# ruby red peacocks actually orange??



## cgronko (Jun 25, 2009)

I bought some ruby red peacocks off aquabid. They were about 1.5inches when i got them and are now close to 3inches. The thing is that the parents were a dark blood red, and mine are just a light orange color. I wanted them to be dark red. Do they become more red with time or are they just going to stay orange? The one male is fully colored, and the sub dominate male is colored up pretty good too and is orange as well.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Coloration can be affected by genes as well as diet - some people have special diets they feed their 'show males' to help to intensify colors such as red.

Also, their is a quick way to make a fish more red - it is called Photoshop. :lol: I'm not saying this seller is guilty of 'enhancing' the colors of their fish, but some people are.


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## cgronko (Jun 25, 2009)

what can you feed your fish to make them more red? I know feeding spirulina helps bring out the blue in fish, is there anything that will help bring out the red?


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

A diet rich in beta carotene would help, I believe.


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## frozennorth (Dec 16, 2008)

I would just ask the seller what he feeds his.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Edited to remove vendor name.


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## promoe (Apr 28, 2009)

aweek red....works good for me even my haps fins are twice as bright


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## cgronko (Jun 25, 2009)

aweek red? is that a type of food?


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## Wolffishin (Sep 9, 2009)

NLS is pretty high in beta carotene.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

If the seller said the parents were *both* blood red, I think he was fibbing :lol: . The father could have been but the mother should have been rather drab in color (going by what I've read about peacocks).


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

I think the manmade peacocks don't necessarily follow the color rules of the wild-type peacocks. Because of all the 'alterations' to the colors I believe even females of these fish tend to display more color than wild-types. Maybe that is part of the appeal to these....


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## tripnbili (Sep 6, 2009)

I, too, bought a group of six ruby reds from a reputable breeder. Ranging in size from 1.5-3". The largest (a male) is not colored very nicely. He is mainly organge, and not red. And rather than a deep blue/purple face, it's more of a light blue. The next in size (2.75" maybe) is a dark grey, almost black. The dorsal fin leads me to believe it is a female, but I'm not sure. One of the smallest in the tank (1.5" maybe) is beginning to color up nicely, however it has yellow where the red should be. This situation is kind of disturbing me because I've gone to great trouble to set-up this tank and ship fish.

Anyone had experience with reds starting out yellow?


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## cgronko (Jun 25, 2009)

Mine did start off a really light orange, but i couldnt say it was a yellow. When i said the parents were both very dark red, i said that because the female also had a lot of red in it and looked like a male that was just starting to color up. I really just want a blood red peacock, anyone know where i can get some!?


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## kinesis (Aug 20, 2009)

All of my ruby reds start out with some to alot of orange (shades vary), and eventually go red.


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## promoe (Apr 28, 2009)

sanyu aweek red..its a food and its cheap. cyclops eeze will brighten your fish up too.omega one sinkers/flake,dainichi floaters and aweek red is what we feed the haps/peacocks.


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## cgronko (Jun 25, 2009)

where can i find this sanyu aweek red???? I live in arizona... do they sell it in the states or do i have to order online? Any good websites i can get it from if i have to order it?


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## cgronko (Jun 25, 2009)

alright this is what im talking about.... This is what my male looks like( not my pic but looks exactly the same)









And this is the picture of the parents the seller had posted when i bought them. You can see the female has alot of color as well, and the male is a dark red. Will my male ever look like the dad???


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Did you see the dad in person or just a pic of him?


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## cgronko (Jun 25, 2009)

I only seen this picture, But i have seen alot of pictures of this line of ruby red sold by wudthishad and videos as well and they all look to have this dark red color so Im guessing he didnt photoshop it.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Contact the seller and ask how long it takes for them to get the red pigmentation in his line.

There can be a great deal of variability in some fish, in particular fishes with the red intensity seen here. The colouration seems to depend a great deal on dominance, in particular while growing up. This is a species that I would probably purchase 30-40 specimens as 1" fish, and grow them out to pick the best males. My expectation out of approximately 15-20 males, 3-6 might be worthy of being top picks, with maybe 1-2 as nice as the father.

I've been breeding Scieanochromis fryeri Icebergs for over a decade, and anytime I decide to grow out new breeders, I typically will start with 40-60 1" fish, and often end up with just 1-2 male specimens that I consider worthy breeders.

Perhaps it will take longer to get the red pigment, but then it could simply be that this isn't one of the best males from that spawn.


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## cgronko (Jun 25, 2009)

well i do have 3 males now, I just realized i have a 3rd one that is just starting to get a blue head. Hopefully this 3rd male will have more red! Other than that, i asked what wudthishad on aquabid feeds his, and he said he feeds them shrimp. Maybe all the carotene in shrimp give them this dark red color? He also said he only keeps the really nice red ones and sells the rest for cheap.


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