moe214
, there 100% just deformed... as they become cheaper they also become more deformed. thats just how it goes with any test tube fish. They dont look too bad tho O.P. ive seen alot worse that prob sold for more then what u paid for them. As for breeding, only sure way is to grow them out and "milk" them much they like do at fish hatcheries then rear the eggs urself. As for the offspring being all platinum im not sure how that goes. I do know none of these "platinum" rtc... are actually platinum tho... the correct term/mutation is Xanthic.... xanthic fish pigment is usually always subject to change so dont be alarmed or surprised if they throw patches of pigment from time to time... all part of the game with xanthic fish. kinda like a piebald but the black eyes and strong gold/orange pigment are traits of xanthic mutations. Most all the pics of older specimen have patches of pigment along the skull region... Mine 2 has started to show more pigment at the 1.5-2yr mark around 2'... comes and goes and its a case by case scenario some worse than others. Theres a few reports where they end up looking like normal RTC.
MrDuckBootz
lol...sorry. Its nice to see there becoming more available now and i hope u get to enjoy them for many yrs to come. Keep a close eye on them as they grow ive had them co-exist no prob and also fight almost to the death. For some reason some rtc just dont like their own kind. Hope u lucked out with 2 that like each other.
The top cat's snout is notably shorter. The pectoral fin leading spines on both are not straight, malformed, likely too due to mutation, could be from fighting early on but I'd think such expensive fish are taken better care than that.
