Albino Blue Topaz male

When trying to create new varieties in your fishroom, it helps to know what genes are there and how they work.  The Asian Blau gene is one of those that I introduced through my line of Albino Blue Topaz.  Let’s take a look at this mutation.

I’ve stated in past articles that it’s important to know your lines.  The Albino Blue Topaz line is, at it’s base, a Y-linked Half-black Red.  The albino and Asian Blau genes have been incorportated into the genotype to produce a new variety.  The Neon Blue, a Y-linked HB Red with the Asian Blau mutation, was first produced in a Singapore fish farm.  From then, the AB gene has been used to create many new varieties such as the Albino Blue Topaz and Blue Grass.

Let’s look specifically at what this gene is and how it works.  The Asian Blau gene is a modifier that acts differently in its heterozygous and homozygous states.  First, the AB gene is dominant.  In its heterozygous form it converts red color cells to an icy, metallic blue.  The reflectivity makes getting a good picture extremely difficult.  In its homozygous form, the AB gene affects red and yellow color cells, allowing the black pigment in the skin to be seen through the reflective blue color layer.  These fish have a gun-metal blue body color and ragged finnage.  They also tend to be genetically weaker and smaller than their siblings.  I tend to cull males, but females can be used for outcrosses to Red males to produce 100% Blues.  This is a good way to introduce the Asian Blau gene to other Red lines.  An interesting note about homozygous albino Asian Blaus.  Since there is no black pigment in albino fish, and the red and yellow color cells have been affected, the body is a transluscent white.  Again, they are genetically weaker and smaller, but still a nice fish to work with.

In my fishroom, my Albino Blue Topaz will be used to create two new varieties.  I’m breeding an Albino Blue Topaz male with a gold-bodied Red Moscow female.  This will produce Y-linked HB Reds and Neon Blues (Y-linked HB Red with the AB gene).  A Neon Blue male will then be bred back to a gold Red Moscow female.  Keeping only gold-bodied fry will remove the albino from the mix.  Using these same two lines, I’m breeding a gold Red Moscow male with ABT females.  I hope to get gray-bodied Red Moscows and solidly colored, icy Blue Moscows.  These Blue Neon Moscow males will be bred back to gold Red Moscow females.  Keeping gold-bodied fry will, again, remove the albino gene.

You will never produce a true breeding line utilizing the Asian Blau gene.  That’s because you won’t produce 80%+ identical males.  Mating heterozygous AB fish will produce 25% Reds, 50% Blue blaus, and 25% Asian Blaus.  Knowing how this mutation works will allow you to produce a line that is uniquely your own.  Don’t be afraid to experiment.  If you’re not happy with your resulting fish, you can breed the gene out by using only your Red fish.  Best of luck!

Tony

At present, I have 5 breeding projects/experiments going at one time.  That’s probably 4 too many and it’s also one of the reasons I keep breeding logs.  How else is one going to keep things straight in your head and moving forward.  I have 4 lines going in the fishroom with plans to dump one when breeding results are verified.

My strain of Thai Allred Albinos will be sold off once I am satisfied with experimental breedings to my gold Red Moscows are complete.  The Fullred gene is the only thing keeping them around.  I’ve bred a gold RM male with an  albino Allred female because the Moscows needed to be outcrossed.  Fry are growing up now for the backcross.  A reciprocal cross has also been made because the Moscows were sold to me as Fullred Moscows and I’m curious as to whether the Fullred gene is incorporated in to the Moscow line.  I’m still waiting for fry from this breeding.

In addition to the aforementioned outcrosses, I’m also working on creating a new color variety based on the gold and albino Red Moscow lines that I currently breed.  I have set up a gold and albino RM male with his own Albino Blue Topaz females.  The plan is to breed the Asian Blau gene into the RM lines and produce a solidly colored, icy blue Moscow in gold and albino body forms, a Blue Neon Moscow.  Fry have not yet been born from this breeding experiment.

