Red Eye and Amber Eye?

[seanyuki]

I found BD eye color very interesting and changes all the time. Most of the juv stay red. then they slowly fade away and turn amber until spawning time. Most will turn red again when they breed.....so does water hardness affect the iris?

[LizStreithorst]

I don't know that about Francis. All I know is that my BD pair produces better eye color that they have. I don't know whyr.

I DO know that in PBs that a beaiful smal,chery red eye is easy to come by. In other strains, not so much. Drives me ntuso too. I'm a breeder!

[DiscusKev]

Ah I'm having this problem with 1 of my red turquoise. When the RT was a juvenile, the iris was solid red and as the RT grows it turned amber :s Pretty annoying.

[Melissa]

I LOVE my RTs amber eyes :) he looks all crazy sometimes and like he really has personality, I think it's the eyes that make him look that way.

[brewmaster15]

Well if you suppliment with Photoshop that eye color comes right back.... :)

Just kidding.

One thing I have noticed that will affect the degree of red in the eyes pigment is hormones...when a fish goes into spawning mode its not uncommon for the colors to intensify.....that includes eye color...Breeding behavior and associated pigment changes is largely controlled by hormonal mechanisms... Its often noted that the juvies of some strains have red eyes, yet they fade as they get older.... again hormones can play a role there as juvies also are actively growing...again hormones.

Can't help but wonder if Hormones as in natural ones control the degree of redness in the fishes eyes. If so its also possible that supplimenting with hormones would do the same. Now before anyone jumps that i am saying to use hormones ...I am not....But theres alot of things that can be fed that can almost act as natural hormones...or can trigger the expression of hormones naturally.

oh and lets make the distinction first... a fish born with red eyes that loses the red intensity is genetically different than one born with amber eyes.

Just rambling some thoughts here...some food for thought.

hth,
al

[DiscusKev]

I was doing some search and found some good threads to read at SD. Well for me, a red eye look more striking than those with amber eye. Red eye gives a great appeal but amber eye gives the fish character but the colour of the eye hugely affect the overall appearance in contrast to it's body colour. IF I had a choice I would like solid red (full red ring).

Can't remember who since I done this search 1 hour ago but someone said feeding your fish "[can't remember what it was but it was a red enhancer, c.pink I think]" could enhance the red eye.

[LizStreithorst]

But Brew, how do you figure this? I was delighted to see that my pair produced a better red eye than they have themselves. Because I know that the iris color is the pair's weak point, I selected for a red eye.

Francis was the first to order fish from me. I know that he knows qulaity. Except for the 7 I've kept for myself, he got the best. Eye color was not an issue. Mine all have a mostly solid but not always perfectly complete red eye. In his tank they do not. I can't for the life of me figure it out.

I think that Francis may be right. Maybe it is somethig in the water. Perhaps it has to do with all the live food I give them . I don't know. I'm at a loss.

Thoughts of anyone who has more experience than I are most welcome. I'm a breeder. I want to produce the best. I need to figure this out.

[seanyuki]

Perhaps lack of minerals in the water and cause the red iris turned amber......maybe I will add some marine salt mix to my tank.lol

[April]

I'd say it's our mineral poor water. It's like ro water. Add equilibrium Francis and see. I know where you can get some!
Since I've been using equilibrium and the oz blackworms my fish won't stop spawning.

[seanyuki]

Thanks for the advice master April and talk to u later.


I'd say it's our mineral poor water. It's like ro water. Add equilibrium Francis and see. I know where you can get some!
Since I've been using equilibrium and the oz blackworms my fish won't stop spawning.

[josephl]

I always thought that the red eye/amber eye thing was 'mood related'. For example, in my tanks, I have 2 blue diamonds that normally swim around with amber eyes but every once in a way, especially when there are lbw in the worm feeder, their eyes turn bright red with a bit of a devilsih glow, their aggression goes up and they terrorize the other fish in the tank for a little while, then their eyes go back to amber and everything settles down again.

Maybe it's just my imagination as I sit on the couch watching the fish with a beer in hand :D