Opal borellii

[blueblue]

Opal borellii - from Germany ^.^

 

[Cumb Dunt]

Nice pictures.

However, this question plagues me about these fish:

Is the "Opal" morph of A. borellii a domestically developed form or is it naturally occurring?

It would be so much less confusing if people stuck to naming naturally occurring fish after where they were found instead of the colors.

 

[blueblue]

Nice pictures.

However, this question plagues me about these fish:

Is the "Opal" morph of A. borellii a domestically developed form or is it naturally occurring?

It would be so much less confusing if people stuck to naming naturally occurring fish after where they were found instead of the colors.

Thanks.
my understanding is, by definition, the "Opal" in the market must have very red markings on the face, and it is a tank-bred fish. In the natural environment, even if we can find some borellii with a red face, it is still NOT comparable to the ones known as Opal from Germany...

 

[Mike Wise]

This has been discussed before. The original "Opal/Opalita" was a domestic form selectively bred to produce blue, yellow, & green scales on the flanks, blue & yellow on the unpaired fins, & a lot of red on the gill covers. This form, as far as I know, is no longer being produced. We now get similar fish from both domestically bred fish and wild-caught imports. Now it seems that any A. borellii with a lot of red on the face is called "Opal".

 

[KenL]

Lovely fish blueblue.

I would prefer to see them just sold as A.borellii if that is what they are.

 

[blueblue]

Lovely fish blueblue.

I would prefer to see them just sold as A.borellii if that is what they are.

Hi KenL: In Hong Kong, i do see many other forms of
Borellii, some have a golden head and green body (called Gold head), some have a blue body and head (called royal blue), some are basically a lot of yellow (called the classic form of Borellii),
and the most appealing ones are the ones called Opal (german fish), with
a lot of red markings on the face... so, here in Hong Kong, Opal does refer to one form of Borellii, which is more expensive and more popular ^.^