47 replies to this topic

[fish]

hi all, bought a breeding pair of red empress on tuesday, but they haven't coloured up yet

any ideas?

thanks

[Bowdy]

What size tank and what have you got them in with.
The female won't colour up as far as I know.

[fish]

there in a 3ft, with the dolphins

[Neddy]

How big are they?

[Cawdor]

To clarify: did you buy just a pair or a breeding pair? A breeding pair is defined as having bred before, thus the male should have colour. I have never seen a male that loses its colour after breeding to a stage where he looks exactly like the female again.

Some people call a pair a breeding pair just because it's male and female and has the potential to breed. Which is not correct.

[fish]

yeah, when we bought them the female had a mouthful

[Sarah Jayne]

How big are the fish(in the tank)? They might be too big for the tank. Stress causes fish to change colour? Does he have any (dull) colour?

Edited by Sarahjayne1988, 12 February 2011 - 10:43 AM.

[keenas]

Give them time, he is probibly still not settled in. The males can loose colour when relocated, and sometimes wont recolour unless they are the dominant fish in the tank...

[gibbs]

For the third time how big are the fish??
A big fish in a small tank won't colour up like Sarah said.

[fish]

they are about 12-13cm

[gibbs]

I would sex them (vent them) to be sure they are male and female. If they are not coloured up in a week move them to a bigger tank. Iv never had a problem with these fish colouring up but they have always been kept in more than a 3 footer.

Last question, was the male coloured up when you bought him? Or the female for that matter? Might have been fed the colour foods that are getting around at the moment....just a thought, you gotta be extra careful these days.

[fish]

yeah, pretty sure the male was coloured a bit more then now, think they were getting bullied in the tank they were in before

[Sarah Jayne]

they are about 12-13cm

How many Dolphins do you have with them what size are they? What's all the measurements of your tank

Edited by Sarahjayne1988, 12 February 2011 - 11:46 AM.

[Bowdy]

12x 12-15 cm fish is that a bit much for a 3ft tank. ???

[fish]

there's only 11 fish in there including a pleco and they are all around the same size, the males around the 14-15cm mark, dimensions is 3ftx1.5ftx2ft

[Sarah Jayne]

I wouldn't go sticking anything more in there. Sounds a bit croweded already. Wouldn't mind seeing a picture for curiosities sake.

How long do you plan on keeping them in he 3'?

[fish]

not long looking at buying a 4ft, when i get the money

[Sarah Jayne]

Pitcures? Seems like a hell of alot of fish for a tank that size especially how they are open water swimming.

[fish]

I'll post a pic when i get the time

[Bowdy]

Arnt you selling a 4ft tank.