faysalals1 Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 I just bought new Rainbow Shiners for the first time, but their color is not what I saw in videos and pictures! How do they get that bright red and blue colors? Its also hard to feed them, they arent eating the mix of feed im giving them. Its hard to find info on them thats why im asking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 Am going to tag@Fish Folkbreed rainbow shiners has. Lot of useful information on them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFishChik Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 (edited) So, my BIL has these and according to him, they color up for breeding i did find this info on Aquatic Arts website…. Edited March 24 by FLFishChik 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faysalals1 Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 I red that you can trigger their color by making the aquarium heater high? How high can I go? I dont want to hurt them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mynameisnobody Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 I’ve kept a school of a dozen or so in the past. Give it time, be patient. When it come to breeding time, they will turn electric hot pink. Very cool fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlbertLemaster Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 (edited) Yes, I know. right. It is cool. On 4/14/2024 at 8:28 AM, Fish Folk said: @faysalals1 @Odd Duck @Colu Thanks for the question and tags. I'm presently in a "pause" with my hobby. Lots of life going on . . . But to this question, there are several layers of answers. (1) Most Rainbow Shiners for sale are not mature. Fully mature, they measure nearly the size of an adult human index finger. They do not color up (jeweled scales) until they are 6-months old or more. (2) There are decidedly different strains. Unless you know the source, and have photos of the adult brooders that fry come from, you're up a creek without a paddle. The north-eastern range tends to appear more red / brown... But the south / southwestern end of their range tends to display more brilliant blue... There are actually charts (somewhere) of all the variations . . . but basement breeders mix up their own cocktails, and you'll get quite a variety. (3) I have had a few Rainbow Shiners shipped to me F0 (wild-caught) that presented virtually _no_ color. I just cull these. (4) When mature Rainbow Shiners spawn, they turn a brilliant pink or orange. Here's an example of just one male all fired up chasing a female around . . . You can see in that video that certain Shiners are lower color quality than others. That's common if you do not buy from a single breeder. In my view, one of the best US breeders of quality Rainbow Shiners is @WhitecloudDynasty. Watch his videos on line to learn a lot about how he breeds, culls, and selectively creates quality strains. I have kept a long-form journal here on the forum for a few years. You might enjoy it... I take impromptu videos now and then. I took this one recently while mine were feeding... I feed mine a mix: Bug Bites color-enhancing flakes once per day, and frozen mix (BBS, Blood Worms, Mysis, Daphnia) once a day. If your source is careful and honest, they can show you photos of the brooders yours came from. Thanks for sharing it. My sister asked me to write her college paper, but I also wrote it so well that I thought I should get help from a professional. I found this https://academized.com/cheap-college-papers website, where I bought her a college paper. If you are also in a similar situation, now you know where to go. Edit: Thanks for sharing it. Edited Friday at 02:52 PM by AlbertLemaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 I think @Fish Folk must have missed the first tag as he’s usually quick to answer. I would consider him our resident expert in shiners. Tagging him again to see if he has further thoughts if he’s available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 They are not colored up all the time. Typically water changes, food and then the inevitable breeding behaviors that follow trigger them to have their best color. I’d keep them cooler than warmer. 60-76 is their typical temp range. I’ve seen them breakdown closer to 80. Lower oxygen levels at higher temps was my theory. They require good flow and heavily oxygenated water that is very clean, keep your nitrates down below 25. Many people keep them unheated, they require periods of lower temperatures to high temperatures to trigger breeding. I really think that dissolved oxygen is a big factor in keeping them healthy harder to pull off at higher temps. These are river and stream fish. Typically in an unheated scenario the regular seasonal variations of the year lead to more breeding in spring and fall with a lull in between. You can artificially spur them with water changes and changing your heater but the more you change the more likely you are to make a mistake . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 @faysalals1 @Odd Duck @Colu Thanks for the question and tags. I'm presently in a "pause" with my hobby. Lots of life going on . . . But to this question, there are several layers of answers. (1) Most Rainbow Shiners for sale are not mature. Fully mature, they measure nearly the size of an adult human index finger. They do not color up (jeweled scales) until they are 6-months old or more. (2) There are decidedly different strains. Unless you know the source, and have photos of the adult brooders that fry come from, you're up a creek without a paddle. The north-eastern range tends to appear more red / brown... But the south / southwestern end of their range tends to display more brilliant blue... There are actually charts (somewhere) of all the variations . . . but basement breeders mix up their own cocktails, and you'll get quite a variety. (3) I have had a few Rainbow Shiners shipped to me F0 (wild-caught) that presented virtually _no_ color. I just cull these. (4) When mature Rainbow Shiners spawn, they turn a brilliant pink or orange. Here's an example of just one male all fired up chasing a female around . . . You can see in that video that certain Shiners are lower color quality than others. That's common if you do not buy from a single breeder. In my view, one of the best US breeders of quality Rainbow Shiners is @WhitecloudDynasty. Watch his videos on line to learn a lot about how he breeds, culls, and selectively creates quality strains. I have kept a long-form journal here on the forum for a few years. You might enjoy it... I take impromptu videos now and then. I took this one recently while mine were feeding... I feed mine a mix: Bug Bites color-enhancing flakes once per day, and frozen mix (BBS, Blood Worms, Mysis, Daphnia) once a day. If your source is careful and honest, they can show you photos of the brooders yours came from. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 On 3/23/2024 at 9:06 PM, faysalals1 said: I red that you can trigger their color by making the aquarium heater high? How high can I go? I dont want to hurt them Do not try to raise temperature above 74-F. They'll respond to spawning triggers (water changes, stone tray addition) between 70-F and 74-F. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitecloudDynasty Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 On 3/23/2024 at 7:52 PM, faysalals1 said: I just bought new Rainbow Shiners for the first time, but their color is not what I saw in videos and pictures! How do they get that bright red and blue colors? Its also hard to feed them, they arent eating the mix of feed im giving them. Its hard to find info on them thats why im asking Normal farm stock will take abit to color up and their color will vary depending on who the breeder was and their lines. I would just be patient and wait a few month to see what they turn out. As for feeding try something that float longer and smaller in size..normally new fish won't dig for food in a new aquarium 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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