Basic Colors in Bettas
By: Victoria Stark
Submitted: 6/29/2006
By: Victoria Stark
Submitted: 6/29/2006
Bettas come in a wide array of colors. They can be jewel-bright to soft pastel and even pure white or completely colorless. The colors available can be combined or crossed to make even more colors. For this reason they are one of the most popular hobby fish of all time.
Here are the colors recognized by the International Betta Congress:
RED: The color red in bettas is a layer of color that is just above the black layer. In wild bettas the distribution of red is limited to the pelvic, anal, and caudal fins. In solid red bettas the normal red pigment has been increased in density and extended in distribution to cover the entire body and fins of the fish. This mutation is called 'Extended Red', and it is dominant over normal (wild type) red coloration.
The most brilliantly red bettas are those that possess both the extended red gene and the blonde gene. A betta without the blonde gene appears considerably darker, almost drab by comparison. Extended red bettas that also possess the blonde gene are cherry red, ideal for show purposes. Some extended reds appear lighter in color, with pale chins and minimal black scale. These are usually showing a cambodian genotype.
Here are the colors recognized by the International Betta Congress:
RED: The color red in bettas is a layer of color that is just above the black layer. In wild bettas the distribution of red is limited to the pelvic, anal, and caudal fins. In solid red bettas the normal red pigment has been increased in density and extended in distribution to cover the entire body and fins of the fish. This mutation is called 'Extended Red', and it is dominant over normal (wild type) red coloration.
The most brilliantly red bettas are those that possess both the extended red gene and the blonde gene. A betta without the blonde gene appears considerably darker, almost drab by comparison. Extended red bettas that also possess the blonde gene are cherry red, ideal for show purposes. Some extended reds appear lighter in color, with pale chins and minimal black scale. These are usually showing a cambodian genotype.
Extended red HM betta with blond gene
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Extended red HM betta with blond gene
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BLACK: There are currently four terms for developed black betta being tossed around in the hobby today, the MELANO BLACK, the MARBLE BLACK, the SUPER BLACK, and the DOUBLE BLACK.
Black Melano is probably the oldest and most popular form of black, and it produces a very dark black that is pleasing to the eye. The drawbacks to the black melano is 1.) the tendency toward iridescence on the body (a fault), and 2.) true melano females cannot produce living fry. You will sometimes hear this referred to as 'female infertility', but that is not definitively true. They spawn and release eggs as any female will, and the eggs are fertilized. But the shell membranes disintegrate before the embryos are able to survive independently. Nobody yet can confirm why this may be, but some think it is due to experimental radiation that was used to initially create the black betta. Melano bettas must be propogated using females of another color (usually steel blue) that carry the genotype for melano. These spawns will produce only 50% melano bettas, the others being multicolors, or whatever color their mother was. Of this 50%, only 25% (the males) can be used for breeding. For this reason the pure melano remains challenging, and a good one is highly prized.
Black Melano is probably the oldest and most popular form of black, and it produces a very dark black that is pleasing to the eye. The drawbacks to the black melano is 1.) the tendency toward iridescence on the body (a fault), and 2.) true melano females cannot produce living fry. You will sometimes hear this referred to as 'female infertility', but that is not definitively true. They spawn and release eggs as any female will, and the eggs are fertilized. But the shell membranes disintegrate before the embryos are able to survive independently. Nobody yet can confirm why this may be, but some think it is due to experimental radiation that was used to initially create the black betta. Melano bettas must be propogated using females of another color (usually steel blue) that carry the genotype for melano. These spawns will produce only 50% melano bettas, the others being multicolors, or whatever color their mother was. Of this 50%, only 25% (the males) can be used for breeding. For this reason the pure melano remains challenging, and a good one is highly prized.
