# Blue tails?



## Riverfan (Apr 5, 2015)

Any pattern to the blue tails? This fish came from under a dock in dark water. Anyone see a correlation to water color?


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## Sunshine17 (Dec 11, 2009)

Ive heard its because of their diet. That blue crabs and some shrimp will give them the color.


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## Flounderpounder (Oct 3, 2007)

Sunshine17 said:


> Ive heard its because of their diet. That blue crabs and some shrimp will give them the color.


 That sounds plausible. For no particular reason (scientifically) I've wondered if it wasn't related to breeding season, sort of like how male cardinals red gets brighter in the Spring. It'd be interesting to know if the blue is gender specific? I really have no idea......they sure are beautiful fish.


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## dabutcher (Apr 19, 2008)

I have read and heard that it from diet as well. The iodine in blue crabs causes a redfish's tail to turn blue.


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## Riverfan (Apr 5, 2015)

Flounderpounder said:


> That sounds plausible. For no particular reason (scientifically) I've wondered if it wasn't related to breeding season, sort of like how male cardinals red gets brighter in the Spring. It'd be interesting to know if the blue is gender specific? I really have no idea......they sure are beautiful fish.


Not sure what size redfish achieve sexual maturity but this fish was 17-18" and had the body shape of a male.


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

Long read.

Red drum generally are an iridescent
silvery grey with a coppery cast which is
darker on the back than on the belly. The
tip of the tail of young red drum, 10 to 18
inches long is a beautiful silvery blue which
disappears in larger fish. However, the
intensity and proportions of the color of red
drum depends to a degree upon where you
catch him. Red drum taken in brackish or
low salinity water (salinity is the amount of
sea salts dissolved in water; full strength
seawater contains about 36 pounds of salt for
every 1000 pounds of seawater) have a dark,
copper color; whereas individuals taken in
the surf are more silvery. Many fishes
change color to blend in with their surroundings.
If red drum remained dark when they
moved from the rivers to the ocean, they
would be easier to see against the white,
sandy bottom of the coast than if their color
became lighter and more silvery.

http://www.amazon.com/Molle-II-Larg...d=1458884315&sr=1-2&keywords=8465-01-524-5285


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