Substrate question

from pics i've seen, red doesn't necessarily wash out the rest of the color while just increasing contrast. after all its not considered a light color. it doesn't darken the base color like how black would, but imo its a good thing and it shows off the color much better.

for example, an endli on red substrate may have a bright brownish base color with dark black stripes, while on black substrate, its base color may look like its covered with a layer of gray (kinda like your hands after handling charcoal) with dark but now faded stripes because of how its base color is now.

of course this will also depend to an extent on the individual fish, and the species of bichir (lapradei and endli seem to be most affected by substrate color), how bright your tank is overall etc. also i don't know if all shades of red are equally effective, but i know in asia they have this sand called red quartz that works very well.

and i haven't seen pics of what red/black mix will do, so i can't comment on that.

Unless your fish look all washed out or shaded out from the substrate you're using, I wouldn't change it. That's if it's the same stuff from your rope pic. I really like the look of that stuff.

Nope,, never mind, that wasn't your pic. I was thinking Andri Pogo's pic was yours. Sorry.

proubly darken them a little but red and black is a nice mix it depends on how much of each you used

i did a couple experiments on my endlis awhile back.
i had black gravel in my quarantine tank.
here is the link: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75103

my endlis turned very dark in about a month on the black gravel. i use a red/white combo on my main tank. i like the effect it has on most of my polys but if i had to chose my sand color again... i would go with the more natural colors, brown, tan, and buff.

red and black combo would be interesting. i would put more red than black at least 3:1. anymore black would darken them up too much. i personally like the more contrast look.

Keep in mind, the color of substrate should also match up to the background color to create a natural look. I use a combination of black and brown gravels and the bichirs seem to darken up in colors which is fine by my standards since darker color bichirs looks more like monster. In my QT tank I have a being color bottom and they bichir colors are really light.

black surroundings and a lighter base would look gd

but some do prefer all black as it really darkens up bichirs

Wow, I didn't know that about the gravel. Guess I should change my blue and green gravel, lol...

Davey_8313;1237469; said:

Wow, I didn't know that about the gravel. Guess I should change my blue and green gravel, lol...

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I've got mine on blue. Don't think I'll change it. Natural colors may matter more to wild caught specimens, but my farmed senegalus never saw a lake.

Druu;1237778; said:

Natural colors may matter more to wild caught specimens, but my farmed senegalus never saw a lake.

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What difference would that make? Discus can have color differences with different backgrounds & it doesn't matter if they are wild or captive bred. It’s not a conscious decision they’re making out of past memories. It's more likely an automatic attempt to blend into their environment.

My farmed senegalus used to be a plain grey. Now in a natural set-up with brown gravel it's a rich brown color.