Introducing New Product , " Bio-Pigment Plus " Freeze Dried AUSTRALIAN Blackworms...

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
I have been very proud and Honored to work with Mal Davidson of Australian Blackworms now for the last 3 years. I take my reputation very seriously and would never have my name associated with something that I was not confident of its quality...Thats what I love about working with Australian Blackworms. Mal takes his time every step of the way and carefully evaluates any changes or potential products. I know this to be a fact as he often passes his ideas to me for feedback and input. This was the case when he came out with his Freeze Dried Australian BlackWorms with Spinach, a formulation that has gotten great support, feedback and reviews. Because of this I have added it to my online store as a full line item that will be regularly stocked... orders may be place here... http://www.aquaticsuppliers.com/Freeze-Dried-Australian-Blackworms-with-Spinach_c5.htm

One thing I know that Mal tries to do is design his products to meet a perceived need in our hobby. Its easy to get carried away when you are formulating a product or trying something new. I learned this years ago as biologist in the biotech field... and Australian Blackworms did not want to go down that path, so Mal began some careful test runs of various products designed to meet the goal of enhancing the colors without hormones , especially in fish like Discus...I received many batches of these food to try here in my fishroom, and evaluate.. After several long Months, I do believe that we have a product that meets this percieved need for a non-hormone based Color enhancer.

We call it, "Bio-Pigment Plus". Our Australian Freeze Dried Blackworms are now availible in with a combination of Spinach,Spirullina Algae, and Carophyll Pink. This formulation is designed to help bring out the reds and oranges in your fish. In the Course of the last 10 years of running this forum, I have read the question asked repeatedly about how to bring out the reds and orange colors in discus.. It is our hope that this food meets that need. You now have a choice of a food that combines the nutrition of Freeze Dried Blackworms with the benefits of added pigments that the fish can inturn use to produce the colors that you want to see in your fish.

I am initially offering this product for sale immediately in the 10 gram, 50 gram , and 100 gram bags from my stock..Orders may be place here....http://www.aquaticsuppliers.com/Freeze-Dried-Australian-Blackworms-Bio-Pigment-Plus_c7.htm

I am taking pre-orders on the larger sizes of 200 gram, 500 gram, 1kg here..http://www.aquaticsuppliers.com/Special-Pre-orders_c4.htm

I will eventually carry the larger sizes as normal stock items, but I want to be sure that everyone has a chance to get some of this new product.

I would be honored if you give it a try. If you already use our Freeze Dried Australian Blackworms, Your fish will love these as well.I have tried them with mine and they just as readily accepted.

One note.. Please understand that I can't promise your fishes will miraculously attain that deep red or orange you dream about..what I can say is fish like discus make their colors from what they eat...and this food has building blocks they can use to that ends. Results will vary and we make no promises as to how effective these added pigments will be as it depends on too many factors.

Also please note..Yellow fish and other light colored fish should not be fed this food... These should be fed our " Original " Freeze Dried Blackworms ( order here...http://www.aquaticsuppliers.com/Freeze-Dried-Australian-Blackworms-The-Original_c6.htm ) or our Spinach mix (order here...http://www.aquaticsuppliers.com/Freeze-Dried-Australian-Blackworms-with-Spinach_c5.htm)

As always, I will do my best to provide you a great food and great service, and please do understand that these purchases you make help support this forum. I look forward to your feedback on our new product.


Thank You Everyone!!
Al Sabetta
AquaticSuppliers.com
SimplyDiscus LLC

[brewmaster15]

To recap... Order the new Bio-Pigment Plus Freeze Dried Australian Blackworms here..http://www.aquaticsuppliers.com/Free...nt-Plus_c7.htm
If you have been looking for a food to help bring out the reds and oranges and you already use our Freeze Dried Australian Blackworms because of their quality and nutrition.

Thank You Everyone!!
Al Sabetta
AquaticSuppliers.com
SimplyDiscus LLC

[joanstone]

I'm interested in trying this out, but have a question per your light colored fish warning. I have two albino discus in my group, should I not give them this?

[nc0gnet0]

Al,

Any chance of a future product that offers yellow enhancing ability? Something with zeaxanthin, or marigold petals? At any rate sounds very interesting and will be adding to my monthly order.

Rick

[brewmaster15]

Joan,
The biggest problem people have with Yellow fish is that any foods with pigments in it tends to turn them orange over time... With something like albinos...a little now and then wont be a problem and again its going to vary. I have had Golden albinos that were fed heavy pigments and they turned from a pale whitish to a yellowish with tinge of orange after a year or so...I found the change attractive in what was before a drab fish.

