ALLIC ET

increasingly metalliclike scales. ALLIC note that this selective involve the use of chemicals external factors to produce the scales. Instead, it relies on the genetics through controlled

Aquarium hobbyists have been breeding bettafish for decades in order to produce individuals with increasingly metallic-like scales. Through selective breeding, individuals with desirable traits are chosen to breed with each other, and over time, the traits become more pronounced in the population. The result is bettafish with more pronounced structural coloration, and increasingly metallic-like scales.

Some individuals of this species have been selectively bred to exhibit metallic-like scales that shimmer in light. This is due to a phenomenon called structural coloration, which is a type of coloration that arises from the physical structure of an organism‘s tissues, rather than pigments. In the case of bettafish, the metallic appearance is created by the microscopic structure of the fish‘s scales reflecting light in a way that produces the shimmering, metallic-like effect. This is a result of the scales having a layered structure with different refractive indices, which cause light to interfere and produce the desired coloration. The genetics of the fish play a crucial role in determining the structural coloration, and selective breeding can be used to enhance or diminish certain traits.