In the confines of an aquarium or pond there is not enough algae or other natural supplies of pigment, so it has to be included in the food that you provide. In the wild these pigments would originate from eating algae, shrimps, snails etc. In general, fish cannot make their own colour pigment therefore they have to consume it in their diet.
#ORANGE FRESHWATER FISH SKIN#
Those deep in the skin are more stable and less likely to break up. The chromatophores on the surface of the skin tend to be less stable due to them being more easily removed (by rubbing against underwater objects) or spreading as the fish ages and grows. If the chromatophores are very dense the colour will also appear dense, with the chromatophores on the surface of the skin blocking those below. The chromatophores may be positioned on the surface of the skin (above the scales), immediately under the scales or deeper in the skin. The irridocytes interfere with the light to give a blue colour. Irridocytes combined with chromatophores containing Erythrin, for example, will result in a shiny gold appearance.īlue is an unusual colour in fish in that it is a result of black pigment deep in the skin, with irridocytes in the middle layers of the skin. In certain cases the irridocytes can combine with the chromatophores to produce reflective colours. If the irridocytes are in the lower layers of the skin the fish have a matt white colour. Irridocytes on the surface of the scales will have a silvery appearance such as that found on tinfoil barbs or hatchet fish. The position of the irridocytes within the skin of the fish will influence it’s reflective properties.
If there are no chromatophores the fish will appear white due to the presence of the irridocytes or the background colour of the skin and muscle will show through. For example orange is a combination of red and yellow chromatophores, brown is a mixture of black and yellow and red is just the red chromatophores. Complementing the colour pigments are irridocytes, which are best described as tiny reflective spheres within the skin.Īll of the colours we see in freshwater fish are a mixture of these components. The 3 pigments are Erythrin (Red), Melanin (Black), and Xanthin (Yellow) each of which occurs in different chromatophores. The colouration of a fish is produced by three colour pigments which are largely contained within cells called Chromatophores. In the following paragraphs I would like to have a look at the colouration of fish and help to explain some of the changes you may observe in your own fish. Yet our understanding of fish colouration is still a relatively inexact science, with the known scientific facts clouded by theories and old wives tales. For enthusiasts who show fish, these two factors are also very important in determining the quality and therefore the value of any particular fish. The colouration and patterns of the fish that we keep in our aquaria are in many cases, the things that attract people into the hobby of fishkeeping.
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