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Food to enhance color

3K views 28 replies 13 participants last post by  @marko@ 
#1 ·
I was wondering what kind of foods you guys feed your fishies to enhance their color to the maximum? I recently got some roselines and have been feeding them a variety of flakes, 1mm pellets and occasionally some sinking tablets. I've had them for say 3-4 weeks and haven't noticed much improvement in their color, maybe it's that they're still young but who knows.

I picked up some frozen blood worms and spirulina fed brine shrimp and plan on seeing what will happen to their color.

What do you guys feed your fishies?
 
#11 ·
For most fish live worms and infects are the natural diet, and more balanced than most people think, it really is going to depend on what the prey item eats before they are fed to the fish, my earthworms are fed extremely well and in turn feed the fish very well, I also put blanched organic zucchini in the tank that all the fish not just my plecos go nuts over. So if you want super healthy fish fresh veggies and well fed worms is a good route, if you are worried about "balance" feed a high quality veggie based flake like that of ocean nutrition type 2 flake, and mostly live worms and your fish especially rose lines will love you. Also chopping the worms is a good idea
 
#13 ·
Over do it on the boiling it makes it stringy, also spinach, but my worms eat spinach and other veggies which eventually get to my fish. There is nothing better than live, it's why it's so good for breeding but why limit it to breeding when benefits are so obvious, fish can be fed a lot less often when using live infact I recommend you feed less if you do. Reg wigglerz and full size earthworms are super easy and eat soil and decaying vegetables and plant matter, I highly recommend them and you can even grow plants in their enclosure for your tanks :)

Also recommend breeding worms like they are in a clean room, sterilize tubs every few weeks and move the existing ecosystem to another tub, wash worms and inspect them closely, I cut mine for more than making it easier to eat. Not to mention worms are fun to keep in themselves and it is soooooo hard to crash a earthworm culture
 
#14 ·
I use a variety of Ken's food I got here from Bsmith, New Life Spectrum Thera + A is a 1mm sinking pellet with garlic to help with internal parisites and the Cherry Barbs love it, I also use Hikari Algae wafers, Deep Blue Algae Wafers ans sinking pellets, and San Francisco frozen brine shrimp weekly as a treat, as for all the dry foods I mix the flake together, same with the pellets, etc.

Photo opp


 
#16 ·
It's good if it makes them eat it, I feed daily but I would do 2-3 times weekly for the roselines if they are full sized each one can do half a full sized red wiggler. I would only feed daily if your flow keeps your fish constantly active. I have very high flow when it comes to fresh water. Your mileage will vary but I would start breeding worms, super easy to do
 
#18 ·
I'm too lazy to do worm cultures as I'm getting into my junior year of highschool(hell) next year so I won't have much time to tend to my tanks.

I noticed that the roselines went more vividly for the spirulina fed brine shrimp than the bloodworms. Very interesting.

Time to chuck in a chunk of over-microwaves zucchini :)
 
#23 ·
It is nearly impossible to get a sterile culture however some vermiculite stores have lab grade worms. Also miracle grow should be fine as log as it is organic, I have also used peat moss, keeps the container pretty clean because of the anti microbial properties of the peat. Just spray once in a while and you're good
 
#25 ·
Spirulina and anything made from krill. Spirulina helps bring out the reds in fish.

Hikari has foods that usually brings out the color.

I feed Hikari Marine-A and Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 pellets to my f/w fish because it's way too much food for the s/w tank.

Anyway, these Silver Dollars I had for more htan 5 years colored up around the fins and their black or red spots are more noticable. I have 3 distinct kind of SD just sold under the generic SD common name.
 
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