I believe things like albinos with red patterns and spots will benefit... but again... each hobbyist needs to decide.

Oh and I may add that if you are currently feeding foods like tetrabits, hikari Red,home made beefheart with spirulina,or paprika, or astaxanthin... you are giving pigments to your fish.
Hth
al

[brewmaster15]

Al,

Any chance of a future product that offers yellow enhancing ability? Something with zeaxanthin, or marigold petals? At any rate sounds very interesting and will be adding to my monthly order.

Rick
Lol... Rick, I already have a special order in the works for something to address yellows...so yes, very very likely.

-al

[nc0gnet0]

Lol... Rick, I already have a special order in the works for something to address yellows...so yes, very very likely.

-al

Very nice, put me on the top of the list for that. While it may be a bit of a niche product, it would be the only one of its kind commercially available to my knowledge.

Rick

[Second Hand Pat]

Alas red Cuipeua when they are not in breeding colors...excited :)

[brewmaster15]

Alas red Cuipeua when they are not in breeding colors...excited :)Hmmm...wonder how the added pigments would work on them in breeding colors when they are putting pigments to use most.;)
-al

[Second Hand Pat]

Hmmm...wonder how the added pigments would work on them in breeding colors when they are putting pigments to use most.;)
-al

Super red Cuipeua :D

[Chicago Discus]

Al I ran this by the Mad Scientist and she is very excited about this product she said that the Carophyll Pink should really add nice color to Discus in a non threatening way. We will be ordering some of this product for a Test on our Discus. We are going to pick three tanks one will get normal FDBW one will get FDBW-bio pig. And the other will get FDBW-spinach. We are going to use a batch of Fire Reds which in my opinion is the hardest to maintain the red. I will post the results after a few months here.......Josie

[brewmaster15]

Josie,
That sounds like a great idea... drop me a pm and maybe I can offer some additional advice (if wanted) to the "Mad Scientist" :) on the experimental design, optimum numbers, etc, and a good age group to work with..

Thanks,
al

[Chicago Discus]

Josie,
That sounds like a great idea... drop me a pm and maybe I can offer some additional advice (if wanted) to the "Mad Scientist" :) on the experimental design, optimum numbers, etc, and a good age group to work with..

Thanks,
al

Ok cool I will let her know :)...Josie

[Ardan]

Order is in:)
Thanks Al and Mal!
Ardan

[brady]

Al
Would this be ok for red turqs and red ss?
Jay

[Kingdom Come Discus]

Sounds exciting Al. I bet you guys are working on blue formula too?

Keep up the great work!!!

[brewmaster15]

Al
Would this be ok for red turqs and red ss?
Jay Hey Jay! Absolutely...I'm feeding it to my Red Turqs. I want those red striations to really Pop on my fish.:)
-al

[matt56]

Order placed, very interested to see the effects these have on my alanquers. I would like them to redden up a bit, keep up the great work!

[brewmaster15]

Sounds exciting Al. I bet you guys are working on blue formula too?

Keep up the great work!!!
Thanks Kraig, you never know. My goal and Mals are the same here... provide the best food we can to meet our customers needs.:)

-al

[brewmaster15]

Order placed, very interested to see the effects these have on my alanquers. I would like them to redden up a bit, keep up the great work!

Thanks Matt, please keep me posted on how that works for you! You order and everyone elses will go out Monday..so should see it in a few days. Thanks for your Business!
al

[brewmaster15]

Order is in:)
Thanks Al and Mal!
Ardan
Thanks Ardan!!

[joanstone]

Looking forward to it, thanks.

[brewmaster15]

Got a bunch of questions on this That I want to tackle quick here.. Based on my personal experience as a Discus Nut case for far too many years...

These Discus fish will usually benefit from added red/orange pigments to their diet.. (and by benefit, I mean visually have better coloration)...

Red Turqs
Red snakeskins
Alenquers
Rose Reds
San merah
Albino San Merah
Red Gold Diamonds
Flamingos
Fire reds
Red Mellons
Gold mellons
Red Spotted Fish
All Wilds ( even Heckels can benefit)
Striated Blue Turqs
Checkerboard Pigeons

Basically if the fish has red as a prominent color or pattern or high lights....adding red pigments is going to help bring out the color. This goes for all Species of cichlids...not just discus.

Fish marketed as Yellows... minimize the red and orange pigments... these would be best on our original Freeze Dried Australian Blackworms.

