Fire Eel Coloration

[Cosmic_surfer]

So, last night I picked up some blood parrot feed (hikari?) that supposedly enhances the reds of a fish. The fish store person mentioned that an anti oxident present in the food is what enhances a fishes "red" color. I stuffed some pellets into the shrimp chunks I had cut and they all went down without a hitch. Will this food have any effect and make my fish look like the one I see on YouTube (link below) or was I just sold snake oil?

This is what I would like my fire to look like, perhaps some other people more knowledgeable could tell me what I need to do to get on the right track, or perhaps the pellets I bought will do the trick?

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

How large is the eel? They typically do not get their best coloration until they are larger. That being said, the one in the video you posted looks to be an unusually colorful specimen and I doubt there are many others out there with that kind and that amount of red coloration.

 

[Cosmic_surfer]

My fire eel is around 16" atm

 

[Chub_by]

Usually, in koi and cichlid food astaxanthine is used to bring out the reds. Is there any in your food?

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I think it still has a long way to go growth-wise. I would think he will probably get more color as he gets bigger. Check out the stingray section for a thread about a fire eel that got stung by a ray. It will probably give you the best idea of the coloration you can expect as they get larger. The one in that thread is close to 40" though. What size tank do you have it in?

 

[Cosmic_surfer]

My current setup is 125 gallons, it has 2 inch tubing foamed into the background though it sounds like these guys get in the 4" diameter range. As of last night I feel like my eels color is beginning to come out a little more. I know pellets offer a little more rounded diet for fish, so maybe just having a pellet introduced into his food was the trick. Really is a stunning fish.