Painted fish

The term painted fish refers to ornamental aquarium fish which have been artificially coloured to appeal to consumers. This artificial colouring, also known as juicing, is achieved by a number of methods, such as injecting the fish with a hypodermic syringe containing bright fluorescent colour dye, dipping the fish into a dye solution, or feeding the fish dyed food.

This process is usually done to make the fish a brighter colour and more attractive to consumers. The colouring of the fish is not permanent, and usually fades away in six to nine months.

Methods
There are a number of methods for introducing artificial colour to fish, although specific information on methodology is sometimes scanty.

Dyes
A common method of creating "painted fish" is through injection via syringe. Generally, fish are injected multiple times. Fish may also be dipped in a caustic solution to strip their outer slime coat, then dipped in dye. This method is reported to have a very high mortality rate.

Many varieties of "colour-enhancing" foods for aquarium fishes are available to the consumer. Generally, these foods contain natural dyes such as beta carotene and are not harmful to fish, although as with other dye methods, the effect is temporary. One source reports that harmful dyes are sometimes used by wholesalers, however.

Lasers
Fish can also be tattooed using a low-intensity laser with a dye, a process developed for fisheries scientists but now applied to ornamental fish.

Genetic modification
Aquarium fish genetically modified to fluoresce in bright colours under white or ultraviolet light are now available commercially in the United States, under the trade name GloFish. The technology was developed originally to produce a fish capable of detecting environmental pollution. These zebrafish are available in several fluorescent colours, protected by a United States patent.

Varieties
Some species, such as albino Corydoras and "painted" glassfish, are injected with dye using a hypodermic needle. In more recent times (2004-2005), injection dyed albino Plecostomus and rift lake cichlids have also become available. Other than the Indian Glassy Fish, most dyed fish are albinos.

Some commonly painted species

 * Indian Glassy Fish (Parambassis ranga). Tradename: Painted glassfish; Disco Fish; Colored Glass Tetra.
 * Black tetra (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi). Tradenames: Berry Tetra; Painted Tetra.
 * Oscar (Astronautus ocellatus). Tradenames: Blueberry Oscar; Strawberry Oscar.
 * Corydoras species
 * African Rift Lake cichlids, such as Pseudotropheus. Tradenames: Ice Blue Albino Cichlid; Zebra Ice Albino Cichlid.
 * Suckermouth catfish (Hypostomus plecostomus). Tradenames: Patriotic Suckerfish; Mixed Color Suckerfish.
 * Blood parrot cichlid (Amphiliphus citrinellus x Heros severus). Tradenames: Jellybean Cichlid; Cotton Candy Cichlid.
 * Goldfish (Carassius auratus). Tradenames: Jellybeans; Icepops.

Health hazards to painted fish
Many dyed fish die during this stressful, painful, process and those that do survive often are susceptible to disease. For example, one source reports a 300% increase in diseases such as Lymphocystis, Ichthyophthirius and finrot in painted aquarium populations compared to unpainted populations, possibly due to infection by dirty syringes. In addition, fishes injected with dye often die without apparent external disease symptoms, presumably due to kidney disease caused by injection.

Efforts to stop fish painting
Some members of the aquarium trade want to ban this practice. For example, the British publication Practical Fishkeeping started a campaign in 1996 to ask retailers to stop selling dyed fish, which led to a significant decrease in the number sold in the United Kingdom. Practical Fishkeeping has launched a similar campaign with a global scope and maintains a register of stores which do not stock dyed fish. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) regards the practice as cruel and unnecessary cosmetic mutilation. A campaign in Australia and in the UK has limited the sale of these fish. Dyed fish are still available and are generally imported from Southeast Asia.

In February 2006, the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed that it will not be making it illegal to sell dyed fish in the UK under the forthcoming Animal Welfare Bill.

Related Sites
Painfully Painted Fish