# 1 of my jewel cichlids(african) is turning bright orange?



## CichlidCrazy (Apr 23, 2010)

Hello, 
Today I noticed that 1 of my 2 jewel cichlids is turning a really bright orange, and the other one is the same color as when I got it from petsmart which was a brownish red(last month). Any Idea of what going on? Thanks


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## Guest (May 26, 2010)

looks like the orange one is the female. which varity of Jewels do u have?


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## Guest (May 26, 2010)

i;ve had jewels in the very recent past (like 2 weeks ago) and it was the female that always developed a brighter color while the male developed a more darker red color esp during mating time.


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## Peeps (May 24, 2010)

Mine is turning orange as well. I didn't know it meant they were female.


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## Guest (May 26, 2010)

usually. not always. depends on the speciesl. i had H.Bimacutalus. the type with just one black spot on the body and one on the gill plates. the african varity of this beautiful fish.


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## Guest (May 26, 2010)

if u can upload a pic would be great.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

My cristatus will both go cherry red when they spawn. The females will be fatter (w/ a lighter area on the belly) and less-pointy fins and grow a little smaller.


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## CichlidCrazy (Apr 23, 2010)

Eluviet, It sounds like I have what you have/had. I dont think I can upload a pic, maybe later. What do I do if the female gets pregno?Put her in a breeder in a seperate tank?


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## Guest (May 27, 2010)

no. these fish are egg layers. leave them alone and they will pick a spot out in ur tank to lay the eggs. u should have wrigglers by 2 days followed by free swimming fry on the 5th day. hope u have no other fish in the cos if the jewels feel threatened by any other fish its gonna be dead.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Overall, this is a good thing. It means your fish is happy.


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## CichlidCrazy (Apr 23, 2010)

yeah, I have 8 fish total and all seem to get along so far...I really dont want fry because I have no more tank room for any more fish!


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## CichlidCrazy (Apr 23, 2010)

UPDATE-They were in their mating stage and had fry. Its been a week since they have hatched and none have died yet. pretty fun experience


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## petlovingfreak (May 8, 2009)

When I had jewels all of them were a maroon color, but one of them who seemed to be dominant was always bright red in color. Congrats on havin babies


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