# How to intensify color in Ruby Red Peacocks ?



## bayoucichlids (May 19, 2006)

I have recently purchase 6 ruby red peacocks from an online supplier :fish: . They arrvied in very nice shape and were all about 2.5 to 3" in size. There are what apears to be 5 males and one female, she was holding upon arrival. Maybe one of the others is a female but not sure.

My question is regarding 3 of my mailes which are very, well.....orange. What can you feed them or add to their food to enhance the intensity of the red color? Shrimp, blood worms, carrots  ? Do you guys have any advice. I have heard some sellers use hormones. Are they harmful and can they be used by the average joe?

Currently I feeds spectrum pellets (small) and wardley cichild pellets (large) and flakes. I suppliment with cucumbers and zuchinni.

Thanks for any replies!


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

I have read that hormones used long term can cause the males to become over agressive and sterile.


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## myselfdotcom (Sep 19, 2006)

any pictures?

throw red water color in there...definitely make them redder lol


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## bayoucichlids (May 19, 2006)

Thanks for the replies guys. No pictures just now.

Anyone out there doing anything special to "get the red in"  .

Thanks!


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Every male is different. Some can be more red than others. Some are more orange, some are deep yellow. These line bred fish are not consistant. It depends on which fish gets the redder genes.

And of course pecking order is ALWAYS a major factor, a dominant male shows the best color. There is no "cheat" past the fact that a submissive male may not show color. There is no magic food that will make a drab fish colorful, other than unnatural hormone overdose like they do with fish usually imported from Asia.

Some foods can bring out yellow/orange/red pigments better. New Life Spectrum food claims to improve these colors. Some shrimps can bring out red, but I,m not sure what kind, not brine shrimp thou.

Hormones are not available "over the counter" and are highly unrecommended. They are not healthy or unnatural.


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2008)

You could strictly feed freeze dried, wafer, or frozen cyclop-eeze if you want...


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## Chris Murphy (Jun 24, 2008)

I find that Eureka Red or Eureka Red Flash have the most intense red colouring,but I get my fish from Germany and the Czech Republic,where they are line bred so quality may differ depending on where you are in the world?

If you cant intensify the fish you have by safe means maybe try one of these peacocks?

HTH :thumb:


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

You 'get the red in' through breeding for it . . .

It's possible if you remove all but one male you might see more color from him, but if he's genetically programmed to be orangey, then you'll just get a brighter orange, not red.


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## exasperatus2002 (Jul 5, 2003)

Its like a flamingo, stop giving it shrimp & they turn white instead of pink. krill will help to an extent but ultimately, the fish will be limited by its genetics.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

exasperatus2002 said:


> Its like a flamingo, stop giving it shrimp & they turn white instead of pink. krill will help to an extent but ultimately, the fish will be limited by its genetics.


White is a bit of an exaggeration but that might be a good idea, give them those shrimps that flamingo eat. I'm sure they would do that with Koi and Discus already if possible.


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## Chris Murphy (Jun 24, 2008)

Eureka Red









Ill find better pics of this guy!!

Red Flash


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## bayoucichlids (May 19, 2006)

okay....thanks for the replies. My ruby reds are the color of the fish in the first picture. Only one fish, maybe, approaches the color in the red flash, but it really is not that red. Nice pics.

Nice fish, BTW, Chris :thumb: .

Maybe I will add more shrimp to their diet. I have seen different foods that claim to enhance color and I will try those. I will try and take some pics and post them in the next day or two.

Many thanks!


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## Chris Murphy (Jun 24, 2008)

The fish in the first picture has matured a little more now,his red has also intensified.

I dont think I mentioned but I feed blended prawns to these guys,about 2 times a week.


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## bayoucichlids (May 19, 2006)

Chris,

So a couple of questions.....

1. Do you feel age impacts color intensity?
2. How do you prepare the prawns and store the unused portions?
3. What process do you use for feeding the blended prawns to your fish?

Thanks...This is great info :thumb: .


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

I'm surprised no one mentioned that having 5 males and one female is problem. It would be better the other way around.

