tetra fish

Question
I have bought some tetra fish and they are coloured light blue and the other is pink. I have heard these fish are injected with dye to make them that colour. Is this possible. Also heard other fish (eg. neon tetras) are also dyed. Is this so??

Answer
Hi Doreen

Unfortunately, yes it's possible.  I'm going to answer your questions first before I go into my rant on dyed fish :)  (Now mind you, my rant isn't directed at you, it's just general for information so other's can see and learn as well.)  Neon's generally aren't dyed.  They should be a deep red/blue color.  They're not very hearty fish, they're super sensitive, so not an ideal choice for dying.  I'm going to guess you have a painted glass tetra?  Usually you'll see the tops painted various colors.  Here's a picture of them:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art7686.asp

There's quite a few fish they use generally to dye.  Just to name a few, the glass fish, blood parrots, jellybeans, albino cory cats, even oscars get dyed.  Most newcomers (myself included) don't realize that fish are dyed when they purchase them.  It's after they get home and do a little research that they find out.  The rule of thumb though, stay away from any fish labeled bubble gum, painted, rainbow, blueberry, painted, etc. any cutesy name.  The exception would be jellybeans, that's an actual fish.  It's a cross of a male convict and a female blood parrot fish.  They should be a white to slight pink color.  Anything else is dyed.  Also, be aware of the colors you see on a fish.  Yes, fish do come in a wide variety of colors naturally, but flourescent greens and pinks aren't normal, nor are polka dots.  

It's a very cruel process they put the fish through, most of which don't survive it.  In a nutshell, one way they do it is by dipping the fish in an acid to remove it's slime coat.  They then dip it into some dye.  Another way is to inject the dye into the fish with a needle under the skin.  

There's actually several other things as well, like tattooing fish.  As far as I can tell, that's just another dye process, though I have heard something about lasers being used?  I haven't read enough about that yet though to say for sure.  Another is mutilation.  This is especially common in blood parrot fish.  The unicorn parrot fish, has what appears to be a horn coming out of it's head.  And also the sweetheart parrot fish.  They cut off the tail when it's small.  Some claim this is just a genetic mutation of the fish, but I just don't buy it.  My advice, don't buy any fish that are dyed, tattooed, or mutilated.  I actually refuse to shop at stores that carry dyed fish.  And I let them know too.  I have a lot of critters, and spend a lot of money every month on them.  But by not buying them, hopefully that will discourage some from doing it, or stores from selling them.  It shortens their life span, makes them more prone to disease/illness, stunts their growth, AND the dye doesn't even last but a few weeks to a few months, plus the stores usually charge way more money for those fish.  Here's a great link on dyed fish, has a list with some photos of dyed fish as well.

http://www.deathbydyeing.org/colormedead.htm

Well, hope that helps!! Just be mindful that you're fish may not live very long.  But, one of my first fish I bought was a pink parrot fish.  He ended up being dyed, I found out later, but he's still alive!!  Been about 6-7 years now.  I just totally contradicted myself lol.  But, he is a bit on the smaller side compared to my others, and knock on wood, he's been healthy.  

Good luck with your fish!!  And if you have any more questions, please ask!!!

Christy