Why are my fish not colorful :(

[vince.4395]

The guy at my local pet shop told me that these baby Congo tetras would turn colors once they reached sexual maturity. They are now pretty decent sized fish, infact they have grown a lot since the five or six months I've had them but they are still the same color as when I got them... should they be showing more color by now or am I just being impatient?

 

[Wiggles24]

The older they get the more beautiful they become. I wasn't impressed at first with mine either now there's no way u can pass that tank without noticing them!

 

[Wiggles24]

Also a darker substrate and or background would help bring out their colors

 

[captaincritical]

What you feed them can make a big difference as well. I'd recommend a New Life Spectrum food of some kind. All of my tetras are looking great now that they're on it. Basically the more comfortable and healthy the fish, the more likely they are to colour up nicely. My LFS has some congos in a display tank that are fully grown and absolutely stunning.

 

[Aquariumfish123]

No one has brought this one up-did you just turn on the lights? When fish sleep they turn a pale color or lose their color. When my neon tetras are sleeping, they are almost clear! Lol