lemon yellow lab change to white color

[specialone0812]

i have problems with my lemon yellow lab. i have a 55 gallons tank with about 15 cichlids: white lab, lemon yellow labs, convict cichlids . i im feeding them frozen bloodworm, Hikari cichlid pellet , wardley cichlid pellet , and Futian freeze dries bloodworm. the problem is my lemon yellow lab gradually change to white color( along the side ) . I dont know where this problem come from. i dont have PH measurer, and i dont have any idea of PH. when i change water, i add the amount of   dechlorines that suggested by producer. if you guys have any advice on fixing this, please help me......

[Fire_chair]

Re: lemon yellow lab change to white color

Could be stress, is it eating and acting normally? Are any other fish doing the same thing or acting weird? Bloodworms are bad for your fish, the Labs at least, because they can have problems digesting them, so you may want to stop feeding them.

[specialone0812]

Re: lemon yellow lab change to white color

Well, they still eat what i feed them normally and dont have any weird actions. everything is normal except the color changed. is it brine scrimp good kind of food for my Labs.....

[armthehomeless]

Re: lemon yellow lab change to white color

Did the color completely change to white, or just the underbelly? Some different strains of yellow labs have varying amounts of yellow, white and black in them. Their appearance does change slighty when they are stressed, as Fire_chair mentioned

[Zulaab]

Re: lemon yellow lab change to white color

My Yellow lab that was the least dominant male in the tank, turned close to the color of the substrate that I have in the tank...  BLACK... yes this yellow lab was so black that you would think this is different variant.  When I added my Rubens peacock in to the tank he no longer was being chased by only yellow labs, and there became more peace in the tank.. his colors came back more to yellow.

[Cesar]

Re: lemon yellow lab change to white color

most are line bred and do not show the colors of WC from the lake, so some will display different colors depending on if hybridization.

[Mzungu]

Re: lemon yellow lab change to white color

How often are you doing partial water changes? How much at a time?

[geoff_tropheus]

Re: lemon yellow lab change to white color

Could have been a mix up.  There are white Labidichromis and Yellow Labidichromis.  There can be hybrids between the two.

You already state that you have white labs in the tank also, could have been a mix up when you made the purchase as well.

I would feed Hikari Excel instead of the Hikari Cichlid Pellet.  You have a mix of all kinds of Cichlids in there, and in my opinion Cichlid Excel is a better product for Africans than the regular Cichlid Pellet.

I would personally quit feeding the Wardley Cichlid Pellet, and mix it up between bloodworms and brineshrimp.

In africans high meat protein food is well known to cause color problems.  In the wild yellow labs eat lots of snails, crustaceans, and algae.

High Nitrates can also cause problems in color in Africans.  You should change your water in a 55 gallon with 15 cichlids about 50% every 2 weeks, and clean your filter atleast once a month.  You need to keep the Nitrates below 60 for certain, and under 40ppm at all times.  For Aficans it is best to keep Nitrates absolutely as low as possible.  I am sure your Central Americans would love that too.

You might get a Strip Tester that has the Quick Dip 5-Strip Tester and check Nitrates and pH. Then see where you stand.

Take care,

Geoff

[specialone0812]

Re: lemon yellow lab change to white color

Thanks so much..............i should do that before...