aren't a good indicator of what the fish will look like, to much stress and bad environments always seem to make them look pale or washed out.
 
Sadly last time I tried cichlid pellets they showed no interest. Though at the time I had them on beef heart, blood worms and mices (think I buchered that spelling). Substrait is probably the biggest thing. I have a red brown gravel and a blue back grown.
 
Jdreal21 said:
Darker substrates and backgrounds get them darker shows there blue spangles better
Click to expand...
yep Change the substrate and the color of your fish will dramatically change overnight.
plus Live foods bleach out most fish's colors.JD's are omnivores mine hated pellets but eventually got on board. I also will give her tubifex bloodworms and dried shrimp as snacks. Beef heart and mice are a really bad call. Risk aside that kind of protein is really not necessary for a JD.
 
-also getting a fish off of junk food can be difficult but not impossible. Its a cichlid not an Indian dwarf puffer fish when it gets hungry enough it will eat pellets.
 
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