How do cichlid colors change with age?

[taxiroad]

I've got a pretty diverse group of African Cichlids - 14 species, to be exact. I've got some from Tanganeyke, some Malawis, and some Mbunas. So far, they all seem to get along just fine. They're all still juveniles, around the 2" mark, and my tank's a 55 gallon with a sand and rock scape. I've also got a filtration system that's actually rated for a 75 gallon tank, so I'm hoping that's helping to keep everything stable.

I've got a couple of questions, though.

1) Can I safely add more fish to the tank, or am I already pushing my luck?

2) I've noticed that some of my fish are pretty dull-colored, while others are really vibrant. For example, I've got a yellow, blue, and red Malawi that all have these subtle specks of color, but they're not really showing off their true colors yet. I'm guessing this is just because they're still juveniles? Will they develop more intense colors as they mature?

[flinta]

I've got a mix of species - some Tanganeyke, Malawis, and Mbunas. My list includes a blue dolphin, a rusty cichlid, a yellow lab, a red zebra, a blue regal, a yellow peacock, a red top ndumbi, a maingano, a socolofi, a demasoni, a cobalt blue, a electric blue, a rusty acei, and a yellow acei.

[taxiroad]

My list is pretty straightforward,
I've got 4 Malawis - 1 blue, 1 yellow, and 2 reds.
I also have 1 Spotted Fuelliborni, 1 Tanganeyki, which I'm fairly certain is a Compressiceps Cichlid, but I'm not a hundred percent on that.
The others are 2 mainganos, 1 that the store called a bumble bee cichlid, 1 albino mbuna, 1 orange mbuna, and 1 yellow lab.

[daxton]

Let's break it down. Malawi is a lake in Africa, not a species of fish - that's where all these guys are found. Except for the Tanganyika ones, of course. Mbuna, Haps, and Peacocks are the types of fish. Generally, mixing lakes isn't a good idea due to different needs of the fish.

So, if I look at your list, the Yellow Lab, Tangazos, Fuelleborni, and possibly the Pseudo. crabro (the bumble bee) are identifiable. The rest, though, aren't specific species, so we need to figure out what they are to know if you can add more. The Bumble Bee and Fuelleborni will get pretty big - around 7-8" full grown - which might be a bit much for a 55gal. Try to find out exactly what the other fish are. Posting some pics would help.

[riverbank]

Their colors will come with age and also be influenced by their surroundings. I had a similar experience with my yellow kenyi cichlid - it had blue gravel and a blue background, and over time its fins actually turned blue. I hope this helps you out, good luck with your tank.

[duskore]

I think you can add a few more. I've got a similar setup in my 80gallon tank and it's working out great. I've got a mix of species, but they all seem to get along. I've got six Yellow labs, five Hongi red tops, three Demasoni, three Albino socolofi, two Saulosi, three Tropheus firecrackers, and a bunch of Peacocks - three red, two blue, one orange, one yellow, and one pink. I've also got three featherfin catfish to round things out. All my fish are about 2.5 inches right now, but none of them will grow over 5 inches, so I'm not too worried about overcrowding.