My fish changed colors

[MemphisEcho]

I have two black and yellow horizontal striped fish (I forgot the name) and one of them now is almost completly brown. Does this mean one is a male and he's just now maturing?

It's a Melanochromis auratus

 

[freddyk]

Yup, the male does turn brown. And soon he'll be get more aggressive too, and that lone female will be in jeopardy. They're best kept in a harem, one male to several females, to distribute the aggression.

 

[modernhamlet]

You guessed it right. Males darken as they mature, losing much of the yellow common to juveniles and females.

Auratus is a vicious little fish. Do you have experience with keeping mbuna?

 

[MemphisEcho]

I have a tank of mixed mbuna, both of the Melachonas were the same color when I bought them. So far I haven't seen too much fighting.

I'm a beginner, I've had my fish for about 3 months.

 

[yhbae]

How large is your tank?
How big is your auratus?
What other mbuna do you have in your tank?

 

[MemphisEcho]

I have a 75 gallon tank all of the fish are probably 2.5 - 3 inches. I have 11 fish.

2 Red zebras

2 Melonochromis auratus

3 Calico looking fish (I forgot the name)

4 blue fish (again forgot the name)

My tank has lots of rocks for hiding. I haven't noticed a lot of chasing or fighting, I bought them all from the same tank except for 2 of the calico fish.

 

[semper fi]

you say that the fish is black and yellow striped. is there also a thin white stripe against the black? if so, this is not an auratus, but a chippokae. equally aggressive as the auratus, but often the two are mistaken for it. chippokae are the same coloring minus the white stripe.

 

[MemphisEcho]

Yes, there is a white stripe, a thin one. On the other fish that has turned almost brown, the stripe is more light blue color.

 

[G_Sharky]

I thought male auratus turns blue when they mature???. I have one right now that i think it's a female, she's still very yellow and not really agressive, maybe because she's not as big as the rest of my cichlids.....

 

[MemphisEcho]

Now he's a weird brown/blue color. I should try to get a picture of him.

 

[freddyk]

The adults should be brown, not blue.