# PSA: PetCo's Fancy Names



## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

I just wanted to say (since I've seen multiple people buying them...) that PetCo often "mislables" (on purpose) their bettas. 

Bumble Bee & Paradise are often Koi,l MG, Bi-color, or Chocolate. "Paradise" are usually pastel MG.

"Butterfly" is not a tail type of betta, but it is a color. These guys (and gals) are usually Red or Blue Marbles. Not many will actually keep the clean white band that most have, if they still do.

"Dragonscale" just refers to the thickness of the scales. Dragonscale bettas are almost always bi-color but can be solid blue or copper.

"Koi" betta, whether male or female, is a pattern, too. It refers to a generally Red, Orange, or Yellow betta with White, Black, and sometimes Blue or Cellophane patches. They can also have Red, Orange, or Yellow patches, too. These guys can turn solid Red, Blue, or Black. My "Koi" was a Red Samurai Marble who is currently marbling Blue.

Feathertail and/or Rosetail betta are just Halfmoon or Superdelta (or Delta) betta with lots of extra rays. Their tails have a ruffled, "feathery" appearance.

King Bettas are generally Half-Giant bettas. Most are not over the 2" BO (body only) length that they need to be to be classified as a Giant.

I honestly can't think of any more currently, if you guys can think of any, please tell me.

The ones that are correct -

HM or HMPK Male/Female - Halfmoon or Halfmoon Plakat. Sometimes HM are Delta or Super Delta.

CT Male/Female - Crowntail. These guys are easy to figure out. They have long, spiky "crowns" on the edges of their tails.

DT or HMDT or PKDT Male - Double Tail. They generally have short, thick bodies and two-lobed massive heart-shaped fins.

VT Male/Female - Veiltail. The first Betta type sold in the US and once the most popular tail type. Once only blue or red they now come in a variety of colors. They have a teardrop-shaped tail.

Dumbo - Elephant Ear. Larger pectorals than normal. Can be any finnage but most common are HM or PK..

BE WARNED: Young bettas, typically called "Baby Bettas" at PetCo (Yes, I have seen them called other), are very young. They generally don't live long. If they live past childhood ("bettahood"?) they will most likely be stunted. These young bettas are not always labeled correctly. I bought three Baby Girls for a sorority in January. One turned out to be male, he died in July. The other two turned out to be Blue VTs. They did grow to be pretty big, but Harmony died in October and Melody died in November. None lived over a year. *If you do decide to buy one of these bettas, please take utmost care of it. Treat it with compassion. This thread will help you care for your baby betta. http://www.bettafish.com/30-betta-fish-care/87438-official-petco-baby-betta-thread.html*

I may have missed some, so feel free to add any that I missed. If you want an ID, you can post it here or make a new thread in "Betta Photos"

((Ugh, so much red! My computer doesn't recognize "betta" as a word, and I said "betta" quite a few times LOL))


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## moodynarwhal (Mar 24, 2016)

Great post! And I can relate to the stunted baby betta part. He is almost a year though...


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

I can help with baby bettas as well. The Petco ones anyway. I have two of them currently. I'm in no way an expert but I can be of help. 

Great post!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

"Feather" and "Rosetail" are not PetCo's. They are a recognized type of Betta caudal. It's either PetCo or PetSmart which has marketed "Rose Petal" Betta. People on AquaBid also market Betta the same way so it's not just big box stores.


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

Interesting -

As much as the members here enjoy the minutia of betta keeping, most people purchase a betta at some sort of retail store with thoughts of picking out a fish which appeals to them. Are they really interested in the endless classifications and sub-classifications? Does it really matter?

Keeping an aquarium should be fun! Most people who enjoy the hobby never even know of this forum. 

Personally, I don't care if a store refers to a frilled finned fish as a Rosetail. It seems to be a perfectly descriptive appelation. Please remember that the identifications are simply based on visual characteristics and are not scientific classification.

Let's have fun and not let our blood pressure fly off the charts.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Based on how many threads I've seen on this forum relating to 'what colour is my fish' or 'what tail type is my fish', I assume correct identification does matter to at least some members. 

As a wild betta keeper, I personally hate when suppliers creates names to describe species, rather than use their proper scientific names. It makes for a lot of confusion.


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

LittleBettaFish said:


> Based on how many threads I've seen on this forum relating to 'what colour is my fish' or 'what tail type is my fish', I assume correct identification does matter to at least some members.
> 
> As a wild betta keeper, I personally hate when suppliers creates names to describe species, rather than use their proper scientific names. It makes for a lot of confusion.


