This Younger Spouse
Fish Fanatic
The two Firemouths (about 2.5 inches long) in my 55 gallon have shown some interesting coloring/behavior.
I just put in the 55 gallon. It's got ivory sand for about 50 percent of the bottom surface, with bog wood waiting to go in and a variety of rocks and rock caves already there. Also, I haven't put up a background yet (it'll be black fleece), and there's a window behind the tank.
So one Firemouth is really, really pale, much more pale than it was in my last tank, which was a darker environment. With that fish, I'm wondering just how much is color change due to environment, or if there might be some other issue. When the lights have been off at night and I come in and turn them on, the Firemouths and Jack Dempseys are of course quite a bit darker.
The second Firemouth, slightly larger, has developed significant regions of jet black coloration on the front of and bottoms of its gills, and starting today has begun approaching the other Firemouth closely and spreading its gills out in some sort of display.
Both individuals have the long fin tips my reading indicates mark them as males. They are not fighting or sparring. They are both eating aggressively and are curious and moving around the tank well when the lights are on.
These Firemouths are about to go into a community tank my spouse has (the concensus in another thread on these forums is that, based on the fish in her tank, it should remain an amicable community). But she's a little concerned about the paleness of the smaller Firemouth. She sees some skin/scale areas that appear dull to her, with others appearing more shiny. I don't see what she's seeing, so I thought I'd raise that point along with the others.
Cheers!
I just put in the 55 gallon. It's got ivory sand for about 50 percent of the bottom surface, with bog wood waiting to go in and a variety of rocks and rock caves already there. Also, I haven't put up a background yet (it'll be black fleece), and there's a window behind the tank.
So one Firemouth is really, really pale, much more pale than it was in my last tank, which was a darker environment. With that fish, I'm wondering just how much is color change due to environment, or if there might be some other issue. When the lights have been off at night and I come in and turn them on, the Firemouths and Jack Dempseys are of course quite a bit darker.
The second Firemouth, slightly larger, has developed significant regions of jet black coloration on the front of and bottoms of its gills, and starting today has begun approaching the other Firemouth closely and spreading its gills out in some sort of display.
Both individuals have the long fin tips my reading indicates mark them as males. They are not fighting or sparring. They are both eating aggressively and are curious and moving around the tank well when the lights are on.
These Firemouths are about to go into a community tank my spouse has (the concensus in another thread on these forums is that, based on the fish in her tank, it should remain an amicable community). But she's a little concerned about the paleness of the smaller Firemouth. She sees some skin/scale areas that appear dull to her, with others appearing more shiny. I don't see what she's seeing, so I thought I'd raise that point along with the others.
Cheers!
