Group of Whiting Bristols

[afnaveils]

I went out of town on vacation for 2 weeks and when I came back yesterday all my dark Bristols were dead. Did I miss a water change, I don't remember, but it looks like it. I'm left with only my whitish back-up Bristols and some fry. I hope they throw some blacks next year. Man!, what am I going to say to Gary?

On another note, Cape Cod and the Boston area were great places to visit.

[afertuna]

Sadly I have been there my friend.......I really feel for you. I am getting closer to a solid black bristol and I would be sad to loose my breeding stock like that. did you have others in different tanks? or was that all you had?

[johnatoranchu]

I am getting closer to a solid black bristol and I would be sad to loose my breeding stock like that.

But REAL "show quality" Bristol Shubunkins should be BLUE with red patches and the whole peppered with black spots! Too much black is a serious demerit.
John

[afnaveils]

I have a few other Whiting Bristols but they are mostly whitish or greyish. No more dark ones. I hope I can get some dark offsprings from them.

John, I was trying to develop some kind of Midnight Bristols or black Bristols like Afertuna, even if the black colour alone is not desirable for standard Bristol Shubs.

[johnatoranchu]

Sorry, Gerard. You know what I'm like - always thinking about show standards and "perceived" perfection! Having said that since making regular visits to Dave Mandley, and much to the surprise of my friends here in the UK, I have become more interested in "experimental" breeding and since we last met I have been working on my own singletail which I call the "Imperial". Basically the fish I have in mind has a shorter body and a higher dorsal fin than normal singletails but the tail (the difficult part) is to be semi-circular, that is with no indentation between the lobes, and held upright like a good Bristol. Single tailed "Veils" and mock metallic Bristols and Bluebelly Commons have been used in the mix. Mock metallics and Bluebellies have been used deliberately as I hope to creat the variety eventually in the mock metallic/bluebelly scale group.
This year I have also crossed calico Pearscales to mock metallic black Moors to see if introduction of the mock metallic gene into calico Pearscales will help improve the black and, more importantly, the blue colouration.
John

[afnaveils]

Hi John,

I can't remember where I've gotten the pix of a similar fish that you want to create ... unless I'm mistaken.

[afnaveils]

John, I found this logo too. Is it the variety you want to develop?

[flaringshutter]

If anyone does succeed in getting a black bristol, I'd love to get in on that! I'm a real sucker for black singletails. And I do think it's good that we're developing new varieties outside of the show standard. After all, a midnight shubunkin was just a shubunkin with no red and not enough blue until it was established as a Midnight.

[Cincy Ranchu]

I have a few other Whiting Bristols but they are mostly whitish or greyish. No more dark ones. I hope I can get some dark offsprings from them.

John, I was trying to develop some kind of Midnight Bristols or black Bristols like Afertuna, even if the black colour alone is not desirable for standard Bristol Shubs.

Sebveral folks working on the Midnight Bristol, Doug Wolf on this page has had some great success crossing a Matt Bristol to a Mightnight and the lobs are just about correct, they are really very nice, I did the nacreous Bristol X a Midnight and got some of the same pattern, but I have to say his are one generation from being perfect....Perhaps he will share some pics!:exact:

I also agree with John that Mandleys' experiments are really cool, he has red metallic Bristols that are perfect (>10") and a yellow that I have not yet seen:yess:

[johnatoranchu]

John, I found this logo too. Is it the variety you want to develop?
Hi Gerard
Yes, that last logo is virtually spot on although I want the body to be slightly shorter so that the dorsal fin merges in with the tail. I got the idea from looking at a particular strain of siamese fighters! The other pics are just overfinned bristols and are very similar to those I used in my breeding programme initially.
Am not convinced, yet, about the Midnights Gary as I am uncertain as to their genetic make up. I think I'm right in believing that they are a variety of coloured matts, yet they are different from Dave's Camelots. Without knowing their precise genetic make up it's difficult to know, once an outcross has been made, how many generations it takes to re-establish the Midnight in its true form. Something for us to discuss at the Social perhaps - not long to go now!
John

[bigbettadan]

Sounds like a halfmoon betta. I suggest "halfmoon" shubunkin for the name! I was thinking about that when I first saw bristol tails.......

Dan