Selectivity of color of lure by Japanese sea bass Lateolabrax japonicus under different background colors

Abstract

Influence of background color in color choice of the Japanese sea bass was studied in an experimental tank. White, red, green and blue were used for the background color of the tank, and five colors of lure (white, red, green, blue and transparent) were thrown into the tank and the response behavior to the lures by the fish was videotaped and analyzed. The fish exhibited the highest bite frequency on the green lure in the white background, and the white and transparent lures in the red and blue backgrounds. Thus, the fish chose the most visible lures in the respective background color. The highly frequent bites to the transparent lure were probably attributed to the hue feeding history of the animal which is related to the past experience of eating transparent fish and crustacean larvae.