# Rubescens Peacock Color Rehab - Progress Pics



## dfwcajunguy (Jun 21, 2017)

I posted previously about my two subdominant peacocks - a Rubescens and an Mdoka Flametail - who haven't colored up in my all-male 55G peacock & hap tank. I took advantage of the Petco $1/Gal sale recently to setup a new 29G quarantine tank that could also function as a "peacock color rehabilitation hospital." My plan is to place each of these fish into the rehab tank for an extended period of time to see if they will color up on their own, then place them back into the 55G and see if they will hold that newfound confidence and coloration. I originally planned to only post AFTER this was complete, but I think now it would be fun to post some in progress pictures and follow this thread for a couple of weeks for those of you interested in this experiment.

*The Color Rehabilitation Center*
Here is the new QT/rehab tank. Painted the back and sides of the tank black to keep external stimili to a minimum. I decided to add in a little bit of rockscaping to give the fish a few hiding places and swim throughs to keep things interesting. Added a bubbler a few days after this picture was taken because I wasn't getting enough surface agitation from my AquaClear HOB - and then was happily surprised to see the rubescens thoroughly enjoy swimming through and up the bubbles. My theory is that if the fish feels secure (hiding places) and stimulated (fun places to swim), then the fish will be more comfortable and color up more quickly.










*Patient #1 - Aulonocara Rubescens aka "Jack Ruby"*
Here's Mr. Ruby on 10/14/17 still in the 55G, the last picture I took of him before moving him over. Note the dull rusty brown color. This is his "full color" state in the 55G. When stressed, he will go almost completely pale white/silver.









*Day 1 - Admittance to Color Rehab - 10/17/2017*
Here he is a few hours after I placed him into the rehab tank on 10/17/17. Note the dark rusty brown coloration. He was somewhat stressed from the move so fins somewhat clamped. He did relax over the next several days and settled into his new home pretty well.










*Day 7 - Progress after 1 Week - 10/23/2017*
Early results show some promise! After 3 or 4 days in rehab, I started to see a blue sheen develop on his scales across the body. About day 5 or 6, started to see blue shine on his lips and outline of the jawline/gillplate. On Day 7, as the picture below shows, the white margin speckling on his dorsal fin really started to pop in the light. His coloration is also starting to shift from rusty brown to orange, although the picture from my iPhone doesn't really show that very well. He also is strutting around the tank a little more with his fins flared out now, which is good to see.










So, after 1 week, the early results are very promising! It's really interesting to see him color up a little more day by day. I will continue to post progress pics here on a weekly basis, or if there are any big overnight changes. His normal food is the Northfin Cichlid formula, but I'm going to be mixing in some Northfin Krill Gold into his diet moving forward, which in theory should help to promote more color.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

I've done this with a ngara flametail. His color improved quickly, but once I moved him back to the main tank, he went back to where he started. Hopefully yours keeps his color.


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## dfwcajunguy (Jun 21, 2017)

Thanks, James. I'm definitely aware and expecting either fish to color down a bit after reintroduction to the community. My hope/goal is for their new subdominant coloration to be improved over where they started. A few months ago (before I vented them) I was slightly concerned over whether they were even males, so feel I'm making progress here. 

Long term, I think I will be adding a much larger aquarium and moving the larger, more aggressive fish into that. I may try to turn that 55G into more of a timid species tank to see if I can have success with these subdominant guys, along with my ethywynnae, maybe a few more chitande types, maybe a blue orchid peacock, etc. Just a thought.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

I gave up on Ngara Flametails. They are just too darn wimpy and timid to keep with a good mixture of other Malawis. I have one still but currently looking to rehome the little guy. I'm glad to see that they're at least trying to color back up.


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## dfwcajunguy (Jun 21, 2017)

Thanks, caldwelldaniel26. I chose to "rehab" these fish one at a time, but do you think they would color up together in the 29G? I thought about it, and figured that it's likely that one would go dominant (the Ruby) and the other would stay subdom, kind of defeating the purpose.


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## mofish-14 (Aug 8, 2016)

Following and looking forward to more results!


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

dfwcajunguy said:


> Thanks, caldwelldaniel26. I chose to "rehab" these fish one at a time, but do you think they would color up together in the 29G? I thought about it, and figured that it's likely that one would go dominant (the Ruby) and the other would stay subdom, kind of defeating the purpose.


That is how it works, one male would color up. Having two might mean one could beat the heck out of the other.

No guarantee that he will stay colored up full time when returned to main tank. But you will see what he can look like. He might not be worth the worry.

You could have some dithers in this rehab tank to make the cichlid more comfortable. Giant Danios. Dwarf Austrian Rainbows. Congo Tetras. Mollies.


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## dfwcajunguy (Jun 21, 2017)

Thanks, Noki. Good point, I was concerned about the rehab tank becoming the thunderdome as well.

Appreciate the advice on the Dithers... was actually thinking that I might get a couple of fish to keep in my two QT tanks when not in use in order to keep them cycled. What would be the minimum number of dithers I could get away with in your opinion (to keep the bioload down)?


