Cobalt Coloring & Aging Q

[mcishaque]

To those of you with years of Cobalt keeping experience...

I got all my BD and cobalt juvies at the same time, about the same size, and form the same source. So I assume they were all of the same approximate age.

The BDs are pretty close to being fully colored. But cobalt does not seem as deeply colored as the BDs.

I was told that cobalts get more of a deeper/darker blue than BDs.

It could be just the strain, or is it that cobalts generally take longer than BDs to fully develop color ?

[bornlooser]

How old are they?

[strawberryblonde]

I got mine at 4" and it took about 8 more months before she was fully colored. She is definitely a deeper blue than a BD.

[mcishaque]

They are 2.5 years old is my guess. I've had them for about 26 months. Got them about 3 inch size. My BDs kept getting deeper in color up until just a couple of months ago.

[DiscusDrew]

I'd say they do take longer for sure but 2.5 years...not that long by any means. I'm guessing at this point your just seeing the quality if the strain. Blue diamonds get color extremely early, hence fish stores loving to get them in, at 2.5 inches they can already be sold very easily due to coloration. The cobalts by comparison start with striation and in good strains tend to eventually fill in entirely with a deeper blue color than the blue diamonds. This is just my experience, I do mostly pigeon based fish so I could be wrong but I have still raised my fair share of cobalts and BD.

[TNT77]

Ive had some get a deep blue coloration to them and some that don't. Genetics and sometimes diet can affect color. Ive noticed feeding red enhancers will deepen the color and spirulina will lighten them. jmo

[mcishaque]

Thanks. I only have one cobolt, and the rest are BDs. So I guess I have a not-so-blue cobalt.

[TNT77]

Thanks. I only have one cobolt, and the rest are BDs. So I guess I have a not-so-blue cobalt.
Not so blue as in has striations?

[mmorris]

I don't know what you mean by 'deeply colored.' Can you post pics? My cobalts start out looking like turqs but lose the body striations upon full maturity. They are more of a baby blue with a sheen to them, and I think it is a different blue than bd's - much prettier, IMO.

[qiyanfeng]

My cobalt looked like a turq when 3.5". End up like brown spot blue after 9 months. More like grey blue. I think yours is same thing. The genetic says all. Not every discus can reach the full coloration of that strain. I should say most of them can't.

[mcishaque]

As qiyanfeng states above, my cobalt is more of a grey blue.

I gave away my SLR, because I never used it. I only have a crappy phone camera. Here's a bad pic that I recently shared in the blue lover's thread in the pic gallery. Lighting is actinic blue. So the blue you see is enhanced by the lighting.

The cobalt is obviously the one with the stripe. Stripes become pronounced after a big water change, and go away a day or two later. As you can see, stirations are gone. Make note that the cobalt appears no deeper a shade of blue than the BDs. And that is why I am wondering about cobalt's shade of blue and maturity rate.

Upon seeing the pic, someone usually gets concerned about the glass beads. While we don't see it often, it does not necessarily mean it must not be done. The beads have been there for two years, and there is an even 2 inch layer of Seachem Flourite gravel under the beads (the visible black stuff in the back left corner of the gravel) - thus allowing for plenty of porous surface area. I've seen no adverse behavior changes in the fish from the glass beads. While I happen to like the look of the glass beads aesthetically, there is practical application to it as well... against the glass backdrop, I can easily spot poop and leftovers, alerting me at a glance when it is time to change the water, or if I am overfeeding.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg5/mcishaque/2012-07-15103816.jpg