This feeding of Color pigments that are reds and oranges on Blue Diamonds...I would not do...the tail can become slightly yellow with too much reds.

White Diamonds, can turn to a light yellow with too much red pigments.. as can golden albinos...which I actually liked very much.

Basically... all discus need pigments intheir diet for the production of reds and oranges....a good way to judge if you should have them in the diet is the if the fish is supposed to have reds and oranges in appearance...if not... Our original Freeze Dried Blackworms and Our spinach ones are a great choice for your fish.

Hope that helps and if you have any other questions...drop me a pm or email...aquaticsuppliers@comcast.net and I will be glad to help you pick the best option for you fish in a straight forward honest fashion.
Hth,
al

[DLock3d]

Just ordered a kilo Al. Would love something for my cobalts in the future!

[brewmaster15]

Just ordered a kilo Al. Would love something for my cobalts in the future! Thanks Dan for your order! As for the Blues... I'll see what I can do!! I have a tank of cobalt juvies here myself to experiment on !!

-al

[Kenny's Discus]

Al,

You and Mal are a great team from day 1, and you have been continuously providing your Freeze Dried Australian Blackworms in different form to our discus community with great success! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Very exciting to see this new formula and looking forward to trying it. Keep up the great work!

Kenny

[Second Hand Pat]

Just ordered 100 grams. Looking forward to trying this on my wild Cuipeua.
Thanks Al.
Pat

[Kingdom Come Discus]

I bet your wilds will be glowing like fire with these Pat!!!!

[a volar]

I'll be waiting for something for my blues Al.

[Second Hand Pat]

I bet your wilds will be glowing like fire with these Pat!!!!

That's that idea Kraig :D

[bornlooser]

Its all good ...but the term "Bio-Pigment Plus" gives the impression that the coloring agent is all natural. when it is not..Carophyll Pink is synthetic ,i believe....it boils down to "'ethics" a guess.

[Second Hand Pat]

Its all good ...but the term "Bio-Pigment Plus" gives the impression that the coloring agent is all natural. when it is not..Carophyll Pink is synthetic ,i believe....it boils down to "'ethics" a guess.

Are you sure Carophyll Pink is synthetic in this regard?? It appears to be a version of Astaxanthin (IUPAC name); Other names are
3,3'-dihydroxy-ß-carotene-4,4'-dione; Astaxanthin (6CI); β-Carotene-4,4'-dione, 3,3'-dihydroxy-, all-trans- (8CI); (3S,3'S)-Astaxanthin; (3S,3'S)-Astaxanthin; (3S,3'S)-all-trans-Astaxanthin; (S,S)-Astaxanthin; Aquasta; AstaREAL; AstaXin; Astared; Astaxanthin, all-trans-; Astots 10O; Astots 5O; BioAstin; BioAstin oleoresin; Carophyll Pink; Lucantin Pink; NatuRose; Natupink; Ovoester; all-trans-Astaxanthin; trans-Astaxanthin [1]

There are both natural and synthetic sources of Astaxanthin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astaxanthin

[bornlooser]

Not saying that one is better than the other....just my first impression.
But i believe that..."Carophyll Pink" is a trade name...and is produced by DSM, a large chemical company.
http://www.dsm.com/en_US/downloads/dnpna/DNPNA_ANH_51640_aqua.pdf

I think its up to the sellers to clarify whether the pigment is synthetic or not especially when using the term "Bio".

[brewmaster15]

Its all good ...but the term "Bio-Pigment Plus" gives the impression that the coloring agent is all natural. when it is not..Carophyll Pink is synthetic ,i believe....it boils down to "'ethics" a guess.

.Not saying that one is better than the other....just my first impression.
But i believe that..."Carophyll Pink" is a trade name...and is produced by DSM, a large chemical company.
http://www.dsm.com/en_US/downloads/d...51640_aqua.pdf

I think its up to the sellers to clarify whether the pigment is synthetic or not especially when using the term "Bio".

....

You are welcome to your opinion on this. but since I suggested the name to Mal, I will defend it. I am a BIOLOGIST by education...BIO does not mean Natural. Bio mean life.

You seem to be applying a definition to "Bio" that is not accurate by many standards ... It may be your personal interpretation of the term "bio" but that view is not shared in the world of Science.


Dictionary...bio- before a vowel, bi-
combining form
1. indicating or involving life or living organisms biogenesis biolysis
2. indicating a human life or career biography biopic

It is used anytime a person wants to denote something that is related to life.... for example,
PROJECT BIONICS aims to preserve and present artificial organ developments

I used to work in the field of BIOTechnology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotechnology which does not mean "natural" technology. It is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives there of, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity).[1]

So from my point , that pre-fix "bio" means many things.

