ruthiesmom

Why are the salt water fish more colorful than our freshwater? Just trying to find colorful fish for my daughter.
Tina

Fishies-for-me

Have you seen glofish?? They are genetically engineered with dna from anenomes or jelly fish or something like that...lol . They are real bright and come in 3 different colors. They school and are fairly easy to look after ( they are really zebra danios) They will not fade and they glo under black lights if the room is dark....only draw backis that they are expensive at $6-8 each...good luck.

Jonah

While you will not find many freshwater fish with the stunning colours of salt water species there are a few that you could look at such as

Neon Tetras ( Keep a small group of 6+)
Kuhli Loach (keep 3 - 6 for them to play together and entertain) link here for an idea of what they are like
http://www.tropicalfishdata.com/loach/kuhli_loach.html

Live Bearers (be careful if you dont want lots of babies)

Look at some of the Platty and Swordtail species there are many colourful options Male fancy Guupies come in a variety of colours the girls tend to be a lot duller in colour.

For some ideas here is a site listing many of the live bearers
http://www.solodvds.com/livebearer.a...ebearers&ID=10

Shawnie

great suggestion fishies for me!!!!! heres a pic tina of some great glo fish..I just started my daughter at college one of these tanks.she would love them!! .they are adorable, fast moving, and colorful fishies glofish.jpg

Jonah

I am sure the following comment has been done to death in other threads but here goes anyway.

I really do not agree with GM organisms, yes I know it is not an inhumane process like 'Painted' fish, but put a school of Zebra Dannios (glo fish before they were engineered in a lab) in the tank and they are just as entertaining in their antics without having to resort to artificially colouring the fish.

Fishies-for-me

I understand how you feel and most definatly give you the option to feel that way...however myself I don't see a problem with it as they were not made specifically for the pet trade..I can't remember exactly why but if I am correct it was kinda like the canary in the goldmine type of thing...anyhow I guess if it dosn't cause the fish any pain and suffering I have no problem ...unlike dyed , tattooed or painted fish which I would never buy or recommend. Also they are not mutations that cause the fish problems unlike some of the fancy goldies and I belive parrot fish ..This is just my opinion and everyone else will have to make there own minds up...This answer in no way was meant to offend anyone so I hope I didn't...( things can come across differently in chat that in voice)

Jonah

Mainly right.

The original idea was to engineer the fish so that the colours would 'Switch On' in the presence of water contamination or other environmental concerns.

The first stage in the process was to engineer the colours in the 1st place.

That is where the process has seemed to stop as the 'manufacturers' have realised that there is a market for the 'product' with recreational fish keepers.

So the impetus is no longer there to design the 'switch' mechanism.

The 3 colours come from Anemonys(sp?), Jellyfish and Corals.

Zebra Danios were chosen as the host species because they are a hardy fish and can survive in a variety of water conditions.

MrsM3197

May I suggest a guppy specific tank? I have a 29 gal tank that is devoted strictly to male fancy guppies. The color combos are beautiful.

FL CommunityFans

They are a naturally occurring 'hybrid' if you want to call them that now. The fish being sold are not the mutated ones but the fry of the mutated ones. These fish now breed quite well, even in the home aquarium and naturally carry the genes that give them that color.

Imo, it's no different then hybrid fish.

(it has been done a lot btw ;p just had a similar convo in another thread - maybe it's worth making it's own thread for it sorry for the mini-hijack)



There are a lot of colorful freshwater fish, but they can be pricey to get a hold of at times. Electric Blue Jack Dempseys, nearly all the african cichlids from lakes Tanganyika, Victoria, and Malawi. What colors are you looking for?

I do agree saltwater fish are much more colorful on the whole. Saw some cool ones the other day that were bright neon/lime green with black and yellow highlights. Incredible looking fish.. some kind of puffer they called it.

pinkfloydpuffer

A puffer?! I wonder what kind, he sounds lovely!

