African cichilds

[Jalemboo]

African Cichlids, anyone know how i can improve the color of my fish?

[Powerz69]

Feed them NLS. New Life spectrum.

[Vallisneria]

Clean water and NLS food.

[rED O]

I would feed hikari and nls mixed together. There are some things in nls that are not in hikari and vise versa. They are both great fish foods.

[RD.]

Yes, there are definitely some things found in Hikari that you will never find in NLS. Such as generic fish meal made from processing plant waste, excessive low cost grain fillers, like corn flakes, gluten meal, and rice bran, and 13-15% ash content such as what is found in their various Cichlid formulas. The only thing that Hikari has going for it is 100+ years of brand name recognition.

Jalemboo - what species of African cichlids do you have? Size of tank, size/age of fish, etc? Can you provide a photo of your tank?

While diet & water quality can definitely affect the overall coloration of your fish, there are several other factors that can also influence your fishes color; such as aggression levels, hierarchy within the tank, sexual maturity, as well as the genetics of your fish. More info might help us determine what areas need to be tweaked or improved upon.

[fairdeal]

I would have to agree with Neil - quality stock to start with. You can only improve color with diet to a point. If the genetics aren't there the fish will never reach their potential no matter what else you try.

[Burbot]

Ditto on the above above advice. A 25% water change once a week and NLS with treats.

NLS has proven 2nd to none in terms of fish health and colour. Many of my Tangs have actually gone off other dry foods once they try NLS. The results speak for themselves.

I suppliment NLS with treats like frozen adult brine, blood worms or a good ol' home made ground up frozen recipe, depending on this fish.

Cheers

:beer:

[denzkyasia]

I would have to agree with Neil - quality stock to start with. You can only improve color with diet to a point. If the genetics aren't there the fish will never reach their potential no matter what else you try.

im really 100% agree both this guy...quality stock first its on the genetics..

[jesp]

Aggression, maturity and male to female ratios play a big factor, all depending on the fish.

Water cleanliness can be a big factor.

Finally, what kind of light do you have. Although stronger lights can cause more algae growth, they can show off your fish better too. I have also heard about using different light spectrum bulbs that bring out specific colors in your fish.

[firestorm]

I agree 100% on genetics too. Food will also play a big part in it, as well as water quality, ratio of males and females, heirarchy, type of lighting used, color of background, color of substrate. Many fish will turn darker in color if placed with a dark background or dark substrate, although I have also found darker can bring out brighter colors as well.

I use mainly a diet of new life spectrum, and supplement with other things sometimes as well like frozen foods or live foods.