Color Enhancing Fish Food?

[Lhernandez8615]

Anyone have a preference for this? I'm thinking dry flakes but not sure what everyone has had good results with. I used to have Argent Cyclopeeze and that stuff was amazing....but they are no longer around. Any suggestions for similar results? That food made the fish colors extremely bright and vibrant.

 

[EmdeReef]

Best advice is to feed as varied foods as you can. Throw in some frozen foods if possible or even live. If you are sticking to pellets get higher quality stuff based on ingredients. Foods containing astaxanthin may help with coloration particularly for orange-red fish. Otherwise many claims about coloration are not much more than marketing.

 

[Lhernandez8615]

I would almost agree that its just marketing but an old clown breeder used the food listed above it the color on these clowns where amazing. I also purchased and has the same results.... Just trying to find something similar...

 

[EmdeReef]

You can still buy cyclops, even frozen, will be a different brand.

 

[KrisReef]

I haven't worried about their color, they get frozen cubes and whatever they can pick out of the tank. Colors look good.

You are knew on here, so Welcome to Reef2Reef @Lhernandez8615

 

[Carterfish]

Colors will be fine if fed a well varied diet to their needs. Supply nori and frozen food and all will be good. Or you can go to the gimmicks and the “color enhancement” flake food

 

[ReeferReefer]

Frozen is best. Try LRS Reef Frenzy or Rods Foods.

 

[Jesterrace]

Never been a fan of pellet/dry foods. I get the convenience factor and non-perishable food source, but it's tough to keep fish happy long term with that kind of an exclusive diet. They also tend to be a very dirty food source. LRS Reef Frenzy is about as close to an all in one food source as you can get and doesn't have a bunch of nasty fillers. I do two small feedings of LRS Reef Frenzy a day and a small seaweed/nori feed and it seems to keep my fish happy. I agree that "color enhancing foods" are all a marketing gimmick. Here is what you get with LRS Reef Frenzy in just one food source:

 

[Lhernandez8615]

well I'll def try this out wont hurt to try it atleast. I just bought some PE Calanus, heard good things about this food not sure if others have tried it?

 

[Halal Hotdog]

There is a few things I have noticed about the colors of some of my fish. This is 100% anecdotal, but hopefully you find some insight from it.
1. A diet of different foods will help health, size, and coloration. Healthy fish can still have bland colors though.
2. Adding AquaForest mud to my tank has made my tangs color up more than I have ever seen before (guessing it is absorbed by algae that is eaten by tangs). Growth rate also increased. Non-herbivores look unaffected.
3. Adding astaxanthin makes my orange fish more a vibrant deep orange/red. (Stole this idea from clownfish breeders). Have seen results in my clownfish, harlequin tusk, and the fins of my clown trigger.

 

[steallife904]

I am picking up this older thread because I was recently wondering if there are foods that will increase coloration? I feed rods frozen, some seaweed flakes and spectra pellets. I have a couple fairy wrasses that I feel are not as bright as they once where. Still healthy and all but color doesn't seem to pop to me??? Any food I should butt in? I see the mention of astaxanthin above, is there a known food with this in it or just something to buy and add (I will google it in a moment but was on my mind as I typed )

 

[ReefFrenzy]

There are some great feeds on the market containing color enhancers such as Astaxanthin and Beta Carotene. TDO sold by Reed Mariculture was recently tested in a study about the effects of Astaxanthin on larval clownfish. You can read about it here: https://reedmariculture.com/docs/RMI-Executive-Summary-of-Clownfish-Astaxanthin-Study-2017.pdf

The formula of their food was changed from 200PPM to 400PPM after the findings. TDO is a staple food for many clownfish breeders and folks in aquaculture. (As a disclaimer we are a wholesale distributor of this product, but it's worth a mention that all the customer feedback we have received has been good.)

Back in 2013 we started adding dried D. salina powder to our foods which is standardized for beta carotene. That's why LRS foods are tinted orange. There is a history of that algae being used as a feed supplement in aquaculture with good results. A few years later when we developed our "Fertility Frenzy" food for the aquaculture community we added Astaxanthin powder and D. salina to the formula. Clownfish breeders were our initial test market and the feedback was that the food did create larger clutches of eggs, and more vibrant broodstock and juveniles. There a bunch of links and videos about it here: http://www.larrysreefservices.com/testimonials.html

Currently, The Oceanic Institute of Hawaii, University of Florida, and Biota are the biggest consumers of that product on a continuous basis. I firmly believe that quality feeds with pigmentation enhancers can improve the coloration of marine fish. The study above by Virginia Tech seems to indicate that as well.

