IFGA Green

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IFGA Green. Photo: Philip Shaddock

History

One of the oldest Green breeds is the Parrish Green. In this strain the dorsal and the caudal do not match, with the dorsal usually being lighter than the caudal. This strain was originally characterized as large and hardy, although inbreeding may have reduced that reputation. The breeder Hutter developed a green with a matching dorsal, which was further developed by Regent. Hutter greens tend to be smaller and more brilliant in color, and less hardy. They have been extensively inbred, uniting the virtues of both lines.

"Parrish Greens" or the term "Parrish dorsals" often refer to guppies with white spotting or streaking in the dorsal, while "Hutter Greens" have come to refer to greens with matching dorsals. Since greens have been interbred with other guppy strains, the terms may have lost some of their descriptive power.

Description

This must be one of the most DQ'd (disqualified) guppies at the IFGA shows. The green guppy in the breeder's tank appears under the show lighting as a blue or purple guppy. The reason lies in the color structures in the guppy's skin. The only difference between a blue and green guppy is the number of yellow pigment cells present. (Structural color is light reflected off of a guppy's iridophores, or reflective color cells. In this case blue light waves are reflected.) The angle and color temperature of the show lighting reflecting off the green's iridophores can change the apparent color of the guppy.

The particular version of the IFGA HB Green strain shown above tends to become black because of the Alderson gene and the green tends to go blue.

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