Metallic steel blue HM PK
(Betta Territory, NL)

Metallic royal blue HM PK
(Betta Territory, NL)

The Sire is a metallic steel blue HMPK who was bred by my Markus Bache, a great breeder who unfortunately left the hobby. This male was purchased from Ines Borgolte who took over his fishroom. The male has a very thick body with a smooth topline and strong peduncle. The dorsal has an really broad base and the anal fin is pretty parallel to the body with matching ventrals. The caudal fin is his weakest point as the outer rays are a bit too short giving the caudal a rather rounded appearance. The Dame is a copper HMPK with a nice long body and smooth topline. The caudal fin shows a good spread  and anal fin is nicely parallel to the body. The dorsal fin ideally could have a bit more volume and a broader base. I think this pair nicely compensates eachother itn both body and finnage.
With this cross I hope to fix the strong bodies, smooth topline and balanced finnage. The offspring (F1) will be (metallic) steel blue and copper based HMPKs. 

04/08/14: The pair spawned. Eggs in the nest.
05/08/14: The fry hatched. Seems to be a nice sized spawn.

07/08/14: The fry entered the free-swimming stage. Removed the male.
16/08/14: The fry is feeding well on vinegar eels and BBS.
10/10/14: Fry is now 10 weeks old. Really have no idea where the greenish color is coming from, as I should have gotten only steel blue based fish from this cross. Very curious to see how they will develop further.

24/10/14: 12 weeks old.

10/11/14: 14 weeks old.

28/11/14: 16 weeks old. Jarred the first male.

12/01/15: 23 weeks old.

28/02/15: Same female as aboe with a totally diferent colorpattern, now at 30 weeks old.