Blood red parrot+

[jbrig98]

if i give Blood red parrot+ to my red devil would it help with the red color or will it only work with parrots
at the moment i am feeding her cichlid Gold and cichlid stable

 

[Fish on Fire]

It would probably help with the red color as that's what that food is designed to do.

 

[J. H.]

The red, orange, or yellow color in most fish come from carotenoids, a natural color found in some foods. They will make any fish gain color. Many people mix paprika into their fish food for this reason, as it is rich in carotenoids, and much cheaper than color food it should work.

 

[jbrig98]

how would i mix it in to pellets

 

[RD.]

Just feed your fish a quality pellet, they will contain all the natural color enhancing agents required to keep your RD looking its best. Look for ingredients such as krill, shrimp, algae, and especially astaxanthin. Astaxanthin won't always be listed on the label, but most commercial foods now contain it to some extent. Hikari blood red parrot food is high in astaxanthin, as are all NLS foods. Paprika is pretty old school, and while it will help, it's not nearly as effective as astaxanthin.

The rest is up to genetics, you can stuff your fish to the gills with color enhancing agents, but if it's not in your fishes genetic make up then it won't help a lot.

 

[J. H.]

how would i mix it in to pellets

You could try sprinkling it on top? I know some people feed it to daphnia/mosquito larvae and then feed those to their fish (including me)

Just feed your fish a quality pellet, they will contain all the natural color enhancing agents required to keep your RD looking its best.

Listen to RD, he knows what he is talking about

 

[Man-made Monsters]

I personally really love Hikari Blood Parrot + food. First it does bring out more red and would definitely make your red devil have more red/orange color. You will see results in two weeks. Take a pic before feeding, and then another after two weeks of just that food, and check out the results. Secondly, it contains Hikari Wheat Germ/Probiotics. I can personally attest to the fact that I see less waste in my gravel bed when I am exclusively feeding this food.

 

[RD.]

The rest is up to genetics, you can stuff your fish to the gills with color enhancing agents, but if it's not in your fishes genetic make up then it won't help a lot.

FYI ..... the reason I posted that, is because many years ago I ran tests feeding fish that were red, massive amounts of natural astaxanthin (Haematococcus pluvialis) that was sourced from a company rep from Cyanotech, one of the largest producers at that time. I was attempting to make the fish more red, than when fed a diet of NLS. Keep in mind that next to hormones, this form of astaxanthin is about as potent in enhancing the color red as it comes. Too much for too long and yellow fish will turn orange. At the end of the experiment the fish fed massive amounts of this color enhancing agent were no more red than when the experiment started.
I posted my results, along with photos, on a well known cichlid site.

So how much more red, or orange in this case, a red devil will become is questionable, and will be based entirely on the color enhancing agents present in ones current food, with the rest being up to genetics.

I don't think that cichlid gold is lacking in color enhancing agents (part of the the OP's current diet), as there are probably millions of fish world-wide that are fed that as a staple, and even an exclusive, diet, yet any fish that I have seen have good color in the full spectrum. blue-red-yellow- etc. In fact, Hikari promotes their Cichlid Gold formula as a .... color enhancing diet for cichlids, and go on to say, Includes the highest grade of carotenoid available today, offering superior color enhancement while helping your pet retain their natural beauty year round. Can also help restore vivid coloration to washed out specimens.

Personally I would just stop feeding the Cichlid Staple.....


I will agree that the probiotics in this food (Parrot +) works, I have trialed that as well, with good results.

 

[jbrig98]

I feed gold more than staple at the moment but i was wondering what would be the best stable diet

 

[jbrig98]