goldies in the 75g

paperdragon said:
Is it possible to be partially leucistic? certain spots of black are on the surface of his skin, and he has a very bright orange spot on the base of his tail.
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standardbyker63 said:
If that is possible, would my fantail also be partially leucistic?
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Oops... I forgot to check back in this thread, so I hadn't replied yet.

I thought being leucistic (absense of surface pigment) was the same kind of genetic condition as being albino (absence of melanin). That it's total - you either are or you're not. So I didn't think there was a "partial" leucistic condition. But in these goldfish, those big black eyes and the bright red gills are a dead giveway - something leucistic is definitely going on. So I just looked it up.

YES! Our fish can be partially leucistic. The skin and scales being transparent doesn't have to be total. :thm:

I found these details from the Wiki site. Look at the statements I've bolded in these excerpts.

Leucism is a condition characterized by reduced pigmentation in animals. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in all types of skin pigment, not just melanin.

Leucism is a general term for the phenotype resulting from defects in pigment cell differentiation and/or migration from the neural crest to skin, hair or feathers during development. This results in either the entire surface (if all pigment cells fail to develop) or patches of body surface (if only a subset are defective) having a lack of cells capable of making pigment.

More common than a complete absence of pigment cells is localized or incomplete hypopigmentation, resulting in irregular patches of white on an animal that otherwise has normal colouring and patterning. This partial leucism is known as a "pied" or "piebald" effect; and the ratio of white to normal-coloured skin can vary considerably not only between generations, but between different offspring from the same parents, and even between members of the same litter. This is notable in horses, cows, cats, dogs, the urban crow and the ball python but is also found in many other species.

The correct pronunciation of leucistic is (loo-kiss-tic) and leucism is (loo-kism).
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Here's a link to that web page on Leucism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucistic
 
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Ah cool. Thanks for the info. I was looking at my little guy again and noticed the only bright surface pigmentation is on the fins themselves, the actual body just has those faded speckles. I wonder if the tiny orange spot will grow larger as he ages, or if it'll disappear.

I know the leucistic traits are generally frowned on by breeders, not to mention the so-tiny-you-can-hardly-see-them anal fins on my guy. But he's really a pretty little fish (IMO anyways) :)
 
I think it's fascinating to have a see-through goldfish. And I don't care that Chiffon is actually a breeder's cast off. She's a beautiful mutt. And she's interesting. You don't find leucistic fish very often.... that makes her rare and even more precious to me.

None of the fish we buy at Walmart or Petsmart come from top quality breeding stock anyway.
 
lol, all three of my goldies are kind of oddballs. The black moor has an odd tail, and the orange one is not only missing the split in his caudal, but also has a fin spike sicking out where it should be split.
 
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