Midas Cichlid Peeling?

[blauaugigengel]

Hello Everyone,

I've had my two Midas cichlids for almost a year now. I got them from a friend of mine with a breeding pair last November. They were about 1/2 inch when I first got them, they are now about 5-5.5" My question is, when do Midas cichlids start to peel? The parents were one barred midas and one orange midas. They babies were all gray with barring, and just a little hint of red/orange behind the pectoral fins. I was hoping they were going to peel because I dont like the gray/barred color. Do you think they will peel? Should they have started already? I havent noticed the orange behind the pectoral fins getting any noticeably brighter/ larger over the last few months. Any advice/ shared experiences is appreciated!

 

[Runitis]

Couple questions first how were they a breeding pair at 1/2"? Second they should be larger then 5.5" in a year size of tank? Also they may or may not Peel depends on genes. And if they are barred I Dont think they will.

I need to spark up my fish life

 

[oscarman2003]

they are the offspring of the breeding pair from ur friend that was clearly stated all u had to do was read. what size tank r they in becauses 5.5 in at a year old is very small i have 6 month old midas that are over 6.5". now as far as peeling i dont think it will happen due to the fact that of the ressive traits. they usually pee from orange to white if they do peel. if they show signs of barring not a chance.

 

[RD.]

now as far as peeling i dont think it will happen due to the fact that of the ressive traits. they usually pee from orange to white if they do peel. if they show signs of barring not a chance. .

Not exactly.


From a previous post that I made on this subject .........

Amelanism is a pigmentation abnormality characterized by the lack of pigments called melanins (black pigment) and can affect reptiles, fish, amphibians, etc. The appearance of an amelanistic fish (such as a fader/peeler) depends entirely on the remaining non-melanin pigments. In some cases where a fish does not completely fade or finish peeling, with some black pigment remaining, the condition is known as hypomelanism.

You can read more about these various color morphs in great detail in the following link.

http://vetherppath.hubpages.com/hub/Understanding-Reptile-Color-and-Correct-Color-Terminology

Oddball has a very good list of terms in the link below as well.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?38534-Fish-Coloration-Terms-amp-Definitions


There has been a lot of work done with the Amphilophus genus by George Barlow & others, and in the wild these genes only express themselves in approx 10% of the population.

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=ichthynicar

"Most Midas cichlids are of the normal cryptic coloration, but about 7 to 10% are brilliantly colored. These bright morphs lack the species-typical markings and have lost the ability to change their patterns; they range in hues smoothly from white through yellow, orange and red, though yellow through orange prevail. All start life normal in color, but at highly variable ages they lose most or all of their melanin, revealing the bright hues that most of them possess. The degree of development of this xanthomorphism varies among the lakes and appears to be positively correlated with turbidity of the water."

The actual timing of de-pigmentation is determined by a different set of genes hence the reason why some fish seem to peel very early in life, while others are almost adult size before they begin to fade/peel. And of course in the wild fading/peeling at too early of an age/size makes the fish a much easier target for prey, so many wild morphs are late bloomers.

According to some of the earlier work peformed by George Barlow, gold morphs are most abundant at deeper depths, and in more turbid water. Lake Masaya has very turbid water, and gold morphs are very abundant in this body of water. Lake Apoyo has quite clear water, and while the gold morph genes are present in the fish, no true gold morphs are found. The fish in this lake have the typical spotted & barred patterns.

Bottom line is, your fish may or may not peel, and if they do exactly when that might happen is anyones guess.