Golden base

[jdpeters87]

Got this golden base 4.5 months ago. Great coloration initially. Now looks pale and orange. Colors look like ****. Grown about 2 inches though has the girth and bulk. kok is ok
150 gallon, great filtration and flow. Weekly waters changes and fed NLS, bio gold and occasionally frozen spirulina brine.
Is this a trash flowerhorn? What’s he gonna turn out to be? Looked so promising initially

 

[HybridFinatic]

Looks like he just lost his red coloration. Try feeding more krill and red enhancing NLS. Bet he is still an awesome fish. I definitely couldn’t say my fish look like ****. Flowerhorn don’t lose their potential. If you continue to take care of him properly he will probaly get a lot his color back and look even better. If he doesn’t I wouldn’t sweat it.

 

[Man-made Monsters]

I agree with HybridFinatic's statement. Another food that brings out good red without more harmful ingredients or hormones is Hikari Blood Parrot pellets. My fish gobble it up and I noticed more pronounced red appearance around day 10 of feeding. Also keep in mind that many GB Flowerhorn fade and change color as they age. In fact, even feeding a red enhancement food might not ever bring back the colors he had when you bought him, but thats just the nature of these fish. Feed some red enhancement food and repost a picture in 2 weeks. I would love to see the results regardless of the outcome.

 

[HybridFinatic]

I agree with HybridFinatic's statement. Another food that brings out good red without more harmful ingredients or hormones is Hikari Blood Parrot pellets. My fish gobble it up and I noticed more pronounced red appearance around day 10 of feeding. Also keep in mind that many GB Flowerhorn fade and change color as they age. In fact, even feeding a red enhancement food might not ever bring back the colors he had when you bought him, but thats just the nature of these fish. Feed some red enhancement food and repost a picture in 2 weeks. I would love to see the results regardless of the outcome.

I would also be interested in the outcome. If it were me I would not be disappointed. Like you said it’s the nature of these fish. He still looks like a quality GB flowerhorn. Also their is no need for him to supplement brine shrimp. The NLS should cover that.

 

[ny.subway]

+1 on the hikari blood red parrot, NLS ultra red would help and if still ain’t satisfied try shrimp, freeze dried krill. Faders tend to change as they age, stressed and matured. You might wanna try to divide the tank to groom him more. Been keeping faders/ GB. This is my favorite flowerhorn.

 

[Trimapit]

Still looks good to me

 

[jdpeters87]

Here’s from 2 weeks ago. I switched to okiko platinum since but it’s not a huge improvement. This photo was taken on feb 18. I noticed new speckling around his mouth and his kok for 24 hours had red spots but it has since then disappeared.

 

[jdpeters87]

Actually this photo from 2 weeks ago does show a bit better coloration overall

 

[Dloks]

It’s actually pretty nice bro

 

[jdpeters87]

Thanks! His baby coloration is what really made me pick him. The second was his anal and dorsal fins. He kinda has streamers