There are around 12 tail forms of Betta splendens but even more recognised colour variants.

The colour variants are made up from a combination of one of 7 recognised colour patterns; solid colours, bi-coloured, Cambodian, butterfly, Cambodian butterfly marble and multicoloured, and any mix of 4 colour 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. Here I have distinguished between the two to simplify things for beginners and non-English speaking readers.

Recognised Patterns

Solid colours

Any continuous solid colour covering the entire body as well as the fins.

Recognised show colours are: red, black, blue, yellow, steel blue, green, turquoise, clear, and white (Albino).

Bi-coloured

The body of the fish is one colour whilst the fins and tail are another colour. The body and fins can be any combination of the recognised solid colours mentioned above.

For show purposes there are two types of Bi-coloured Betta. Dark body with light fins and light body with dark fins. In each case, only two colours should appear on the fish. These colours should be well defined and high in contrast.

Cambodian

A pink / salmon or white body with coloured fins (normally red). This is a sub-group of the Bi-coloured Betta splendens.

Butterfly

The body can be of any colour and this colour 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 coloured body with a white blend into the fins and then a final blend back to the body colour 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 colouring. 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 colour of the Cambodian variant is pink / salmon or white while the fins can be a combination of any solid colour and white.

Marble

As the name suggests, colours 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 colours red, green, blue and steel blue, and the Coloured Marble. The Coloured 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 coloured. The fins and the body must show at least two colours and for show purposes these should include a light and dark colour mix. Fish exhibiting sharp edges to the Marbling pattern are preferred over those with blended colours.

Note: Though Cellophane coloured Betta splendens is sometimes considered to be a genetic Marble variant, but it is not classed as a Marble phenotypically.

Multicoloured

For show purposes, fish that do not fit into any of the recognised pattern categories are known as multicoloured. These Bettas have two or more colours that should have a high contrast to each other.

Recognised Colours - Solid Colours

Red A brilliant cherry red is desired in Betta splendens with quality genes. Any slight appearance of iridescence, or Opaque colour is a serious deficiency in colour quality.

Black

The ideal colour of a true Black Betta splendens is the traditional Black Mollie colour. Other than green, black is the least fully set of the dark colours.

This is due to the inability to breed from Black Melano 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 colour has a silver iridescence when compared to the Royal Blue Betta.

Yellow

A brilliant lemon Yellow is desired. Colours 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 colour across the fish. The preferred show colour contains tones of Blue rather than any Green or Yellow shades. Fish with colours 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 colour. This is because of its tendency to vary in shade from fish to fish and hence line to line.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 colour. 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, colour from the body organs can cause the fish to look pink. In show fish the presence of any other colour is undesirable.

Cellophane

A Betta splendens with a colourless or flesh coloured body and perfectly transparent fins. Eyes are dark, not red. Occasionally the Cellophane is thought to be a Bi-colour of the Pink / Clear combination. While that view is understandable, the by definition, a Cellophane Betta splendens is a single colour. It is clear and any pink in the body is usually due to the organs of the fish.

Albino

Like Cellophane, these are colourless 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 colours. Breeders suggest that only one Albino in 10,000 actually spawn. Albino is actually a genetic defect that causes loss of colour pigmenting. A characteristic of any Albino fish is that the eyes are red.

Recognised Colours - Pastel Colours

Pastel colours include, Pastel White, Pastel Blue, and Pastel Green. All of these lack any dark underlying colouration. 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 colour 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 colouring of the normal shades. Additionally, Green Pastels must not show any Opaque covering or pigment.

Recognised Colours - Opaque Colours

The Opaque colours are the same as the Pastels i.e. Opaque White, Opaque Blue and Opaque Green. All of these strains also lack any dark under colouring. The difference to pastel colours 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 Opaques. 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 spawnings.

Blue Opaque

A light powder Blue is perfect in Blue Opaques. These are essentially the same colours 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.

Recognised Colours - New Colour Strains

Chocolate

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 colour, 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 colour results from the light skin covered by the red layer and the iridescence colours.

Blue Berry

Blue Berry Betta splendens are actually Butterfly Bettas. They derive from a Chocolate Bettas with a Blue Berry coloured 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 colour 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. Maybe someone could send in a photo to prove it?