# Astaxanthin



## PygoManiac (Jul 26, 2004)

Its said to be ten times more potent than carotenoids like beta-carotene and lucopene. A few ornamental fish people use it's powdered form in their gel mix as well. Expensive as hell! 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astaxanthin


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Very interesting. I'd never heard of it before. That sounds like it could be really effective with the coloration of piranhas and other fish!

I skimmed the article because I'm a little short on time now, but what would you have to do to purchase some of this? Is it available commercially yet?
~Taylor~


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## PygoManiac (Jul 26, 2004)

Apparently it is in the US. Here it needs to be imported from singapore. Many readymade pellet foods claim that they contain it, but obviously the concentration would be lower. I'm sure someone must've tried it in some diy recipe.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

I'm surprised nobody else has replied to this thread...


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## platinum1683 (Nov 17, 2006)

never used it.


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## platinum1683 (Nov 17, 2006)

never used it.


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## FohDatAss (Oct 7, 2003)

I use these all the time if possible...

"Cichlid Gold"

My fish that eat it are very rich in color!


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## PygoManiac (Jul 26, 2004)

^ Must have a higher concentration of asthaxanthin.


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## FohDatAss (Oct 7, 2003)

got riboflavin?


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Ahh, I didn't even realize that Cichlid Gold pellets had that in it.









My reds have those pellets as a staple in their diet.


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## ben2957 (Sep 17, 2005)

what you really need to look into is naturose. its a powder that contains lots of astaxanthin. i used to mix it with a little water and feed it to my reds when i had them. the colors were greatly increased. i had a captive red that had almost no coloration and i started feeding him this and the color change within 2 weeks was crazy.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

ben2957 said:


> what you really need to look into is naturose. its a powder that contains lots of astaxanthin. i used to mix it with a little water and feed it to my reds when i had them. the colors were greatly increased. i had a captive red that had almost no coloration and i started feeding him this and the color change within 2 weeks was crazy.


Very nice!

Where would you find this 'naturose'? Also, you mixed it with water and fed it to your reds? How would you do that?


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## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

Here in Europe we use a lot astaxanthin as they are some brands as 'Tropical' that make special astaxanthin food.
Personally i use Tropical's Astaxanthin flakes inside my custom made food that i prepare for my P's.


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## ben2957 (Sep 17, 2005)

when i mix the naturose with water i use a meat maranade needle and inject it into shrimp or earth worms. you can buy it at brineshrimpdirect.com they have it in 3 differnt size


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

ben2957 said:


> when i mix the naturose with water i use a meat maranade needle and inject it into shrimp or earth worms. you can buy it at brineshrimpdirect.com they have it in 3 differnt size


Ahh, now that explains a lot. That sounds like a really great idea!


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## FohDatAss (Oct 7, 2003)

does anyone have a picture of one of these meatinjecting needles? wand where do i get one?


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## PygoManiac (Jul 26, 2004)

I'm gonna try it as well. Can use it as an ingredient in gel mix as well right?


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## ben2957 (Sep 17, 2005)

sorry for the late post on this i forgot about it. here is a pic of one of the needles and you can put it into the homemade foods also. i used to have some pics of the progress with a captive red but i cannot find them any more you could tell a good differance after 3 days of feeding this product.


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## m9600845402 (8 mo ago)

Astaxanthin is a reddish pigment that belongs to a group of chemicals called carotenoids. It occurs naturally in certain algae and causes the pink or red color in salmon, trout, lobster, shrimp, and other seafood.


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