fading colors

[Vivid-Dawn]

About 10 days ago, I bought 3, 1 inch (juvenile, I assume) Electric Yellow cichlids. Acclimated them for an hour, let them get used to the tank in low light, and all that good stuff.
So, now they’re brown! Well, it’s more a beige with their bars being brown. I’m not sure if it’s because I have a dark (black) substrate, or they’re sick, or what? Here’s my tank stats:
15 gallons (that’s the actual amount of water, the tank itself is labeled as 19 gallons)
Temperature: 78 F
pH: 8.2
GH/KH: ?
Ammonia: 0 - 0.25
Nitrites: 0 - 0.25
Nitrates: 20-40
I change 1/3 of the water every other day, since they’re technically in quarantine for another couple of days.

Also, two stuck together, and one was always hiding behind the cave formation. So I figured he’s lonely, and I bought 2 more. The one isn’t shy anymore, and despite the odd number, they’re all active together. The newbies are nice and bright yellow like they’re supposed to be... but I don’t know if they’ll stay that way, for long.

The reason I have black gravel, is when I was researching guppies, it said it made fish naturally enhance their colors (I also read that food with color enhancers were bad, so I went for the natural thing!) I figured this would work for all fish. But I notice lots of saltwater tanks with light colored sand, and those fish look plenty colorful. Should I be using white (though I may want a light gray, if that’ll work too), in the 50 gallon tank I’m moving them into soon?

And while I like yellow, I want a bit of variety. I was thinking of getting some Cobalt Blues (pseudotropheus callinois/callinos), but I can’t find any sources that give info on compatibility with Electric Yellows. I could get Electric Blues, maybe?

This is the best picture.

a bit blurry

a bit dark

 

[freddyk]

The brown is probably stress related, but it also could have to do with the substrate, and poor breeding (Lab Caeruelus is now renown for poor breeding and it's tough to find them 'electric yellow' these days, due to their extreme popularity and lack of care in the hobby). If you are certain that they looked good in the fish store then I'm going to go with stress.

When you introduce the fish to a new tank their bodies must endure a number of adjustments - the temperature changes between the tank, transportation, and your tank, ph and gh differences, and a new environement and tankmates. If stress seems like a good possibility, then just give them some time to adjust.

Color enhancers can help boost some colors a bit, but the true colors of a fish come out with good genes and an optimum environment.

As far as tankmates go, yellow labs are extremely fluid, and can be kept with almost any malawi that can't eat them, including both fish commonly referred to as electric blue, Melanochromis Johanni (the mbuna) and Sciaenochromis Fryeri (the hap). Keep in mind that only the male Johanni is blue, females are yellow. If you have more then one male they'll take on the females colors, or somewhere halfway in between, to avoid aggression of the dominent male. If you are looking for a group of blue fish you might want to consider that cobalt, or Pseudotropheus Socolofi instead.

 

[Vivid-Dawn]

I didn't think about the stress, since this happened 7 days afterward. I figured they'd be fine, with an hour of acclimation, and calming darkness for a few extra hours.
I was going to get the Scofoli, but I read somewhere that they can get more than 6" and need to be in groups... if I had my 5 Yellows, and I also have 3 Pictus Catfish, I worry about over-crowding (even with good filtration and regular maintenence).
I'll just keep looking, I suppose, since I haven't noticed Haps and therefore haven't done research!
They're small anyway, and this is the only time I've even seen babies sold... I figure it's best for them to get bigger, or anybody else will pick on 'em (or the Pictus snacking on 'em!)

 

[Kajuki18]

Looks like poor breeding and stress, possible hybrids? But anyway yellow labs need a bigger tank than a 15gal. I would suggest a 30gal or larger. Here is an article on them.Electric Yellow Labs

 

[Vivid-Dawn]

Looks like poor breeding and stress, possible hybrids? But anyway yellow labs need a bigger tank than a 15gal. I would suggest a 30gal or larger. Here is an article on them.Electric Yellow Labs

[snapback]887982[/snapback]​

It might be poor breeding, but when I bought them, they were brilliant and pure yellow (with the black stripe, of course), and I couldn't even tell they had vertical bars in the body area.
I plan on moving them to my 50 gallon tank... just as soon as I think they'll be too big for my Pictus catfish to not snack on!
Then again, maybe they won't grow if cramped... aurgh! I could switch the Pictus and Yellows for a while, maybe...

 

[BBB]

Looks like poor breeding and stress, possible hybrids? But anyway yellow labs need a bigger tank than a 15gal. I would suggest a 30gal or larger. Here is an article on them.Electric Yellow Labs

[snapback]887982[/snapback]​

It might be poor breeding, but when I bought them, they were brilliant and pure yellow (with the black stripe, of course), and I couldn't even tell they had vertical bars in the body area.
I plan on moving them to my 50 gallon tank... just as soon as I think they'll be too big for my Pictus catfish to not snack on!
Then again, maybe they won't grow if cramped... aurgh! I could switch the Pictus and Yellows for a while, maybe...

[snapback]888740[/snapback]​

I reckon colour foods. Does the store have lots of male fish with little to no females.
If so suspect that hormone based colour foods are being used. the fish will soon loose there colour when you stop feeding them on it. A sure sign of hormone feeding is when you have a tank full of 1-2" haps that are all full adult colour.

Also fish will mimmick there surroudings in some way ie. dark gravel and background then dark fish.

 

[Blade118]

lack off food

 

[Vivid-Dawn]

I moved them to the 50 gallon tank, a few days ago. They lightened up...too much! Now they’re the pale yellow color that’s on the inside of a lemon rind. Oh well.
I don’t know if I want to feed color-enhancing foods, as I’ve heard they’re not the best for fish, and you should let them do colors naturally.
I have both Hikari cichlid pellets, and Wardley cichlid “crumbles”... the pellets don’t sink, and it didn’t seem like they were swimming up to get any. But they must be eating something, or they’d die by now, I guess. They go for the crumbles much better (and my Pictus catfish love those, too!). So now I alternate between the two, just so I don’t waste the Hikari I’ve already bought... if anything, my ghost shrimp will eat the left-overs of that LOL