Uaru question...

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TheEelKing

Piranha
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Feb 22, 2010
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Okay, so I have a uaru in my 300 gallon. It's about 7" long. It has the large black spot on its body and everything. Then, I just a video on uarus. I wasn't able to hear the guy speaking in the video, but I saw the uarus in his tank starting at the 1 minute 40 second mark. I was wondering if my uaru will get that colorful since mine is gun metal grey with the black spot right now?

Here's the video I'm talking about:

Again, will my uaru get that colorful, or is this a different sub-species? If it's a different variety, what kind is it so that I can look for it?
 
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There are regional variants of Uaru. Some have more orange or tan coloration, some are more beige or gray. Sometimes the blotch is larger and extends to the caudal peduncle, sometimes it’s shorter and ends before the tail. Sometimes they have iridescent white or blue patches of scales. Sometimes they have blue tinted faces. As with most SA cichlids, there is variation even within the same group.

If you want to bring out any natural color it may have, you can try feeding a food with red enhancers (most commercial cichlid flakes and pellets have this added already). Anything with astaxanthin, either natural (krill, shrimp) or synthetic, will make the fish more orange in soke
 
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ryansmith83 said:
There are regional variants of Uaru. Some have more orange or tan coloration, some are more beige or gray. Sometimes the blotch is larger and extends to the caudal peduncle, sometimes it’s shorter and ends before the tail. Sometimes they have iridescent white or blue patches of scales. Sometimes they have blue tinted faces. As with most SA cichlids, there is variation even within the same group.

If you want to bring out any natural color it may have, you can try feeding a food with red enhancers (most commercial cichlid flakes and pellets have this added already). Anything with astaxanthin, either natural (krill, shrimp) or synthetic, will make the fish more orange in soke
Click to expand...

Thanks! Is there a way I can discern the difference between what color they will be when they grow up so I can choose the more colorful varieties? I mean, you've gotta admit that the uarus in that video are awesome!
 
You could ask a seller to see the parents if they raise them personally. If they are wild-caught you can ask for a collection location. But there’s no real way to know what juvenile fish will turn into.
 
One thing to consider with food, as Ryan alluded to, Uaru are primarily vegetarian. o feeding a diet rich in nutrients a vegetarian species uses can go a long way to enhancing natural coloration.
A pellet high in Spirulina, is what I use for predominantly vegetarian cichlids, along with fresh leafy greens like dandelion.
Etroplus eating dandilions
 
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