[bekko]

Is there a tancho gene? Is a tancho more than just a kohaku with a single round hi plate on the head? Is a tancho more likely to appear within a batch of siblings than a kohaku (or kohaku-like koi) with a single round hi plate placed elsewhere on the body? Does a tancho have a different type of skin than its kohaku siblings? Does a tancho have a different body shape than its kohaku siblings? Is the difference between a kohaku and a benigoi just a reflection of how the pattern developed in the fry (without a distinctive genetic component) while the tancho pattern is genetically preordained? Was tancho developed strictly through selective breeding, or was the process aided by a naturally-occurring genetic propensity? Would it have been more difficult to selectively breed a koi with a single round hi plate on the back instead of on the head?

If the answer to some of these questions is ‘yes’, is it possible that a similar tancho gene exists in goldfish? Are the red capped oranda, red cap comet, red cap swallow tail, red cap pearl scale, red crest lionhead, and the frequency of tancho wakin just a case of parallel evolution (or rather, parallel breeding programs) or is there a genetic propensity which has assisted development of these varieties?

-stevehopk ins