caffeine thought of the day... maximum fish coloration...

[Magnum Man]

so my general knowledge of things that "color up" fish... light, diet, breeding hormones, temperature, age, habitat ( back ground colors )
but along with the train of thought, of various foods to color up fish, make me wonder about the lack of minerals, or specifically if to an extent, if any minerals added to the water, may be involved with fish coloration... in the same way, that red plants, seem to benefit from iron supplements???
I'm using straight RO water right now, in all my soft water tanks, and everyone is "reasonably" colorful, but wondering if some fish might become brilliantly colored, with any specific supplementation to the water???

 

[GaryE]

Iron in the water apparently enhances taste and fish appetite, and adding a tiny dose of chelated iron to some softwater tanks has been a breeding trigger for a number of species here. I tried it when I noticed images of where the fish came from showed red roads, and Gabon was the land of red dust, to confirm that many years later. When fish want to breed, they put on their finest colours to look good. So short term, maybe.

It would depend on where each species came from.

Astaxanthin algae powder in food has upped colours here, but only in red/orange fish. Sprulina is supposed to do the same, but I see nothing when I use it. Mild paprika, used by the oldtime aquarists, did nothing I could see here. I used to make my own frozen paste foods and load them with possible colour enhancers.

My daughter has an artist's eye for colour, and I'm jealous of what she's done. She took one of my tanks and one of my led lights. The fish always looked okay here. She adjusted the lighting spectrum and where I grew algae on plants, she has beautiful leaf growth. Her fish look fantastic. I took some lessons and am making progress. I've radically reduced algae and improved plant growth, but I see some colours on fish can be enhanced by black backgrounds and fiddling with lighting. I don't know if there's a recipe, since every room has different light to work around. I'm big on trial and error. I'm good at error.

 

[gwand]

I have found that a black sand substrate brings out the best colors in my fish.

 

[jaylach]

I've never really thought about it in the way of adding color enhancement stuff. I just try my best to match fish and water. If it is a good match the fish colors will probably be good. If I have to add enhancements to get good color I'd figure something was wrong.

We often advise against adding medications unless the issue is known and specific as improper meds can cause more harm than good. If adding extra stuff to enhance color how do we know that the additions are not actually causing harm.

Don't get me wrong as some 'additions' may actually be needed but this should be by proper feeding. You MUST know your fish and what they need. Say that you have a fish with a lack of colors and it is mostly a protein eater and you are feeding veggies. Change the diet and give the poor beastie some protein and the color will likely dramatically improve.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Dark substrate, plenty of plants and live foods make a difference in my opinion

 

[Magnum Man]

@jaylach ... I don't like to add anything, not beneficial to the fish... no plant fertilizer, or medications if at all possible... but I like @GaryE 's response, of the red dirt / dust, likely even if the mineral count is low, there is likely iron in the water there...

 

[Back in the fold]

Many years ago when I was a kid I fell for the advertising and bought color enhancing foods and was disappointed . There’s no such thing as color enhancing food . Even if there was the fish would have to eat it like wolves for months for it to be noticeable . I like plain silvery minnow colored fish . I don’t like colorful fish for some reason so I don’t stress over color . If you are taking good care of your fish and their aquarium they will look as good as they can . Do , however , feed live foods as much as possible and if at all possible let natural sunlight hit your fish for the best look at them .

 

[GaryE]

I was once given a jar of red hormonal colour enhancer, through a Thai breeder at a farm. I hemmed and hawed, then tried it in one tank to see if it explained some things I'd seen. If you have ever wondered why those bright red fish farm products arrive scarlet and turn permanently brick coloured in time, I now have a good idea why. Those red gouramis, eh?

I had to find out. I did. But I got rid of the stuff asap. That's not fishkeeping.

I've been told by fancy discus breeders that it's great stuff. I couldn't read the jar, but it was a mass produced container, like a fish food container. It had to have a fair market for someone to have made that slick a jar.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

As Is mu habit, I like reading what folks say until it comes down to the science and then I am off to Google Scholar. So, here is what it took me about 15 seconds to find re fish coloration. But first a little backgound.

