Tag: Spirulina

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Feed Ingredient: Color Enhancers

Are there color enhancers in the diet?

Red color is enhanced by things like astaxanthin, bio-red, shrimp oil, carotenoid pigments and spirulina
Red color is enhanced by things like astaxanthin, bio-red, shrimp oil, carotenoid pigments and spirulina

Look for terms like Spirulina, Bio-Red, BetaCarotene, Canthaxanthin, Marigold petals, Xanthins, Shrimp Oil, Synthetic and Non Synthetic Carotenoids, Color Enhancers…On the label. Generally, the shrimp oil is the most expensive. It performs as well or better than the synthetic carotenoids but either is acceptable. Spirulina cannot push color unless the fish are exposed to sunlight. None of these color enhancers are hazardous to fish but can make a fish with a yellow head YELLOWER and so they say: a fish with a tendency towards pink pinker. No color enhancer can replace the irrefutable contribution of genetics and sunlight to color.

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What is BETAINE?

What is BETAINE?
“Betaine” is a quarternary ammonium compound that was first discovered in the juice of sugar beets (Beta vulgaris)
Betaine aids digestion and helps protect against fatty infiltration of the liver. The osmoprotective effect of betaine has been found to protect fish from the physiological stress induced by the transfer from fresh water to salt water, which Koi will encounter when ponds and quarantine systems are medicated with salt.

What are Spirulina and Canthaxanthin / Asthaxanthin?
Spirulina, a primordial algae rich in carotenoids has been around more than 3 billion years, and is known as one of the world’s best natural color enhancers.
Astaxanthin is an optimal carotenoid for the proper pigmentation of the red/pink colours in fish.