Ornate bichir coloring.

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jeffries

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 20, 2009
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Philadelphia, PA
I have had my ornate bichir since he was a small baby and he is currently 7"-8" in length. I have been feeding him color enhancing pellets for a long time in the hopes that he would grow into a striking adult.

At this point, his colors aren't as bright and contrasting as I had hoped. I am wondering if anyone happens to know if this has something to do with the color of the substrate in the tank? I have a light colored sand as the substrate currently. If I switched it to a darker colored substrate, would his colors become brighter with a greater contrast between the yellows and blacks?

If not, can anyone suggest something I might do in order to improve his coloration to what I have described above?
 
jeffries;4388216; said:
I have had my ornate bichir since he was a small baby and he is currently 7"-8" in length. I have been feeding him color enhancing pellets for a long time in the hopes that he would grow into a striking adult.

At this point, his colors aren't as bright and contrasting as I had hoped. I am wondering if anyone happens to know if this has something to do with the color of the substrate in the tank? I have a light colored sand as the substrate currently. If I switched it to a darker colored substrate, would his colors become brighter with a greater contrast between the yellows and blacks?

If not, can anyone suggest something I might do in order to improve his coloration to what I have described above?
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Light color substrate is probably what makes your ornate pale, if you moved it into a darker substrate, it would probaby darken up.
 
Hao;4388263; said:
Light color substrate is probably what makes your ornate pale, if you moved it into a darker substrate, it would probaby darken up.
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That's what I suspected, but I wasn't sure, so that is why I asked. Thank you for letting me know.
 
Some old picture of my 17" Ornate

My ornate at 12" in black sand
[URL="http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=349347&thumb=1&d=1239294809"][/URL]
my Ornate at 16" in biege color barebottom

Old picture of my 17" Ornate in Red,Tan,Black mix sand
My 17" Ornate-does my ornate have faded body pattern?
[URL="http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=504113&thumb=1&d=1277605203"]
Picture of my 17" Ornate from Yesterday-pictures a bit dark so my Ornate looks darker but its still quite yellow as the picture above.same substrate.
[/URL]

 
^nice hao, every time i see your fish i drool. i have heard that either black, red, or pink(suprisingly) make their colors "pop" the most
 
Thank you so much for sharing those pics. Those are beautiful animals. :D

Oddly enough, it would appear that your bichirs with the best contrasting color are the ones you are keeping on the red/tan substrate. The one you are keeping on the black colored sand looks a little more pale and is closer to what my bichir looks like.

Strange.
 
i just found that if kepts on tan, white, or gray substrate they get paler, i think that is a given but just thought i would share.
 
Experiment397;4388328; said:
i just found that if kepts on tan, white, or gray substrate they get paler, i think that is a given but just thought i would share.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess I am a little slow when it comes to that concept. LOL I do have him on more of a white colored sand, which would then explain his coloration.
 
Red or orange,darker brown colored sub would be good for bichirs. ;) Thanks all for the nice comments.
 
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