If you are a breeder, this article will certainly be very useful for your genetic work with bettas.
Let's face it: after the breeder has studied, practiced and already understands reproductive management, it is natural that he develops a taste for obtaining beautiful bettas , with a stable and replicable phenotype.
However, there are genetic traits that make this impossible. Two, specifically: the marble trait and red loss trait.
These traits act on the phenotype by changing the colors with which they interact, suppressing them or giving them new colors. It is a complex process, but we will strive to ensure that you leave reading this article with a good understanding of this subject.
It works as follows:
Marble trait– acts on the iridescent color layer (layer 1) and on the black layer (layer 2);
Red loss trait – acts on the red color layer (layer 3) and on the yellow color layer (layer 4);
Characteristics:
Effect of the marble trait and red loss on the phenotype: the modification of the betta's appearance
Color suppression (elimination of colors) until the betta becomes transparent (so-called cellophanne);
Color gain, where the betta gains colors compared to the initial phenotype;
Change in colors and color arrangement: the betta takes on a different appearance, going from bicolor to solid, from solid to multicolored, from black to opaque, and so on, for example;
Theoretical layers of marble and red loss features:
Note: the traditional yellow color is not affected by the red loss trace.
Chronology and period of activity
Both genes may or may not act during the betta's life. In other words, you have a betta of any arrangement and color, and it remains the same appearance until the end of its life. However, their litter has the marble trait activated since the birth of the puppies. That is, the father had a “stable” phenotype, but his offspring reveal that he had one, the other or both of the genes studied in this article in his DNA.
See the images below:
Black Copper copy without marble trace, as desired
Black Copper copy with marble line acting (unwanted)
Consider that the Black Copper specimen is the parent of the specimen below. The betta below (son) has marbling acting in its phenotype, as we can see in the photo. This is not desired if you are working with bloodlines. Betta lines do not show changes in phenotype over generations, that is, they are stable. Furthermore, they are replicable .
The marble and red loss traits are dominant .
In other words, MbMb and Mbmb correspond to bettas with the marble gene in their DNA, and RlRl and Rlrl correspond, in turn, to bettas with the red loss gene in their DNA.
Example of performance of the marble trait
It may be that during the parents' lifetime the marble and/or red loss trait does not act, but it will manifest itself in subsequent litters. Re-read the previous sentence, as it shows how harmful these genes are for genetic work.
See the example below, where we analyze a betta with the presence of iridophores (layer 1) and melanophores (layer 2) undergoing this mutation throughout its life.
Stage 1: Black Dragon
Stage 2: Black Dragon already showing flaws in the color arrangement
Stage 3: The commercially named “Black Samurai”
Stage 4: The commercially named “Black Mamba”
Stage 5: No business name that we know of. Would we call it Penguin?
Stage 6: Super Black
Stage 7: Betta with a phenotype losing black pigmentation.
We do not know a commercial name
Stage 8: The commercially named “Black Fancy”
Stage 9: Cellophane
See that the lifelong beauty of these bettas is temporary . In other words, with each new cycle of activity, the phenotype undergoes changes in its colors and/or color arrangement.
But what does it matter?
Examples:
It may be that you select a betta from your breeder for a show, and on the day of the show, it has other colors and color arrangements. Is this desired? We are of the opinion that it is not.
Suppose further that you are developing a beautiful lineage of reds, blues or yellows. Would it be the desired instability, changing the colors and their color arrangement from a given crossing? We are of the opinion that it is not.
Both traits are a sign of instability in the phenotype. Therefore, we at Betta Project named them Unstable Multicolors , as they do not have color stability or color stability.
Stability is not synonymous with replicability
Did you know that a stable phenotype, without marble or red loss in the betta's DNA, is not always replicable? Basically this sometimes occurs with bicolors and in the massive population of common multicolors. Do you want to know more about what bicolors, solids and others are? Download our free ebook.
There is a classification called common multicolors in the ebook that you can download. This category indicates that the betta has more than one color and does not fit into the other categories.
It is worth noting that common multicolored bettas (without the marble/red loss features and without a defined pattern) are sometimes very beautiful. They have an unparalleled color harmony – they are visually attractive – but they are not replicable.
In the nine stages given as an example (the images indicated above, each one presenting a stage of the marbling process), we analyzed the black pigment and opacity, however there are bettas that also have the loss of red trait in addition, or only it in your DNA, acting or not. In this case, the colors of layers 3 and 4 would be affected.
Furthermore, a betta with concomitant marbling and loss of red present in the DNA and acting in the same period, would also present a random phenotype, changing its colors and color arrangement systematically. See some examples:
These bettas certainly have the marble and red loss genes at work. But how do we know this? Because they have color flaws, discontinuity.
See in the first betta that there are regions with discontinuity in colors (there is no opacity throughout the body or fins or body and fins), it has flaws and does not even resemble a butterfly.
In the second photo there is randomness in colors and in the arrangement of colors, as regions are missing, with different colors. See, for example, that red is occurring in multiple regions, glitched, adjacent to the color yellow. This is indicative of the action of the red loss gene, for example.
The third betta would possibly have a dark teal blue body, but the marbling only acted on the teal blue iridescence, practically not acting on the opacity, which continued to cover the entire body. This shows the unpredictable way in which these genes act (marble and red loss, which act with these characteristics, but in different layers!).
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Conclusion
Both traits (marble and red loss) cause instability in the betta's aesthetic beauty, distorting the entire work carried out, and may or may not change its colors during the betta's life and/or appearing in subsequent litters. They are real complications for the development of lineages.
We have an article that deals with the term “Bettaphilia” , where we indicate the need for bettas to be loved and raised in an organized and standardized way like dogs, in cinophilia . In the case of bettas, there is still a lot that needs to be disseminated in terms of information and knowledge, worldwide, so that a better level of betta breeding can be achieved. Discover the article “Bettaphilia”: love and affection for bettas? Our greatest desire with bettas, associating it with cynophilia.
We also have video content addressing the subject of unstable multicolors. See below.
Remember, therefore, that the marble and red loss genes, when present in the betta's DNA, essentially denote instability in colors and color arrangement, which may or may not manifest itself in the phenotype during the betta's life. These are, therefore, harmful characteristics that we must always eliminate from our bloodlines.
Good luck with your bettas!
References:
[1] Betta Project internal file.
[2] Images from the Internet.