I coined the name "Bio-pigment plus" because I felt it described the addition of useful pigments in the Life Processes involved in fish pigmentation The "plus" part pertains to the benefit of being better absorbed ...a known fact of Carophyll pink due to its formulation and it pertains to the spirullina which is a great source of orange pigments.... No where do I make a claim whether the pigment is natural or synthetic.. Chemically it is structurally the same as the pigment from the algae its derrived from... and its a common pigment used in the production of fish for human consumption, and in many other animal feeds where color pigmentation is desired. It is currently widely used as a source of pigmentation in Discus production in Asia.

Whether the fact that something is lab made or made in nature is valid to some people.I am not trying to mislead anyone, to the contrary I have gone above and beyound to try and inform people in this thread. I guess as a biologist my view is that you have a headache and want aspirin, you can go find a willow tree, scrap its inner bark and chew on that...or you can buy a bottle of highly purified Lab grade aspirin and use that ...both work.

In my opinion , it would be unethical to offer the product without saying what it has in it.... it is the responsibility of anyone who buys a thing to take the time to learn about it and draw their own conclusions as to whether they want to feed that.

If you want to discuss the semantics of the wording further by pm... Please do me the courtesy of contacting me directly, rather than accuse me of being unethical publically about the choice of names here.

Thanks,
Al

[lipadj46]

LOL, someone just got schooled. A blue formula would be cool.

sent from an undisclosed location using morse code

[Bud Smith]

Thanks Al - Just placed my order - Iam not interested in the name just the results

[brewmaster15]

Thanks everyone for giving this a try ... all orders placed are on their way now!:)

Best Regards to all of you!
-al

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Al, would this "color enhancer" if fed to the discus long enough effect the eggs and the fry? meaning will the color become part of the fry genetics in their coloration?

I am interested in trying this for sure.

[brewmaster15]

Al, would this "color enhancer" if fed to the discus long enough effect the eggs and the fry? meaning will the color become part of the fry genetics in their coloration?

I am interested in trying this for sure.

Hi Jeff,
No it will not affect the fry genetics that code for coloration. It just a pigment that the fish ingests and then uses as it would any other pigments from its food.

Basically, Fish like discus need to ingest red and orange pigments in order to use them in coloration. They can't make them ... In the wild some sources of pigments are insects and crustaceans....who in turn usually get it by ingesting other organism like algaes.

A classic example is Flamingos... beautiful pink red birds... they get that from pigments in their diet of crustaceans.. Take pigments out of their diet and they turn in drab birds over time...so in captivity its often supplimented.


Caryphyll pink is lab made version of a red pigment that comes from an algae...

In many ways its much like vitamins that people consume... you can get them from certain foods, but most come from a lab where they are massproduced and standardized for concentration or reformulated to a better absorbed form. Carophyll pink has been formulated in such a fashion.

hth,
al

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Thanks Al for the information.

[Inland Empire Discus]

Sound good Al. Will have to place an order for some soon.

[joanstone]

Can you expand a little bit on how it's "put together". After receiving my worms, thanks, am I correct in thinking that the black worms, spinach and bio pigment plus are three separate items pressed together/freeze dried together into cubes and that the bio pigment plus pieces are very small pieces/bits? With the influx of new black worm recipes, my thought is that once they rip into a cube and it separates, they still have to choose to eat the extra items added. For the most part, they seem to, as with the spinach. I'm not sure about the bio pigment plus, though. If the worms are soaked in a liquid solution of it, then the fish might get it by just eating the black worms. I'm curious about the possibility of actually "gut loading" black worms as you can other types of food like crickets, brine shrimp, etc.

[joanstone]

BTW, the fish love it and are ripping it apart.

[MSD]

This is an example of why I never argue with Al, I just learn from him!

[MSD]

That and my fish love the worms, they are clean, easy and grow the fish nicely.

[brewmaster15]

Can you expand a little bit on how it's "put together". After receiving my worms, thanks, am I correct in thinking that the black worms, spinach and bio pigment plus are three separate items pressed together/freeze dried together into cubes and that the bio pigment plus pieces are very small pieces/bits? With the influx of new black worm recipes, my thought is that once they rip into a cube and it separates, they still have to choose to eat the extra items added. For the most part, they seem to, as with the spinach. I'm not sure about the bio pigment plus, though. If the worms are soaked in a liquid solution of it, then the fish might get it by just eating the black worms. I'm curious about the possibility of actually "gut loading" black worms as you can other types of food like crickets, brine shrimp, etc.

