Perch coloration

[walkonwater1]

Just thinking and wanted to start a discussion...In my area I can catch a classic colored perch but have a few lakes that produce orange perch and  another lake that produces a deep green perch..I'll work on some pics..How about you? See much varition in coloration?

[Swift]

Get similar variations, think it's more of a local adaptation to the lake type.

[taxi1]

Actually I believe it has to do with diet. Caroten in the diet which is produced by zooplankton and invertebrates imparts a strong orange color. Perhaps the perch that are not so richly colored feed on forage minnows more then the previous.

[Swift]

You're probably more right, different diet on different type lakes. My pale ones are usually from deeper clear waters and on minnow type baits, where the richer ones are in more weedy waters and usually catch them on buggy baits

[frozengator]

you see the same thing in gills too. I catch some in ponds that are real light colored and then some places they are almost black. some I have seen the blueish green come out really brilliantly.

[Swift]

Have a lake where the deep 'gills are the turquoise backs, gorgeous fish

[taxi1]

I now feed my brook trout a diet that is enhanced with something called astaxithan which mimics the red color of the caroten in the natural diet of trout. This gives them rich colors specifically the reds. It is primarily used to give color to the fillets of domestically raised trout but also adds some color to the outside.

Here's one showing the reds enhanced somewhat. This is only after feeding it to them for only a month or so. Typically it takes about 90 days to get peak colors.

[fish_finder]

Wow taxerdermist thats a beautiful fish! Not a whole lot or variation here, i have caught perch out of deeper water here that were dark green rather than the regular yellow and caught some bullheads before that were pretty much jet black

[taxi1]

Wow taxerdermist thats a beautiful fish! Not a whole lot or variation here, i have caught perch out of deeper water here that were dark green rather than the regular yellow and caught some bullheads before that were pretty much jet black

Thanks. Unfortunately this one and a few others had bad fins due to being in a raceway before I got them. The ones I have in the pond now are not only larger at a lower age but were grown out in a pond before I got them, so their fins are flawless.