Grading: Colour Enhancement

• They eat a krill that’s red, it’s red because they eat a algae containing astaxanthin, so let’s break it all down....
• Astaxanthin is a carotenoid and is probably the most used additive to enhance fish red coloration

• whether the fish has inherited the necessary genetic material to show certain colours

• Coloration depends on a fish’s mood and general health. All things being equal, a sick fish is probably less colourful than a healthy one. Males also may develop develop strong colours to attract females, and how the colour of subordinate males lessens in the presence of dominant males

• Nutrients and chemical compounds that the fish eats, which directly or indirectly influence colour.
• After providing optimal conditions, the Aquarius next opportunity to influence fish colour is by introducing colouring agents into the fish’s diet.
• The substances that influence fish colour and coloration the most are carotenoids. Carotenoids are compounds produced by plants, algae, and certain fungi.
• Generally, they’re produced to help collect light, most often for photosynthesis, the chemical process by which plants generate their own food.
• For the most part, animals (like fish) don’t produce carotenoids, and have to get them from eating plants, or eating animals that ate plants.
• In general, carotenoids accumulate in the tissues of animals.

• Astaxanthin powder is available from many online suppliers if u wish to make your own fish foods
• Astaxanthin is the carotenoid that is probably the most well known and most widely added to fish foods. It’s produced by marine algae and bacteria and is passed up the food chain and accumulates in the shells of shrimp, crabs and lobsters. It is also the principal carotenoid responsible for the red flesh of salmon.
• A number of experiments by researchers at Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources showed that adding the bacteria, Haematococcus pluvialis, which contains astaxanthin and other carotenoids, to fish food worked to intensified the colors of red velvet swordtails, topaz cichlids, forktail rainbowfish, and, to a lesser degree, 24K mollies and kissing gouramis.
• Dried shrimp, a good source of astaxanthin, is available in many Asian grocery stores.
• Most commercial colour formulas contain astaxanthin, a red carotenoid that can bring out red color. In my experience, it’s harder to find colour formulas to bring out orange or yellow.
• In the past I chased home made food recipes and researched them heavily to get all the best colours showing, especially when I owned community tanks
• Here’s a rundown of the additives and foods I’ve had success with in bringing out the colour in my fish.

• I’ve found that food containing astaxanthin really brings out the reds. Another source is ground, dried shrimp or krill.

• Discus breeders often add paprika to their home-made discus food recipes. Paprika, is made from a ground, dried pepper, Capsicum annuum. Paprika is rich in a number of carotenoids, including beta carotene, capsanthin and capsorubin.

• Zeaxanthin and lutein are perhaps the most well known yellow carotenoids.
• They’re present in the yellow vegetables like corn and the yellow form of bell peppers. They’re also found in egg yolk, a binder that’s often used in home made fish food recipes.
• Turmeric also works and is also known to reduce swelling by shrinking blood vessels, so if I used it, I would use it sparingly, to avoid any side effects.

• Phycocyanin is known to help fish show there blue colouration and it is produced by blue green algae, which are contained in spirulina.

Before I finish, I’d like to say that I don’t think natural colour should be called enhancements. If you add something to fish food to bring out a fish’s natural colours, you’re adding something that the fish probably had access to in its natural habitat or something a lot like it