DRAGONS!!! I want some one to tell me what the #$%%^^&&**^%&$#$%^&^%$#@#$%^&^%$#$%^&U*&^%$#$%^&^%$#$%^&
is a "Dragon". People make these %&&%$%$^& names for what I can see is a metalic fish! Nothing more, nothing less. So what is "Dragon", and where did the terminology come from?

:huhwhat?

:worried

Dragon is when they are covered with thick white scaling over a base color..
Metallic, I think, is more of a strong thick color that goes everywhere, and comes in the blue-green-turquoise shades.

From what I understand, anyway.

I will show you something, hopefully it will explain metalic to you a little better. Look at all of these photos that are here (I'm getting fish from a lady that I think is in texas? And I wanted pics of the siblings of the female that I'm definatly receiving.):













Guess what all these fish have in common.

They are all metalic! Some people will call them irredecent, some shiney, etc etc etc, but they are METALIC!!! It os a gene carried by bettas (may possably be one gene with two parts, personally that would explain how some fish carry light metalic, and some the heavy "Dragon" levels of metalic. Metalic is also thought to cause the masking gene."

they just plain metallic not to say anything bad about metallics i happen to like them but i like dragons :)
this is dragon
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...ashm&1171638017

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...shmp&1171520331

I would guess the "Dragon" name probably came from the Thai breeders, another term they use a lot is "Monster". I've yet to figure that one out. I compared pics of different "monsters" and have yet to see a common factor that makes them monsters.

The pic in my avatar is a "Red Dragon". Yes, technically he's a red plakat w/ heavy metallic, but it's so much easier to just say Red Dragon, and most everyone knows what you're talking about.

Im in love with all the dang dragons lol they just look so kool to me what is the white a extreamly heavy layer of steel or what anyone know ?? or is it copper??and is it so white looking cause light doesnt reflect thru it properly or what ??? :H :T

In the case of mine, I would call it a platinum color on the body. When he flares and wiggles about, the light reflects off of it and looks so cool. He also has the tiniest platinum band outlining all of the fins that reflects too. When he is strutting his stuff at his neighbor, it's definitely a light show.

Haven't been in bettas long enough to debate irid. vs. metallic...so I would have to depend on people that have been breedng and showing for a while. And then I don't think everyone would be in agreement.

There are a few of the older breeders that feel they have a pure irid. line and are trying to preserve it. And if you talk to some of the older breeders, they feel that metallic genes have been in many betta colors longer than the copper line that supposedly introduced the metallic and masked gene.

So where are you left? Letting that person you trust help you select the Irid. fish that have the traits closest to your heart's desire.

I just want to be able to raise show quality fish.. and right now in red and royal blue.
-------
P.S. And if a judge puts your irid. fish in metallics... you shouldn't worry because you have made sure it meets all of the other traits necessary to win that division and more !! Pam

Bettas4Me,

I love your Dragon.. definitely a nice specimen.. along with your female.

As far as the term Monster.. it usually means white headed. I have seen it used with a white and blue fish or a green and white fish.

The Bettysplendens site has a page that explains some of the terms people have developed for different colors. And the list is getting longer as breeders are trying to get people to buy their color variation. Plus... everything is half-moon HM.. Ha!!

Pam

"Piebald" is the term I've always heard used for a white head on a differently colored body.

I don't recall ever seeing a white headed betta referred to as a "Monster". I'm sure it's a term that was applied to a certain "feature" on a betta, but like you said about HM, I think it's a term that has been mis-used. Maybe Yeeves knows??

Dragon to me normally means a metallic bicolor with bad wash on the fins. (bettas4me has a nice clean colored Bicolor.Dragon has no genetic bases so the IBC doesn't use it.


RC

Dragon just a name been called out from Thailand as for sales marketing. They were been crossing out from wild bettas to domestic. ^_^

Yeevia,
What does the term "monster" mean? I've seen it used to describe a wide variety of bettas and have yet been able to note even 1 feature that would apply to all of those described as such. (other than the fact that they were all bettas)

I realize that dragon and mustard gas aren't technical terms, but when you're talking to someone about bettas and say "I have a red dragon", in their minds eye they know exactly what you've got. When you say "I have a red metallic bi-color", they don't have a clue as to what your fish looks like. There could be a zillion possible combinations of colors. Same with mustard gas.

