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| One of the things that makes the betta such a beautiful fish is their colour. Combined with a beautiful array of fin and tail types, colour is often the first thing a person notices about a betta. Along with colour, bettas have several patturns, combinations of two or more colours adds to the visual appeal of the betta. Below you will find definitions of betta colours and patturns. |
| COLOURS Green/Blue/Turquoise - Can range from rich Royal blue, to grass green, from a Steel blue, to a light, Powder blue, and in some cases, even purple. Often times, blue bettas are shiny with black or brown heads. Blue is a funny gene due to the three main variations, royal, green and steel. Red/Extended Red - Ranges from light pink to cranberry red. These fish generally lack the shiny irrodecites although many do have flecks of blue wash on them. An extended red is pure red (no blue/black) from the tip of its cadual to the tip of its mouth. Orange - A relitivly new, and non-perfected strain, the orange betta ranges from a powdery orange to a goldfish type orange. Yellow - Again ranges from barely yellow to Lemon yellow. Yellow bettas often have cellophane in thir fins. A relitivly new development. Melano - Jet black head to tail. Melanos of poor quality may be dark brown or have cellophane fins. Melano females are infertile so steel or blue females with the Melano geno are often used for spawning. Opaque - Chalky white, often with a powdery sheen to them but a thick, solid white is preferred. Opaques are hard to spawn as even two clean parents can have a spawn with almost entirely all red washed babies. Slightly more delicate than other colours, opaques are generally not reccomended for beginners. Pastel - A strange gene indeed. Pastels and Opaques are sometimes confused. A pastel can range from almost pure white, to a thickly grizzled blue or green. Cellophane - A colourless betta with see through fins. Albino - A betta lacking pigment. Will have pink or light blue eyes and often carry a pinkish hue due to the fact that thier only pigment is in thier blood. Very delicate and prone to some illness. |
| PATTURNS Cambodian - Light, flesh-coloured body with pigmented fins. A traditional cambodian has a flesh body with red fins. Often seen with red patches on thier heads. Butterfly - A betta whose body colour spreads into the fins with white or cellophane 'tip'/'edges'. It is preferred that the patturn is as even as possiable with a strong distinction between the colours. Often seen in two or three bands of colour. Verigated - A betta with uneven, verticle (from the body not the horizon) strips of white or cellophane. Marble - A betta with splotches of colour, often blue/black and white. Marbles are slow growers and are often smaller than other types. Pibald - A white head on a coloured body. Multi - Two or more strongly disctint colours, not to be mistaken for a fish with red wash. Many popular strains at the moment are multis, such as Mustard Gas/Dijon Gaz, and many Salamanders. |