Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping => General Fishkeeping Chat => Topic started by: jesnon on May 12, 2014, 10:37:09 PM
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This is a bit random but I was wondering yesterday when I was in MA how you all see the full potential of fish when you see them in shops. An odd question but it's just that a lot of fish I really like looked very 'dull' colourwise. I know fish brighten up once they're settled but how can you tell! ? Yesterday I saw some chocolate gouramis and celestial pearl danios and they were very dull colours, not at all like pictures I've seen
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I also saw cpds in MA today. They did look dull! Unrecognisable from the beauties shown on this website.
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I also saw cpds in MA today. They did look dull! Unrecognisable from the beauties shown on this website.
And there, in a nutshell you have your answer Jesnon... research. It crops up all the time. It's important. If you research the fish you are interested in, you should find ample photos on the various web pages you reference that will give you an idea of the 'real' colours of a particular species. Easy, Peasy. ;D
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The impulse buy "it looked really nice in the shop" is probably one of the biggest causes of problems, especially for new fish keepers. Unfortunately, many of the less suitable fish for most tanks, such as clown loach, red-tailed sharks and many cichlids, look very attractive as juveniles in fish shops, while a large proportion of the tetras, barbs, rasboras etc do not show their true colours until they are well settled. But really, there's no excuse for not doing the research beforehand these days with the amount of information available online.
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Ahh yes of course I completely understand that, I'd never buy fish now I know more about fish keeping without dust researching the species and their requirements. I was just wondering though if you can ever guarantee that fish will live up to expectations based on pictures! I guess as long as your tank is well kept and you have the right conditions for your specific fish they should colour up with age?
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Now we are really getting into areas I am generally uncomfortable discussing but... whether a fish will live up to your expectations depends upon how realistic those expectations are. (Duh!). There is always a danger of a fish in your tank being visually less appealing than the images you have seen. Lighting changes, the colours surrounding the fish varies and we have no control over the editing of the image. There is little we can do about this. Conversely, the satisfaction we feel with our fish is not solely about their visual appearance. Look at the discussions about cories for example. Cories are basically pretty drab little things. Any colour you like as long as it's brown and white. But, they are a very popular species. Why?
Can we guarantee a fish will live up to expectations? No.
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Can we guarantee a fish will live up to expectations? No.
I'm just happy if they live! :))
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[quote Cories are basically pretty drab little things. Any colour you like as long as it's brown and white.
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How very dare you..... Pandas are black & white :rotfl:
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Cories are basically pretty drab little things. But, they are a very popular species. Why?
'Cos they're lovely and cute and have a little bumbling charactor. 'sobvious! :))
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[quote Cories are basically pretty drab little things. Any colour you like as long as it's brown and white. quote]
How very dare you..... Pandas are black & white :rotfl:
Oops... there go the quotes again :rotfl: Well alright... black, brown and white. The point still stands, they are not technicolour extravagazas.
'Cos they're lovely and cute and have a little bumbling charactor. 'sobvious! :))
I am a long-term coryphile, it was rhetorical :isay:
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Sodding quotes! I thought I'd got away with that....trust you to notice :raspberries
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I think perhaps I've given a poor impression of myself! I was simply referring to if fish will always necessarily colour up as you expect them to. I know that's not the most important thing of course, but I'd be lying if I claimed I'm not more instantly drawn by the pretty colours of fish! Once I own a pet I'm fully committed but I guess I'm a little more shallow with fish to start with and more prone to the prettier ones initially! For example I was very tempted and had to stop myself buying another endler when I was last in MA because they were so pretty! But I love my little fish so knew I couldn't as my tank is full enough. I'm particularly fond of my one remaining shrimp right now as she has survived where the others haven't to the point where I'm almost reluctant to get more as I know when I do I won't be able to tell her apart!
Ahhh I so wish I could get another tank for some new fishy additions though!!