10 Gallon Tank Random Snakeskin Guppy (male)

[michellerobyn]

This male is one of a batch of 23 fry. He’s 9 months old and the only one with these markings. Parents were regular big box store pets with no unique or distinguishable markings. No other fry have unusual patterns or colors. Wondering just how rare it is for this pattern to appear on only one fish. No siblings from this batch - or the subsequent one - had this skin. Do you have guppies that look similar?

 

[BPSabelhaus]

One of your females bred with a cobra at some point. They can wait it out and use genetic material from earlier matings. She missed being around Cobras I guess lol

 

[emeraldking]

This male is one of a batch of 23 fry. He’s 9 months old and the only one with these markings. Parents were regular big box store pets with no unique or distinguishable markings. No other fry have unusual patterns or colors. Wondering just how rare it is for this pattern to appear on only one fish. No siblings from this batch - or the subsequent one - had this skin. Do you have guppies that look similar?

This could mean two things. First, one of the parents is carrying the genes for this phenotype recessively. And second, the mother could've used sperm of more than just one male that she's mated with. The sperm packets that a female can store in the folds of her fallopian tube, will be used randomly. So, there's no specific order which fold she opens up to release the sperm packets. This means that the offspring of one batch can be fathered by more than just one male.

To answer your question if this is rare: No, it's totally not rare...

 

[BPSabelhaus]

Now that you mention it, I see a female tail in the corner of one of the pics. It looks subtly spotted.

 

[HupGupp]

Now that you mention it, I see a female tail in the corner of one of the pics. It looks subtly spotted.

I'm not sure that females ever show snakeskin markings. I thought only males could.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

I'm not sure that females ever show snakeskin markings. I thought only males could.

Tail or tail and fins. Tail only she carries genes for snake skin tail only. Tail and top fin she carries body and tail.

 

[HupGupp]

Thx, I didn't know that. Are you talking about on the coloured parts of the female's tail/fin or can they have a bit of snakeskin pattern on their body?

 

[BPSabelhaus]

Thx, I didn't know that. Are you talking about on the coloured parts of the female's tail/fin or can they have a bit of snakeskin pattern on their body?

Just tail and fins. Saddleback and such mutations can bring some colors into the body, but not patterns. Not sure how the koi mutation works just yet, but I think that's about the only way to get any colors in females beyond the back and tail.

Edit: By colors (at least with saddleback) it's usually a faded / darker tail color limited to the back bits of the caudal and tail and or the "lower back" so to speak.

 

[emeraldking]

I'm not sure that females ever show snakeskin markings. I thought only males could.

Also female guppies can show snakeskin pattern but not as strong as in males. And if they show it, it will be mostly shown in their fins. And it can also be possible that a female will show the snakesskin pattern in the saddle.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

Also female guppies can show snakeskin pattern but not as strong as in males. And if they show it, it will be mostly shown in their fins. And it can also be possible that a female will show the snakesskin pattern in the saddle.

I'll have to take a closer look one day. My saddleback females carry a little color on the body, just a darker brownish black. Pretty sure the fade is just that. More closely grouped in her back and more spread as they go down. I doubt they have pattern, but I'll check a darker vs lighter one and see someday.


An example of saddlebacks. I don't think my girls get patterns, yet lol It seems to be a matter of time and crossbreeding to get mutations.