Fins Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 <H1>Natural!! foods for colour enhancing?</H1><DIV id=Qtextbox><P><STRONG>Author: nissky</STRONG><BR><BR>What food naturally bring out the colour of fish? <br> For example i think spirulina has carotene which helps bring out yellows (like electric yellows). <br> <br> What natural foods bring out other colours, eg blue, green, red. <br> <br> Im thinking of feeding my fish slightly different diets dependding on there colours.... <br> <p></P></DIV><H2>Replies »</H2><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: 00 MooRRii 00</STRONG><BR><BR>i was always under the impression that feeding alot of carotene to yellows makes them turn an orangey colour? another good source of it is frozen krill. <p></P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: lilhungsta</STRONG><BR><BR>Hey nissky hows it going? still breed lithobates? or have you got new fish <p></P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: nissky</STRONG><BR><BR>nah sold the litho colony before i went on holidays, but i kept <br> 30 fry and they are colouring nicely now <br> <br> i just got the common ones yellows/blues/eureka reds <br> <br> what about you? <p></P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: Auscanuckafishy</STRONG><BR><BR>I posted some ideas on colour a while back on someones caudopunctatus post but I'll give a brief overview of what I was thinking. <br> <br> Blues and greens on cichlids are produced by the structural elements within the scale that bend the light in different ways. These colours usually show their best when there is a good amount of melanin being expressed in the skin below the scale. This is usually why breeding males look far more stunning then their palish counterparts. The only way to increase the structural colour is through encouraging the fish to produce more of it itself as it's not a pigment. Unfortunately the only way to do that it seems is to use hormones, or substances that produce a similar reaction to hormones. I don't know of a way to increase melanin, as it is a pigment produced in cells known as melanocytes, which are distributed through the body originating in the neural crest. Unlike carotene they don't start out as their final colour, and rely on enzymes to change them into their final form. <br> <br> Oranges, yellows and reds are predominantly caused by carotenoid pigment, which is easily enhanced by the addition of beta carotene containing foods in the diet. Carrots, pumpkin and spirolina all contain beta carotenes, as does shrimp and especially Colour Bits by tetra . <br> <br> I'm not sure what causes white colouration but it is certainly enhanced by the addition of hormones and similar substances. But we don't like that kind of stuff so it seems the easiest colours to enhance would be those produced by caratenoid pigments, lest we get in trouble from out peers . <br> <br> Good genes also go a long way to producing good colour . <br> <br> Mark <br> <br> <p></P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: lilhungsta</STRONG><BR><BR>wish i knew that earlier, i been trying to enhance my e.blue colours but its not working now i know why. Thanks Mark. <br> Nissky so do you have any large e.yellows for sale? <p></P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: searsfish</STRONG><BR><BR>Daphnia is a good one (for reds)but youd probably want to culture it yourself .To reduce the chance of giving your fish worms etc .Pretty easy to culture to. <p></P></DIV><p><p><div align='center'>The Sydney Cichlid Page ©2004</div><p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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