Black melano HM (male) bred by Mark Ibara
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Black melano plakat (male) bred by Victoria Stark
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Steel blue melano geno (young female) bred by Victoria Stark
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Marble black is growing in popularity. This category includes Black Orchid, Black Ice, and a whole pell mell of bettas that are being sold as Black Lace. However the original Black Lace betta was a pale black with transluscent fin edges, far different from the 'Black Lace' phenotype that is widely accepted today. Original Black Lace probably came from melano, as the females were also infertile. Because of this the true Black lace isn't a marble type at all, but a melano type. Most bettas you see these days labeled 'Black Lace' are actually marble types, though, and very similar in appearance to the Black Orchid and Black Ice. The Black Orchid is a black fish with streaks of steel blue in the fins, Black Ice has streaks of royal blue, and Black Lace can have either. They all have the same basic roots, and that is in marble. For this reason they can be difficult to propogate, as the color will not often breed true or may throw a lot of fully marbled fish and even some butterflies and cellophanes. For show purposes the marble type blacks are usually heavily penalized for their iridescence and the lack of deep black color.
"Black Lace" roundtail (young male) bred by Victoria Stark
Early "Black Ice" doubletail (juvenile male) bred by Victoria Stark
"Black Orchid" doubletail (young male) bred by Victoria Stark
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"Black Lace" HM plakat (male) bred by Victoria Stark
"Black Ice" HM plakat (male) bred by Victoria Stark
"Black Orchid" HM (male) bred by Wasanbetta
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Super Black is a newer development, a very dark black fish that comes from melano and metallic. These fish combine the deep black of the melano with the metallic type, which was originally a hybrid. This line produces good, dark blacks using copper instead of steel, thus eliminating most of the blue iridescence. It is replaced by copper iridescence, which does not stand out as dramatically. The ultimate appearance is a very dark, solid black betta. The best part is that the females from Super Black are often able to produce fry, depending on their level of coppery iridescence. The more iridescence on the black female, the more she is likely to be productive. Breeders of Super Black have developed an eye for which females should be able to produce fry, and which ones will behave like normal melano females.
"Super Black" plakat (young male) bred by Victoria Stark
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"Super Black" plakat (male) bred by Dong
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Metallic/melano geno black (male). I think this one was bred by Sarawut.
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In the quest to produce fertile black females, the Double Black was developed by IBC breeder Connie Emery and popularized by veteran Jim Sonnier. These are mixes between melano and marble type blacks and are producing darker fertile black females than what is normally seen with marble types.
"Double Black" doubletail (female) bred by Jim Sonnier
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"Double Black" (male) bred by Jim Sonnier
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BLUE: There are three different types of blue, the royal blue, the steel blue, and the turquoise. The royal blue looks exactly as it sounds, a dark true blue. The steel blue is more silvery in appearance, and is also known as a gunmetal blue. The turquoise is an intermediary shade between blue and green, but the greener looking turquoise fish are preferred in betta shows. Breeding royal to royal will give you 50% royal, 25% steel, and 25% turquoise. Breeding steel to turquoise will give you 100% royal. Breeding any of the other combinations together will yield half of one color and half of the other.
Turquoise
In wild type Bettas Iridescent color (Blues and Green) is the densest layer that can cover all other colors. The normal distribution of Iridescent color is limited to ray-like projections into the fins and several rows of Iridescent dots along the body of the fish. The color density is usually very heavy in those areas. The normal Iridescent color on wild Bettas is Green.
The color green in bettas is often synonymous with turquoise because the color usually has a blue tint. The mutated gene has been named 'Spread Iridescence' because the normal green pigment has been increased in density and extended in distribution to cover the entire body and fins of the fish. This mutant gene causes the Betta to appear solid Green in color except for the head area. The mutation for Spread Iridescence is dominant to the normal Iridescent gene.
For the purposes of IBC showing, green and turquoise are judged in a combined class. All other things being equal, the fish with the greenest shade will be given preference over a fish that is more turquoise in appearance.
Steel Blue
Steel blue bettas are produced by a color mutation gene where the normal green color is altered so that it appears as a steel (or 'gunmetal') blue instead of green. This color mutatation affects both the normal iridescent distribution and the spread iridescent distribution. This means you can have solid steels if this color mutation is combined with the SI mutation. Neither steel nor green is dominant over the other, but crossing the two will produce yet another iridescent: royal blue.
