# White dragonscale koi



## mana13dragon (Apr 24, 2014)

Aloha everyone,

My husband surprised me by bidding on this white dragon scale koi on aquabid, which comes from a breeder in Thailand. 

Can everyone please help me understand it's genetics? Is it a true koi? What is responsible for the black spots? What kind of female would you suggest using as a mate and what kind of results might I get? 

I honestly don't know anything about a white dragon with black spots.

Any advice greatly appreciated! Mahalo!
mana13dragon


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## mashp (Feb 24, 2015)

Tbh that might not even be a koi, I think is a marble or may be a fancy, I'll leave it for somebody else to answer.


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## mana13dragon (Apr 24, 2014)

Yeah, I feel like terms start getting vague when it comes to koi and fancy. Images of each all look like the fish could fall into various categories, with marble being the most definitive. I understand koi are marbles, but this fish doesn't like a marble to me. 

Any more insight to this fish's genetics would be great.

For what it's worth, he made it to Hawaii safely and is a very energetic and lively fish.


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## jarabas (Mar 23, 2015)

An article I read on the history of marble bettas:
http://www.ibcbettas.org/2012/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/IBC TA Articles/CS-02.pdf


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## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

In order for a Betta to be called a Koi, it has to have coloration that a Koi carp would have. Typically this means having either red, orange, or yellow splotches on a white/colorless background, with black splotches as well in some spots.

Black and white does not count as Koi, at least not to most breeders.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

To my understanding koi betta's patterns resembles koi (carp) patterns - white background body with color patterns that may consist of any color. I'm not sure if koi is related to marbles though because my past experience didn't show as such. But that was waaay back and I didn't work with them enough to understand their genetics.

Since betta colors work on layers, they often cannot mix like paint. Instead they are often like pixels of images - each color distributed in a certain way that they create uncommon colors (eg. what looks to be purple-ish, copper, etc). That being said, the koi pattern is one of the many mutation which enables such patterns to be displayed. Without it you will not achieve koi patterns by mixing various color genes.

If your little buddy was labeled as koi, it should at least come from a koi spawn and thus should carry the genes. It is said that kois work similarly to dalmation in that they will produce more of the pattern if they are paired to non kois. In your case the koi is dragon scaled, so I'd pair it to another dragon. . . . note: I am disregarding the marble feature. Better yet, contact the breeder/seller and see if you could get a sibling female from him.

To answer whether he is marble or fancy . . . I can't tell marbles through pictures. To my knowledge marbles changes by "fading" and later "coloring" back. They don't usually show thick solid colors - the outer edges are usually faded . . . then again, I haven't worked specifically with marbles and have never paid much attention to them. 

Fancy is similar to koi but shows more color pigments - usually 3-4 colors. Again, I don't know if fancies are related to marbles or not. I personally would not label your buddy as a fancy . . . there is nothing fancy about his pattern though it is rare. . . . or as someone here once puts it; your buddy doesn't show a "fruit punch" of colors.

**** Sorry, the comment about marble and fancy was for another thread . . . I got mixed up. Sorry


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