Anyway, the dominant male will color up the most. The others may not show much color--some may even look more like females than males unless you separate them. Some say that keeping a less dominant male and a harem of females will cause the dominant male to show the most vivid colors.

Peacocks are carnivores so no need for the veggies. May try giving a color enhancing food as part of their diet. Also as the male grows a bit bigger, his color may intensify.


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## bayoucichlids (May 19, 2006)

Okay I finally got some pics. Mostly of the dominant male and they are not very good, but it is all I have for now. The camera focuses on the glass instead of the fish.




























Thanks all for the previous comments and suggestions and Chris for the pics.


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

Looks a lot like the young adult male picture found on the profile. Lets hope he gets more intensely colored as he gets bigger. He's still a pretty good looking fish.


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## Chris Murphy (Jun 24, 2008)

1. Do you feel age impacts color intensity?

I would say once males reach sexual maturity they should show about 60% of the colour they are likely to ever show.Conditioning will bring on the rest,as well as tank mates etc.

2. How do you prepare the prawns and store the unused portions?

I blend them from frozen,then leave to sit in warm tank water,strain, then feed.I only ever use the amount I unfreeze so the excess stay in the freezer.

3. What process do you use for feeding the blended prawns to your fish?

They go straight in to the water,they usually end up in pea sized portions,which are easy to break down for the fish.

That male looks in great condition btw.

HTH.


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## Chris Murphy (Jun 24, 2008)

1. Do you feel age impacts color intensity?

I would say once males reach sexual maturity they should show about 60% of the colour they are likely to ever show.Conditioning will bring on the rest,as well as tank mates etc.

2. How do you prepare the prawns and store the unused portions?

I blend them from frozen,then leave to sit in warm tank water,strain, then feed.I only ever use the amount I unfreeze so the excess stay in the freezer.

3. What process do you use for feeding the blended prawns to your fish?

They go straight in to the water,they usually end up in pea sized portions,which are easy to break down for the fish.

That male looks in great condition btw.

HTH.


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## jkop (Jul 29, 2007)

I'm no expert but I was recommended to use this and always have done:

http://www.dartfordaquatics.co.uk/produ ... =31&sub=34


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## joker76 (Dec 4, 2007)

what size tank are they in?
are there other cichlids in the tank with them?
how long have you had themin your tank?
all these things matter IMO.


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## bayoucichlids (May 19, 2006)

joker76,

I have them in a 20 gallon tank for now with just a pleco. And they have plenty of cover. PH is 8.2-8.4 and is just my normal tap treated for chlorines and chloramines. Our water is naturally hard so I do not use a buffer with all of the minerals currently present.

They have been in my tank a little over 2 weeks. I had 8 mbunas in there until they arrived. I put the mbunas in my 75 gallon with my other fish. Eventually, I will rearrange things. I just wanted them to acclimate on their own without having to defend themselves against the fish in my 75 G.

These peacocks were obtained through the mail. They were shipped with bag buddies so I do not know what impact that has on color.


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## bayoucichlids (May 19, 2006)

It looks like the dominate male is keeping the others from really coloring up. I think I am going to move all but the dominate male and females into my larger tank and let the dominant male have the females all to himslef. Maybe if they go into the lrger tank the others will color up. What do you think.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

bayoucichlids said:


> It looks like the dominate male is keeping the others from really coloring up.


This the normal course of things. In a small group tank you will have one male color up fully. It would be abnormal if all the males colored up in that tank.

If you move the other males, one should color up rather quickly unless you have larger fish in that tank which will be higher up in the pecking order.


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## bayoucichlids (May 19, 2006)

But in an all male tank wouldn't they all show color?


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## cater20155 (Jun 16, 2008)

In an all male tank, if there are multiple males of the same species, only the dominant male of that species will show its full color. The dom. male will bully the lesser dominant males so they wont show their color. Also, depending on the pecking order, if the new fish introduced are picked on they may not show good color until they climb the pecking order and establish some dominance over some of the other fish. I have an all male peacock, with only one male of each species, tank set up and only a few of my larger males are showing some color. I have a red shoulder who is the boss and only it and a flame tail are coloring up, the smaller males are beginning to show some highlights but are relatively dull. I'm hoping my German red and blue regal will color up soon.


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