OK, so I posted a while back about my NRBDs and how to get them to color up. The substrate I have now is quickrete all purpose sand which is a little darker than playsand. I still only see one or two nrbd's with red in the morning when the lights first come on -then it fades.
The back of my tank is painted black. The tank is heavily planted and has moss covered driftwood-plenty of hiding places. The water is about 60 degrees.
Does anyone have a good idea for a darker substrate that would work well with a planted tank -besides black sand? I want to keep a natural look.
Thanks!
Northern Red Bellied Dace
Started by
Guest_Elijah_*
, Feb 26 2010 05:52 PM
9 replies to this topic
#3
Guest_lozgod_*
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Posted 26 February 2010 - 09:24 PM
WOW! Very nice looking fish there. I envy you. I wish I had some of those in my tank. I found Eco-Complete black has brought out the colors of all of my fish. Their colors are very deep and solid looking. Guess that goes contrary to the experience of natureman. Then again I do not have MRBDs. Looks like what he's doing is working. That darter in the background looks pretty good as well.
#4
Guest_Elijah_*
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Posted 26 February 2010 - 09:47 PM
Nice pic! I sure do like those SRBDs!Quickcrete sand is still very light. I use stream gravel that's slightly darker and it's still too light. My srbd fail to show full coloration until the substrate is glazed over with algae.
I have seen nrbds with super bright red, orange and yellow here, but the pond where i used to see them is now a tiny stream. It had a dark muddy substrate. I though about going to a pond with that kind of muck to get some substrate, but it would probably make a mess putting it in an established tank. -plus you never know what sort of nasty stuff is in it, toxins....
#5
Guest_Elijah_*
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Posted 26 February 2010 - 09:52 PM
Yeah, looks like a nice tank!WOW! Very nice looking fish there. I envy you. I wish I had some of those in my tank. I found Eco-Complete black has brought out the colors of all of my fish. Their colors are very deep and solid looking. Guess that goes contrary to the experience of natureman. Then again I do not have MRBDs. Looks like what he's doing is working. That darter in the background looks pretty good as well.
I have some tanks with black eco-complete and black sand mixed. I like that look, but I also like variety.
It does look like I might be going that route though. I've had this tank set up for a while and there is not much algea on the substrate.
#7
Guest_jblaylock_*
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Posted 27 February 2010 - 10:56 AM
I use a combo of Estes dark river colored gravel along with a mix of actual gravel I've brought from creeks. My daces also love the driftwood, they tend to hang around it. My SRBD will color up in the morning, and usually around feeding time.
You may also want to consider water conditions. Before I added my 2nd filter to better the water quality my SRBD never colored up. Once I added that 2nd I began to see the color more often. They don't say colored up, but I see it at least once a day.
My whole system is setup on timers (day & night lights, air, etc..) I have the air pump hooked to my powerheads and they come on twice a day (mid-day and overnight). They also tend to color up when the air comes on during the day. I'm not sure if O2 content has anything to do with coloration though.
On Tuesday I was working from home and noticed one of the SRBD's was redder than I've ever seen it, in captivity. I snapped a few pics, but it doesn't do justice to the bright red that was on the fish that day.
You may also want to consider water conditions. Before I added my 2nd filter to better the water quality my SRBD never colored up. Once I added that 2nd I began to see the color more often. They don't say colored up, but I see it at least once a day.
My whole system is setup on timers (day & night lights, air, etc..) I have the air pump hooked to my powerheads and they come on twice a day (mid-day and overnight). They also tend to color up when the air comes on during the day. I'm not sure if O2 content has anything to do with coloration though.
On Tuesday I was working from home and noticed one of the SRBD's was redder than I've ever seen it, in captivity. I snapped a few pics, but it doesn't do justice to the bright red that was on the fish that day.
#8
Guest_BTDarters_*
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Posted 02 March 2010 - 06:13 AM
Wow! I'm jealous of all of these great SRBD pictures! I've only got one SRBD that I collected last year. To say that they are not very common in my area is an understatement! Hopefully, I'll catch more this year! 
Brian
Brian
#9
Guest_gerald_*
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Posted 02 March 2010 - 11:15 AM
The effect of algae on dace color may have more to do with it being food than its effect on bottom color. RBD do best with plenty of veggies in the diet. Try peas, sweet potato, zucc, greens. The P.oreas I've kept also seem to get most colorful in early morning before tank lights come on. As they get older (2+ yrs) they seem to stay colored for longer periods, but never as intense red/gold/black as I've seen on wild ones.
[quote name='natureman187' date='26 February 2010 - 09:09 PM' timestamp='1267236597' post='73015']
My srbd fail to show full coloration until the substrate is glazed over with algae.
[quote name='natureman187' date='26 February 2010 - 09:09 PM' timestamp='1267236597' post='73015']
My srbd fail to show full coloration until the substrate is glazed over with algae.
#10
Guest_mikez_*
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Posted 02 March 2010 - 02:07 PM
having recently moved to an apartment with sunny windows, I'm starting to think one reason fish look so good in the wild is seeing them in sun light. My same old fish show much more color with the sun reflecting off them. I can't capture it with the camera either. Flash washes it out, fish are too quick for natural light.
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