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I have 3 Electric Yellows in a 29g tank. 1 male and 2 females. One of the females seems to be a very very light yellow, almost white, while the other 2 are very vibrant. Why is the one Cichlid's color fading?

Check the water params first, but it could just be genetics.

How long has the tank been set up? Is it fully cycled? If so when was the last time you did a water change? As poor water quality can sometimes cause fish to lose color.Can you post your water parameters?

maybe stress? What can you see behaviour wise? Is she being chased away because the others are in lurve? Three's a crowd and all that.

Make sure she feels safe by having lots of rocky hiding places (improv with unused terracotta pots if you are saving up for decor, pots are cheap)

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

The tank is cycling, I'm keeping up on the water daily. The last water change was 2 days ago. As for being stressed, they all hang out together in the front of the tank. For sleeping/resting, the male stays with the whitish female and the vibrant female stays on the other side. They are eating fine, acting fine and they aren't fighting at all. My ammonia has been steady around .5 and the nitrites have been 0 and nitrates have been around 40. Yesterday I had a sudden ammonia spike due to the cycling, but the color fading started before the ammonia spike.

You should really have cycled it fully before adding the fish... Rift lake cichlids are very sensetive to nitrogen cycle mismanagment, this being made even harder when the tank is not fully cycled.

Could the color fading be due to that fish being the least dominant of the 3? Also not all fish are going to show the most brilliant yellow, it can range anywhere from intense yellow to a yellow with a white stomach and anywhere in between.

This can happen for a good number of reasons that you had no part in and now have very little control over.
Try feeding a color enhancer (if not already).

Good Luck

I have 6 electric yellow and 5 of them are very brightly colored and then 1 female appears to be pretty much the shade of yours. My water parameters are fine, so I believe it is just the natural coloration of that particular fish.

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I was thinking it was just the fish's natural color but I wasn't sure. I plan on getting 1 more male to put in there with those 3 already.

The reason I am cycling the tank with the Cichlids is because a very reliable source at my LFS told me that it would be fine. He wasn't telling me that just to buy them either. He's stopped me from buying fish in the past and on 10 or more occasions, he has always been there and very knowledgable about everything. He has showed me pictures of 9 different tanks that he has at his house ranging from 29g all the way to 300+g. He has 3 Cichlid tanks so I figure he knows what he is talking about. Unfortinatly, I'm probably not half the fish keeper he is and that's why I shouldn't have cycled with them.

Their going through one heck of an ammonia spike currently, I'm Ammo-Locking the crap out of the tank so hopefully they pull through and I don't have to make use of the LFS's 14 day return policy.

Thanks everyone!

ammonia is more toxic when the ph is higher. should have cycled it fully

i agree with oldtimer, when i bougt mine 2 years ago, one female was very pale yellow, almost white. it is a color morp as the yellow's are only found in lion's cove, in other areas they can be white and i also think blue, mabey. strangley enough, she has been yellowing up over the past few months, i can hardley tell her apart from the others now.


chris

Ok, thanks. That's what I was figureing, just wanted to check to make sure. Thanks again for all the input.

It's probably just genetics.
I have four young electrics from the same brood they vary by about 20% in size , yet they were born on the same day and have always lived in the same conditions, 3 of them look very similar but one is much paler. All are happy & healthy and school together.
hope this helps