How to make your dat stable?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I dissagree strongly with adding hiding spots with the intent to increase color stability for Indos. If an Indo is hiding behind an object & has strong coloration, then stress or starvation is the reason for color change ime. Also, hiding dats are not growing dats. A healthy growing IT is one that swims the tank with authority. If he doesn't do this, chances are he's not growing to par. I believe most of the so called 100% stabilty large IT's we see out there with jet black striping are stressed (in some way) specimans. Be happy with an Indo that patrols the complete tank with authority & has no fear when eating. Chances are he will have some variant of brown striping with a pretty nice gold base. Not ST gold, but nice. Also adding dats to solve this problem is not a gd solution imo
 
TheBroc said:
Not really. Outside of this forum no one would care at all. Most people wouldn't even know what datnoid means.

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This isn't the only forum on the planet the world is a big place
Maybe you should take a look on arofanatics to name one

A lot of people are famous only in their own field that we have never herd of but in their own field they are superstars

I wouldn't be able to name one baseball player just like not many people from the U.S. wouldn't be able to name manus darts players


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Also there are those dats that stay motionless behind something or in the corners. These dat when healthy (well fed) & at the same time are frightened by tankmates, new sights, etc can sometimes have no coloration. Totally browned out, no bars, no contrast. This looks the worst imo. If they remain frightened like that for a prolonged amount of time (weeks maybe), they generally will go from no color to bold colors once they become malnourished. Now they will show strong colors most of the time...so OP, if your dat shows this kind of behavior & color, something in the tank (tankmates maybe) or improved diet will be needed for some change
 
None of this is an exact science..just the high %'s imo..you would be legendary on this site if somebody could be 100% on everything..exceptions to just about every rule in fishkeeping of course
 
I love watchn those English dart players at 2 in the morning (only time they're on.lol)..those guys are unbelievable at what they do..can't recall those guys names though, dang
 
JayC74 said:
I love watchn those English dart players at 2 in the morning (only time they're on.lol)..those guys are unbelievable at what they do..can't recall those guys names though, dang
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We only get baseball and American football at 3-4am to

The ones who play the World Series but it's only US teams how does that work lol


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RD. said:
See my comment in the following past discussion ......


http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?566878-Datnoid-stability-mystery


I agree with others, there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to dats. I have seen adult, single, dominant, dats, in a large mixed community remain unstable. From a previous thread on this subject....

I think that both camps are correct, that being the colors seen in a "stable" dat, and an "unstable" dat, can be caused by the same environmental triggers. Stimuli that may frighten or stress one fish, may trigger dominance or aggressive territorial behaviour in another.

The pigment cells in fish that are involved with color changes are called chromatophores. These cells can be altered due to morphological changes in the fishes environment such as background and/or substrate color, or from physiological responses to aggression, stress, etc.

In a stressed fish plasma cortisol levels increase, and cortisol levels are how researchers typically determine stress levels in fish when exposed to various conditions. Not all species, and perhaps even individual specimens within each species will react exactly the same to the same environmental or physiological stimuli.

As an example, in Nile tilapia a blue background causes an increase in aggression, where as a blue light causes a calming, protective role in stress in this species.

http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bjmbr/v34n8/4190.pdf


Fanta (16) argues that a blue background increases aggression in the Nile tilapia, and suggests that this color is not adequate for holding containers for this species. Conversely, the present data show that blue light has a protective role against stress for this same species

Hormonal color changes could explain why with an increase in age/size dats often become more stable, and tend to show what most would consider dominant coloration, vs camouflage (sub-dominant concealment) vs younger, less mature dats kept under the exact same tank conditions. In some tanks fish take on more dominant, territorial behaviour early on in life, even as small juvies, and this could also very well be sex (and hormone) related.

None of the above is outside the norm for many species of fish that are kept in captivity.


Clearly there is no question that some dats kept in a stressful environment appear to be what many refer to as "stable", displaying dominant colors, and there are dats that kept in these exact same conditions appear to be "unstable", as in displaying dark camo/concealment stress pattern & coloration.

Perhaps some fish fall under the "fight" response, and some fall under the "flight" response. Same stimuli, but opposite reaction based on size/sex/dominance/tank mates/overall health etc-etc.

IMO the reason for no real definitive answer to the "stability" question, is that no single answer is correct for all fish, of various age/size/sex, kept under all of the various conditions possible in captivity.

This is why in Indonesia hobbyists will state: That is the challenge of keeping tigers - swee swee kim kim (stable) one moment and then suddenly "orh-orh". (black/unstable)

With datnoids, this just seems to be part of the enigma and challenge that makes keeping them so interesting.
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This is a great informative reply. I couldnt have put it better myself.
 
T1KARMANN said:
We only get baseball and American football at 3-4am to

The ones who play the World Series but it's only US teams how does that work lol


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Good point with baseball. You guys are missing out on a fantastic game, i'm slightly biased though! Baseball is loved here, but there's still a gd % of people here that compare baseball to watchn paint dry.lol....On a side note & back to dats, I agree with Ade on RD's info..excellent & informative as always! Nobody breaks that kind of info down like him
 
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