A lot of the research into tropical fish as well as sw is related to aquaculture. One large pond type operation involves many millions of dollars of invetment etc. and it is this area where there is the greatest impetus for wanting to see reasearch be done. So I also pick up some amount of information fromt the IFAS Extension of the University of Florida. It was where I first learned about using chloride for Nitrite.

So, when I started to search for "what foods enhance fish color" it was no surprise the first answer was this"

Chapman, F.A. and Miles, R.D., 2018. How ornamental fish get their color: FA192, 5/2018. EDIS, 2018(3).

Abstract​

Color in fish is mostly genetically determined, but they are unable to produce red, orange, yellow, green, and some blue colors themselves. They get these colors from their food. Fish raised in aquariums or recirculating water systems without pigment supplementation in their diet will fade and lose their vibrant hues. Even in ponds, dietary pigment supplementation can make fishes brighter and more variably colored, just like their wild counterparts. This 6-page fact sheet written by F. A. Chapman and R. D. Miles and published by the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, addresses how ornamental fish get their colors and provides a list of ingredient sources for diets that can be used to enhance and intensify fish colors.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa192

The link above will take you to the entire paper.

And as to who the 2 authors are::
Frank A. Chapman- associate professor, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Gainesville, Florida 32611
Richard D. Miles- professor emeritus, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL.

The article above will tell you exactly what you can add or look for in foods you buy rgat will help with coloration. And they do say this:

Since skin color in ornamental fishes is largely influenced by the quality and quantity of pigment in their diet. Farm producers want reliable pigment sources that provide consistent results and coloration that will not fade away. One reason for the artificial addition of carotenoid pigments to the diet of ornamental fish is to ensure that the pigment is continuously present and the coloration does not fade away. An obvious disadvantage in marketing ornamental fish collected from the wild is that often the quality or quantity of pigments consumed in the wild, especially at different times of the year, is not consistent, and therefore there is a wide variation in their skin tones.

 

[MaloK]

I think the general environment, stress level and good nutrition are the most influential factors.

But it's true that replacing a light that has a CRI of 55-60 to something closer to 85-95.

Now, that gives a lot more results then many jars of enhancing colour food.

Edit: For the plants and the fish.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have used CRI asone of my most important criteria for making colors pop. But CRI does nothing to create the colors, what it does is to make them lookmore like they do under natural sunlight. I still uise tome T-* bulbs with a cCRI of 98.

@MaloK
Would it help to see more science to realize that the colors of fish mentioned in the above paper need specific ingredients they cannot make on their own to create those colors which they have the potential to show? I would be happy to link you to more papers if so? There are quite a few. It is not just food that matters it is the ingredients that affect pigmemtation which must be in that food and in there all the time to maintain specific coloration. Here is a quickie:

Sathyaruban, S., Uluwaduge, D.I., Yohi, S. and Kuganathan, S., 2021. Potential natural carotenoid sources for the colouration of ornamental fish: a review. Aquaculture International, 29(4), pp.1507-1528.

Abstract​

Attractive colouration of ornamental fishes is an important quality criterion in the aquarium fish industry. Ornamental fish cannot synthesize colour-producing carotenoid pigments and therefore must rely on dietary carotenoids in natural or synthetic forms to achieve their colour pigmentations. The aim of this review is to compile and summarize recent investigations into different carotenoid sources used in ornamental fish feed formulations and to highlight the research gaps and investigation needs in the field of aquaculture. The natural carotenoid sources which have been widely used for enhancing colouration are non-photosynthetic organs of higher plants, microalgae, seaweeds, crustacean by-products, and red yeast. Consumers mostly prefer to use natural sources rather than synthetic sources. The problem faced by aquaculturists is stabilization of the gained skin colour after terminating feeding of the fish. Advanced investigations are needed to identify the stability of the colouration in the ornamental fish during their life cycle. Further, this review encourages the use of other available natural carotenoid sources in the ornamental fish industry in order to reduce the use of synthetic pigment products and invites research to be done on a genetic level in order to fully understand colour distribution patterns and sustainability of colouration gain.

full paper here http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/bits...e colouration of ornamental fish a review.pdf

I can offer papers on coloration in general and then on coloration in specific species as well.