This Strain may sometimes have the problem of anal fin wash. It is usually red, although you may sometimes find green and /or royal blue wash on other fins such as the ventrals. It usually is at the base of the anal fin, from the front to the back of the fin. 'Invisible' wash, is seen only by shining a flashlight through the fins from the opposite side. This type of wash is ignored in the IBC Standards Handbook and by IBC judges, however, one should strive to eliminate it from their lines as much as possible.
Royal Blue
Royal Blue Bettas are set in the Iridescent category in the IBC Standards.
This Strain may sometimes have the problem of anal fin wash. It is usually red, although you may sometimes find green and /or steel blue wash on other fins such as the ventrals. It usually is at the base of the anal fin, from the front to the back of the fin. 'Invisible' wash, is seen only by shining a flashlight through the fins from the opposite side. This type of wash is ignored in the IBC Standards Handbook and by IBC judges, however, one should strive to eliminate it from their lines as much as possible.
Royal blues have one normal Green gene and one mutated Steel Blue gene which combine to produce an intermediate Blue color. Neither the normal Green gene nor the mutated Steel Blue gene is dominant over the other. These genes interact to produce a blending of the two colors into a new color. This prime example of intermediate dominance produces Blue (also called Royal Blue) coloration.As strange as it may seem, a spawning of a green to a steel betta will produce 100% royal blue.
Simply put, this means that a Green Betta possesses two normal Green genes, a Steel Blue Betta possesses two mutated Steel Blue genes, and a Blue Betta posses one normal Green gene and one mutated Steel Blue gene.
Turquoise
In wild type Bettas Iridescent color (Blues and Green) is the densest layer that can cover all other colors. The normal distribution of Iridescent color is limited to ray-like projections into the fins and several rows of Iridescent dots along the body of the fish. The color density is usually very heavy in those areas. The normal Iridescent color on wild Bettas is Green.
The color green in bettas is often synonymous with turquoise because the color usually has a blue tint. The mutated gene has been named 'Spread Iridescence' because the normal green pigment has been increased in density and extended in distribution to cover the entire body and fins of the fish. This mutant gene causes the Betta to appear solid Green in color except for the head area. The mutation for Spread Iridescence is dominant to the normal Iridescent gene.
For the purposes of IBC showing, green and turquoise are judged in a combined class. All other things being equal, the fish with the greenest shade will be given preference over a fish that is more turquoise in appearance.
Steel Blue
Steel blue bettas are produced by a color mutation gene where the normal green color is altered so that it appears as a steel (or 'gunmetal') blue instead of green. This color mutatation affects both the normal iridescent distribution and the spread iridescent distribution. This means you can have solid steels if this color mutation is combined with the SI mutation. Neither steel nor green is dominant over the other, but crossing the two will produce yet another iridescent: royal blue.
This Strain may sometimes have the problem of anal fin wash. It is usually red, although you may sometimes find green and /or royal blue wash on other fins such as the ventrals. It usually is at the base of the anal fin, from the front to the back of the fin. 'Invisible' wash, is seen only by shining a flashlight through the fins from the opposite side. This type of wash is ignored in the IBC Standards Handbook and by IBC judges, however, one should strive to eliminate it from their lines as much as possible.
Royal Blue
Royal Blue Bettas are set in the Iridescent category in the IBC Standards.
This Strain may sometimes have the problem of anal fin wash. It is usually red, although you may sometimes find green and /or steel blue wash on other fins such as the ventrals. It usually is at the base of the anal fin, from the front to the back of the fin. 'Invisible' wash, is seen only by shining a flashlight through the fins from the opposite side. This type of wash is ignored in the IBC Standards Handbook and by IBC judges, however, one should strive to eliminate it from their lines as much as possible.
Royal blues have one normal Green gene and one mutated Steel Blue gene which combine to produce an intermediate Blue color. Neither the normal Green gene nor the mutated Steel Blue gene is dominant over the other. These genes interact to produce a blending of the two colors into a new color. This prime example of intermediate dominance produces Blue (also called Royal Blue) coloration.As strange as it may seem, a spawning of a green to a steel betta will produce 100% royal blue.
Simply put, this means that a Green Betta possesses two normal Green genes, a Steel Blue Betta possesses two mutated Steel Blue genes, and a Blue Betta posses one normal Green gene and one mutated Steel Blue gene.
