Picture gene & lineage tree
Visual pedigree of breeder-reported inputs, where available. Dashed arrows represent documentary claims or selection history, not DNA-tested genes.
This strain's direct parent lines are not established by the reviewed sources. No breeding cross, genotype or inheritance pattern is implied. Source: Sources remain under review; ancestry connections will appear only with cited evidence.
Identity, Japanese names and classification
The documentary label 大川系カガミ鱗五式 (Okawa-line Kagami-rin Goshiki) appears in Medaka Hyakka Issue 21 beside NEXT MEDAKA's work (printed page 90, viewer P:92). The user-supplied Instagram screenshot from @nextsubstiture calls the shown fish 大川系カガミ鱗 and discusses retaining a 五式 black/red look from above while seeking strong mirror-scale expression. The identity of the poster and its relationship to the named magazine breeder has not been independently authenticated.
“Goshiki with Okawa Kagami-rin expression” is a cautious descriptive identity, not proof of a documented one-generation Goshiki × Okawa founding mating. Kagami-rin describes abnormal/enlarged scale architecture; breeder-line names should not be treated as interchangeable DNA markers or formally stabilized cultivar names.
Quick facts and water parameters
These are freshwater Japanese ornamental medaka. No controlled strain-specific temperature, pH, hardness, hatch rate or water-volume optimum for this exact selection was identified. Apply appropriate ordinary medaka husbandry with stable, conditioned, oxygenated water and gradual acclimation; avoid asserting specialist numeric water targets unsupported by direct studies.
Appearance and diagnostic traits: top view versus side view
The post reports an intentionally red-and-black Goshiki body appearance in dorsal view and mirror-scale or Kagami-rin character that is easier to evaluate laterally. Selection aims to combine both impressions without losing the Goshiki coloration; this is a breeder's aesthetic goal, not a measurement of guaranteed expression in all offspring.
For reference photography, record the same identifiable fish in top and side view with stable illumination. Capture enlarged or irregular lateral scale placement, contrast between reddish areas and dark base, and any reflective or guanine-rich regions separately. A dorsal photograph alone cannot confirm the full Kagami-rin scale structure.
Genetics and the required picture lineage tree
Exact focal parent fish and generation sequence: NOT DOCUMENTED. The illustrated Aquapedia tree should show the focal identity and a separate Parent lines not documented panel, without inventing an arrow simply because two traits occur in one fish. The dated magazine establishes the combination's name and the breeder's ongoing line work, not the complete family-level genealogy of the Instagram specimen.
Dominance/recessiveness: NOT ESTABLISHED for the Okawa-line mirror-scale expression, this Goshiki color combination, eye traits, guanine density, or linked fin phenotypes. The medaka edar / Eda-Edar pathway has an experimentally described scale-number/size mutant in Oryzias; that finding does not identify the causative allele of Okawa Kagami-rin or Ikeya Kagami-rin. Do not transfer carp mirror-scale segregation ratios or unrelated medaka pigment-locus results to these lines.
History, creators and separately verified breeding branches
Medaka Hyakka 21, p.90–91 (viewer P:92–93) identifies NEXT MEDAKA in Munakata, Fukuoka, and documents distinct lines 鑑雲 (Kan'un), 鑑晴 (Kanbaru), 鑑雷 (Kanrai), with the 大川系カガミ鱗五式 phenotype featured alongside them. This attribution concerns the photographed magazine selections; it does not establish that every similarly described Instagram fish is an original NEXT specimen.
Ōkawa Medaka in Fukuoka is independently associated with a Sapphire-line Kagami-rin commercial selection. The Ikeya Kagami-rin history is separate; a specialist account documents Ikeya's unusually shaped scales by 2019, well before 2024's later commercial release. Avoid conflating the separate Ōkawa and Ikeya source histories.
NEXT MEDAKA's own shop records documented crosses for other, named derivatives: 鑑深 (Kagami/ Kanshin reading requires breeder confirmation) is listed as descendants of 鑑晴 × Crimson Shark; 鑑晴 × 虚空 as another named selected cross; 加具土命 as descendants of 鑑晴 × 竜黒凰. These shop-specific claims must not be drawn as parentage arrows for the focal unnamed Goshiki + Okawa specimen. They are useful future records for individually sourced derivative profiles.
Breeding and selection evidence
Document breeder stock labels, fish identifiers, male/female parent pairs, each F-generation, and the actual denominators for dorsal color, scale phenotype, guanine shine, and normal/abnormal morphology. Record whether traits co-occur on the same offspring across at least two independent broods before speculating about segregation. No reliable phenotype ratio, heritability or fixation percentage for this exact NEXT/Goshiki specimen has been independently documented.
Quality and grading
Inspect overall health and body proportions before evaluating color. Photograph red/black contrast in top view and distribution, size and shape of special scales in side view. Next Medaka's retailer describes NEXT SS, NEXT S, A and B as house-specific selection grades, not universal scientific or show standards. No standardized scoring rubric or independent show award for the exact pictured specimen has been confirmed.
Husbandry, food, compatibility and health
Use established general medaka age-appropriate diets and species care; no credible source establishes a special Kagami-rin feed, supplement or diet requirement. Monitor tissue injuries and infection signs when selecting fish with irregular scales, but do not generalize disease susceptibility claims from unrelated Ikeya lines without comparative evidence. Keep quarantine and routine sex-ratio/competition considerations separate from unverified strain genetics.
Availability and authentication
Historical NEXT shop records and the 2025 specialist-magazine report document the variety family; these do not prove current stock availability, the genetics of a particular offered fish or the Instagram individual's parentage. Ask for original breeder lineage, dated top/side footage and the exact mother/father identities. Visually similar Ikeya Kagami-rin, Sapphire Kagami-rin and Goshiki Type-R crosses require separate identification.
Public research references
Listed research leads are not automatically supporting evidence for every individual claim.