Jack Dempsey Question

[McFall]

I believe i have a male and a female Jack Dempsey in my tank. I just have a question about females. I have seen many pictures with the females being almost black with just the blue coloring on the gill plate..is this normal or does this mean that they are stressed/unhappy?

 

[bradleyagregg]

mine turns dark to show dominance, ie feeding or when hes bout to scrap with tankmate, he washes out when hes stressed

 

[McFall]

What about the female though?

 

[FishFreak95]

Im pretty sure there suppose to be like that. *sigh* I miss my JD

 

[McFall]

this is by far my favorite fish. so much attitude

 

[Experiment397]

if the females are black all the time don't worry that is just a dark phase. it seems to be more common in the females. one of my jds is that way, we think it is female, and my other one is light colored, and is defintley a female.

 

[FishingOut]

My male dempsey is always the same dark purple color. Females are usually darker and can change their colors more. My Female GT changes multiple times daily depending on if shes feisty or just woke up. The darker more active and wanting something, the lighter the more stressed i believe. but all jds are different colors.