Turquoise doubletail (male)
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Steel blue HM (male)
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Royal blue HM (male)
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YELLOW: YeYellow bettas are also called Non-red (NR) Bettas. This mutated gene causes the alteration of red pigment to yellow. This mutation affects both normal red and extended red coloration. Yellow bettas should have no red pigment anywhere on their bodies or fins. The NR mutation is recessive to the gene for normal red color. The shade can vary from pale yellow to dark, pineapple yellow. For show purposes the bright banana shade is preferred.
Yellow (metallic geno) HM plakat bred by Suporn Khumhom
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Yellow plakats (male and female) bred by Victoria Stark
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Yellow HM (male) bred by Xmanbettas
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CELLOPHANE: As the name might suggest, cellophane bettas are completely colorless, with flesh or translucent bodies and transparent fins. Credit for their creation is sometimes given to a breeder by the name of George Torres, but cellophanes are fairly common in marble spawns or from spawns that carry the marble genotype. Sometimes marble bettas will lose color and become cellophane with age, and vice versa.
Cellophane betta (male) bred by Victoria Stark
ORANGE - Orange bettas are the result of selectively spawning the darker yellows which Dr Lucas termed 'NR-2' with extended reds, producing a brighter, red/yellow (orange) color. A very deep, pumpkin orange with minimal black scale effect is desired. Spawning two orange fish will usually yield 75% orange and 25% cambodian. Orange geno cambo x orange will produce 50% orange and 50% cambodian. The presence of the orange gene in your cambodian breeding fish is essential for the production of orange.
Over time, spawns of orange x orange can become washed-out in appearance. For this reason it is best to cross orange onto orange geno cambodian to maintain the bright orange intensity.
Over time, spawns of orange x orange can become washed-out in appearance. For this reason it is best to cross orange onto orange geno cambodian to maintain the bright orange intensity.
Orange HM (male) bred by Victoria Stark
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Orange veiltail (young male) bred by Victoria Stark
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PASTEL - Pastel bettas are identifiable by their softer, muted shades of color. In the Pastel betta, the colors lack the typical dark undercolor of the non-pastel forms of the same colors. Pastel green, for example, differs considerably from Iridescent Green seen in green solid-color bettas.
Opaque bettas may be shown as pastels when they are young, and later be accepted as Opaques due to the propensity of increased pigment in Opaques over time as the fish ages. It should be noted, however, that in the true Pastel fish, the opaque factor is limited.
The primary pastel colors are most commonly seen (but not limited to!) white, green and blue:
White Pastel
A very pale white color is desired, but is not expected to approach the pure white of the Opaque, since pastels have a limited expression of the Opaque factor. In fact, a Pastel with heavy opaque would be severely faulted in IBC showing.
Blue Pastel
When viewing a Pastel Blue, the lack of dark undercoloration is immediately apparant. A light sky blue is the ideal shade for a Pastel Blue, and it must not show the opaque factor, however slight. Its presence in a non-Opaque IBC show category makes the absence of all Opaque an necessity, and is a fault in this strain.
Green Pastel
Light, pale green that lacks the typical dark undercoloration is ideal. This means there can be no layers of dark coloration under the light layers. As with blue and white pastels, green pastels must not show the opaque factor. Just as Blue Pastels must not show any green tones, Green Pastels must not show any Blues tones no matter how small the amount.
An offshoot of the pastel is the PASTEL GRIZZLED, a fairly common pattern type in which the color of in the fins is also peppered over the body, usually leaving the head clear.
Opaque bettas may be shown as pastels when they are young, and later be accepted as Opaques due to the propensity of increased pigment in Opaques over time as the fish ages. It should be noted, however, that in the true Pastel fish, the opaque factor is limited.
The primary pastel colors are most commonly seen (but not limited to!) white, green and blue:
White Pastel
A very pale white color is desired, but is not expected to approach the pure white of the Opaque, since pastels have a limited expression of the Opaque factor. In fact, a Pastel with heavy opaque would be severely faulted in IBC showing.
