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I just got back from a 2 week vacation to Disney World and was a little worried about my fish coming home.

Before leaving I did a bigger than normal water change (about 50%) dropped three 14-day vacation tabs in, turned off the lights and left em to their own devices.

I figured my pleco would make a quick meal of the vacation feeders but he must of left enough of them for the rest of the fish because coming back they looked great!

My Harlequins have gotten a nice red sheen to them on their back portions, my zebras have never looked brighter and the guppy and balloon molly fry I figured would be snack food grew bigger and the guppies got their tail colors going.

Now im not sure what prompted the good changes? Was it the change in diet? The vacation cubes had freeze dried brine shrimp and that dalphine (SP) in it. Or, was it the fact that they were in the dark for two weeks? My tank is in the basement so they were in total darkness for close to two weeks. I wanted to put the lights on a timer but my wife was worried about a fire breaking out:%):%).

I don't regularly feed my fish anything but flake food. They do get the occasional treat of frozen brine shrimp. Now I wonder if I should make brine shrimp or that dalphnia stuff part of their main diet.


Don

Not really sure what would have caused the change in your fish, but it is alway a good idea to serve as varied a diet to your fish as you can. Just think about it, what if all you had to eat was the same thing meal after meal and day after day. You probably wouldn't look your best either

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Nothing will color up a fish better then a varied diet.

You can do this by using 2 or 3 different types of flake, frozen bloodworms, shrimp, freeze dried or frozen tubifex and the occassional veggie like frozen peas (thaw and remove the outer shell) or drop in a piece of cumcumber or zuchinni (remember to remove after a few hours).

You will find your fish are more colorful, healthier and active.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

indeed...a wide variety of fud will indeed brigthen up ur fish...also, that will remove the boredom of just one or 2 kinds of fud...

I also think that it was the varied diet that you left them. I don't thnk that darkness will colour fish up.
I feed mine alot of different foods like, flakes, granules, pellets, brineshrimp & bloodworms & the colours are very beautiful.


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Actually all my fish will darken up when the lights are off. The gourami goes from pale to really dark blue sometimes almost black and the congos red stands out beautifully. After the lights have been on for an hour their color changes. It could have been a combination of the different food and the long dark period.