 

[Innesfan]

Dark/black substrate does work for most species but not all. I have used dark substrate in all my tanks but swapped it out on two occasions. I found some species, mostly cichlids, became too muddy in color over dark substrate. Discus most notably, especially wilds, which looked far better over light pool sand. I also found that my Laetacara araguaiae were far more brilliantly colored over light substrate and looked like an entirely different, more subdued species over black gravel.

 

[gwand]

Dark/black substrate does work for most species but not all. I have used dark substrate in all my tanks but swapped it out on two occasions. I found some species, mostly cichlids, became too muddy in color over dark substrate. Discus most notably, especially wilds, which looked far better over light pool sand. I also found that my Laetacara araguaiae were far more brilliantly colored over light substrate and looked like an entirely different, more subdued species over black gravel.

How does one pronounce araguaiae? I’m serious.

 

[Ceez]

Iron in the water apparently enhances taste and fish appetite, and adding a tiny dose of chelated iron to some softwater tanks has been a breeding trigger for a number of species here. I tried it when I noticed images of where the fish came from showed red roads, and Gabon was the land of red dust, to confirm that many years later. When fish want to breed, they put on their finest colours to look good. So short term, maybe.

It would depend on where each species came from.

Astaxanthin algae powder in food has upped colours here, but only in red/orange fish. Sprulina is supposed to do the same, but I see nothing when I use it. Mild paprika, used by the oldtime aquarists, did nothing I could see here. I used to make my own frozen paste foods and load them with possible colour enhancers.

My daughter has an artist's eye for colour, and I'm jealous of what she's done. She took one of my tanks and one of my led lights. The fish always looked okay here. She adjusted the lighting spectrum and where I grew algae on plants, she has beautiful leaf growth. Her fish look fantastic. I took some lessons and am making progress. I've radically reduced algae and improved plant growth, but I see some colours on fish can be enhanced by black backgrounds and fiddling with lighting. I don't know if there's a recipe, since every room has different light to work around. I'm big on trial and error. I'm good at error.

Chelated iron i have pothos in all of my pleco breeders but no planted in the soil plants. Would this be safe to use in a small dose(s) to maybe try to induce breeding? Ive never heard of this before

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am thinking that there is more about substrate coloration and fish coloration than has been mentioned. I am a big believer in how "mother nature' works and the role of evolution. For the most part fish will fall into one of two categories- preditor and prey. Yhis is a continuing battle between the preditors who much catch the fish that are prey. Thses in turn need to evad the preditors the best they can.

So in many cases this is really a big game of hifr and seek. For the prey to succeeed they need to be able to close enough to their food to catch it. So they will evolve coloration that aids in this. On the other hand the prey fish need colors that help them be less visable to those who wpuld have them for lunch.

Of course the who game is not one of just coloration. Some fish use electrical sense to locate prey. Some fish have better eye sight to more easily spot potential attackers. But, if we limit the discusion to just the coloration part of things it becomes obvious that evolution selects on boths side for what works for each side ih the preditor/prey interactions.

So the next logical step her is to assume that the evolution of colors must also be related to the environments colors. What might blends well over a dark substrate would likely do the opposite over a light colored one.

And where it all gets most interesting would be in the octopus wihhj can chage colors to blend in with any backgtound, This would to hide them from those thing that eat octos and at the same time hide the pctos from their prey so it comes close enough to get caught.

And to aid in this process are the things whch enable the fish tpo be those colors which nature needs them to be. But it is not a prefect world and not all the food has all the pigment aiding ingredients needed all the time. This can especially be the case in our tanks.

But, in the end, i always come up thinking, "A"in't mother nature grand?" I say this in reagrds to how it all seems to come together to mostly insure the survival of species.