Anyway, I have studied the writing of Don (Fisherman Primer I, II and III on Isabeau's Virtual World site http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/switch/1889) and have had great success with making wonderful strains of guppies. I have also figured out most of what each of the boxes in the splicing window change, and what is and what isn't allowed by "Mother Aquazone".

The boxes in the Gene Splicing Window were labeled by Don from A-N, so for the sake of not confusing anyone I will just continue with his method.

Don did mention that the top two squares from each column should not be changed because they have something to do with the sex of the fish and will make the fish unloadable. That is partly true. The top boxes (A & H) change the sex as well as the body style (German Tux, Cobra, etc.) of the fish, which I will explain shortly, and the second pair (B & I) determine whether the fish are Albino or Normal. You can safely change the Albino status of the fish, but you cannot change the sex of the fish. You can, however, change the body style of the fish, as long as you have only males or only females in the file.

Sex and Body Style - A & H

As mentioned before, the two top boxes determine the sex and body style of the guppies. Here's how you can change the body style of the fish without rendering the fish unloadable. The trick is to use the correct combination of numbers. There are only a few combinations of numbers that will work on the males, and only two combinations that will work on the females. You MUST have only males or only females in the file for this to work. After you have these numbers set for the fish you can put them in the same file to work on the rest of the "genes".

Males

Note: I have labeled the columns A & H in the examples, but it really doesn't matter which column you put the number in, as long as you have the same combination.

A	H	Body Style
3	1	Normal
3	2	German Tux
4	1	Cobra
4	2	German Tux Cobra

Notice that the number in each column is different for each body type. This is part of what determines that the fish is a male.

Females

A	H	Body Style
1	1	Normal
2	2	German Tux

Both numbers are the same, so therefore the fish is female. Also, notice that only the male can carry the Cobra gene. Interesting...

Albino status - B & I

This is perhaps the simplest part to figure out, so this will be a very short explanation.

B	I	Albino
1	1	Yes
2	2	No

These are the only numbers that I have found to work in these boxes. Told you it would be short.

Tail Pattern - C & J

Through experimentation and trial and error (mostly error) I have found the numbers below to determine the tail pattern of the guppies. I have not determined as yet which ones are dominant or recessive, but we want stable strains anyway don't we, so each column must have a number that will give the same tail pattern.

0-25=Clear

26-50=Grass

51-75=Leapard

76-100=Tiger

You can use a different number from the same range in the C & J boxes to differ the pattern of dots or stripes slightly and still get the same tail pattern. I am still experimenting with numbers from different ranges and will post the results as soon as I have something to report.

Okay, the rest of this gets a little fuzzy due to the interaction between the rest of the "genes". Here is what I have found so far, but I wouldn't say that everything is exactly correct. If anyone finds discrepencies, please let me know.

Color - D & K, E & L, F & M, G & N

Blue, Red or nothing? D & K, E & L

So far, what I have found is that the D & K positions are toggles for the E & L positions, which determine the amount of the specified color in the tail. If D & K both are 1, then the color in E & L will be Blue. If D & K both are 2, then the color in E & L will Red. If D & K are both any other number, then E & L will not effect the color of the tail and therefore the tail will be Yellow or some shade of gray, as determined by the remaining four positions. If you put a different number in each of the D & K positions then you get different effects, but they will be Heterozygous. If you use the numbers 1 & 2, you will get a blue and red multi-colored tail, and no matter which position the numbers are in the blue will be closest to the penducle. I am still experimenting with these numbers and don't fully understand their effect on each other or the other positions. Hopefully I will have more to report soon.

The range of numbers you use for E & L also determine the intensity of the specified color, not the shade. Like the tail pattern, you can use different numbers from the same range and still get the same intensity of color. Here are the ranges.

0-25=None

26-50=Low

51-75=Medium

76-100=High

Note: These do not effect the shade (or lightness and darkness) of the color. The shade is determined by the amount of black added (G & N).

Yellow - F & M

You can add yellow to the color of the tail with these positions, and they interact differently with the Red and Blue. If you add Yellow to Red, it will give you Orange, but if you add Yellow to Blue, then you get a Multi colored tail with Yellow closest to the penducle. This is of course assuming you used the same numbers in D & K to determine red or blue. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface on these positions and their interaction.

The amount of yellow you add is of course determined by the numbers you use. Just look at the range of numbers for the red and blue, you get the idea.

Black - G & N

Okay, I think this is probably self explanitory. These positions determine the amount of black in the tail. And again I am experimenting with these.

If you negated any other colors by using all 0-25 in the other color positions, then you will get a tail that is either gray or black. Here's the number ranges.

0-25=White

26-50=Pearl Gray

51-75=Charcoal

76-100=Black

If you have other color genes activated, the G & N will affect the shade of the colors according to the amount of black you add. If both G & N are in the Black range, then the tail will be black.

Well, that's all I have determined so far. I hope this helps some of you get some pretty guppies. If anyone determines what some of the combinations do or discovers something new, please let me know, if only for my own experimentation.

Fisherman01.zip