Cichlid, Loss Of Color And Inflated Anus?

[fatheadminnow]

Well, this morning after feeding them, he decided to loose his color again!!!!!

What is going on? Why does he still do this? I mean, he acts like normal but he looses his color all the time!

-FHM

Is it only for a short time? If so, that's perfectly normal, mbuna reqularly alter the intensity of their color, at least all of mine did. If it's losing color for hours at a time, my guess would be some sort of illness or stress. If his anus is back to normal and he's eating well I'd be inclined to think it's stress. You might consider rearraging your rockwork (I know pain in the butt) to break up existing territories and see if that helps.

Thanks again!

Yeah, he only looses his color completely for a short period of time, and then it comes back.

I was starting to think that it was stress related, and was planning on getting more decor here very soon!

-FHM

 

[WILDER]

Make sure it is stress.
As being pale can mean many things.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Now he has developed a white looking scab on his lower jaw?

What could this mean?

-FHM

 

[dthoffsett]

Now he has developed a white looking scab on his lower jaw?

What could this mean?

-FHM

I'm not sure on that, any chance of getting a picture? Do you have a QT tank you can move him to, just to be sure?

 

[fatheadminnow]

I could try to get a pic.

As for the QT tank, I have a ten gallon and a 29 gallon. But I would have to use the 10 gallon as I do not have a filter large enough to process the 29 gallon even like twice in a hour.

Would a 10 gallon be too small for a Cichlid? He is fairly large, probably about 4 inches, if not longer.

-FHM

 

[kribensis12]

A 10g should be fine. A QT tank is not designed for comfort. I wouldn't be too worried about him though. The scab may be from a fight. The color changing sounds normal.

 

[WILDER]

Any redness to the scab.
Scabs on cichlids can be fighting, digging, etc.

 

[fatheadminnow]

No redness, just white in color.

-FHM

 

[cheesy feet]

If I go up to my 100gal my pearsei gets excited and becomes paler, when it's feeding time you can actually see it's colour change in a couple of seconds.

Also fluffy white lumps are common in bacterial/viral infections.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Okay, I hope it is just from excitement or something?

I guess we will see how things go from here.

When these fish mature, do they become more sensitive to changes? Would this explain why his color is changing so much? Would it just run in this species of Cichlid?

Thanks guys!
-FHM

 

[WILDER]

I will leave it to other posters as I know nothing about cichlids.
Good Luck.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Thanks Wilder!

You have helped me out greatly in the past!

-FHM

 

[dthoffsett]

Okay, I hope it is just from excitement or something?

I guess we will see how things go from here.

When these fish mature, do they become more sensitive to changes? Would this explain why his color is changing so much? Would it just run in this species of Cichlid?

Thanks guys!
-FHM

I don't think it's so much that they are sensitive to changes as their ability to change colors is more "advanced" when they are adults if that makes sense. How's the scab looking?

 

[fatheadminnow]

Yeah, that makes sense.

It looks as if it is dissipating, so that is good for now.

He is still changing his color a lot though....I think it is stress related! I need to get more decor in there I think!

Lets hope once I get some more decor like rocks, wood maybe and some more live plants.

I will keep you posted on what happens when I make changes to the tank.

Thanks again!

-FHM