I do not think they are at all brighter in general!
There are super bright fish and super dull colored fish found in both freshwater and in saltwater areas. Many freshwater fish are exceptionally bright and amazingly colored (especially when breeding). Look at Jewel cichilds or ram cichlids for two examples.
Part of the reason that in the trade/hobby there are more bright saltwater fish, is that most of those fish are reef fish. The corals are bright because of their photosynthetic zooxanthellae and different absorptions and reflections of light. The reef fish then must have bright camouflage to blend in with the corals. There are many dull colored marine fish that never make it to the aquarium store because they are grey, get large, or just are hard to catch. Plus who wants to spend $ 200 on a plain looking fish ? (Lots of costs involved in saltwater - cites, catching the fish, transporting the fish across the world, storing/holding the fish, etc) Reef fish are in shallower water and easier to catch. Many stay relatively small as well. These are the common bright fish you see for sale.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Many freshwater fish come from bland areas and are often duller colors to blend in with their surroundings.
Also many deeper water fish are red because red looks gray in deep water as the red light waves are dispersed in the shallower water. So the bright red is actually almost invisible in deeper water. (Many Squirrelfish are like this) Thus many deep water fish have some bright colors, but to them in their natural habitat they are actually fairly drab.
Wallace's theory is only a starting point for modern research, and much about fish coloration remains a mystery to scientists, says Gil Rosenthal, assistant professor of biology at Texas A & M University. Wallace's theory that bright colors help saltwater fish hide in their colorful environment of sponges, coral and anemone was put forth in the 19th century. A second theory came from biologist Konrad Lorenz in the 1950s. Lorenz believed that fish coloration helps them identify their own species in crowded undersea habitats, keeping them safe. Scientists who study marine and freshwater life are expanding on these two theories.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Modern bony fish do not get their coloration from their scales, which are transparent. Instead, their coloration comes from cells in their skin called chromatophores. Chromatophores have red, orange, yellow or black pigments that contract and expand to produce a wide variety of colors and configurations. Reef fish have chromatophores called iridophores, which produce blues and iridescent colors. Freshwater fish have leucophores, which produce paler skin. In addition to chromatophores, fish have a layer of guanin, a byproduct of metabolism, in the skin. Light reflecting off guanin can make a fish appear silver, chalky white or even iridescen
Marine fish live in a very large area that have lots of predators and the fish have different colours of seaweed, rock and coral for which they can hide in to evade the predators.
well first of all there are more species of saltwater fish than freshwater i would know because im a marine biologist.
because of the salt
