I've got an Acei and two Hongi cichlids in my tank and all of them seem to be a very very dark blue. Their brethren at the pet store seem to be a much lighter blue. The acei has been there for at least six months so I don't think it is from adjusting to a new enviroment. Any ideas why they might not be showing their color, or do I need to change my lighting. Right now it's just a basic flourescent.
Question about Cichlid Color
- Thread starter R.A.C.K
- Start date
were they all together in the tank at LFS? Sometimes males together lose their color if they are intimidated by another.. who else is in the tank with them now..?
There are two other males in the tank. A yellow lab, and a peacock.
So the Acei at the store may have been stressed, but arn't the Hongi supposed to be fairly light.
Background is tennessee mountain rock. Basically the stuff the make rock walls out of in the south. It was the only thing cheap and available at the time, but it is fairly dark once algea gets on it some.
So the Acei at the store may have been stressed, but arn't the Hongi supposed to be fairly light.
Background is tennessee mountain rock. Basically the stuff the make rock walls out of in the south. It was the only thing cheap and available at the time, but it is fairly dark once algea gets on it some.
yes the hongi are light and colorful... yellow color on fins etc.. the young male Hongi can be dull blue...but as they get older more color shows up.. maybe pics would help us if you can post them up.R.A.C.K;4278547; said:
the darker the substrate/background the darker the fish.For some fish(many of the rift lake cichlids) this is not a good thing.
What size are they? Acei sometimes take a little longer than other Mbuna to colour up fully. I have a 3" male in my tank and he is only starting to color up now.
I also have a 2" Hongi that is almost fully colored up.
A standard florescent should still show their colors. You can only enhance what is already there with special lighting.
Either they are still very young and you just need to give it time or your feeding / water perimeters / quality my be a problem.
I also have a 2" Hongi that is almost fully colored up.
A standard florescent should still show their colors. You can only enhance what is already there with special lighting.
Either they are still very young and you just need to give it time or your feeding / water perimeters / quality my be a problem.
Sorry about the extremely large photos. Doing this away from the house and don't have all the tools to fix them.