Hi!
My room mate and I have what I think are Koi/Goldfish (comet) hybrids in our pond and I've got a few questions about them.
I've often read that koi/goldfish hybrids lack barbels. 99% of the literature I've read claims this. However, a few days ago I dug up a paper submitted to a scientific journal in New Zealand that I found rather interesting. Sparing all the technical jargon, it states plainly that they can and do possess barbels:
http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/site/...fr/1987/5.aspx
The hybrids were intermediate between koi and goldfish for the number
of lateral line scales, the shape of the pharyngeal teeth, and the presence of a pair of reduced posterior barbels.
Most of the suspected hybrids we have do indeed have teeny weeny barbels. So what do you guys think? Anyone out there found barbels on hybrids?
It's funny, some of them resemble ochibas in their colorations. But most all of them have the thick penduncle and hump just behind their heads so I believe were really are seeing hybrids.
I'll post links to some pics tomorrow after I snap some shots. Hopefully I can get the macro setting to capture their barbels...