I’ve mentioned my Albino Blue Topaz.  This line is being worked on right now.  Overal body and fin size, color and fertility have decreased dramatically.  An outcross to albino Red Moscow females has been set up.  This should produce larger fish with better shape, size, and color along with an increase in the number of fry dropped.  Once this has been accomplished, I will use gold RM females to de-construct the ABT’s and produce it’s root strain, a Y-linked Half Black Red.  Breeding gray-bodied HB males to gold Red females takes the albino gene out of play, although it is carried by gray-bodied fish.  If I ever wanted to produce Albino Blue Topaz again, breeding a gray HB Red male to an albino Blue Neon Moscow female will get this done in the first generation. 

One last experiment remains, but that won’t occur until the outcross genetics have stabilized in the other strains.  I recently purchased some Fullred Ribbon-finned Guppies.  I want to bring that gene into every line that I have.  If I get bored or don’t like the results, I simply remove the Ribbon gene from the breeding program.  With this much in the fire, I hope I don’t burn out before forging my new creations.  Sorry, bad pun.

Tony

                                                                              Which is which?

I saw something on Aquabid during the summer of 2010 that really ticked me off.  A seller had actually put in the auction description for Red Moscows that the Fullred and Moscow genes were actually the same thing and that this was a fact that most breeders didn’t know.  For someone to put that out there shows me that they probably weren’t the actual breeder and that they have not done their research into Guppy genentics.

Ed Chiasson is credited with creating the American Fullred Guppy.  He has the name trademarked and no one else can call their fish Fullreds or any incarnation thereoff without his permission.  If you purchase fish from him, you receive a numbered certificate which allows you to sell your offspring as Fullred.  Anyway, a number of years ago, I was selling a really nice line of what I was calling “Full-body Reds.”  I received an email from Ed saying that the name was in violation of his trademark and that I should change it.  I used “Allreds” after that.

This one email began a correspondence that lasted nearly a year.  I tried to get as much information on breeding Fullreds, their genetics, and just about anything else I could find out.  Ed Chiasson is one of those guys who answers any question posed to him, helping those around him increase their knowledge, not only of the strain he created, but of breeding Guppies in general.

Here’s what I’ve learned about these two strains.  Fullreds and Red Moscows may look similar, but they are genetically different.  Fullreds are autosomal recessives.  The Fullred gene must be inherited from both parents before it will show in the male body color.  Male color usually begins on the fins, spreads to the peduncle, over the top of the back, and finally to the belly.  In certain lighting, a yellow cast can be seen through the red belly coloring.  When breeding a Fullred male to a Red female, the red abdomen is lost.   On the other hand, Red Moscows are Y-linked.  The Moscow gene(s) is inherited father to son, so technically, only males can be Moscows.  Male color begins on the fins, appears on the peduncle and belly simultaneously, then the rest of the body fills in.  Since Blue Moscow males were bred to Fullred females to create the Red Moscow, a bluish cast to the belly can be seen when viewed under certain lighting.  Breeding a male Red Moscow to a Red female will result in Red Moscow males.  These are some the the most obvious things I have observed and, again, these are my experiences.

The next time someone tells you that a Fullred and Red Moscow are the same thing, you’ll know the truth and can educate them on some of the differences.  It falls upon our shoulders to accurately describe the fish we are breeding in our fishrooms and not continue to spread false information.  In the end, we can only rely on the description given to us by the breeder from whom we bought our stock.  A little knowledge can go a long way in broadening our understanding of this beautiful little fish.

By the way, the fish facing right is the Red Moscow and the one facing left is the Fullred.  Just thought you’d like to know.

Tony

 I had been in search of this particular strain of Guppies for a number of years.  The last time I’d seen them for sale was about 6 years ago when I was heavy into breeding Moscow Guppies.  I purchased 2 trios from Steve Butcher on Aquabid.  These were thrown from a Black Moscow line that he had been working with and would be the perfect outcross for those I had bought from Jerry Reigel, a fellow member of the Greater Cincinnati Aquarium Society.

