As far as I know it does. I gave it to my Amphilophus Saggitae Casper as well, but can't really tell if it made a white fish more white.
It did make his Leucistic yellow face and fins brighter, not so dull.
Creamcicle midas in 210
- Thread starter cich78
- Start date
It did make his Leucistic yellow face and fins brighter, not so dull.
Yeah, freeze-dried krill can really help bring out the colors, especially in fish with reds, oranges, or pinks like Oscars, angels, rainbows and other cichlids. The reason is it’s loaded with astaxanthin, a carotenoid that krill and some other marine sources are particularly rich in, and other carotenoids that enhance those specific pigments. These combined with the Omega-3's and high quality protein make the fish healthy, strong and thriving allowing it to show best colors.
As for other fish, it can work on most species, but it’s especially effective on fish with those warm color tones. Fish with blues, greens, or darker shades might not show as dramatic of a change, but krill still boosts overall health with its high protein and omega-3s, which can make their scales look more vibrant and shiny."
What a bruiser ! Beautiful fish great job
Hello. Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I'm definitely going to get some.
From what I understand it helps with all colors but helps the most with orange/reds
Nice! Definitely a noticble change..I am right there with you about feeding the Freeze dried krill and all my other fish eat it except this guy ...it's funny that the one fish I would like to eat it for the reason you mention stubbornly refuses to touch it....I know I can maybe starve him into it I just haven't gone thar far yet.......
Maybe he don't like the crunch, put a couple in like a tablespoon and ad tank water to reconstitute them. Then drop them and in with the little amount of water in the spoon in the tank. Feed it first before pellets etc so he is more "hungry" and willing to eat. Or if he likes blood worms you can do the same. Reconstitute some bloodworms, add the juice from them to the krill and trick into eating thinking it's blood worms.
FYI….. the amount of astaxanthin found in krill, is rather minuscule compared to some of the commercial pellets available today.
Most decent quality foods made today contain plenty of color enhancing ingredients, spirulina for blue/greens (not kelp), astaxanthin for red, marigold meal for yellow, etc. But you have to realize that a fish can only assimilate & utilize so much, the rest is simply passed in their waste. As an example, studies performed over the years have shown that as little as 2% spirulina is required to maximize its color enhancing properties in most species studied. (Ako et al) Too much of a good thing can also be bad, such as using excessive amounts of synthetic forms of color enhancers, such as Carophyll Pink, or Carophyll Red, to enhance the color red. Too much will make a fish that is naturally yellow, turn orange. I have personally seen this.
Not all manufacturers will break down exactly what they have added to their feed, or exactly at what concentration, but the higher quality foods have every color found in nature, covered. The rest is up to genetics, and of course everything else that one does when keeping fish in a glass box. Water quality, temperature, hardness, aggression levels, sexual maturity, etc, can all have a major effect on the coloration of a fish kept in captivity. Sometimes what we believe is due to diet, in reality is more due to the fish becoming sexually mature.
One of my favorite foods that produced very good results in all colors of the rainbow, has been NLS. Hikari Blood Red Parrot + is also very good at enhancing the color red. I have experimented with adding raw spirulina, raw astaxanthin in the form of Haematococcus pluvialis algae, from a Cyanotech rep in Hawaii who graciously sent me 2+ lbs, freshly freeze dried krill from the ocean from wholesale suppliers on the west coast, and probably everything else one can think of, just to see if I could take things a bit further, no luck. An ongoing experiment lasting a few decades now.
Mt takeaway is this - feed a good quality food, take extra good care of your fish, and their genetics will take care of the rest.
As far as colors go, all of the fish in the following link were raised exclusively on a single pellet food. And most of those pics were taken with an ancient $20 point & shoot. Africans From the Past - Warning pic heavy! | MonsterFishKeepers.com
Most decent quality foods made today contain plenty of color enhancing ingredients, spirulina for blue/greens (not kelp), astaxanthin for red, marigold meal for yellow, etc. But you have to realize that a fish can only assimilate & utilize so much, the rest is simply passed in their waste. As an example, studies performed over the years have shown that as little as 2% spirulina is required to maximize its color enhancing properties in most species studied. (Ako et al) Too much of a good thing can also be bad, such as using excessive amounts of synthetic forms of color enhancers, such as Carophyll Pink, or Carophyll Red, to enhance the color red. Too much will make a fish that is naturally yellow, turn orange. I have personally seen this.
