# colour lose in red forest jewels



## newtofish (Dec 10, 2007)

I have recently brought a fish tank and I have three red forest jewels. When I brought them from the pet shop they were all beautiful and bright in colour. Now that I have them home one has still got all of its colour but the other two have lost theirs. The one that has its colour is very dominate and chases the other two around. The water is very cloudy but I am not sure if this has anything to do with it. 

Does anyone have any advice on what the problem might be?


----------



## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

The tank water is deteriorating, and the dominant cichlid is stressing the hell out of the others.

How long has your tank been set up for?


----------



## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Welcome to Fishforum.com.

Can you please provide us more details? What are your water parameters? Determine your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH using API liquid test kit. What size is the tank? What else is in the tank? How about decorations? Have you cycled your tank?


----------



## newtofish (Dec 10, 2007)

I do not know what the ammonia, nitrites and nitrated are. The ph level is 8.0 as I was told that cichlids like this best. The tank has only been set up for 5 days but the water seems to be getting worse not better. I have two rocks with fake plants on them. The tank is small, I am not sure how small but it is a little smaller than 2ft. The fish are only about 4-5cm. Hope this helps


----------



## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

newtofish said:


> I do not know what the ammonia, nitrites and nitrated are. The ph level is 8.0 as I was told that cichlids like this best. The tank has only been set up for 5 days but the water seems to be getting worse not better. I have two rocks with fake plants on them. The tank is small, I am not sure how small but it is a little smaller than 2ft. The fish are only about 4-5cm. Hope this helps


 Hello, newtofish (lol) Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are very important. I won't go in huge detail about it because I'm not sure I fully understand it all myself. Basically ammonia and nitrites are toxic to the fish from waste n such in the tank. They should be kept at a safe level (0ppm) Nitrates are good when kept in the safe level (5-40ppm) And they show up as the end result of a cycled tank. The problem is your tank is not cycled. It's getting worse because you probably have very high levels of ammonia in your water. You seriously need to go out and buy a water tester, you should get API liquid master test kit (pretty sure thats what it's called... I've lost the papers for it now). It gives you pretty much everything you need. And you need to be doing daily water changes to dilute the toxins in your water. I don't know about cichlids liking the pH at 8.0 because I've never owned one. And if you could get the actual dimensions of your tank that would be helpful.


----------



## newtofish (Dec 10, 2007)

Thanks for all your info so far, I will go and buy a test this afternoon. Does anyone know how I can get my two red forest jewels colour back? By the way the water has imporved a great deal today (day 6).


----------



## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

There are a few ways to get their color back...

1. Fix the water quality asap.
2. Add *alot* of decorations, so they have lots of places to hide from each other.
3. Make sure they're eating a healthy variety of foods.

Jewel cichlids can handle pH of 8.0, and if that is what they are bred and raised in, that is what I would suggest keeping them in. Jewels are aggressive, as are most all of the cichlids. They also need a lot of territory, and at full grown will be about 6 inches each. I would suggest more rock work decorations than plant decorations in their tank to create the needed territories at all levels (top, middle, bottom) of the tank.

Once you post test results we'll be able to help you a lot more, and knowing the dimensions of the tank will also tell us alot. If the tank is less than 2 ft in length, I can assure you that as these fish grow you will need a larger tank. I wouldn't attempt to keep 3 adult jewels in a tank of less than 75 gallons with good filtration and lots of decorations.

Because your tank is cycling, and it sounds like its having a rough cycle, I would suggest going real easy on food, lots of small water changes (10 - 20%) each day, and get more decorations in there asap. Be careful not to replace filter media until your tank has completed cycling, and don't do it at the same time as a water change. If you change too much at once you risk a mini cycle, which can go toxic overnight.


----------