 The Moscow Guppy originated in Russia in the 1970′s and looked nothing like the modern, solid colored fish of today.  Early examples of Moscow Guppies looked like Metal-head Snakeskins.  You can see some of the spotting in the dorsal and caudal fins of the Bronzes that hint of their early ancestry.  These early fish were exported to Germany and then to the rest of the world in the mid 1980′s.  Hawaiian breeders are credited with producing the large, solid-bodied Guppies that everyone associates with being a Moscow.

 Many of the modern Moscow lines will throw Bronze fry in small numbers.  Females show a reticulated scale pattern over a golden colored body.  Males will have a dark splotch behind the gill plate.  You will also see red pigment on the peduncle.  Much of this color is covered by black pigment in this line.  Luke Roebuck, an IFGA judge and breeder, has line bred this color variety for a number of years.  He told me that line breeding stabilizes the color of the males and produces a fish that is showable in the Bronze class at IFGA shows.  He also uses these when his Moscow lines need outcrossing.

 The importance of Bronze Moscows to you Moscow breeding program is enormous.  Numerous conversations with Luke Roebuck and Stephen Kwartler, another breeder and judge, helped me with producing large, darkly colored fish that were very hardy, fertile, and long lived.  Bronze females are color neutral.  Breeding to a Blue Moscow male produces Blues, a Green male will produce Greens, etc.  It doesn’t matter what color line the female is from, the male she is bred to determines the color of the fry.  One thing to keep in mind, using a Bronze female will darken the base body color of your male offspring.  A medium Blue line will become a dark Royal Blue, a light Green will become a Forest Green.  Blacks will continue to be jet Black.

I sold my stock at our recent GCAS Swap Meet.  I’m taking my Guppy breeding program in a different direction and I need the tank space.  To those who purchased this line from me, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.  Breeding Moscows was a passion that continues to influence how I approach the other color varieties that I now keep.

Tony Anderson

Guppies, like most other livebearers, are members of the Poeciliidae family. Unique strains have been developed through selective and sophisticated breeding programs, and guppy genetics has become a science onto itself. The large numbers of tail colors, body colors, body patterns, tail patterns, and tail shapes results in an almost limitless number of combinations. The tails of guppies may be almost any color imaginable. Guppies are named by the color of the tail. So, if a guppy has a yellow body and red tail, it is called a red guppy.

The main upper body colors are gray and gold, but there are also metallic, albino, and other color variations.

The lower body pattern may be:

• Black – these are called “tux” or “half-blacks”
• Snakeskin – a rosette, chain-link pattern
• Cobra – rosette pattern with vertical bars

Tail patterns include:

• Solid – one color; clear varieties are often the most sought after
• Grass – pattern of small dots, resembling grass seed
• Mosaic – interconnected dots resulting in an irregular color pattern
• Leopard – larger spots

There are numerous tail shapes, which may be given different names in North America compared to Europe. Some of them are listed in the chart, below.

Veiltail	Triangletail (Delta tail)	Fantail
Scarftail	Flagtail	Spadetail
Double Swordtail	Top Swordtail	Bottom Swordtail
Lyretail	Cofertail (Coffertail)	Speartail
Roundtail	Pintail	Crowntail

 

Guppies require a tank with at least 20 gallons of water, and are very tolerant of changing tank conditions. Plants should be hardy varieties such as Java Fern and Java Moss that can handle the increased water hardness in the tank. In order to reduce aggression among them, it is ideal to maintain several pairs together in the aquarium. Guppies should not be kept with Bettas or other fin-nipping fish, as they will harass them. Other peaceful fish would make good tank mates.

Photo courtesy of T.F.H. Publications, publishers of the Burgess Atlas.