The Sire is a copper/red HMPK which was imported from Thailand! Interestingly, this male, according to the breeder, has 'alien blood' in his background which can be seen in slight black barring in his dorsal. He has a good bodyshape and a balanced appearance. The caudal shows a good spread (180 degrees at the base) but the corners ideally should be sharper. This could be achieved by longer outer rays. The Dame is a turquoise HMPK with an amazing color and finnage. The finnage of the dame nicely compensates for the flaws of the male.

With this cross I hope to fix the strong bodies, the smooth topline and the balanced finnage. The offspring (F1) will be heterozygous metallic royal blue with a chance of red wash and marble to pop up.

17/09/22: The pair spawned.
18/09/22: The fry hatched. The Sire is doing an excellent job taking care of the bubblenest and the fry.
20/09/22: The fry entered the free-swimming stage and the Sire was removed.
18/10/22: The fry are now 4-weeks old and start to show some iridescent coverage on the body and finnage.

31/10/22: 6-weeks old fry

26/11/22: 10-weeks old heterozygous metallic royal blue based fry!

23/12/22: 14-weeks old heterozygous metallic royal blue brothers!

18/02/23: 22-weeks old siblings! Very happy with the development of these fish.