[DrewWoodside]

I've got a Bolivian ram, Angel fish and a couple Cardinal Tetras. I'm looking for a dry food that will bring out their color a little. I bought some tiny Spectrum pellets/bites, but I'm not too fond of them.

They seem to sink and the fish haven't really been finding them very easy. It feels like i'm causing more waste than bringing out color with them.. I read some positive things about Tetra Color Flakes, and I've previously had a decent experience with tetra color bites.

Can anyone please confirm what dried foods they prefer for accentuating their fishes color.. Thanks for any info! :icon_smil:icon_smil

 

[HolyAngel]

pm bsmith, he's got Kens fish food and its hands down the best i've ever tried and all I use, you will NOT be disappointed I assure you

 

[Eldachleich]

It's not really fried or flaked food.. but I recently switched to homemade food... Its alot cheaper and only takes an hour of my time about once every 6 months... Sort of messy though...
Anyway... my fish have coloured up alot more on this stuff than any brand of fishfood I've ever bought... Theres alot of benefits.. but as far as color goes this stuff has made my fish far more colorful.. my friends have been having great results with it as well...
I used tetra brand right before switching them... in the 3 weeks its been my fish have shown whole new spots of color I didn't even know they had... everything has deepened in colour.. Sorry.. I'm still amazed my fish could get this colourful...

Lol fried... *dried*
The recipe I use is gelatin based, but theres a method of turning it into flakes if I recall. I personally want my food to sink because they get swim bladder problems from swallowing air.. Theres also a way you can get the cubes to float..
Here's the recipe
1/3lb Salmon
1/3 lb Beef Heart
1/3 lb Shrimp (d-veined and shelled)
1/3 lb Cod
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 1/2 Zucchini
1 Small Summer Squash
1/2 Package Frozen Bloodworms
3/4 Cups Cold Water
1 Large Jar Organic Pea and Spinach Baby Food
1 3/4 Cups Water
1/2 Tbsp Spirulina
4 Packets Gelatin

I skinned and chopped all the fish and shrimp and blended them on low with the baby food. The baby food I got had 3 sizes. I opted for the largest one. I threw in the peeled garlic at this point and let it blend in there for a while.. After that I cut the fat and veins off the beef heart, chopped it up finely and set it aside. At this point I needed to add about 3/4 cups cold water just so my blender could blend it. I started out little by little but ended up using about that much. I put the spirulina in along with the beef heart and peeled zucchini and squash. I added the blood worms and blended. I put 1 3/4 cups water on the stove, brought it to a boil, and added the gelatin packets. Stirred it in real well and added it to the fish and veggie puree. I mixed that well and poured it in ice cube trays and put it in the fridge to set. After that I cut it up what I would use by the end of the week and put it in a jar the the fridge.. The rest I put in my freezer. Next time I would probably use gloves as the horrible smell it produces is really hard to get off.

This cost me $15 total, and hour of time.. And gave me much more food than I know what to do with.... I've been giving it away to whoever wants to try it for a while and still have too much leftover... I've got at least enough to last me a year... Though I only have a few smaller fish...


Sorry for all that info...
Other than that I've had good results with Kens.. and have had hear good things about.. what was it.. NPS?

 

[DrewWoodside]

It's not really fried or flaked food.. but I recently switched to homemade food... Its alot cheaper and only takes an hour of my time about once every 6 months... Sort of messy though...
Anyway... my fish have coloured up alot more on this stuff than any brand of fishfood I've ever bought... Theres alot of benefits.. but as far as color goes this stuff has made my fish far more colorful.. my friends have been having great results with it as well...
I used tetra brand right before switching them... in the 3 weeks its been my fish have shown whole new spots of color I didn't even know they had... everything has deepened in colour.. Sorry.. I'm still amazed my fish could get this colourful...

Lol fried... *dried*
The recipe I use is gelatin based, but theres a method of turning it into flakes if I recall. I personally want my food to sink because they get swim bladder problems from swallowing air.. Theres also a way you can get the cubes to float..
Here's the recipe
1/3lb Salmon
1/3 lb Beef Heart
1/3 lb Shrimp (d-veined and shelled)
1/3 lb Cod
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 1/2 Zucchini
1 Small Summer Squash
1/2 Package Frozen Bloodworms
3/4 Cups Cold Water
1 Large Jar Organic Pea and Spinach Baby Food
1 3/4 Cups Water
1/2 Tbsp Spirulina
4 Packets Gelatin

I skinned and chopped all the fish and shrimp and blended them on low with the baby food. The baby food I got had 3 sizes. I opted for the largest one. I threw in the peeled garlic at this point and let it blend in there for a while.. After that I cut the fat and veins off the beef heart, chopped it up finely and set it aside. At this point I needed to add about 3/4 cups cold water just so my blender could blend it. I started out little by little but ended up using about that much. I put the spirulina in along with the beef heart and peeled zucchini and squash. I added the blood worms and blended. I put 1 3/4 cups water on the stove, brought it to a boil, and added the gelatin packets. Stirred it in real well and added it to the fish and veggie puree. I mixed that well and poured it in ice cube trays and put it in the fridge to set. After that I cut it up what I would use by the end of the week and put it in a jar the the fridge.. The rest I put in my freezer. Next time I would probably use gloves as the horrible smell it produces is really hard to get off.

This cost me $15 total, and hour of time.. And gave me much more food than I know what to do with.... I've been giving it away to whoever wants to try it for a while and still have too much leftover... I've got at least enough to last me a year... Though I only have a few smaller fish...


Sorry for all that info...
Other than that I've had good results with Kens.. and have had hear good things about.. what was it.. NPS?

@both responses, I knew Plantedtank would have more than a simple answer I could pick up at the LFS! I will definitely take both under consideration. I really want my fish to color up even more :tongue:

 

[mistergreen]

If the fish are happy and healthy, their colors will brighten up. An example is cherry barbs. They're drab and pink in the lfs but bright red when they're settled in.

Nothing better food-wise than live foods and homemade foods.

 

[DarkCobra]

Whenever "color enhancement" is mentioned, it usually refers to enhancement through the use of dyes.

Wild salmon consumes food that naturally contains various organic dyes, giving its flesh a characteristic pink color that we associate with salmon.

Farm-raised salmon has a more limited diet. Without dyes, it looks pale and colorless, and wouldn't sell very well. So the organic dyes canthaxanthin and astaxanthin are added to its food. Both dyes were also used as tanning pills to color-enhance humans, though the color left something to be desired. :hihi:

So if you want a color-enhancing dry food, just look for these dyes.

And while homemade food is undoubtedly healthier and may produce better natural colors; if salmon is an ingredient, you're still getting some dye-based enhancement as well.

 

[lipadj46]

the best store bought flake food is ocean nutrition prime reef. read the ingredients they are very impressive.

 

[fresh.salty]

I've been buying flake from them for over 10 years

http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/c3/Plankton-Gold-Flake-c19.html

http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/c8/NatuRose-c64.html