If You See A Dyed Fish At Your Lfs/lps...

[kevinthecow]

I think I saw one.

It looked like a BST, except Red. I've seen white and blue skirt tetras, those I think aren't dyed since I've seen them in videos, and lfs and such alot.

I looked in the tank, planning to get a few blues and whites and saw one red one swimming around. (Reddish, pinkish.)

Is that dyed..? Should I buy it..? It's still in there.

 

[shelaghfishface]

hi kevin,
i actually took my business elsewhere when mine started stocking dyed fish, (parrot fish) i dont supposed he missed me one bit,but made me feel better, i went back a few months later and all seems to have changed,if i did see anything a bit suss in there again, i would talk to him,see what his opinions were,its all about supply and demand,so if u dont buy them he wont need to restock,its a tough one i know


shelagh xxx

 

[shroob]

I'd probably point it out to the owner and if he knew it was dyed and bought it anyway I'd find a new LFS. That is if indeed the fish was dyed, hard to tell from description.

 

[mike os]

I inform the owner, tell them I wont be back & walk

 

[vinylman]

I inform the owner, tell them I wont be back & walk

It's not always as straightforward as that, though. A shop could be sent anything to make up an order without the shop knowing what's coming.

 

[mike os]

it is that simple

if they are either prepared to display it or don't have the knowledge required to determine the problem then ultimately it is the same... if it is displayed & someone wants to but they will inevitably sell, & if they don't know better then they do not have sufficient knowledge of their industry to be worth dealing with

 

[helterskelter]

I agree with mike os take your money to a shop that deserves it.

 

[saz326]

I think I saw one.

It looked like a BST, except Red. I've seen white and blue skirt tetras, those I think aren't dyed since I've seen them in videos, and lfs and such alot.

I looked in the tank, planning to get a few blues and whites and saw one red one swimming around. (Reddish, pinkish.)

Is that dyed..? Should I buy it..? It's still in there.

There is a white skirt tetra out there - kinda an albino, but not true albino as their eyes have colour. I believe the blue and red versions are dyed white skirt tetra. If the colour is particularly vivid, then I would have no doubt that they are dyed. If the colours are only slight (e.g. blacky blue or blacky red) then they could be variations..

 

[vinylman]

it is that simple

if they are either prepared to display it or don't have the knowledge required to determine the problem then ultimately it is the same... if it is displayed & someone wants to but they will inevitably sell, & if they don't know better then they do not have sufficient knowledge of their industry to be worth dealing with

A lot of 'ifs' there. Would you say that any shop that doesn't have the facility to house the fish out of sight should simply flush them as soon as they arrive?.

 

[BryceHockey]

A LFS near me that has very nice (and usually knowledgeable) owners and employees recently started stocking what they called "Blueberry and Strawberry Tetras", which were dyed White Skirt Tetras. Two weeks later the label for the exact same fish changed to "Blue and Red Painted Tetras". I was pretty mad and disappointed but don't have the guts to say it to them, so haven't bought any fish from there since then.

 

[shroob]

I think other people are being abit harsh on the shop owners, first ask about the dyed fish (if they are indeed dyed and if the owners know about this/the process). It could just be that they were sent them by accident, they might not have ordered them. If they did order them by intention and know the process then by all means walk out and take your custom elsewhere but I wouldn't make assumptions.

 

[nosoup4you]

A commonly available and popular fish, the Colored Skirt Tetra is a strain of fish developed from the White Tetra that have a natural pink or blue coloration....White Skirt Tetras are often dyed in various pastels colors. Both natural and artificially dyed specimens are sold under various colored names like the Blueberry Tetra, Strawberry Tetra, or Rainbow Tetra. Be sure to inquire about which type of specimen you are obtaining.

http/animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/char...dSkirtTetra.php

 

[saz326]

A commonly available and popular fish, the Colored Skirt Tetra is a strain of fish developed from the White Tetra that have a natural pink or blue coloration....White Skirt Tetras are often dyed in various pastels colors. Both natural and artificially dyed specimens are sold under various colored names like the Blueberry Tetra, Strawberry Tetra, or Rainbow Tetra. Be sure to inquire about which type of specimen you are obtaining.

[URL="http/animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/char...dSkirtTetra.php"]http/animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/char...dSkirtTetra.php[/URL]

I had always thought that it would be the skirt itself that would be coloured - never imagined the colour would be anywhere on the body of the fish.

I must say my natural instinct is to think these fish have been injected with dye - the colour looks too strong in one section of the body to be a natural color... I would also have thought that if it were a natural colour then there would be some fish displaying mixtures of the two colours from interbreeding.

Does anyone have any of these fish? A bit off topic I know but would be interested to know whether the colour fades. And does anyone know how to tell the difference between the natural colours and dyed colours? ' cause I certainly dont.

 

[kenny fish fanatic]

we went to tukey earlyer in the year and there was a nice deep dark orange parrot fish we loved him he was so tame,so i promised myself one,i went to a good shop and was talking to the owner whos been selling fish many years and we got on about these dyed fish,he told me that he once got a batch of green blue red parrot fish in,and he swore that he would never buy them,anyway i bought mine it was a nice orance like the one in turkey so i bought it do hope mine not dyed as i dont know that much about them.i seen the same as mine in p@h at £19.99 each,so i was happy with my bargain fish,he eats out my hand and nibbles on my fingers..can anyone tell me how many colours they come in,,ie natural not dyed,,thanks,kenny

 

[nosoup4you]

I had always thought that it would be the skirt itself that would be coloured - never imagined the colour would be anywhere on the body of the fish.

If you are referring to the fish pic accompanying the link that I provided, I believe these to be the artificially colored variety.