• Dr Norton Article: Marble, Stripeless and Veiltail Inheritance

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    Dr. Norton's Articles - Part 5


    Reprinted with permission from:
    Dr. Joanne Norton
    Freshwater And Marine Aquarium magazine
    Angelfish Genetics
    Photos and Text by Dr. Joanne Norton
    FAMA: Sept 1982, Vol. 5, #9

    Part Five
    The purpose of this article is to describe and illlustrate angelfish having various mutant genes in addition to the gene for marble or the gene for stripeless. Also, inheritance of veiltail will be discussed.

    These combinations of stripeless have been covered in previous articles of this series:

    • 1 dose of stripeless + 1 dose of zebra (Part 3).
    • 1 dose of stripeless + 1 dose of dark (Part 4).
    • 2 doses of stripeless + 1 dose of dark (Part 4).
    • 2 doses of stripeless + 2 doses of dark (Part 4).


    An angelfish with one dose of stripeless and one dose of marble has the marble pattern (Figure 1). A blushing marble (two doses of stripeless and one dose of marble) has the marble pattern and the red gills show in the juvenile (Figure 2).


    Figure 1: Adult: One dose of marble and one

    dose of stripeless.



    Figure 2: Juvenile blushing marble: One dose

    of marble and two doses of stripeless.

    The adult blushing marble (Figure 3) has a dull (not shiny) body with iridescent areas, including over the gills, which masks the red color of the gills. A blushing marble having two doses of marble (Figure 4) has more extensive black areas than in a blushing marble with only one dose of marble, just as a double-dose marble (front cover) has more black than in a single-dose marble. The double-dose marble blushing grows slowly and is frail.


    Figure 3: Mature blushing marble: One dose

    of marble and two doses of stripeless.


    Figure 4: Juvenile blushing marble: Two doses

    of marble and two doses of stripeless.

    Adding one dose of stripeless to smokey decreases somewhat the extent of the smokey pattern (Figure 5). The smokey pattern also is diminished in a blushing smokey (Figure 6), which has two doses of stripeless and one dose of smokey.


    Figure 5: Adult: One dose of smokey and one
    dose of stripeless    .

    Figure 6: Juvenile blushing smokey: One dose
    of smokey and two doses of stripeless.

    The juvenile blushing smokey has red gills showing, but the adult (Figure 7) does not show red gills because iridescent tissue has developed in the gill plates as well as in patches on the body and fins.


    Figure 7: Adult blushing smokey: One dose of
    smokey and two doses of stripeless.
    In 1977 I obtained new gold blushing angelfish by first crossing new gold angelfish with a blushing and then by crossing the offspring brother to sister. New gold blushing, having two doses of new gold and two doses of stripeless, breeds true. The new gold blushing angelfish has red gill areas in the juvenile (Figure 8) but not in the adult.


    Figure 8: Juvenile new gold blushing: Two doses
    of new gold and two doses of stripeless.
    It differs from the blushing angelfish by lacking black dorsal and anal fins and a black vertical stripe below the eye. While the new gold blushing has no black fins or markings, it does have black pigment in the eye; it also has gold color, especially on the upper part of the body, in the juvenile. The adult new gold blushing angelfish is white with pink tinges, especially along the edge of the body at the base of the dorsal fin (Figure 9).


    Figure 9: Adult white (new gold blushing) Male: Two
    doses of new gold and two doses of stripeless.
    Imported new gold blushing (white) angelfish, some with and some without an orange area on top of the head, were available in some aquarium shops and by mail order from Golden State Aquatics about five years ago, but I have not seen them for sale during the past few years. This year white angelfish were described and illustrated (Fishman), and were offered for sale by mail order.

    In 1974 I obtained Hong Kong gold blushing angelfish by crossing a Hong Kong gold with a blushing and then by crossing their offspring brother to sister. The Hong Kong gold blushing (Figure 10) also is white but its iridescent areas are metallic gold colored. The iridescent patches on a new gold blushing are shiny, silvery white.


    Figure 10: Hong Kong gold blushing: Two doses of
    Hong Kong gold and two doses of stripeless.
    The previously covered marble combinations are:

    • 1 dose of marble + 1 dose of zebra (Part 4).
    • 1 dose of marble + 1 dose of dark (Part 3).
    • 1 dose of marble + 1 dose of stripeless (above).
    • 1 dose of marble + 2 doses of stripeless (above).
    • 2 doses of marble + 2 doses of stripeless (above).
    • 1 dose of marble + 1 dose of new gold (Part 3).


    Adding smokey to marble produces only subtle differences in the marble pattern (Figure 11). Therefore, a marble angelfish could also have smokey without your noticing it unless you are looking for one or more of these smokey characteristics: black-tipped dorsal fin, black mouth, black in most of the outer part of the tail. In a marble angelfish without smokey, there are white streaks extending to the ends of the dorsal and caudal fins.


    Figure 11: Female with one dose of Marble, one dose
    of smokey, and one dose of veiltail.
    Veiltail in angelfish is due to an autosomal (not on a sex chromosome) dominant gene (Sterba). A double dose of the gene for veiltail results in a very long, droopy tail (Figure 12). The double-dose veiltail is smaller and less vigorous than the single-dose veiltail (Figure 11) and is not a prolific breeder. A mating in which both parents are single-dose veiltail is unsatisfactory because this produces 25% normal, 50% single-dose veiltail, and 25% double-dose veiltail. You need to sort three kinds of fish and also the double-dose veiltails are slow-growing and not as attractive as the single-dose veiltails. It is better to obtain veiltails from a cross of a single-dose veiltail x normal, which will produce 50% single-dose veiltail and 50% normal offspring.


    Figure 12: Hong Kong gold with two doses of veiltail.

     Literature Cited
    Fishman, Michael C. The gold crown white angelfish. Trop. Fish Hobbyist 30 (No. 10): 33-36. 1982
    Sterba, G. Uber eine Mutation bei Pterophyllum eimekei. I. Anamnese und Beschreibung. Biol. Zentralbl. 78(2):323-333. 1959.