HI Joan,
Glad they got to you so fast and the discus love them. I can't really comment too much on how Mal make these, but what I can say is that yes the spinach is separate from the worms and pressed together (you can see the bite size pieces).... blackworms aren't something you can really gut load in the same sense as they do crickets and brineshrimp. Be great it we could though. The discus do have to eat the spinach, or they eat it as they eat the worms.. The pigment works different, its basically on the surface of the worms...so when they eat the worms, they should be ingesting the pigment as well. Similar principal as to when people add pigments like astaxanthin to their homemade Beefheart mixes.

Hopefully that helps with your question, if not , please let me know...I could give you a call and talk abit about pigments and such.
Thanks!
al





This is an example of why I never argue with Al, I just learn from him!

LOL....:D Thanks Mark!

[matt56]

Just got my worms this morning, and they took to them with the same ferocity as the normal blackworms. Thanks for the fast shipping as always al!

[joanstone]

Thanks, Al. Pretty much what I thought. The reason I asked was the first cube I put in kind of "exploded" into a lot of little particles. The other cubes I've put in have been more like regular black worms. I think that first one just happened to have a high percentage of the bio pigment plus substance. My fish are crazy for it, I think even more than the regular FD black worms if that's possible.

[matt56]

Also, they seem to be much easier to moosh against the glass then the normal blackworms, which i like.

[timmy82]

Mal's Australian FDBW are great I get them by the 1kg with spinach and the Discus love them, seem to get larger spawns now too.

[Second Hand Pat]

Thanks Al, my 100 grams came yesterday, I have not tried it yet but will this weekend.

[crazyaboutdiscus]

Received my 50 gram order of Bio-Pigment Plus cubes very quickly. They are an immediate hit with my discus...they
attack them with even more excitement than the regular freeze-dried blackworm cubes, which I wasn't sure was
possible!

Thanks Al for the great new product...hoping to see a little more red color in my red turqs soon!

Steve

[brewmaster15]

Thanks Everyone for your support, feedback and Business!

-al

[matt56]

Hey al, just thought id show you what i think is pretty spectacular. All the fish about a week and a half ago were this shade.
http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy260/mattster56/DSC01843_zps99105c87.jpg

This is one now. Hes shown the most change, but the others are visibly redder. Even his spots are more noticeably brighter which i love.
http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy260/mattster56/DSC01848_zpse63fefdb.jpg

Now whether the food has done this, or its just them coloring up some since they are still growing, i dont know but i can honestly say i dont think its a coincidence and im very happy with the results. Thanks again al for bringing in these fantastic products!

[Ardan]

Thanks Al for the fast shipping! the discus love it!

Ardan

[April]

Got mine yesterday! Fast shipping to Canada! Now if only I had a red discus! Lol. I do have a group of penangs till today though. Tey are sold. But they are eating them.
Ill move some red Turks over from the warehouse and see how they colour up! I also have some tiny baby oranda goldfish. Ill see if thry become red.

[Kingdom Come Discus]

Before Bio Pigment Plus


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q2mewz3Mf7A

[Kingdom Come Discus]

Two and a half weeks after. Feeding two times a day.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g_rhSED943Y

[matt56]

Pretty much the same results here kraig, im loving this stuff. Unfortunately i ran out and am feeding regular blackworms at the moment, but they really like the pigment ones more, i think its less dense so its easier for them grab chunks off it.

[gillym]

Has anyone tried the pigment plus with piwow RT's? I would guess it would look pretty good.

Thanks



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Kal-El]

This is some great results. I'll have to try this on some of my red discus.

Al, when will you have more in stock?

[brewmaster15]

Bio-pigment is fully in stock at this point, as are our original cubes... only thing I am lacking is the spinach and thats due in soon, a tad low on loose worms as well.

hth,
al

[brewmaster15]

Has anyone tried the pigment plus with piwow RT's? I would guess it would look pretty good.

Thanks



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
I'm using it on my all of my red turqs here(PIOs,Stendker, and Forrests)... I alternate between the Bio, spinach and original cubes.

-al

[Sandy Clay]

I have 3 Discus that are mostly Blue, the other 2 have Red's in them. What would you recommend in this case?

[brewmaster15]

You could feed them the Bio-pigment occassionally, but I would use the spinach combo or original as your main food.

hth,
al

[Sandy Clay]

Thanks

[4discusdude]

Just place another order. My discus really love it. 6 week old is love it.