Another way you can bloom the flower of your marulioides is with the tanning technique. First lets understand a little bit about the flower. The flower is actually a dead pixel, marulioides are very unique fish, they possessed the ability to change color at will like a chameleon. But when the flower is formed that scale is spoiled and no longer changes color, it cannot get darker or lighter.
As mentioned many times marulioides caught in river or big water always shows minimal flower, maru caught in dead water like peat swamp shows maximum flowers. Maru would need the color changing ability to survive, they can change color to hunt and to escape from predators.
Meanwhile maru living in black dead water swamp do not need the color changing ability as much or maybe the low PH somehow destroy the color changing ability and the result will be plentiful of flowers or plenty of spoiled scale.
I've done experiment on maru living in fast cycled tank and they lose the flowers or in another way to look at it they heal the scale so that the color changing ability is once again functioning. Maru living in slow cycle tank or still water tank with low PH will develop more flowers.
An alternate way to speed up this process is with tanning light, we destroy the color changing ability in the scale hence producing flowers.
First you will need the fish to reduce or park its color at neutral. Means color is off. Few ways to do this, the easy way is to increase the ph to above 7. The fish will be uncomfortable and will show no color. That is neutral color and this is the color we want.
Tan the fish with a low power light, submersible is preferred for better result. Full spectrum 10k light with uva and uvb. This will start destroying the thin layer at the edge. Do this for around 2 - 3 weeks, 7-10 hours daily and u can see the edge showing white.
Then switch to a strong lamp and burn the white color until it is fully destroyed and showing a bright white patch. The strong lamp can only be use for a short period. 7 days and 7-10 hours daily.
I've gone thru many failed attempts to tan marulioides until I finally figured out that the scale must be colored off.
The process will take months and close monitoring. Not an easy task, plenty of commitment.
As mentioned many times marulioides caught in river or big water always shows minimal flower, maru caught in dead water like peat swamp shows maximum flowers. Maru would need the color changing ability to survive, they can change color to hunt and to escape from predators.
Meanwhile maru living in black dead water swamp do not need the color changing ability as much or maybe the low PH somehow destroy the color changing ability and the result will be plentiful of flowers or plenty of spoiled scale.
I've done experiment on maru living in fast cycled tank and they lose the flowers or in another way to look at it they heal the scale so that the color changing ability is once again functioning. Maru living in slow cycle tank or still water tank with low PH will develop more flowers.
An alternate way to speed up this process is with tanning light, we destroy the color changing ability in the scale hence producing flowers.
First you will need the fish to reduce or park its color at neutral. Means color is off. Few ways to do this, the easy way is to increase the ph to above 7. The fish will be uncomfortable and will show no color. That is neutral color and this is the color we want.
Tan the fish with a low power light, submersible is preferred for better result. Full spectrum 10k light with uva and uvb. This will start destroying the thin layer at the edge. Do this for around 2 - 3 weeks, 7-10 hours daily and u can see the edge showing white.
Then switch to a strong lamp and burn the white color until it is fully destroyed and showing a bright white patch. The strong lamp can only be use for a short period. 7 days and 7-10 hours daily.
I've gone thru many failed attempts to tan marulioides until I finally figured out that the scale must be colored off.
The process will take months and close monitoring. Not an easy task, plenty of commitment.
4 months of tanning result
Hi output 12k T5
Low output 10k T5
sdd
ReplyDeletegood observation
ReplyDeleteTQ
Deletehi great post by the way, umm i wonder if locality determine the dominant color of marulioides, e.g borneo is red, thailand is yellow, etc
ReplyDeleteif it's not then cmiiw, every marulioides regardless their locality have the same probability to become red, yellow, red eye, blue, etc
thanks before
I would say locality do determine the color of marulioides
DeleteHi Moorish,
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
I have been raring Maru for years. Didn't knwo much about them till i come across your blog. Had to let go my 1st Maru 15 years back when it decided to break my aquarium.. well was young and having another priorities. So after 20 years now. I bough a Maru var Terengganu, that is after I came across your blog. Well making Maru flower is a tedious job. So stick with the basic. Having it for one an half years now. it has grown pretty fast. Its about 47cm now.
A month back, I was trying to add a plant into my aquarium. All of the sudden my maru snapped and start to hid in the corner. It just got so scared. Since then it did not recovered. It stays there and does not come for food. It goes hiding whenever there is people around. It looks stressed all the time. Does not move around as how its used to be.
1. Tried feeder fish: only eats when no once around.
2. Shrimps: same, only eats when no ones around.
3. dried shrimps, i must drop and leave, make sure no one there.
4. dubia roach: i must drop and leave, make sure no one there.
Do you know why it behave this way? Need advice.
I had a case like this and it was due to PH dropped too low, maybe try adjust your PH and see how it goes.
DeleteHi Moorish.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the very useful knowledge. Allow me to ask further that I have a maru barito. but I have a condition where the black flower on its body is lost, is it because my Ph is too low ?? My ph is around 4.5
Flower drop is most time caused my stress, stress from water parameter change or any stress.
DeleteSo will that flower come back up and need to do anything other than your sharing above or just let it stabilize and the stress will come back up?
DeleteDo you know how to make the color of channa micropeltes beautiful?? My snakehead is going to be 50cm soon, and I am very worried because the color is not clear... The tank is 1500x600x600, I put some water plants on the side, and I use a light that is not too bright. I used to filter often, but after reading your posts, I don't do it too often. The water temperature is 29'c. I want to see the light blue color of the snakehead... This question is irrelevant to the main text, but there is no place to get information. I can't find it, so I ask the teacher for help... I'm sorry
ReplyDeleteHi, may I know do I need to on my filter when using tanning light? Or I can use tanning without running water in the tank?
ReplyDeleteFrom various experiment, it is proven running water will not help with flower growth
DeleteI see, understand, thanks for the guidance! Appreciate that!!
DeleteHi, I'm keeping an Red maru about 25cm, what colour background and base is suitable with tanning light?
ReplyDeleteI hope this was an best ever blog related to this topic thanks for sharing this Custom ERP Software
ReplyDelete