Blue Pastel
When viewing a Pastel Blue, the lack of dark undercoloration is immediately apparant. A light sky blue is the ideal shade for a Pastel Blue, and it must not show the opaque factor, however slight. Its presence in a non-Opaque IBC show category makes the absence of all Opaque an necessity, and is a fault in this strain.
Green Pastel
Light, pale green that lacks the typical dark undercoloration is ideal. This means there can be no layers of dark coloration under the light layers. As with blue and white pastels, green pastels must not show the opaque factor. Just as Blue Pastels must not show any green tones, Green Pastels must not show any Blues tones no matter how small the amount.
An offshoot of the pastel is the PASTEL GRIZZLED, a fairly common pattern type in which the color of in the fins is also peppered over the body, usually leaving the head clear.
Green pastel (male) bred by Jim Sonnier
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Pastel grizzled HM (male) bred by Suporn Khumhom
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WHITE: Also know as 'Opaque', the white betta was developed by IBC founder Dr. Gene Lucas from Non Red (yellow), Spread Iridocyte, Steel Blue, Cambodian, and some of Walt Maurus's 'gold bettas', which were from his cambodian/black crosses. The end result was a pure white betta with heavy color termed the 'opaque factor'. They are very beautiful fish and popular among hobbyists.
Opaques are a love/hate affair with many breeders because of their inclination to gain (and lose!) red over time. These fish also appear to lack the typical 'black' dark undercoloration. White Opaques must be Opaque.
The ideal shade in the White Opaque (or, more correctly, the 'Opaque Steel Blue') is a thick, pure white coloration on body and fins that is creamy or milky in appearance and utterly pure. Red or Steel wash is a common problem in the Opaque, and considered a very serious fault. It can be difficult to rid your opaque line of wash, and can only really be done through many Opaque x Opaque crosses without outcrossing to another line. Unfortunately, this can substantially decrease the amount of opaque pigment in the fish, necessitating a cross onto Steel to thicken the color back up. With that wash is again introduced, and the cycle repeated.
Most opaques from top lines are pure white for all intents and purposes until they reach the age of 7 months or so, at which point they begin to develop some type of wash. The goal is to produce white fish that stay white for the longest time possible. Maybe one day we'll even have pure white opaques that stay white for life!
Though common, The presence of non-white tones is a fault.
Opaques are a love/hate affair with many breeders because of their inclination to gain (and lose!) red over time. These fish also appear to lack the typical 'black' dark undercoloration. White Opaques must be Opaque.
The ideal shade in the White Opaque (or, more correctly, the 'Opaque Steel Blue') is a thick, pure white coloration on body and fins that is creamy or milky in appearance and utterly pure. Red or Steel wash is a common problem in the Opaque, and considered a very serious fault. It can be difficult to rid your opaque line of wash, and can only really be done through many Opaque x Opaque crosses without outcrossing to another line. Unfortunately, this can substantially decrease the amount of opaque pigment in the fish, necessitating a cross onto Steel to thicken the color back up. With that wash is again introduced, and the cycle repeated.
Most opaques from top lines are pure white for all intents and purposes until they reach the age of 7 months or so, at which point they begin to develop some type of wash. The goal is to produce white fish that stay white for the longest time possible. Maybe one day we'll even have pure white opaques that stay white for life!
Though common, The presence of non-white tones is a fault.
Opaque white doubletail (male) bred by Siamimbellis
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Opaque white (male) bred by Victoria Stark
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MULTICOLOR: Multicolored bettas are those with two or more colors that are distributed at random. Ideally the colors should be in high contrast with each other. The colors should be those normally seen in bettas, however, simply having the head alone a different color, or having a different color of on the tip of the ventrals is not sufficient to be designated a Multicolor.
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METALLIC: The Metallic bettas came from crossing the common Betta splendens to wild type bettas such as Betta imbellis, Betta mahachai, and even Betta smaragdina. This was done for the first time many years ago, and the result was called the 'Neon Betta', as the scales seemed to glow. Further selective breedings in more recent times produced the metallics. We now have metallic bettas available in copper, green, blue, yellow, platinum, purple, and just about every other color imaginable. The color of the metallic betta often spreads over the gills and sometimes even covers the entire head/face of the betta, leading the effect to be called "masked". Most of the Asian betta lines are infused with metallic genes, and they have become so common that now they are even found in pet stores.
