Breeding Aqua Lovebirds:
Every Pairing and Combination

A lot of breeders are still confused about the Aqua mutation. I first wrote this guide as a Facebook post to explain Aqua as simply and clearly as I could, from a working breeder's point of view. It helped enough people that I am putting it here in full, now with a button on every pairing so you can open it live in the Lovebird Genetics Calculator and check it for your own birds. Every percentage below has been re-checked against that engine. For the deeper genetics see the Aqua Lovebird Genetics guide, and for every Aqua and Blue cross in one reference, the Lovebird Pairing Outcomes page.

Part 1: Aqua basics you need first

Get these seven points right and about 70% of Aqua confusion disappears:

• Aqua, Blue 1, Blue 2 and wild-type green are all alleles of one gene, the blue (bl) locus. A bird carries at most two of them.
• Against a Blue allele aqua is co-dominant, so Aqua B1 and Aqua B2 are compounds, not splits. Against wild-type green it is recessive.
• Aqua has three base forms: Aqua B1, Aqua B2, and Aqua Homo (Homozygote).
• Aqua never splits inside the Blue series, because both alleles at the locus are showing.
• Aqua only behaves like a hidden split when it goes into the Green series, where the dominant wild-type allele covers it.
• In pure segregation terms an Aqua Homo behaves like a Blue 2 bird, both being homozygous at the same locus, but they are different alleles.
• Aqua is always visible over a Blue allele.

Part 2: Aqua gene structure

Every bird carries exactly two alleles at the blue (bl) locus, one from each parent:

• Parblue = B1 // B2 (a compound, so it cannot breed true)
• Blue 1 = B1 / B1
• Blue 2 = B2 / B2
• Aqua B1 = Aqua // B1 (compound)
• Aqua B2 = Aqua // B2 (compound)
• Aqua Homo = Aqua / Aqua (homozygous)

Aqua Homo's segregation behaviour mirrors Blue 2 because both are homozygous at the same locus, but aqua and blue are different alleles. Note the notation used across this site: a single slash is a split, a double slash is an allelic compound.

Part 3: Aqua pairings and expected results

Every result here was generated by the calculator engine. Tap any button to open and adjust it.

Part 4: Aqua in the Green series (the confusing part)

This is where most breeders get lost. In the Green series Aqua is not visible, it sits hidden as a split, but the gene is still active and passes on.

Part 5: Aqua with other mutations

These four autosomal recessive mutations are the ones most often stacked onto Aqua, and each stacks onto all three Aqua bases (B1, B2, Homo), giving twelve visual combinations. Note the notation: no slash means a visual combination, a single slash means a split.

• NSL Ino (autosomal recessive, the a-locus, allelic with DEC, Pastel and Bronze Fallow): Aqua B1 Ino, Aqua B2 Ino, Aqua Homo Ino. On a Parblue base the calculator names the same visual Creamino.
• Dilute (autosomal recessive, eyes and feet stay normal): Aqua B1 Dilute, Aqua B2 Dilute, Aqua Homo Dilute
• Pale Fallow (autosomal recessive, bright clear red eyes): Aqua B1 Pale Fallow, Aqua B2 Pale Fallow, Aqua Homo Pale Fallow
• Dun Fallow (autosomal recessive, bright red eyes on a darker laurel-green body): Aqua B1 Dun Fallow, Aqua B2 Dun Fallow, Aqua Homo Dun Fallow

Pale Fallow, Dun Fallow and Bronze Fallow are not alleles of each other. Pale Fallow has its own pf locus and Dun Fallow its own df locus, while Bronze Fallow sits on the a-locus and is allelic with NSL ino, dark eyed clear and pastel. Van den Abeele advises never combining them, because all three are weak, and Bronze Fallow paired visual to visual gives close to total chick mortality.

Pick whichever mutation you like and build your Aqua line into it.

Part 6: Producing 100% Aqua babies

If your target is a full clutch of Aqua chicks every time, you must pair from an Aqua Homo:

If this clears up Aqua for even a few breeders, then writing it did its job. Open the Lovebird Genetics Calculator to run any pairing of your own.

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