Not all manufacturers will break down exactly what they have added to their feed, or exactly at what concentration, but the higher quality foods have every color found in nature, covered. The rest is up to genetics, and of course everything else that one does when keeping fish in a glass box. Water quality, temperature, hardness, aggression levels, sexual maturity, etc, can all have a major effect on the coloration of a fish kept in captivity. Sometimes what we believe is due to diet, in reality is more due to the fish becoming sexually mature.
One of my favorite foods that produced very good results in all colors of the rainbow, has been NLS. Hikari Blood Red Parrot + is also very good at enhancing the color red. I have experimented with adding raw spirulina, raw astaxanthin in the form of Haematococcus pluvialis algae, from a Cyanotech rep in Hawaii who graciously sent me 2+ lbs, freshly freeze dried krill from the ocean from wholesale suppliers on the west coast, and probably everything else one can think of, just to see if I could take things a bit further, no luck. An ongoing experiment lasting a few decades now.
Mt takeaway is this - feed a good quality food, take extra good care of your fish, and their genetics will take care of the rest.
As far as colors go, all of the fish in the following link were raised exclusively on a single pellet food. And most of those pics were taken with an ancient $20 point & shoot. Africans From the Past - Warning pic heavy! | MonsterFishKeepers.com
Now check out the "yellow" midas that I purchased yrs ago. lol
Anybody have pics of yellow Midas and info | MonsterFishKeepers.com
That's the difference a quality diet can make.
Anybody have pics of yellow Midas and info | MonsterFishKeepers.com
That's the difference a quality diet can make.
From a couple of previous posts I made here in the past.
"Natural astaxanthin sources that have been exploited for aquaculture feeds include the
extracted oils of crayfish and krill, the red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (formerly
known as Phaffia rhodozyma) and the freshwater green alga Haematococcus pluvialis. Because
the crustacean oils and the yeast have relatively low astaxanthin concentrations (0.15-0.40% of
dry weight), they have been commercially less attractive than the algae, which can contain up to
3% astaxanthin by dry weight2. Haematococcus algae meal has been approved in the United
States, Japan and Canada as a color additive for salmon feeds, and is presently used in the diets
of farmed salmon, trout, sea bream, prawns and ornamental fish."
Through the generous donation of Cyanotech I first began experimenting with the algae based products approx. 25+ years ago. The only things that come close, are the synthetic products, such as Carophyll Red.
Commercial aquaculture facilities don't feed farmed salmon etc, krill, to turn their bland grey flesh, to the color pink. Pink salmon flesh sells, grey not so much.
Same with trout, etc.
Now check out the pics of the Discus I posted below, sans krill, almost 100% single pellet brand diet. (+ bloodworms as a treat 1-2 times a week)
How many Discus? | MonsterFishKeepers.com
Nothing wrong with adding krill to a fishes diet, but color wise, it will not make any type of noticeable difference if one is already feeding a quality diet, and the genetics are there. Sexual maturity will make a huge difference in overall coloration, so don't let that fool you into thinking a coincidental change of diet was the cause.
Beautiful fish, Rich.
"Natural astaxanthin sources that have been exploited for aquaculture feeds include the
extracted oils of crayfish and krill, the red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (formerly
known as Phaffia rhodozyma) and the freshwater green alga Haematococcus pluvialis. Because
the crustacean oils and the yeast have relatively low astaxanthin concentrations (0.15-0.40% of
dry weight), they have been commercially less attractive than the algae, which can contain up to
3% astaxanthin by dry weight2. Haematococcus algae meal has been approved in the United
States, Japan and Canada as a color additive for salmon feeds, and is presently used in the diets
of farmed salmon, trout, sea bream, prawns and ornamental fish."
Through the generous donation of Cyanotech I first began experimenting with the algae based products approx. 25+ years ago. The only things that come close, are the synthetic products, such as Carophyll Red.
Commercial aquaculture facilities don't feed farmed salmon etc, krill, to turn their bland grey flesh, to the color pink. Pink salmon flesh sells, grey not so much.
Same with trout, etc.
Now check out the pics of the Discus I posted below, sans krill, almost 100% single pellet brand diet. (+ bloodworms as a treat 1-2 times a week)
How many Discus? | MonsterFishKeepers.com
Nothing wrong with adding krill to a fishes diet, but color wise, it will not make any type of noticeable difference if one is already feeding a quality diet, and the genetics are there. Sexual maturity will make a huge difference in overall coloration, so don't let that fool you into thinking a coincidental change of diet was the cause.
Beautiful fish, Rich.
