Color Variants
The color
variants are made up from a combination of one of 7 recognized color patterns;
solid colors,
bi-colored, Cambodian, butterfly, Cambodian butterfly marble and multicolored,
and any mix of 4 color
pigments; red, black, blue, and yellow. As you read through this page it will
not take long to understand how the 26,000 Betta Splendens varieties could evolve
and why breeding is so popular.
It should be noted that International Betta Congress (IBC) Show rules only refer
to "fins" rather than "fins and tail" as after all the tail is the caudal fin.
Recognized Patterns
Solid colors
Any continuous solid color covering the entire body as well as the fins.
Recognized show colors are: red, black, blue, yellow, steel blue, green, turquoise,
clear, and white (Albino).
Bi-colored
The body of the fish is one color whilst the fins and tail are another color.
The body and fins can be any
combination of the recognized solid colors mentioned above.
For show purposes there are two types of Bi-colored Betta. Dark body with light
fins and light body with
dark fins. In each case, only two colors should appear on the fish. These colors
should be well defined and high in contrast.
Cambodian
A pink / salmon or white body with colored fins (normally red). This is a sub-group
of the Bi-colored Betta Splendens.
Butterfly
The body can be of any color and this color partially blends into the fins and
tail. The rest of the fins and tail are clear or white. However, the perfect
Butterfly is considered to have a colored body with a white blend into the fins
and then a final blend back to the body color towards the edge of the fins creating
a band between the body and fin edges. Normal combinations are (body / blend
/ fin edges) red/white/red,
green/white/green, and blue/white/blue.
The key to a show Butterfly is the in the fins. These should display a banded
pattern. Emphasis is placed on
the contrast and crispness of the band, not necessarily the actual coloring.
The bands should also scribe an even oval around the body of the fish.
Cambodian Butterfly
Again the Cambodian category is a really a subgroup. The pattern is the same
as the standard Butterfly but the body color of the Cambodian variant is pink
/ salmon or white while the fins can be a combination of any solid color and
white.
Marble
As the name suggests, colors are splashed with no defined boarders between the
body and the fins or tail.
Two types of Marble Betta exist. The Traditional Marble or Piebald, which is
a dark bodied fish with a white head or face and lacking in the colors red,
green, blue and steel blue, and the Colored Marble. The Colored Marble's fins
can show a mix of red, green, blue, and steel blue but the face and chin must
be remain white or pink / salmon colored. The fins and the body must show at
least two colors and for show purposes these should include a light and dark
color mix. Fish exhibiting sharp edges to the Marbling pattern are preferred
over those with blended colors.
Note: Though Cellophane colored Betta Splendens are sometimes considered to
be a genetic Marble variant, but they are not classed as Marbles phenotypically.
Multicolored
For show purposes, fish that do not fit into any of the recognized pattern categories
are known as multicolored. These Bettas have two or more colors that should
have a high contrast to each other.
Recognized Colors - Solid
Colors
Red
A brilliant cherry red
is desired in Betta Splendens with quality genes. Any slight appearance of iridescence,
or Opaque color is a serious deficiency in color quality.
Black
The ideal color of a true Black Betta Splendens is the traditional Black Mollie
color. Other than green,
black is the least fully set of the dark colors.
This is due to the inability to breed from Black Melanos females because they
are infertile however some Black Lace lines are producing fertile Black females.
Crossing of the fertile Black Lace lines to the infertile Melano lines has not
shown to produce anything other than infertile Melano (and Normal Black) females.
Many lines have used Steel Blue females extensively, while other lines have
used Royal Blue females and thus, not surprisingly, have led to Blacks with
considerable iridescence present. True Black/Melano The definitive pitch Black
Betta Splendens.
Black Lace/Normal Black
Black Lace is an almost translucent type of Black. This variant is much less
desirable than the Melano Black Betta Splendens..
Royal Blue
Many young Royal Blue Betta Splendens may have a red wash when young, then they
will lose it. This is
called red loss. Sometimes the red will return when the fish gets to around
10 months old. Red loss occurs
also occurs in Steel Blue, Turquoise, and Green.
Steel Blue
Steel Blue is also sometimes called Gunmetal Blue. This color has a silver iridescence
when compared to the Royal Blue Betta.
Yellow
A brilliant lemon Yellow is desired. Colors that tend to be either very pale
Yellow or a brown tinted Yellow are undesirable. Yellow results from a gene
that transforms red so sometimes the presence of red is also visible.
Turquoise
The ideal is a dark shade of Turquoise. It is sometimes difficult to achieve
a consistent color across the fish. The preferred show color contains tones
of Blue rather than any Green or Yellow shades. Fish with colors close to Turquoise
are often found in Royal Blue and Steel Blue spawns.
