Well it is suspected that many (but surely not all) Thai breeders might use hormones to make their fish look better and sell at higher prices. However I also suspect that it's the case when many people see these Thai bred FH's they're mostly always shown under nan (pinkish colored) lights, which really make a FH's red's pop. Then when shown under normal lighting the fish look quite a bit more drab.
Also I would ask what is the PH in your Flowerhorn's tank?
In regard to your food question, Hikari Bloodred Parrot+ helps bring out a FH's red (assuming it has decent genes) but I wouldn't feed it as a staple, just a few times a week will help.
Also I would ask what is the PH in your Flowerhorn's tank?
In regard to your food question, Hikari Bloodred Parrot+ helps bring out a FH's red (assuming it has decent genes) but I wouldn't feed it as a staple, just a few times a week will help.
Yeah, what Barrett (islandguy) said, plus Thai breeders also often use red NAN lights when showing their fish. Most quality commercial foods contain astaxanthin, often far higher levels than found in krill, and personally I would never feed krill to a FH, freeze dried, or frozen. Just feed a quality pellet food, if the genes are there you fish will improve, if not, you probably got taken. Good luck.
Again, krill supplies but a teeny tiny fraction of the amount of astaxanthin (the substance that enhances the color red in fish) compared to most commercial color enhancing foods, which typically contain raw ingredients from natural sources such as Haematococcus pluvialis, Phaffia rhodozyma , etc, and/or synthetic substances such as Carophyll Pink and/or C. Red.
"Natural astaxanthin sources that have been exploited for aquaculture feeds include the
extracted oils of crayfish and krill, the red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (formerly
known as Phaffia rhodozyma) and the freshwater green alga Haematococcus pluvialis. Because
the crustacean oils and the yeast have relatively low astaxanthin concentrations (0.15-0.40% of
dry weight), they have been commercially less attractive than the algae, which can contain up to
3% astaxanthin by dry weight2. Haematococcus algae meal has been approved in the United
States, Japan and Canada as a color additive for salmon feeds, and is presently used in the diets
of farmed salmon, trout, sea bream, prawns and ornamental fish."
Through the generous donation of Cyanotech I first began experimenting with the algae based products approx. 20 years ago. The only things that come close, is the synthetic products, such as Carophyll Red.
"Natural astaxanthin sources that have been exploited for aquaculture feeds include the
extracted oils of crayfish and krill, the red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous (formerly
known as Phaffia rhodozyma) and the freshwater green alga Haematococcus pluvialis. Because
the crustacean oils and the yeast have relatively low astaxanthin concentrations (0.15-0.40% of
dry weight), they have been commercially less attractive than the algae, which can contain up to
3% astaxanthin by dry weight2. Haematococcus algae meal has been approved in the United
States, Japan and Canada as a color additive for salmon feeds, and is presently used in the diets
of farmed salmon, trout, sea bream, prawns and ornamental fish."
Through the generous donation of Cyanotech I first began experimenting with the algae based products approx. 20 years ago. The only things that come close, is the synthetic products, such as Carophyll Red.
