# colour doubts.



## elianto (Feb 15, 2009)

hello.
i just recently purchased a trio of ranitomeya fantastica f1. the parents showed deep blue leg colouration in the reticulated part of the body.

however the specimen i got show a rather greyish colouration,despite a bright orange on the head.

i was wondering if it could be just due to the young age of the animals (they are roughly 2-3 months) and if the colour will increase,or if this is the definitive colouration. i also would like to know if any lack of vitamins or general integration could have led to this problem. i know the change of diet from wc to f1 brakes the chain of alcaloid methabolization, but i don't think it can affect the colour of the frogs.that said the frogs are doing fine, active and shy.

any opinion is welcome.
i have never worked with the fantastica group before,my experience with ranitomeya being restriced only to variabilis and ventrimaculata.hence my doubts.

i do apologize for any grammatical mistake.
regards.
elia


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## Marinarawr (Jan 14, 2009)

I can't offer a definitive answer, but I can tell you what my experience has been. I've only had the pleasure of keeping D. azureus and R. imitator 'Varadero' so far but in both species I've seen some extreme color differences. Between the two Varadero, one has bright blue legs and a yellow tinted orange color with green tinted shoulders. The other has a redder hue to the orange and duller blue legs that seem a bit more teal than blue. Both of them will appear duller at certain times of day for reasons I couldn't even guess at.

You can see the color difference in my azureus for yourself:








The age difference between these two was only 1-2 weeks and yet size, color, and body proportions were very different. (The little fat one developed a "cyst" and passed away while the other was quarantined and has since put on a good amount of weight... )

I think the bottom line is that there will be color variance in any species with no reason other than genetics. Those are my own thoughts on the matter anyway...


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## elianto (Feb 15, 2009)

thanks for your response. i was hoping in some evolution. we will see.
regards


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## ggazonas (May 11, 2008)

You could always try supplements like Rephashy ICB or Pig to try and get some brighter colors.

I don't think the grey will turn blue but you never know...Also with age the frog can development others colors....I would try supplement though, it can't hurt.


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