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Thread: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

  1. #1
    Silver Member Attila's Avatar
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    Default Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    I know, I know...consider me part of the dark side; I own angelfish
    I have had some great koi angels before. None have ever even come close in color to these guys below that I just got yesterday.
    I wonder, though, how much of this color is due to color enhancers? Are these fish just pumped full of astaxanthin?


  2. #2
    Nick Klimkowski
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    Where did you get them from? Angels plus?

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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    Angelfish do not make red pigment. Some have chromatophores that can store it while most do not. Several breeders of koi angels have spent many years breeding for fish that are covered with cells that can store pigment. Some koi now have very little white area (like yours). With feeding lots of red pigment like astaxanthin, these can be an extremely dark reddish orange. Feeding with foods with lots of pigment will result in fry slowly developing color over several months. When the fish reach a few years of age, some will begin to lose color even if fed a lot of pigment, presumably due a loss of the ability of chromatophores to store red pigments.

    I find these dark orange koi angels to be attractive and have several in a 150 gallon community tank with pigeon blood discus. They complement each other nicely.

    Ron

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    Silver Member Attila's Avatar
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    Quote Originally Posted by Fundulopanchax View Post
    I find these dark orange koi angels to be attractive and have several in a 150 gallon community tank with pigeon blood discus. They complement each other nicely.
    Did they look like mine above when you got them? Did they keep their color?



    Here's a video of some of my own koi angels from a few months ago. These were bred and raised by me, so I know that they got no color enhancers whatsoever. The chromatophores are obviously there, so if I fed them the right diet, I wonder of they would look like the ones that I just bought....



    Either way, I don't really have the desire to keep up with such a feeding regimen (except maybe some commercial color flakes). I guess I'll just see how it goes. They sure are striking against the double blacks and albino Philippine blues that I put them with in their grow out tank, however!

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    Platinum Member Ryan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    Bright orange high-coverage koi are entirely possible. Steve Rybicki at Angels Plus has been working with them for about 20 years. Feed them foods with astaxanthin (krill, flakes or pellets, etc.) and they should keep a nice dark orange. Check out this pair Steve sold a couple weeks ago -- lovely!


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    Silver Member Attila's Avatar
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    Mine are from Steve. I just wondered how much was nature and how much was nurture, so to speak. That definitely is an awesome pair...I just could not bring myself to pay almost as much for a pair of angels as a nice pair of Hans discus!!! So, I'll take the longer road and grow them out myself.

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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    [QUOTE=Attila;1071620]Did they look like mine above when you got them? Did they keep their color?

    They do color up much more with appropriate foods. The first ones I got lost a good bit of color since I wasn't feeding appropriately to get them to color nicely. I then changed to AngelsPlus Color Flakes and Al's freeze dried black worms with color additive as their base food along with homemade frozen seafood-based mix that has krill and so forth and they colored up again. Unlike pigeon blood discus which seem to have better color (or rather less peppering) over light bottom and background, the angels have better color over darker substrate and background.

    Now, I have not had any that are the color of those pictured below from AngelsPlus (and they don't have many) but some are reasonably close.

    Ron

    Ron

  8. #8
    SimplyDiscus Sponsor and MVP Nov.2015 Disgirl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    I have several angels that look just like the ones you pictured. Some are over 2 now and are just as red as the day I got them as nickel or dime sized young. I feed them the same foods as my discus. And I have them in separate large tanks, by the way. Mine are all from John at Mellowaquatics in PA.
    Barb


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    Registered Member GeauxDiscus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    Wow, those are all beautiful angels. I personally don't care how they got to looking that way - they're still super cool.
    -Shane

    Discus do it bare bottom.

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    Registered Member Skip's Avatar
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    i just want to know if angelplus koi are that red.. if they are.. WOW>. and i would totally get some..


    eventually
    Jester - S0S Crew Texas

  11. #11
    Silver Member Attila's Avatar
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    Quote Originally Posted by Skip View Post
    i just want to know if angelplus koi are that red.. if they are.. WOW>. and i would totally get some..
    The pictures in my first post are fish that I just got from Angels Plus...they're really that red!

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    Registered Member Skip's Avatar
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    Quote Originally Posted by Attila View Post
    The pictures in my first post are fish that I just got from Angels Plus...they're really that red!
    thanks
    i'll end up with some in future..
    Jester - S0S Crew Texas

  13. #13
    Registered Member Allwin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    Lovely koi's..Woow!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Attila View Post
    Did they look like mine above when you got them? Did they keep their color?



    Here's a video of some of my own koi angels from a few months ago. These were bred and raised by me, so I know that they got no color enhancers whatsoever. The chromatophores are obviously there, so if I fed them the right diet, I wonder of they would look like the ones that I just bought....


    Either way, I don't really have the desire to keep up with such a feeding regimen (except maybe some commercial color flakes). I guess I'll just see how it goes. They sure are striking against the double blacks and albino Philippine blues that I put them with in their grow out tank, however!
    Quote Originally Posted by Ryan View Post
    Bright orange high-coverage koi are entirely possible. Steve Rybicki at Angels Plus has been working with them for about 20 years. Feed them foods with astaxanthin (krill, flakes or pellets, etc.) and they should keep a nice dark orange. Check out this pair Steve sold a couple weeks ago -- lovely!

  14. #14
    Registered Member Skip's Avatar
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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    update?
    Jester - S0S Crew Texas

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    Default Re: Red Koi Angelfish...Enhanced??

    Any update?
    Ron

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