VIP RED COLOURS, Tanning and experience from people with experience please!!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
H

henward

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 25, 2008
1,260
1
0
Auckland, New Zealand
ok, i need affirmation.
when you get a juvi VIP RED
is it worth putting in tanning lights?
or should i wait untill it is bigger and starting to put colour on.

i get conflicting stuff, i need feedback from people with solid experience.

will special tanning lights or special lihts actually help it get colour faster and help it get colour?
Or as some said, it only makes the existing colours darker.

i am looking into a 25 cm VIP - no distinct reds yet but starting to blush apparently on the lips and cheeks.

What lights should i use.

1) Aqua glo
2) Power glo
3) Reptile Bulb
4) Marine Blue uv bulb
5) underwater tanning bulb fixture

In the tank im planning on having 4 bulbs in total, i have currently 2x double 4 foot t8 light fixtures on top.

what sort of combo lighting should i have?
For now, and later?

i dont like the lights that artificially colour your fish.
i also dont want the tank to be extra extra bright, i like teh tank to be dark ish and the fish to look liek tis glowing in the dark.
 
also
does tanning earlier on in life mean that you get more colour late ron?
or really its genetics how much colour you get and tanning merely makes and enhances the existing colours you will get?

i mean, if i tan earlier on, will the aro become mroe red than it would if i didnt tan at a younger age?
 
Conditioning - it would be best to add some K leaves into the tank and increase the lighting intensity gradually over the days...users could use 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 / 24 hrs intervals as a guiding point


this comment
how doe that work
so i have the tank - it has normal lights.
then i turn the tanning lights on for 3 hours per day to begine with, but the other normal lighting is ok the whole time.
then how many days id o for 3 hours, before i do 6 hours etc?

i mean, i have the normal lights in my tank on for 10hours a day normally,
should i turneverything off and only turn them off 3 horus, then 6 then so on and so on

OR
should i have normal lights, and activate the special lights 3 horus then so on and so on as an extra
 
Tanning only enhances what is already there. It doesn't colour your aro. It amplifies the red pigments that is already in your aro's scales. If the aro you're trying to tan lacks pigments, then tanning is useless. Its all up to genetics.
 
i've had good results with tanning, but I dont see a point on tanning such a small fish, its better to wait till its at orange. i think its a waste of electricity.

at 25cm i would concentrate on growth, reds colour comes later than golds. it will be a while before you see the true colour of the fish.

IMO, Tanning and NAN lights is just makeup, it all the same in my eye, i've tried both methods to make my fish appear redder, and they both worked. nothing beats starting with a good quality fish and the VIP reds i've seen around are pretty nice. post a pic if you can. best of luck on your aro hunt
 
power glo is enough .... i used it before.
once the ring color emerge, its time to deepen the rings color, actinic blue does the job well but not much ... you'll get burned like color.
8 - 12 hrs is enough for me , but that matters of preferences :)
 
how doe that work
so i have the tank - it has normal lights.
then i turn the tanning lights on for 3 hours per day to begine with, but the other normal lighting is ok the whole time.
then how many days id o for 3 hours, before i do 6 hours etc?

i mean, i have the normal lights in my tank on for 10hours a day normally,
should i turneverything off and only turn them off 3 horus, then 6 then so on and so on

OR
should i have normal lights, and activate the special lights 3 horus then so on and so on as an extra
Click to expand...
please i really need to know this..
 
henward said:
Conditioning - it would be best to add some K leaves into the tank and increase the lighting intensity gradually over the days...users could use 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 / 24 hrs intervals as a guiding point


this comment
how doe that work
so i have the tank - it has normal lights.
then i turn the tanning lights on for 3 hours per day to begine with, but the other normal lighting is ok the whole time.
then how many days id o for 3 hours, before i do 6 hours etc?

i mean, i have the normal lights in my tank on for 10hours a day normally,
should i turneverything off and only turn them off 3 horus, then 6 then so on and so on

OR
should i have normal lights, and activate the special lights 3 horus then so on and so on as an extra
Click to expand...

K leaves are kepatang leaves. They soften the water. Reds do better in softer water but there are several ways to achieve the same result. Just be careful you don't create an unstable environment.


Some people use tanning lights and start with three hours on, aside from normal tank lighting but concurrently. The next day they increase the tanning lights to 6 hours. The next day increase to 9, and so on. There's no real science behind this but the idea is to acclimate the fish to the bright light. A lot of guys just leave their normal tank lights on 24 hour a day for a week at a time and they see results. All tanning really does is darken the fish, just like you tan under the sun. It's essentially the opposite of white tank treatment.

One more thing. If you tan your aro, you can expect the eyes to become cloudy. Some use that as an marker to stop tanning. Again, the schedules are different for when to start again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom