List of common and uncommon fish that you would find either dyed, painted or injected:
|
Trade Name |
Species |
Method of Dyeing |
Colors Availiable |
| Gold Dollar | Bala Shark, Balantiocheilus melanopterus | Dipped | Gold |
| Unknown | Rainbow Shark, Labeo erythrurus | Dipped | Blue, Red, Purple |
| Rainbow Ompok | Irridescent Shark, Pangasius sutchii | Dipped | Blue, Red, Purple |
| Blushing Tinfoil Barb, Gold Dollars | Tinfoil Barb, Barbodes schwanenfeldi | Dipped | Blue, Red, Green, Pink, Purple, Gold |
| Oriental Tigerfish | Tiger Barb, Barbus tetrazona | Dipped | Blue, Red, Purple, Green, Pink, Orange |
| Rainbotia | Redtailed Botia, Botia modesta | Painted | Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Pink |
| Painted Glassfish, Disco Fish, Painted Glass | Glassfish, Chanda ragna | Injected | Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Pink |
| Blueberry Tetra, Strawberry Tetra, Berry Tetra, Painted Tetra | Black Widow Tetra, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi | Painted | Blue, Pink/Purple |
| Unknown | Corydoras catfish | Injected | Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Pink |
| Blueberry Oscar, Strawberry Oscar | Oscar, Astronautus ocellatus | Dipped | Blue, Pink |
| Cotten Candy Parrots, Parrotfish | Parrot Fish, Amphiliphus citrinellus x Heros severus | Dipped & Injected | Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Pink & 'Combos' |
| Rainforest Ramirezi | German Blue Ram, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi | Dipped & Injected | Intensified Blue, with green & black "cowlike" pattern |
| Gumballs | Convict Cichlid, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus | Injected | Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Pink, & 'Combos' |
| Polka-Dot Gourami | Giant Gourami, Osphronemus gouramy | Injected Multiple Times | Pink |
| JellybeanParrots | Blood Parrot x Convict Cichlid Hybrid, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus x [Amphiliphus citrinellus x Heros severus] | Dipped & injected | Pink, Green, Blue, Red, 'Combos' |
| Kiss the Blarney Gouramis | Kissing Gourami, Helostoma temminkii | Injected | Green |
| Glod Severums | Severum, Heros severus | Dipped & Injected | Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Pink, Black |
| Colored Suckerfishes | Siamese Algae Eater, Gyrinocheilus aymonieri | Dipped & Injected | Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Pink |
| Colored Nyassae | Peacock Nyassae, Aulonocara stuartqranti | Injected Multiple times | Gold, Purple |
| Ice Blue Albinos | Pseudotropheus greshakei | Injected & Dipped | Red, Blue Green, Orange, Purple, Pink |
| Zebra Ice Albinos | Zebra Cichlid, Pseudotropheus zebra | Injected & Dipped | Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Pink |
| Patriotic/Mixcolor Suckerfish | Plecostomous, Hypostomous plecostomous | Injected & Dipped | Red, Blue, or a combination of Red, white, & blue |
| Rainbow Filomenae | Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae | Dipped & Injected | Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Pink |
| Colored Paradisefish | Paradise Fish, Macropodus opercularis | Dipped & Injected | Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Pink |
| Rainbow Tiger Botias | Tiger Botia, Botia hymenophysa | Dipped & Injected | Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Pink |
| Colored Yellowtailed Botias/Rainbow Goats | Botia lecontei | Dipped & Injected | Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Pink |
| Blueberry Honey | Honey Gourami, Colisa labiosa | Injected | Deep Blue |
| Colored Fighters | Betta, Betta splendens | Injected & Dipped | Purple, Black, White, Green, Yellow, all deep & in combinations |
| Dinnerplates, Rainbow Pompaudorfishes, Colored Discus, Sundiscs | Discus, Symphysodon aequifasciata/heckel/axelrodi | Injected & Dipped | Purple, Red, Yellow, Blue, all in combinations |
| Jellybeans, Icepops | Goldfish, Carassius auratus, & most variants | Injected, Dipped, Painted | Purple, Black, White, Green, Yellow, & combinations |
The practice of painting fish, also called juicing or dying the fish, appears to have actually started in the late 1970s with the Glass Perch (Chanda ranga or Chanda wolfii), also known as the Indian Glassfish, the Indian Glass Tetra, the Glass Tetra, or simply as the Glassfish, being injected or "juiced" with stripes of bright colored pigments along their dorsal and ventral lines. Though this produces a very striking looking fish, the hobbyists of the day quickly realized that this coloration was artificial, and protest throughout most of the US and Western Europe appeared to have eliminated these fish from the hobby, to everyone's relief (possibly except the suppliers). In a lot of cases the dye is actually carcinogenic, the more intensely colored areas are created by injecting the fish with more of the dye in strategic locations. The fish's immune system then proceeds to fight this infection until the dye has been removed from the system. This added stress makes these fish highly susceptible to any other infection which they may be exposed to, since they are unable to defend themselves from it.
However, in the late 1980s, this fish worked its way back into the marketplace. This time either people are less concerned about the welfare of these animals, or there are enough shops that are more interested in the bottom line than the welfare of these animals, that they do not appear to be disappearing from the market, but this affliction of juicing or dying has spread to many other species and varieties.
What can I do?
Do not buy these fish, ever! Even if you feel sorry for them or if they are going to die, buying them only increases the demand, if no one buys them, they will stop.
Most aquarists could only dream of having such a stunning rainbow of fish! But sadly, these fish will usually lose their colour within 2-3 months, and 90%+ will die before the colour even fades. It's bad enough they're being treated so inhumanely, but we're being sold inferior fish that will die very quickly on top of that!
More information is always a good thing!