My RCS have turned dark. Why?
- Thread starter Que
- Start date
I was about to say "what iis 'dark'?"
Many times RCS will darken up as they age, particularly the females. I've had a few that I would have described as burgundy rather than cherry, though they were a nice cherry when they were younger. No rhyme or reason, water quality stayed the same with the same feeding schedule and water parameters. They just darkened as they aged.
As long as the population is remaining steady (and for cherries that means increasing) and you aren't seeing females drop eggs, or having a noticable die off, I wouldn't worry too much.
Many times RCS will darken up as they age, particularly the females. I've had a few that I would have described as burgundy rather than cherry, though they were a nice cherry when they were younger. No rhyme or reason, water quality stayed the same with the same feeding schedule and water parameters. They just darkened as they aged.
As long as the population is remaining steady (and for cherries that means increasing) and you aren't seeing females drop eggs, or having a noticable die off, I wouldn't worry too much.
If you are talking about a DEEP red then that is normal an occurs, as stated, in many mature females.
These have turned kinda purple but dark. The PH is about 8 which is the same as in my 55 which has bright red cherries. These guys are in a the cheese ball container tank which gets a 75% water change every 2-3 days. It is well planted with a sand bottom and has driftwood and rocks from established tanks. I use no filtration and see nothing out of the norm for behavior with these guys and they have been spawning. The tank is lit with an LED desk lamp and the plants are growing.
