# Paprika



## pashetti (Apr 22, 2008)

One of my imitator huallaga have lost the orange colour.i
In europe is very difficoult to find rephasy superpig i 've bought sweet paprika.
Do i put it inside the drosophila's food or do i integrate it on the droso?
Thank you 
Regards


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## edwing206 (Apr 9, 2008)

You dust the flies with it, meaning you cover the flies with the paprika.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Paprika may not help with the orange color as the red carotenoids in paprika are what is known as polar carotenoids which affects thier levels of uptake. Paprika also contains beta carotene which can also help skew the orange coloration by increasing the amount of yellow carotenoids that are available. 

You are probably going to be better off looking for a algae or yeast supplement that contains astaxanthin. 

Ed


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## edwing206 (Apr 9, 2008)

Would spirulina enhance a frog's color? Seems like it would be easy to dust flies with. Has anyone ever tried it?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Yes, spirulina is used in at least one supplement and people have used it for dusting. The problem is that it doesn't really contain any carotenoids that are used for the sequestering of carotenoids for red in the frogs. The ones we use commonly are astaxanthin and to a smaller extent canthaxanthin (although the latter may have some risks if oversupplied). 

Ed


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## pashetti (Apr 22, 2008)

I use spirulina for the tafpole food, can i use it for dust the drosos?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

yes the fruit fly can be dusted with it, but it won't do much for reds or reddish oranges. 

Ed


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## Peter Keane (Jun 11, 2005)

Ed said:


> Yes, spirulina is used in at least one supplement and people have used it for dusting. The problem is that it doesn't really contain any carotenoids that are used for the sequestering of carotenoids for red in the frogs. The ones we use commonly are astaxanthin and to a smaller extent canthaxanthin (although the latter may have some risks if oversupplied).
> 
> Ed


Hi Ed, 

canthaxanthin was or still is used by some body builders to get that reddish/bronzy look. I used to take these in tablet form and it turned my finger tips (under the fingernails) orange. I use this on golden mantellas and it seems to turn the faded orange mantellas a deeper richer orange. I use this about once every 8-10 feedings. (depending on their feeding regimen). Is this too much?

Others: 

One tip or caution on paprika use though.. some are spicy and when I tried this many years ago, I neglected to seek out sweet paprika and watched my frogs zip up flies covered in 'spicy' paprika only to see them spit out and 'drag' their tongues on the substrate. 

Thanks, Peter


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Hi Peter,

Canthaxanthin is another carotenoid that helps towards the reddish end of the spectrum and is found in some red/deep orange flesh salminoids (and is added to the feeds of farmed species). 
It depends on how much is being fed to the frogs at each meal. We don't have any threshold tests in frogs, just anecdotal reports. We do know that in primates it causes crystal deposition in the eyes (see SpringerLink - Cellular & Molecular Biology Letters, Volume 14, Number 3) when given in excess. In other vertebrates we see a mobilization of cholesterols and iron from the liver along with a risk of possible liver damage when given in excess. If you want to use a natural source of canthaxanthin, you can find it in chanterelle mushrooms. It is part of the Repashy Mix as well. 

Ed


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## motydesign (Feb 27, 2011)

maybe a dumb question, but could you just have someone you know on the boards from the US ship you superpig? may cost you about $20 in shipping... but youll get what you want.... just a thought.


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## Peter Keane (Jun 11, 2005)

Ed said:


> Hi Peter,
> 
> Canthaxanthin is another carotenoid that helps towards the reddish end of the spectrum and is found in some red/deep orange flesh salminoids (and is added to the feeds of farmed species).
> It depends on how much is being fed to the frogs at each meal. We don't have any threshold tests in frogs, just anecdotal reports. We do know that in primates it causes crystal deposition in the eyes (see SpringerLink - Cellular & Molecular Biology Letters, Volume 14, Number 3) when given in excess. In other vertebrates we see a mobilization of cholesterols and iron from the liver along with a risk of possible liver damage when given in excess. If you want to use a natural source of canthaxanthin, you can find it in chanterelle mushrooms. It is part of the Repashy Mix as well.
> ...



Many Thanks Ed...


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## jbherpin (Oct 16, 2009)

Would a VERY finely ground color enhancing fish flake be appropriate/beneficial as a dust combined with calcium, multivit supps?

Thanks!

JBear


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

It doesn't even have to be finely ground as the tadpoles can feed on it as they choose. The only time you really need to finely grind it is if you are trying it with filter feeding tadpoles. 

A good fish flake should be balanced with respect to vitamins and minerals (but it should also be rotated out as the flakes will also oxidize as time goes by (rancid)). 

I wouldn't bother adding a vitamin/mineral supplement to the water as it is likely to increase fouling of the water, and unless you are really using water deficient in calcium, the tadpoles will take calcium up from solution (as well as the fish flakes). 

Ed


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## jbherpin (Oct 16, 2009)

Ed said:


> It doesn't even have to be finely ground as the tadpoles can feed on it as they choose. The only time you really need to finely grind it is if you are trying it with filter feeding tadpoles.
> 
> A good fish flake should be balanced with respect to vitamins and minerals (but it should also be rotated out as the flakes will also oxidize as time goes by (rancid)).
> 
> ...


I was talking about dusting FFs for adults in a terrestrial situation. I use live algae mats and worm bits for tads.

Thanks!

JBear


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

You may want to reconsider the addition of a food with astaxanthin etc in it to your tadpole regimen. It can help with various things when they metamorph. 

As for the adults, I wouldn't recommend using powdered fish food mixed with the supplements as this is going to change the balance of nutrition in the feeder insect. The powdered fish food is made to be a complete food in and of itself, as a result it won't balance the minerals etc in the fly and the amount that sticks may be insufficient to overshadow the imbalances in the fly. It will also displace the supplement powder from sticking which again prevents the correcting of the imbalances in the fly...


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