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## BlueSunshine (Jul 13, 2014)

My bet is, they will lose their color when placed back in the 55 gal. tank.


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## dfwcajunguy (Jun 21, 2017)

BlueSunshine - you may very well be right, but I hope not! With any luck after this, their subdominant color will be improved over before. I don't expect either of these fish to end up looking like show quality in their current situation.

I have already taken steps on Plan B. I purchased a shoal of 8 Giant Danios, who are now in quarantine. I will add them into the peacock & hap tank probably at the same time that I put Ruby back in there in 2-3 weeks or so. In the meantime, it's time for an update picture!

*Day 14 - Progress after 2 Weeks - 10/30/17*
Over the last week, the blue sheen on his body has gotten more prevalent. The blue on his jaw is spreading, and the orange on his body and fins is starting to look closer to what is typical of this species. He's come a long way, I'm interested in what changes this next week will bring.










An interesting thing that I've noticed... he's still fairly skittish, but he doesn't color down to grey anymore while the lights are off or if he gets startled by me being around the tank. It gives me a little hope that he'll have more color long term in the big tank.

As for his buddy the mdoka flametail, after the last couple of water changes that guy has started to become a little more aggressive in jockeying for position in the hierarchy and as such he has actually darkened up in his color a little and he's showing a dull yellow flame on his flank. Maybe he knows he's going to get thrown into isolation if he doesn't shape up, lol.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I agree with Blue Sunshine. Colors go on/off depending on circumstances. I have purchased fully colored males who went grey in the tank and never regained color.


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## dfwcajunguy (Jun 21, 2017)

Thanks, DJRansome, you guys are probably spot on. I get that color is a function of dominance, hierarchy, and confidence level in an all male tank. The thing is, I got both of these fish as 2" juvies who were only starting to show a little bit of color at that point before going subdominant. They've been suppressing color all the way through their preadult phase. I'm really interested to see what happens after they've bloomed a little, maybe ramp up their hormones a little, then go back into the big tank at the same time I introduce some dither fish. Even if they go all gray again, at least I got a chance to see their potential.


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## dfwcajunguy (Jun 21, 2017)

*Day 21 - Progress after 3 weeks - 11/6/117*
Over the last week or so, the reddish/orange hue that the Rubescens is known for has started to gradually present itself. My iphone, however, does a pretty terrible job of capturing that coloration in an image. His head hasn't really gotten any more blue, so I'm wondering to what extent it will at any point.










I'm planning to put him back in the main tank in about 2 weeks when I'm also ready to introduce the shoal of Giant Danios that are currently in quarantine. I'll likely post more pictures then as I watch to see if he holds color. I also need to take some shots of the Mdoka Flametail to show his progress (on his own in the main tank) - he's had an amazing transformation over the last week or two. I don't know if removing the Rubescens from the tank triggered a hierarchy change and he decided to be more dominant, or if he coincidentally is reaching sexual maturity at about the same time, or what.


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## dfwcajunguy (Jun 21, 2017)

*Recap - Where this all Started*

I want to show you guys pictures of the Mdoka Flametail's transformation, but first, I want to show you the image I posted previously that shows where this all started. Here are the before and after pictures of both the Rubescens and Flametail, prior to my decision to isolate them to force them to color up. As you can see, both were purchased as juveniles with color just starting to show, then they went subdominant in the first week or so in my aquarium and the showed really no color at all.










*Mdoka Flametail 10/16/17*
Not a great picture, just a closeup him from the only wide shot I took of the aquarium around the same time I removed the Ruby. As you can see, he's pretty much grey, no color.










*Mdoka Flametail 10/31/17*
Two weeks later, he was showing some blue in the jaw and fins.










*Mdoka Flametail 11/6/17*
Today, his coloration is approaching what would be typical for the species.










All in all, I'm pretty happy with these developments. So strange that the flametail started to color up all of a sudden. Gives me hope that the Rubescens may hold some color when he goes back into the tank. Also hoping that this post gives someone else some hope about their subdominant males developing color down the road. When I started down this path I found only one post on this forum that showed the transformation of a subdominant male to a stunner, so hopefully I can add to that and help someone else.


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## DumbPerson (Dec 18, 2017)

Awesome! Any recent pics?


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## dfwcajunguy (Jun 21, 2017)

Here's how they're doing as of today. Both are in the main tank doing well. The flametail has very much come into his own and is asserting himself in the hierarchy. The ruby, not so much. He hasn't colored all the way down but is still pretty muted, he colors up the most during feedings. He is still pretty subdominant in his attitude, spends a lot of time hiding out in a corner out of the way of the others. The shoal of dither fish (giant danios) haven't seem to have given him as much confidence as I'd hoped, although it has gotten my ethylwynnae to color up more.



















I'm still pretty happy with the fact that both fish are showing a heck of a lot more color than they were a few months ago. One colored up in isolation, and the other in the main tank around the same time, which is kind of funny really.


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