Copper HM (male)
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Metallic green butterfly (male)
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Copper HM (female)
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Metallic green HM plakat (male)
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MARBLE - The Marble betta was created by a prison inmate named Orville Gulley who used to raise his bettas in peanut-butter jars. The story goes that Orville was trying to create a black butterfly betta, and inadvertently discovered the marble gene. He sent some of these fish to IBC hobbyist Walt Maurus (as well as a handful of other breeders) who took a fancy to the fish and began breeding them for pattern. They are like the Pinto horses of the betta world, dark solid-colored blotches on a white or flesh-colored body, or vice versa. The first marbles were black/whites, but since then they have been developed into virtually every shade imaginable, and have helped to shape many of the new colors now possible in bettas.
Marble is most likely a partial dominant*, so crossing a marble to a solid-colored fish will usually give you mostly solid-colored fish, with perhaps a handful of marble-patterned. If the solid-colored parent carries the gene for marble, your percentage of marbled fry is increased. The marble gene affects the solid color in unpredictable ways, making new color combinations and patterns possible. However, the breeder will probably have to go through several generations (and many culls) before attaining what he or she has in mind, and after that is faced with the challenge of getting the new color to breed true.
Breeding marble to marble will usually get you some dark-bodied solids, some light-bodied solids, some butterfly, and some marble. The solid-bodied butterfly from a marble spawn will have the same inherent characteristics of a solid color that comes from a marble line; when the butterflies are bred to the same solid color that comes from a solid colored line, the fry will all carry a butterfly partial dominant gene.
Spawns of either light bodied solid color or dark bodied solid color Bettas from marble stock will produce some marble, some solid color and some variegated fish. If the marble genes are introduced into a stock of true-breeding solid colored fish then it becomes extremely difficult for the breeder to return his stock to the pure-breeding solid colored type. The fish generally seem to always throw some marbles or parti-colored
fish. A cross of a marble stock fish of one color type can produce the marble effect in the color of a fish of a non marble type.
Marble is most likely a partial dominant*, so crossing a marble to a solid-colored fish will usually give you mostly solid-colored fish, with perhaps a handful of marble-patterned. If the solid-colored parent carries the gene for marble, your percentage of marbled fry is increased. The marble gene affects the solid color in unpredictable ways, making new color combinations and patterns possible. However, the breeder will probably have to go through several generations (and many culls) before attaining what he or she has in mind, and after that is faced with the challenge of getting the new color to breed true.
Breeding marble to marble will usually get you some dark-bodied solids, some light-bodied solids, some butterfly, and some marble. The solid-bodied butterfly from a marble spawn will have the same inherent characteristics of a solid color that comes from a marble line; when the butterflies are bred to the same solid color that comes from a solid colored line, the fry will all carry a butterfly partial dominant gene.
Spawns of either light bodied solid color or dark bodied solid color Bettas from marble stock will produce some marble, some solid color and some variegated fish. If the marble genes are introduced into a stock of true-breeding solid colored fish then it becomes extremely difficult for the breeder to return his stock to the pure-breeding solid colored type. The fish generally seem to always throw some marbles or parti-colored
fish. A cross of a marble stock fish of one color type can produce the marble effect in the color of a fish of a non marble type.
"Dragon" marble HM (male)
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Blue marble HM plakat (male)
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Black marble plakat (male)
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DARK BICOLOR - Dark Bicolor bettas are fish that have body colors that are among the six recognized Dark Colors. The fins can be one of the other Dark colors, or it can be one of the recognized light colors. If these fish do not have the described dark undercoating, they are disqualified.
Contrast is key, with the body and fin colors clearly separated at the junction between body and fin. There should be no other colors present other than the two primary Bicolors. The presense of another color, however slight, is considered a fault. For example, a red body with heavy iridescence is judged in accordance with the Standard for Reds. If the fins are black, they are scored presented in the Black color standard, meaning that if the black on the fins of a Bicolor betta has iridescence on it, it will be faulted to the degree of which it is inadequate.
