Table 1.

Examples of appearance traits for body shape and skin pigmentation used in fish farming.

Category of trait	Species	Strains	Trait characteristic	Practical application	Reference
Body shape	Common carp (Cyprinus carpio)	Aischgrund and Galician	High-backed	To increase esthetics of body shape	Ankorion et al. (1992)
		var. wuyuanensis (also called Purse red carp)	Broadly elliptical body (red skin); standard length to body height ratio: 2.3	To increase esthetics, creating a desirable “wallet” shape and all-red body color	Zhang et al. (2013)
		var. haematopterus (also called Amur wild carp)	Spindle-shaped body (steel-gray skin); standard length to body height ratio: 3.5	To increase desirability for sport fishing (its body is elongated, making it an excellent sport fish)	Zhang et al. (2013)
	Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)	Finnish national breeding program	Slender body (i.e., low body height to length ratio; silvery skin with fewer spots)	To produce fish more visually appealing desirable for the whole carcass market	Kause et al. (2003)
Skin color	Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)	Red strains (red Stirling, red Yumbo, etc)	Red body color without signs of normal black pigmentation of wild-type fish	To add value to the final product	McAndrew et al. (1988), Moreira et al. (2005)
	Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)	Blue Back	Intense bluish back; whitish belly; reduced number of dark spots, both on the back and below the lateral line	To satisfy market demands	Colihueque et al. (2011)