I have recently been experimenting with the 8-rays trait in HMPK bettas. Here's my male:
He is the son of a cross between a Red Dragon HMPK male from a friend and a Copper HMPK female from my line. It was a complete surprise that such a fish popped out. Well, he was worth experimenting on and try to produce more of him. From this outcross, I am guessing several factors that should be at play.
Here are my ideas:
1. [Phenotype] ray branching is not a good sign for determining 8-rays
2. A better dose of DT genes can help you out in producing 8-rays
Hypothesis 1: [Phenotype] ray branching is not a good sign for determining 8-rays
This male's mother is also spawned with a Green Red Bicolor HMPK from another friend. This male has 8-rays branching. One could easily assume that the gene is hard-wired already in the offspring. They might not show it but i thought the trait can be induced. Well, I crossed this male to a female. No 8-ray offspring was produced. In fact, there are even 2-ray offspring. I am quite disappointed.Recently, I crossed 4-ray females back to him. I hope for better results.
Family line of cross in hypothesis 1:
