# White sand = faded fish?



## Benice (Jan 6, 2010)

Hello All.
I currently changed setups from a 25 Gallon African Cichlid tank to a 110 Gallon South American Cichlid tank.
I running a silica sand subtrate and picked up some pretty colorful fish from the store. The problem I'm having is that the fish seem faded. Almost like they are trying to blend in. Would using a darker substrate bring there vibrant colors back??

Thanks


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## codenametorch (Dec 27, 2009)

It could be one of several things causing color loss in your fish. What kind of SAs do you have? How long have these fish been in your tanks? Have you had any disease or other stressors causing problems? What do you feed them? What kind of lighting do you have?

It could be an optical illusion. Your lighting is almost certainly different from that of the store and thus the colors of the fish may differ. If anything, the lighter the substrate the more vibrant the colors should be due to the additional reflected light from the sand.

While I haven't encountered it in cichlids yet, some pet stores will inject dyes into fish to produce vivid colors. As these dyes fade the fish become less vibrant.

There's also the sick/stressed fish causes documented elsewhere.

It could even be the result of your fish maturing over time if they've been in there a while.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Benice said:


> Would using a darker substrate bring there vibrant colors back??
> 
> Thanks


Depends on the fish, some do and some dont. My Leleupi look great on light sand but my Alto Comps dont. They look good on black sand.

How long have you had them? They might just be stressed and need more time to acclimate.


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

rather than replacing all the sand you might want to try adding some dark stones, (ie pebbles from the beach or similar) by adding these darker patches it may encourage them to be less stressed (I found that when I first added crushed coral to a tank (at that point it was white)


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## Benice (Jan 6, 2010)

I've had the tank running for only a month now.

Fish Include the following:
1 Green severum
1 Red Terror
1 Jack Demsey
1 Red fin Hundora - Not sure If I got that one right
1 Salvani
1 Cuban
2 Parrots
5 Silver Dollars
1 Common Pleco

Its really Salvani and the Red Terror that seem a little faded, but there color comes and goes.

Diet varies between the following:
Blood Worms
TetraMin Tropical Crisps
Tetra Color Tropical Granules
Bradley Essentials Cichlid Flakes

I tested my water and my PH seemed a little high for South Americans. It was at 7.6
I think I might try lowering the PH before changing the substrate.


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## Benice (Jan 6, 2010)

Lighting:
2 X Sylvania 6500K 32 W


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## phxl (Nov 21, 2008)

I believe the water where I'm at is right around 7.4 ph. Somebody jump in and help me out here, but I have read and practiced for the last couple years that it is better to have a consistant ph than trying adjust it on a regular basis? Especially with how hardy some of the popular ca/sa cichlids are, would it be easier to let those fish adjust to the tap's 7.6?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I will acclimate fish to the high or low end of the range of pH that is ideal for them, but I don't like to take them completely out of it. However, it is true consistent pH is essential.

I'd also try this post in CA or SA and have them critique your tank size and mix. Maybe certain fish are powering down their colors due to aggressive tank mates?


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## bsk83 (Aug 28, 2005)

Benice said:


> Hello All.
> I currently changed setups from a 25 Gallon African Cichlid tank to a 110 Gallon South American Cichlid tank.
> I running a silica sand subtrate and picked up some pretty colorful fish from the store. The problem I'm having is that the fish seem faded. Almost like they are trying to blend in. Would using a darker substrate bring there vibrant colors back??
> 
> Thanks


pretty much so


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## evertricky (Jan 20, 2010)

black pebbeles should do the trick if fish are not ill/stressed.


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## Benice (Jan 6, 2010)

Update: The colors came back.
What I did was Add some river rock on both sides of my tank and also added a piece of driftwood to lower the PH level in my tank. All fish look stress free and are showing darker, brighter colors!

Thanks for the tips!


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## Oscarlover (Jan 22, 2010)

I had luck using a Marine Glo light. It shines a very pretty blue and it brings out colors very well. I am currently setting up a tank that will have this blue light, white sand and slate rocks.


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