FL CommunityFans

he was saltwater! that's all I know Butterfly puffer maybe? That sounds familiar.

edit: dbl checked .. nope wasn't a butterfly puffer.. I'll see if I can keep looking, otherwise I'll see if they have it there still this weekend.

pinkfloydpuffer

Hm... pointy or round nose?

Shawnie

its a 10 gal tank so cant be stocked alot
between your mickey mouse platies or some glo fish, its hard in that tank to have tons of color for her but not impossible!

Lucy

Let's not forget, this is Tina's thread about stocking her daughters tank.
She's looking for colorful fish.
I agree glofish would be very colorful or maybe some guppies, they come in all colors.

FL CommunityFans

All male guppies! ;p 1 female in there and that 10gallon won't be enough for long, lol!

Lucy

HaHa...yep, thanks FLCF!

Amanda

Is a betta out of the mix? B/c a betta with some cories would be great in a 10 gal. tank.
Or, you can divide it for 2 male battas. That's a lot of color

agabr123

i second that! although most people would probably prefer more than one or two fish in a 10 gallon, bettas are so colorful and active and they LOVE their owners (until they beg for food and you dont give in ) i think a bettas are great pets and she would be really happy with one . being a college student myself.....i started with one betta, and loved him so much that i ended up with five and four more on the way!

ruthiesmom

Thanks for all the input. I will have to look into the glofish, I have not seen them at LFS. I also have seen many beautiful bettas but don't know a whole lot about them. Can you put more than 1 in a10 gal tank? Or do you have to have a diveder in to seperate the 2.
Thanks
Tina
Also I did not mean to offend anyone by asking about the coloring of fish from saltwater to freshwater. All fish are pretty.

Shawnie

you didnt offend anyone u is da bomb..and if you want bettas, which rock, you do have to divide and you can only have 2 ..will she like that? they are personable lil buggers

ruthiesmom

Can you keep a male and female togather, or will they still not get along. I understand the two males. But what a husband/wife combo? Or will they be making babies? I would rather not have too divide.
Tina
So many questions not enough time.

Shawnie

no you cant so either one or another type of fish without a divider..I think she would love the glofish ....I know my girls do and they are hard to please lately LOL

ruthiesmom

Ok so the bettas are out for now, I will have to check on the glofish. How many will I be able to have?
Tina

Shawnie

they are only about 1 1/2" so you could get probably 7-8 and be good..or even 5-6 with a few cories ..you are great on tank maintenance and they are all small kids if they dont carry them, ask them to order you some...most stores will and they sell fast

Fishies-for-me

If you went for 8 you could get 2 red 2 green 2 yellow and 2 regular zebra danios ( non glowing ) and have a really colorfull school of
fast moving perpetual motion fish...( and no one offended me either)

mathas

Another option I haven't seen mentioned yet is a group of male Endler's (like most livebearers, avoid mixing sexes unless you're prepared for lots of fry). They can be extremely colorful, and are small enough that you could have a decent sized group in a 10g.

Dozey

To address your original question… As fresh water fish live in lakes and rivers which typically have mud or sand bottoms and green and brown foliage. For the sake of blending into their surrounding fresh water fish typically have similar colours. A colourful fish in this environment would stand out like a beacon in the night.

Most salt water fish commercially sold to hobbyists are coral fish. Coral reefs can be very vibrant in colour and for the same need to blend in the salt water fish take on the colours of their surroundings.

If you look at deep sea salt water fish such as sharks and tuna that live away from the bright colours of the coral reefs they too take on the same subtle colours of most fresh water fish.

Toxic

In the wild, they have to blend in for safety unless they are poisoness fish, the wild freshwater inviroment is bland, dark browns and greens, so are most of the fish, unless they have been breed for more color....

ruthiesmom

Dozey and Toxic,
I had not thought about thecamaflouge effect with the fish but that makes sense. Also I did get fish. I got 3 glowfish and 4 fancy guppies (2 orange and 2 charcoal)
Tina

Fishies-for-me

ok now you know that pix are mandatory right??...lol