Contrast is key, with the body and fin colors clearly separated at the junction between body and fin. There should be no other colors present other than the two primary Bicolors. The presense of another color, however slight, is considered a fault. For example, a red body with heavy iridescence is judged in accordance with the Standard for Reds. If the fins are black, they are scored presented in the Black color standard, meaning that if the black on the fins of a Bicolor betta has iridescence on it, it will be faulted to the degree of which it is inadequate.
Masked blue and orange bicolor (male) by Aquastar
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Metallic green and yellow bicolor (male) by Suporn Khumhom
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Blue and yellow bicolor (male) by Siamimbellis
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LIGHT BICOLOR - Body colors which are not one of the recognized light colors as set down by the IBC standards are not permitted in Light Bicolor. The fins may be either one of the light colors, or one of the dark colors. Contrast is important, therefore dark colored fins have preference over lighter fins, and the body/fin colors should be crisply separated. There should be no other colors present on the fish other than the two primary colors. The presense of another color, however slight, is considered a fault and will be judged accordingly.
If additional colors are present on the body or fins that is treated as a fault by the IBC Standards. For example, a Yellow body (with iridescence on it) is judged in accordance with the Yellow color standard guide. If the fins are Black they are Judged as presented in accordance with the Standard for Black color.
If additional colors are present on the body or fins that is treated as a fault by the IBC Standards. For example, a Yellow body (with iridescence on it) is judged in accordance with the Yellow color standard guide. If the fins are Black they are Judged as presented in accordance with the Standard for Black color.
Orange cambodian HM (male) bred by Victoria Stark
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Red cambodian crowntail (female) bred by Victoria Stark
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BUTTERFLY - Butterfly bettas have the mutant gene that causes variegated fins with a very specific fin pattern. The first color affected by this mutation was Red, but now Butterflies can be found in most of the other colors as well. The fins of the Butterfly (BF) betta display a banded pattern with emphasis placed on the contrast of the band rather than the coloring of the body and fins. The bands should be crisp - not a blending of opposing fin color but one with an equal division between one color and another on the fins. The variegated fin mutation is dominant but the effects are highly variable from fish to fish.
The bands should be of more or less equal width (ideally 1/2 the area of the total fin) and symmetry. Lack of definition between the bands is considered a fault. There are two forms the BF may take: The two-band fin pattern, and the multiple-band fin pattern. Bands should always be relatively equal in width and breadth regardless of their number, and have clear separation of color.
The basics to remember in determining a 'good' BF is as follows:
1) For two-band fins, the bands should occupy 1/2 the fin area on all fins.
2) For multiple-band fins, the bands should occupy 1/3 (or more, depending on number of bands) of the fin area on all fins.
3) The dividing line between fin bands should be straight and describe an oval around the betta.
4) The degree to which a second color intrudes or lack of crisp definition also affects the degree of severity of the fault.
The bands should be of more or less equal width (ideally 1/2 the area of the total fin) and symmetry. Lack of definition between the bands is considered a fault. There are two forms the BF may take: The two-band fin pattern, and the multiple-band fin pattern. Bands should always be relatively equal in width and breadth regardless of their number, and have clear separation of color.
The basics to remember in determining a 'good' BF is as follows:
1) For two-band fins, the bands should occupy 1/2 the fin area on all fins.
2) For multiple-band fins, the bands should occupy 1/3 (or more, depending on number of bands) of the fin area on all fins.
3) The dividing line between fin bands should be straight and describe an oval around the betta.
4) The degree to which a second color intrudes or lack of crisp definition also affects the degree of severity of the fault.
Yellow butterfly doubletail (male) bred by Victoria Stark
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Cambodian red butterfly HM (male) bred by Victoria Stark
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Orange butterfly HM (male) bred by Victoria Stark
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Metallic green butterfly HM (male) bred by Suporn Khumhom
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DRAGON - Crossing B. mahachai with metallic (copper) B. splendens resulted in a fish with thick iridescence that was selectively increased until it closely resembled dragon scales. These "Dragons" are very beautiful bettas and are available in a wide variety of colors and patterns.
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