Will his tail improve over time/with age?

[philipraposo1982]

Hey everyone,

I just thought I would update this since no one seem to have a clear answer to my question. Its been 1 month 1 week since I posted this and I have seen improvement on the tail seam/band getting thicker and more bold in coloration.

The sides continue to outpace the mid part of the tail so it is still uneven BUT both parts are getting thicker. I still don't know if it will even out with time but we will see as he ages.

So for anyone with a young GT who has concerns about the coloration and size of the seam on the tail I would say there is a good chance it will improve with age and CAN get thicker as well as more bold in color.

in a month or two I will put some more side photos to compare and show the difference. Last set of photos I took of him he would not stop moving and I couldn't get a good angel for the tail.

 

[DarylMac]

Yes. I do believe it will improve. You should see the difference I experienced in one of my females. When I brought her home she had no visible seam on her caudal fin.

Now? It's awesome. At least IMO. Not as thick as my male, but it when from non existent to really defined. Let me find some pics...



This is more recent;



So, as you can see it is entirely possible for their fins to colour up.

I was contemplating get rid of this fish due to the colour. Kicking myself for not being more selective when they were netting/bagging them up at the LFS. Now I'm glad I didn't!

 

[neutrino]

This is my first look at this thread. Yes, as they mature the seam often widens. To what extent varies individually.

But if I understand correctly you're looking for even width of the orange along the whole perimeter of the tail and asking will this even out in yours? My answer to that is not necessarily. It just varies. Some are even, some not. On some the orange encircles much of the tail on some it's pretty much just the vertical edge. It can be thicker on the vertical edge, the horizontal edges, more on the upper part, more on the lower part... You get the idea, it's a feature that varies individually, like the pattern of markings on the face.

 

[philipraposo1982]

Thanks for your input. It makes perfect sense too. Either way he is a great pet and I wouldn't have him any other way. I know he will grow up to be stunning and hopefully live a long healthy life.

 

[FriedFlowerHornFillet]

Ridiculous! You have a very nice fish. Yes most GT's I've seen have an even band. Occasionally I'll see really cool variations on that where the top or bottom will be the thicker. Variation is the spice of life. Worry more about breeding too young... That is one of the few things you can do in a healthy tank to damage potential.

 

[philipraposo1982]

Thanks for the feedback

He is solo GT with only a group of young synodontis petricola so no spawning for him.

 

[aztsm]

I personally do not think it will change much. At 4" i think it will still likely become a bit thicker as he grows, but overall I think it will always be thinner at the tip and not level out. The only transformation I've noticed with the caudal fin band is from fry - 3" range and when some change from yellow to orange, or maybe going from a real piss poor diet with poor water quality to excellent. But at his size I would just expect it to very slowly thicken over age but nothing dramatic.

Take that as just my opinion only, I'm not an expert obviously but those would be my expectations.

 

[philipraposo1982]

Well there is nothing I can do but take good care of him and see how he develops. Whatever the seam ends up looking like as an adult will be good with me. He grows on me each day, his personality is nothing like I have experienced in a fish. He recognizes me over other people. He is a special fish indeed

 

[philipraposo1982]

There has been significant improvement over a short period, not even 2 months since the original photos.

Here is the original and here is last night.

What do you guys think?

 

[DarylMac]

I think I'm not surprised at all. I experienced something almost exactly the same.

Your patience has been rewarded!

His seam may always be thicker at the top & bottom, but that's one of those perfect imperfections that I love my fish to have. Makes them unique!