fish color

Question
Hi!

I just bought an aquarium (freshwater) and i put in bright orange gravel. I find the fish inside dont look like they did in the store (8 fish total, 4 are Red Tail Sharks). I thought it might be the light bulb, but they said i had the same one (Aqua glo, 15w). Could the color of the gravel be reflecting on the fish and making them look different?
Is there a color that would make the fish color seem more vivid?
I also plan on adding neon tetras.

Thanks!

Answer
Dear Cory,
I'm afraid you made the mistake of putting in the bright orange gravel. You see, many people like bright florescent colors of substrate (gravel,sand, ect..) in their aquariums but as they add in a few fish they fish are so washed out looking than what they used to be. This is because very bright gravels have a tendanc to wash out fishes colors, it often takes away the whole look of the fish and more attention is often drawn to the bright gravel then anything else. On the otherhand more natural and dark shades of gravel bring out fishes color. Think of it like this- you have black sheet of paper a green piece of paper and a smaller orange piece which might represent your fish. If you put the orange paper in front of green is shows up but not all that well either. Now place that orange piece in front of the black and the orange is greatly distinquished.

This may be a silly way to explain how darker substrates and backgrounds show up the best colors and look more natural in aquariums But It is well known that natural gravels are the best way to go.

You can always switch gravel. I would imagine your aquarium hasn't cycled yet if it was just recently setup. You'll need to to change your gravels if you want to- as soon as possible before the Special beneficial bacteria a start to take a hold and begin colonizing. If you want, switch to a natural shade of gravel for ten times better results and use a large fish net to scoop out the orange and replace with natural. After that, don't disturb the gravel unless doing the vital gravel vacummings with the aquarium siphon along with partial water changes.
Because you added many fish quite soon, please remember to test your water for ammonia and nitrite everyday to watch for spikes, these are by-products of fish waste and are very dangerous until the special bacteria slowly become colonized enough to consume and convert the ammonia and nitrite to less harmful substances.
You'll need to do large water changes whenever ammonia or nitrite spikes and always remember to make the replacement water equal to that in temperature as your aquarium to avoid shocking your fish. AND remember to always dechlorinate it.
This is very important....

((Keep in mind Red tail sharks are very territorial and you may have bad problems as the fish get older with fighting unless your aquarium is exceptionally large.))
*Oh and remember to not add ANYMORE fish until your aquarium cycles)

Well, I hope this helps! You don't HAVE to change your gravel but I always tend to lean more towards natural when it comes to aquascaping. Truthfully, it's unatural enough to keep fish in glass boxes, but at least we can try to duplicate the natural lakes, streams, ponds, and swamps they occur in nature!

Best wishes,
Karen~