Juiced or not???

Hi all,

I just bought two red dragons and two tomato's from an LFS that is really great on products and fish, especially salt water fish. My question is, they are all super red, the kind that used to be called candy apple red. The fish are about 3" and being this brightly colored, what are the chances the fish are either color fed, or worse, hormoned? I took a chance on buying them because they look incredible and weren't very expensive, approx $30 each. This LFS has been in business for many years and always does sell things for much less then other stores, about the price of internet stores. Friends of mine have some of their fish for 8 plus years, and they even spawn successfully on the species that captively breed. opinions? I don't have a digital camera or I'd post images, I will try and borrow one from work.

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

At 3" and is full bright red? Sounds like hormones. Best way to tell is to observe the pectoral fins (the ones on the sides) and see if they have a yellow/orange hue to them. Most hormoned fish will show this, while some wont. The pectoral fins should be clear.


-Ryan

[fcdiscus]

I cannot tell without a picture, but most 3 inch fish showing full grown colors have been hormoned IMO. Frank

[Rick00]

I would say chances are good that they are.

Rick

Thats so sad because they are really pretty fish, I guess over the next two weeks if the color fades I'll know. The pectoral fins are fairly clear, although I detect a hint of color, I'm just not sure if its reflecting off the body. These are said to be asian discus and I heard that there is some type of roe that can be fed to intensify the red color, so maybe thats the case. Thanks for the responses, and hopefully I'll get a digital camera from work so you can see.