CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

i have a 55 gallon tank with about 9 cichlids in it, they are all differet breeds and i was wondering what kind of light is the best for the fish, and which one is best to show there colors the one that i got now is zoo med's reef sun and it said on the package that is was good for cichlids, but it does not bring out there colors very well. when the sun hits the tank there colors really shine. i got these fish because i thought they where very colorful in the fish store but after i have had them a while they are kinda dull

Thanks
Ray

well to make sure your fish keep their colors bright you need to make sure you're feeding them a varied diet, the pelets should the staple but make sure to throw some crickets or something in there every once in a while so they get a balanced diet.
as far as lighting how many watts is your bulb? if you have to small or to big of a bulb then that may be why your fish aren't showing their colors. personally i don't buy into some of the really expensive bulbs they sell in the pet stores, you can get bulbs much cheeper from your local hardware store.
you might also want to ask this question in the aquarium plants section because those guys/girls know a lot about lighting and such because it's more important for plants than fish.

the bulbs are 15 watts and are 18 inch long there are 2 of them i feed my fish a varitery of food everyday and i do throw crickets in from time to time i also feed them small feeder fish and frozen foods do you have any color temp of bulb in mind? the bulbs that i got came with my aquraim kit it was some special deal buy a aqurium kit with hoods and get free bulb from zoo med and i don't have any live plants yet.

Thanks for your info
Ray

Sorry to go off topic a bit, but I don't know much about lighting.

Happy birthday, though, man.

hey thanks i never though that someone on here whould notice that it's my birthday

It says it at the bottom of the main forums page...when I notice, I try to say something. Hope you had a good one, man.