 

[Sidvicious]

IMO there is nothing on the market that comes close to the quality of New Life Spectrum foods. I particularly use NLS Thera A, only thing I feed my tanks with the occasional PE Mysis about once or twice a month as an extra treat. All fish are thriving and their colors truly pop on NLS.

 

[ReefFrenzy]

IMO there is nothing on the market that comes close to the quality of New Life Spectrum foods. I particularly use NLS Thera A, only thing I feed my tanks with the occasional PE Mysis about once or twice a month as an extra treat. All fish are thriving and their colors truly pop on NLS.

NLS is a great dry food as well! We have a few jars of it lying around. Sometimes not all fish will take a dry pellet and frozen foods can help accomplish other goals, especially with regards to breeding.

 

[Rjramos]

TDO mentioned above is my coloration food of choice. Particularly in clowns orange and white colors. I find krill brings out nice colors too.

 

[Sidvicious]

NLS is a great dry food as well! We have a few jars of it lying around. Sometimes not all fish will take a dry pellet and frozen foods can help accomplish other goals, especially with regards to breeding.

Now that’s a supply! I definitely agree with what you’ve said as well.

 

[ReefFrenzy]

Now that’s a supply! I definitely agree with what you’ve said as well.

The past week has been insane with fish food around here! We received 55 cases from Hikari and have 57 more coming Tuesday. We also received a shipment of PE Mysis as well.

 

[Eva Rose]

well I'll def try this out wont hurt to try it atleast. I just bought some PE Calanus, heard good things about this food not sure if others have tried it?

LRS foods are my absolute favorite as well. I’ve used PE Calanus. PE Calanus is very tiny/fine. It is good to have on hand for small fish & finicky eaters . My fish all eat well. I like giving the PE Calanus as a treat for my Chromis & young clowns.
Healthy fish are vibrant. Love LRS foods for great nutrition. At @Humblefish’s recommendation, I add vitamins to their foods also for good overall health (Selcon, VitaChem).

My spoiled Regal loves LRS foods as do all my fish.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

There are some great feeds on the market containing color enhancers such as Astaxanthin and Beta Carotene. TDO sold by Reed Mariculture was recently tested in a study about the effects of Astaxanthin on larval clownfish. You can read about it here: https://reedmariculture.com/docs/RMI-Executive-Summary-of-Clownfish-Astaxanthin-Study-2017.pdf

The formula of their food was changed from 200PPM to 400PPM after the findings. TDO is a staple food for many clownfish breeders and folks in aquaculture. (As a disclaimer we are a wholesale distributor of this product, but it's worth a mention that all the customer feedback we have received has been good.)

Back in 2013 we started adding dried D. salina powder to our foods which is standardized for beta carotene. That's why LRS foods are tinted orange. There is a history of that algae being used as a feed supplement in aquaculture with good results. A few years later when we developed our "Fertility Frenzy" food for the aquaculture community we added Astaxanthin powder and D. salina to the formula. Clownfish breeders were our initial test market and the feedback was that the food did create larger clutches of eggs, and more vibrant broodstock and juveniles. There a bunch of links and videos about it here: http://www.larrysreefservices.com/testimonials.html

Currently, The Oceanic Institute of Hawaii, University of Florida, and Biota are the biggest consumers of that product on a continuous basis. I firmly believe that quality feeds with pigmentation enhancers can improve the coloration of marine fish. The study above by Virginia Tech seems to indicate that as well.

Great info! Thanks, Larry!

 

[Pbh-reef]

LRS foods are my absolute favorite as well. I’ve used PE Calanus. PE Calanus is very tiny/fine. It is good to have on hand for small fish & finicky eaters . My fish all eat well. I like giving the PE Calanus as a treat for my Chromis & young clowns.
Healthy fish are vibrant. Love LRS foods for great nutrition. At @Humblefish’s recommendation, I add vitamins to their foods also for good overall health (Selcon, VitaChem).

My spoiled Regal loves LRS foods as do all my fish.

Amazing fish! Do you have a build thread? What’s your tank like?