Midas question....

This feels like a total newbie question.... but Ive never had a midas like this before.

I purchased three midas from A place For Pets a little while back which were from Mel's stock. I kept the one largest male and gave the other two away. I have never had a midas from a young size size that was not already orange. This one has juvenile bar patterning going on. Mine is about 4.5" and starting to show a tiny bit of red and this week has turned dark. Is this the peeling stage Im seeing? At what point can I expect the true orange/white colors to set in?

Some old pictures showing the stages of changing. Is it turning black like in the pictures? It is most likely beginning to change, everyone matures at different rates.[img][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][/img][img][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][/img][img][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][/img]

Yep, kind of dark like that. Its also going through a very shy period and tends to huddle in the back. Something it has really never done before. So I guess I will chalk it up to fish puberty.

My wife doubts the fish will ever color up. Ive even shown her the video of Mel's fish as proof.

Truthfully Im begining to have my doubts if it will color up - Not really, but it seems slow. I guess when you are used to the mixed mutt midevil that are pretty much born bright orange, it is an interesting wait and see game.

you and her will be happy once it matures.

I re-watch the videos of Mel's big bull male and hope mine turns out the same.

as you know, i kept the second largest one and gave my friend the smallest (he begged me ;-)

here is what the second one looks like this morning to ease your wife's worries:

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where can i see the video?

Mine must just be going slow...

Here is Mel's video page: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks Lloyd for posting pics of yours. Makes me feel better knowing mine will change soon.

Some Midas , like this isletta will never " color up being a barred morph with a red head.
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This one looked like the barred one then changed


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Lloyd's midas is from the same batch as mine and a is quite a bit farther along in the color change. Mine looks to still be going slow.

thats only because mine has been swimming in orange kool-aide for a couple of months, found this helps my fish turn orange quickly!

Just Kool-aide? I tried latex paint but after painting the fish and putting it back in the water it all washed off. Should I have used a primer first?

An ancient Chinese secret: Feed them Superba Krill a few times/wk. It will bring out those reds.

My base food is HBH soft moist krill so I am covered

I have been feeding a miracle food called NLS

I have been using NLS a bit heavier than I used to and I have to agree with reviews Ive read about growth rates seeming to be slower with this food. The Midas and Bifa both seem to be slow growing on this diet and the coloration is good but nothing that other foods and good water conditions can not also accomplish. I recently decided to add more frozen food into the diet, with two feedings a week of bloodworms and brine shrimp. A strict pellet diet of NLS just does not seem to get some of these fish up to size.

With the krill, is it frozen or the freeze dried?

bassetman wrote:My base food is HBH soft moist krill so I am covered

Been looking to try this. Might just order some soon.

Freeze dried from Kens. 1lb = $30

Cool, will look into that also. I have used the frozen before and the fish like it but pretty expensive.

i give mine frozen krill about three times a week. it's expensive, but I love watching them attack it! and DMD, primer is always a must.....

lloyd378 wrote:i give mine frozen krill about three times a week. it's expensive, but I love watching them attack it!

That would be a reason your fishes growth is ahead of mine. I had been pretty much just doing pellet. I have now introduced other foods and will probably see growth rates go up for the fish. I have also been feeding earthworms along with bloodworms and brine shrimp. I used to also feed live crickets, which is totally fun to watch them go at. I am going back to a higher variety diet and not so much pellet only like I had been doing.

The only fish I want to grow slow is the giraffe cat. With a potential tank buster on my hands I want to keep it as long as possible. For some reason it loves the 3mm NLS and took to it almost immediately.

DMD, here's a quick video of my(your old midas) as well as a couple other fish. i still can't seem to figure out how to shoot in full HD mode with the new camera....[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Very cool Lloyd, love the progress the little guy is making. Mine is coming along.... really it is.

I hope mine will turn out super bright like a glofish! Its been chowing down heavy on the NLS and Dainichi lately, must be a growth spurt.

That Oscar makes the rest of your stock look tiny!

DMD123 wrote:Very cool Lloyd, love the progress the little guy is making. Mine is coming along.... really it is.

I hope mine will turn out super bright like a glofish! Its been chowing down heavy on the NLS and Dainichi lately, must be a growth spurt.

That Oscar makes the rest of your stock look tiny!

Growth spurt = happiness!

as for the oscar; he makes my 4 1/2 year son look small.... lol, my son always asks me when we are going to BBQ the oscar, as he feels it's about the same size and color of the copper river salmon fillet we had the other night

I think BBQ Oscar would be pretty good.

um.... maybe with a LOT of dipping sauce. I would equate it to anything caught in the atlantic....

both my tank and that pond = fish w/o firm flesh....but im only speculating ;-)

It is interesting to watch the color change as I happens.

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bassetman wrote:It is interesting to watch the color change as I happens.

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looks like you might have a real nice beastly male (nuchal hump) there!

I have been very lax about taking pictures of the growth process. I need to document this more. Mine is just at the starting point of change....

It is cool to look back and see the changes. I took a picture of my new volta giraffe right when I got it and have been comparing it to what it is now a month later and wow its packed on some size. Of course I did not take a picture of it, yet.

DMD123 wrote:I have been very lax about taking pictures of the growth process. I need to document this more. Mine is just at the starting point of change....

It is cool to look back and see the changes. I took a picture of my new volta giraffe right when I got it and have been comparing it to what it is now a month later and wow its packed on some size. Of course I did not take a picture of it, yet.

lax? more like non existent(j/k).... haha. but with your photography skills you are really just punishing the rest of us

I might just punish you guys by taking pictures, lots and lots of pictures....

So Lloyd after our discussion of your HUGE Oscar I thought of this picture I had seen. It was supposed to be an Oscar in a typical 75g tank (18" wide)
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dang, if that's in a 75, its pushing 16 inches in size. that's a beast...... more pictures please (of just about anything)

Look at him now.

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His girl friend looks nice to.

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I have to take Bob the front out of the tank. He is kicking the Red Devils around too much.

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My little kraussi are growing fast.

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Nice progress