So although these terms are not technical in nature, they are very descriptive when talking to another betta-holic.

I've seen many different colored metallic fish called dragon so if you say red dragon I don't have any idea what the color is, but if you tell me you have a platinum/red metallic Bicolor I know what you mean as would most top IBC breeders.I just did a search on AB for dragon and got a all kinds of different colored "dragons"



RC

I think Sunny is right. the Dragon Refers to to scaley appearance . there is a good pic of of dragon in Yeevs siggy
here is a pic of one
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...shmp&1171505516
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...tasd&1171721823
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...ashm&1171638018

So basically "Dragons" are just bettas with a heavy covering of metalic and the name "Dragon" is used to make the fish sound interesting and neat? That's crap! Yes, they are interesting and qunique looking, but to call them "Dragons"? I don't see the ligetimacy behind the term. Like RC said, there is no genetics behind the term. There will never be a class called the "dragon class".

:mellow:

:nananana

I am quessing the reasoning behind calling them dragons is maybe because they are more scaly like a dragon has scales

AND most "Dragons" that I have seen would not do well at show because there is alot of bleeding of the coloration into the fins, and most of them don't have solid body coloration. They wouldn't do well in a metalic class nor would they do well in a bi-color class. So out side of the "Ooh"'ing and "Aah"'ing, why perpetuate? Unless some one could get a good bi-color OR a good metalic out of them. Which I haven't seen ANY examples of YET.

They don't really belong in a spot. If a spot is made for then, what would they make the standards? Should we push for these "Dragons" to have a spot in the showing world of bettas, or should we just write them off as pretty fish that look good on shelves and book cases?

Here is a platinum/red dragon. It's should be a platinum/red bicolor right ???aquabid platinum red dragon

This is whats wrong with using a name like dragon.


RC

There is nothing special about them to make a class. They are either bicolors or if they are solid colored they are metallics. Because they have bleeding in the fins doesn't mean we should make a class for a bad color fish. Many iridescent bicolors have bleeding, but we don't make a class because of it. Breed them to the standard they should be in like any other fish.



RC

Oh. Monster comes when they crossing dragon to giant hmpk. Just another new name they make it up to do the sale marketing. ;)

Let's not forget that not everyone that wants to by a betta wants to show or breed them. At that level it's just marketing. That's okay. Nobody is trying to force the ibc into create new classifications for them.

nope me either. I am probably one of the few people on the site who do not breed bettas or show them but keep them only as pets.

But if a lot of ibc new members love heavy metallics scales bettas and they keep breeding while perfect the body form in the future, I can see that IBC will have to update to met the needs to make a new class for those type anyway. Armadilo (is that the way to spell?) as example.
Same as traditional plakat. They never had that class last time but it been added into the class now because of many members who love to breed plakat. ^_^
all I can add is if more people who love what they like to create (all colors including metallic, fins types) and keep breeding the best line bettas to a point where it is constant, IBC will have to keep add up new catagories. ^_^

I agree with you, Yeevia. There use to be a category for fish that do not fit the normal classification of colors. The Dragons are a flashy group of fish. So if they fit the physical fin and body traits, I am sure they can fit into metallics .. somewhere.

Enjoy your bettas - pets or show. If you want to show, RC is a good resource for you to understand the standards as they exist today.

Pam

In truth the IBC started the traditional Plakat class to try to save them. Almost no one breeds them anymore.
"Dragons" already have a place to be shown. Any of the patterned classes if they are patterned and metallic if they are solid colors. I just spent an hour on AB looking at the "dragons". It's not that they have a heavy coating of metallic. On almost all of of them it's that they have a poor covering of metallic that only covers part of the scale and not the body that makes them look like they do. They just need work to get a true full metallic coat :D


RC

The class your talking about is G1- Color and Form variations. If you enter a fish in it and label it "dragon" it would be DGed. If you labeled it something that described the color variation you would be OK. The "dragon" is really nothing more then what is called"pineapple" yellow/with black trimmed scales in a metallic version.


RC