Green LMB?

[BLACK ICE]

My 4" LMB is a silverish white color. I have seen several that are the same as mine online and a few that are green at the same size. My question is what determines the color on these guys? is it food related or lighting or camo? I would like him to get that nice green color any ideas?

[Death Pony]

I don't know.......I can't see green...... It might be the environment.

[Mudfrog]

colors are effected but mood, lighting, substrate and various other reasons.

[BLACK ICE]

Well he seems happy and healthy so I guess I will try putting a lot of green stuff in his tank and try different lighting. Is it possible that it is an age thing?

[fishkeeper1]

Yea that is part of it. A white fish stands out more than a green one. 1/10 baby bass make it to i think 2". And this is why bass start to feed on live prey. I would buy a 10g if you dont have one and breed guppies. But there will have to be ALOT of fry. My baby bass 2" ate: 1 1.50" gizzard shad/minnow? and about 7 baby guppies. about .40"

[BLACK ICE]

Yea mine is eating 1'' to 1.5'' fathead minnows and I dont really see any oppritunity for bright coloring in that diet however while doing alot of research on LMB it has been sugested that adult LMBs may also munch on aquatic plants in addition to their normal intake of fish, frogs, crayfish ect.

The reason I ask about coloring is because I know that the foods many fish eat (such as oscars) will give them more vibrant colors and being in a tank gives us as keepers the great opritunity to give them the foods that make them much more beautiful than their wild counterparts who are limited in the foods they can eat.

[IITUFFTOBEATII]

Is it possible that it is an age thing?

Mine are tiny, 1" and 2" and are beautiful shades of green with very nice patterns. They have eaten live guppies and frozen bloodworms for me so far. During this brief photo-shoot i witnessed one of the larger ones take a swipe at the smaller one, hes big enough to eat him, just not quick enough.

*edit* dont let my crappy camera fool you, they are very bright shades of green

[BLACK ICE]

Ok so age is most likely out. Do you know if yours is a common or florida variety? I know the floridas grow and mature faster and I am thinking if its an age thing in any way the two varietys could be the difference.

[IITUFFTOBEATII]

Ok so age is most likely out. Do you know if yours is a common or florida variety? I know the floridas grow and mature faster and I am thinking if its an age thing in any way the two varietys could be the difference.

They are common variety as far as I know

[toxicfish]

They could have been Smallmouth maybe??? they have lots of green

http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/western/fishid/images/smallmouth_bass-35.jpg

[BLACK ICE]

No his look like largemouth as do mine IITUFFTOBEATII (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/member.php?u=14350) what temp do you keep your tank at?

[IITUFFTOBEATII]

usually near 70, but its 81 right now because I'm trying to help my pike minnow's tail heal up

[BLACK ICE]

Hmm then its not temp either :( must be diet or camo I went thru 4 diferent lights a few minutes ago seeing if any of the seperate parts of the color spectrum bring out his green but no luck

[BLACK ICE]

Ok a new interesting fact! I added a second LMB to my tank who is a lil older and was showing green and the next day the lil one is a grey green color and so is the bigger one. Im now wondering if they mimic each other?

[IITUFFTOBEATII]

What color is your substrate?
Its been my experience that the darker the substrate the darker the colors on the fish

[hotsauce]

well as a fishman and lmb keeper for awhile, usually it all depends where they come from. water clarity is the biggest factor. i had fish from our local muddy river, and he stated as silverish color you speak of, until he was chasing feeders. they change with moods also. the darker the water the lighter the fish. but over time, they adapt to tank settings and green up very nice. and you will actually notice the change of the lat. line darking during feeding. but also you have to remember the lmb is the top predator in most food chains and depend mostly on surprise attacks, so they adapt to "all" surrounding over time. damn i love lmb

[BLACK ICE]

Yea they are awesome fish. I love mine!

[IITUFFTOBEATII]

well as a fishman and lmb keeper for awhile, usually it all depends where they come from. water clarity is the biggest factor. i had fish from our local muddy river, and he stated as silverish color you speak of, until he was chasing feeders. they change with moods also. the darker the water the lighter the fish. but over time, they adapt to tank settings and green up very nice. and you will actually notice the change of the lat. line darking during feeding. but also you have to remember the lmb is the top predator in most food chains and depend mostly on surprise attacks, so they adapt to "all" surrounding over time. damn i love lmb

Thats what I was getting at, that their colors depend on their environment.

[BLACK ICE]

I have alot of pants in my tank white sand and some black rocks to help with the white belly black stripe green top idea... but hes still silverish greyish brownish top black line and white belly