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Reprinted with permission from:
Dr. Joanne
Norton
Freshwater And Marine Aquarium
magazine
"Pearly" A
New Angelfish Mutation
Photos
and Text by Dr. Joanne Norton
FAMA: December 1990, Vol. 13,
#12
Figure 1: Pearly angelfish
"Pearly" A
New Angelfish Mutation
(Sometimes Called Crystal)
It is exciting
to have a new angelfish variety,
especially since it has been
many years after the last
angelfish mutation of merit was
found. In recent years new types
of angelfish have been produced
by making various combinations
of already existing mutant genes
rather than being due to a new
mutation. Pearly is a new
mutation that causes a gold
angelfish to glitter over most
of its body, very unlike any
other angelfish.
I first heard
of pearly angelfish when I
received a letter from Kamphol
Udomritthiruj of Seattle,
Washington, in October, 1988. He
wrote that he encountered this
new angelfish for the first time
in the fish markets of Bangkok
during the summer of 1987. These
fish were being called
"pearlscale." He added, "then,
they were very sparse and
expensive, indicating they were
being brought into the market
for the very first time.
However, the expected
introduction of this strain did
not manifest itself in America
and, peculiarly, upon my return
to Bangkok this summer ('88)
found them still to be few (too
few for such a potentially
commercial strain). The
appearance is one of tight
convolutions of the skin/scales
giving the highly reflective
appearance of shimmering
striations. The pearlscale
angelfish that are available are
veiltail and standard golds---."
He sent me photographs of these
angelfish, which look like
pearly angelfish that I have.
Tim Anderson,
a tropical fish wholesaler and
angelfish breeder in Eagle
Grove, Iowa, imported some
pearly angelfish from Bangkok
early in 1989. These were called
"Pearlscale" but, subsequently,
the supplier changed the name to
"pearly" to avoid confusion with
the pearlscale goldfish. Mr.
Anderson gave me two of the
fish, which were about silver
dollar body size (Fig.1). When
they grew to breeding size, both
were discovered to be females. I
crossed one of these females
with a gold (non-pearly) male;
this produced 153 non-pearly
offspring. Later, some of Mr.
Anderson's pearlys developed
into males, making possible a
mating of pearly x pearly. Mr.
Anderson told me that these
matings produced 100% pearly
offspring. He counted several
spawns: 276, 197, and 131.
Figure 2: Close-up of gold
angelfish adult, without pearly
character.
Figure 3: Close-up of
pearly angelfish adult.
Because the
pearly trait did not appear in
the offspring of an outcross
(pearly x non-pearly) and
because pearly parents produced
all pearly offspring, it
appeared that pearly is due to a
recessive gene. This was
confirmed when I counted an F2
spawn: 162 non-pearly, 56
pearly. This is the expected 3:1
ratio if the gene for pearly is
recessive.
No difference
was seen in growth rates of
pearly and non-pearly angelfish.
The pearly character becomes
evident in fish that are about
nickel to quarter body size.
Most dime body size pearlys have
little or no pearly development.
The body of a
non-pearly angelfish (Fig. 2),
which has a flat surface, is
very reflective when front light
strikes the fish at a 45 degree
angle to the plane of the body,
the light aimed from the rear of
the fish. The fish is
non-reflective when front
lighted at a 45 degree angle,
aimed from the front of the
fish. Thus, a non-pearly
angelfish appears either shiny
or dull depending on how it is
lighted.
The pearly
angelfish, (Fig. 3) has
wavy rows of convex scales,
creating a bumpy surface. When
front-lighted from any angle,
the pearly's body has many tiny
surfaces that reflect light,
resulting in the fascinating
sparkle over the entire body.
The pearly
angelfish is unusual enough and
beautiful enough to become one
of the staples in the angelfish
trade and a wonderful addition
to the tropical fish hobby.
Black Lightning Angelfish
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