Whats the best way to stabilize my widebar dats color?
Whats you opnion of the best background color to bring out a dats color?
Whats you opnion of the best background color to bring out a dats color?
Whats the best way to stabilize my widebar dats color?
- Thread starter Gr8KarmaSF
- Start date
Unfortunatly I doubt you can ever change the substrate or background to stabalize a Dats color. Some are just stable than others. If you have one at 2-3 " from the get go that's not stable in most cases it will never be... 
It may be possible to get their bars to stabilize through supporting their instinct to camouflage themselves.
I'm not guaranteeing anything. But, I've noticed that my latest dats hold their bars better if they have vertical decor to hide among. I attached dried bamboo stakes and thicker rod pieces to large terracotta pot bases. My dats weave their way among the several thatches that I placed in the tank and seem more relaxed having those areas available. Their color is more intense and defined than the dats I kept in tanks with just rockwork caves for them to hide in.
I'm not guaranteeing anything. But, I've noticed that my latest dats hold their bars better if they have vertical decor to hide among. I attached dried bamboo stakes and thicker rod pieces to large terracotta pot bases. My dats weave their way among the several thatches that I placed in the tank and seem more relaxed having those areas available. Their color is more intense and defined than the dats I kept in tanks with just rockwork caves for them to hide in.
Oddball;535405; said:
Oddball, this sounds interesting. Can you post up some pics of this setup?
Also, time, IMO is a factor in color. The longer a dat has been in the tank and the more comfortable he becomes, the better and more often he shows good coloration.
But than there are some that will never have the great coloration.
Sorry, when I said; "Their color is more intense and defined", I meant the gold, too. Although, they do reflect a color change with mood/health swings. For the most part, though, they hold a crisper gold color with the vertical hiding spots. They probably replicate the mangrove roots they live among in the wild.
I can't get any decent pics from the 650 (They stay too far from the 2' x 2' viewing window). However, I'm thinking of moving the dat shaol to one of the 260s so I can view them better. I'll get pics after the move.
