That is exactly what my old gatfs looked like. The only difference was it had a bit more red in the tail. Now unless we both got black gatfs, you 1, me 3 from 3 different sources, I think it has more to do with water, dark tank syndrome. My gatf when they are over light substrate and background they were bright silver. Even my vatf demonstrated this darkening. I'll try to dig up some old pics.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
I would agree with you Scott, water conditions and lighting are essential to the color developing. You kept your fish in a dimly lit tank with a black background and black sand and they colored up a bit. I'm keeping my fish in a brightly lighted tank with a white substrate but my fish have the same dark colors as yours.
Why is that?
I suspect it is because I'm keeping my fish in a blackwater setup. These colors were not present when he was in clear water. Since I've put him in the blackwater he's colored up nicely.
I suppose only time will tell. If I can successfully keep him in a blackwater setup for another two years or so, I think we'll have our answer definitively. If I'm wrong I'm wrong and I'm not afraid to admit it. I am putting forward this experiment for the benefit of the community.
I also feel that it is very likely that black GATF can come from different sources. Any GATF can turn black if kept in a strong, tea-like blackwater setup for a sufficient period of time. We're talking years here. I suspect that there may be just a few that can get really good black coverage like Dann's fish, but all can turn black.
This whole black goliath thing is pretty flimsy at best.
Check out these pictures of my fish from back in 2007 and 2008...how many black goliaths are there in this school?
Look how dark the 4 in the front are vs the light silvery one in the back....so are they black goliaths?
And check out one of my fish in 2008 and how it has those dark hash marks on the scales...looks pretty familiar at the same size as yours.
You've all seen pictures of mine at 2ft and nobody would say it looks anything like the dead black goliaths you see in the fishing pictures.
The only real black goliaths I've ever seen are bigger ones that have died.
When they die, they all turn black!
Sorry to rain on your parade but that's what I've seen with my own eyes.
Incorrect sir, I respectfully disagree with you. The all black ones that Douglas Dann caught were black when they were alive and came out of the water. These pages from his book clearly show they were still alive:
As you can see, the fish was black when it was obviously still alive and in the water. This is NOT a case of discoloration from death.
Mr. Dann and I had a fairly lengthy correspondence on this. I contacted him in an effort to get ahold of some to import, only to find that he's now living in Quebec. He stated however that he feels that black GATF are simply regular ones that live in a blackwater environment, which is what prompted me to put my fish into a blackwater environment.
As for your dark colored fish, I have no doubt that if you kept him in a strong blackwater environment over a couple of years he'd have turned completely black. He even has the same unusual head shape of Dann's 'dead' fish.
I've said again and again that there are three different 'races' of GATF, three separate genetic haplotypes, and as with humans each type will have slightly different traits that it does display or can display. I don't think Max will ever get completely black like Dann's fish, but he is showing a good bit of melanophore development on his flanks. I strongly suspect that in a few years he will have a black back, head, tail fins and partly on his sides. I might be wrong but through my research, I'm fairly confident on this.
Also interesting to note is that your pics have the flash being fired through the front of the glass on the tank. I fire my flash from above the tank with no other lights on. If I fire my flash through the front glass of the tank with some of the lights on, I get this:
BTW, I wish there really was a black goliath and would get one for sure, but I'm not holding out much hope.
It's already a miracle in itself when you can grow one out to 2 ft or more.
I'd really be curious to see what your big boy would look like now if you had kept him in a blackwater tank for the past five years. Is the one you still have the same one that was dark in the 2008 pictures?
Also, I retract my statement that he is a black goliath. As of right now I'll say he's a regular GATF with unusual color development. Time will bear out the truth if blackwater makes a GATF turn dark.