Green
A good green Betta Splendens has a dark green shade. Darker is desired over
brighter tones. Unfortunately, Green is the least fixed single color. This is
because of its tendency to vary in shade from fish to fish and hence line to
lime. Green should not be confused with Turquoise, which has a much more distinct
blue hue.
True Green
Betta Splendens that have a very dark forest green and are desirable to the
Common green variant.
Common Green
Most Green Betta Splendens are unfortunately of this color. It is a bluish green
tone but less so than a
Turquoise variant. It is often difficult to distinguish these two hues.
Clear
A transparent body and fins are perfect however, color from the body organs
can cause the fish to look
pink. In show fish the presence of any other color is undesirable.
Cellophane
A Betta Splendens with a colorless or flesh colored body and perfectly transparent
fins. Eyes are dark, not red. Occasionally the Cellophane is thought to be a
Bi-color of the Pink / Clear combination. While that view is understandable,
the by definition, a Cellophane Betta Splendens is a single color. It is clear
and any pink in the body is usually due to the organs of the fish.
Albino
Like Cellophane, these are colorless Betta Splendens both in the body and fins.
The difference is the eyes
also show no coloration and are therefore red in appearance. Albino is the one
of the rarest Betta colors.
Breeders suggest that only one Albino in 10,000 actually spawn. Albino is actually
a genetic defect that causes loss of color pigmenting. A characteristic of any
Albino fish is that the eyes are red.
Recognized Colors - Pastel
Colors
Pastel colors include, Pastel White, Pastel Blue, and Pastel Green. All of these
lack any dark underlying
coloration. Often Opaque Betta Splendens (described below) maybe accepted as
Pastels when they are
young Opaque Bettas as they mature. This is because Opaque pigment increases
in as the fish ages. However, on true Pastel fish the Opaque pigment is limited.
White Pastel
A pale White color is desired in shows. It is easier to see through the fins
of Pastel Bettas than it is to see
through the fins of Opaque Bettas. This is due to the lower quantities of Opaque
pigment covering.
Blue Pastel
A light sky blue is perfect in Pastel Blue Betta Splendens. Blue Pastels should
not show any distinct Blues
tones no matter how slight.
Green Pastel
As the description indicates Patel Green is ideal. Just as with White and Blue
Pastels, Green pastels must lack the any dark under coloring of the normal shades.
Additionally, Green Pastels must not show any Opaque
covering or pigment.
Recognized Colors - Opaque
Colors
The Opaque colors are the same as the Pastels i.e. Opaque White, Opaque Blue
and Opaque Green. All of these strains also lack any dark under coloring. The
difference to pastel colors is Opaque Betta Splendens have a milky white film
spread over the fish's entire body, sometimes infiltrating the eyes.
White Opaque
A dense White coloration is desired in White Opaque. This is sometimes referred
to as Opaque Steel Blue. Though common, the presence of non-white tones is a
fault. Breeders can only produce so many
Opaque/Opaque spawns without out crossing to Steel Blues variants because the
amount of Opaque pigment decreases over subsequent spawning.
Blue Opaque
A light powder Blue is perfect in Blue Opaque. These are essentially the same
colors as the Pastels
however, the fish is covered by a coat of Opaque pigment. The presence of green
tones is common in this
variety and considered a fault.
Green Opaque
As with the Blue Opaque, a light powder hue is desired.
Recognized Colors - New
Color Strains
Chocolate
Betta Splendens look Brown to the eye, but are actually a Black and Yellow mix.
Chocolate
variants can be bred to Yellow, which will help to improve color, of both the
Yellow and the Chocolate fry.
Lavender
A Lavender Betta is genetically a Cambodian Betta Splendens with extended Red
and a layer of light
iridescent Blue / Green. The lavender color results from the light skin covered
by the red layer and the
iridescence colors.
Blue Berry
Blue Berry Betta Splendens are actually Butterfly Bettas. They derive from a
Chocolate Bettas with a Blue
Berry colored band around the edge, or around the base of the fins. They should
become more common in coming years due to their ease of breeding an popularity.
Lemon Meringue
Lemon Meringues are basically Yellow Butterflies. The difference is that Lemon
Meringues have a Clear
butterfly band around the base of the fins.
Orange
Orange Bettas are arguably the newest strain of Betta Splendens (see below).
Their color should be bright!
Purple
Purple Betta Splendens are also very new and rare. They derive come from accidental(?)
breeding of blue with varying degrees of red blended in.
Gold
This is the current goal of many breeders. I'm told they actually do exist now.