Metallic Line Origins: Part Two

Continuing on from the last blog post, which ended with our single female Metallic Pearlscale, there was an exciting pressure to strengthen the genetic traits of this Goldfish further. The strategy involved a deliberate decision to breed her back to her father, the same male fish that initiated the lineage. This decision was driven by the desire to narrow down the genetic pool, increasing the likelihood of producing offspring with beneficial traits. The family tree now looks like this:

Breeding to the same male multiple times offers several advantages. Firstly, it promotes genetic consistency, leading to a higher proportion of offspring exhibiting desired characteristics. Additionally, it streamlines the culling process, enabling a more refined selection of high-quality fry. However, this approach also carries risks, including the potential expression of undesirable genes and the risk of inbreeding depression, which can manifest in health issues and smaller Goldfish.

From the resulting spawn, we selected a Metallic male fish that displayed an exceptional body shape, reminiscent of its father. This Goldfish exhibited disordered, jumbled scales and though it looked  fascinating, the irregularity was compromising the uniformity of the pearlscales. Tragically, after growing for a year or so, its potential was cut short when it became entangled in pond foliage during spawning, succumbing to its injuries. This was the only fish kept from that generation and we were devastated. Fortunately, its body still contained milt and could be hand-spawned, continuing the genetic line with an unrelated female Metallic Pearlscale. Her shape was inadequate (elongated with longer tail), but the possibility of adding her vibrant deep-red colouration, as well as removing the high risk of inbreeding issues, made the pairing advantageous.

The Metallic Male with Irregular Scales

The Unrelated Deep-Red Female

The subsequent generation yielded two high-quality offspring – a male and a female with superior shape, colour, and behaviour. Interestingly, the introduction of the unrelated female created unexpected genetic variations, notably the presence of an extra fin in some fry. While unexpected, this added an intriguing dimension to the breeding program.

The Male Offspring

The Female Offspring

Currently, the siblings have spawned and we are nurturing a new generation of attractive fry, around an inch long at present. As they continue to grow and hopefully breed, the line is further preserved. We are excited to witness their future potential as these are the highest quality Metallic Goldfish that Ping Pong Pearlscales has bred thus far. Part three may take a couple of months!