I agree completely.

It's important to separate suppliers from retailers, however.

Sure, there are many of us who prefer exactness of the terminology in our hobby. But, is that a requirement of the majority of casual hobbiests? Should we put down those who don't care about such stringent classification? If they find this forum and ask the questions, great. If not, they still have the potential to be successful in our hobby.

There is nothing new about a retailer using flattering terminology to promote a product.


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## MysticSky22301 (Apr 16, 2016)

I raised 2 baby Bettas my male lived 10 months before something went wrong and he passed of dropsy. My female is almost 14 months now ^^ neither was stunted 
They can live full lives as lo as they don't stay in the cups long! 

My male was dropped in my guppy fry tank at a very young age, 10g filtered heated and planted. My girl Jem went in my sorority as soon as she colors up well and was big enough to hold her own


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

The problem with these marketing ploys as I see them is they use the names to charge more. All you have to do is check out eBay and the prices asked for "Rare Bumble Bee Betta."

I do believe, as LBF noted, that the number of members asking for color and tail-type identification indicates a need ... to become educated, I hope. Finding they've been tricked doesn't necessarily mean people will be disappointed if they find out they don't have a rariety...however, they might be angry to learn they paid $25.00 for it (or, on eBay, $100+). :dunno:

I can actually see how new owners buy these "rarieties" at a big box store. But on ebay or AquaBid? Geez, do some research before you spend $100.00+ on a $10.00 Betta!

BTW, the ultimate monkey wrench is there is no such thing as an MG (Mustard Gas). That is a patented name that only the breeder can use. What are so freely called that are simply bi-colors and nothing more. So technically, that is a term people use to sell Betta because it's sexier than bi-color.

If you want to know what are and aren't recognized terms, refer to this:
http://bettasource.com/bettas/colors/


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## MysticSky22301 (Apr 16, 2016)

Mustard gas did exist  the patent should have come to term anyway

People ARE working bringing back the original mg coloring, it's just not recognized by the IBC as a pattern/ color. Originally it was a variation of butterfly, with "wasted out" black edges giving the illusion of some type of gaseous material around the green/yellow betta


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Yes, MG did exist but all of my research shows the name/type it is still under patent.

As far as I can determine, this is the original Mustard Gas patented by Jude Als. It is described as "a solid blue/greenish body and yellow fins." Not many Betta today described at MG are close. 









I read somewhere that a breeder trying to reproduce the original wound up with what she called "Salamander." Still trying to find that reference.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Thank you guys for a ll the great feedback.  I'm happy that I could help, at least a little bit!


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## Kamereone (Jan 15, 2017)

Great post, always was suspicious of mumbo jumbo marketing confusing things up. The link with images is awesome, too. Thanks!

So, since "DragonScale" isn't a thing... Or is sorta is but not stand-alone, according to the BettaSource link.... How can we properly describe my new friend here who came in a cup labeled "Dragon Scale Male" and was likely priced accordingly?

He is recovering from some traumatic fin damage caused by hard plastic decor and an overpowered filter current, but the "tendrils" (the intact ones, at least) seem to be natural, not a result of whatever thrashing about his tattered fins sustained. 

Thanks!


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Copper HM or SeD.  He's beautiful!

ETA: I personally don't think his scales are thick enough to be DS.


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## CollegeBettas (Feb 23, 2016)

One thing I have found with my baby is that they just take a long time to grow. She was my first fish (at least that I bought on my own accord not bought and maintained by my dad or from a school project) and I actually had her in a 1 gallon for a short time (I think it was about a month) with no heater and no good filter. I got on here fairly quickly and bought a 10 gallon as soon as possible (which ended up being too big for her). She certainly didn't grow fast, but she is (After 11 months) about the normal size for a female. 
My other Petco baby did pass about 1.5 or 2 months after I got her and she didn't grow too much in that timeframe. She actually fought with her dropsy for a week before passing, so she was a fighter even though she didn't make it.
Now, I also got a "baby" from a breeder a month after I got Squirt (my first). He was three and a half months old when I got him and was about full grown (I don't think he grew at all, but he may have grown some). So I will say from my experience, Petco babies grow a lot slower because they do seem to stop growing after being cupped and sold so early, but they can still grow to full size.


One thing I am not very happy about, though, is that both PetSmart and Petco have started selling bettas smaller. In the last few months, I have seen PetSmart carrying fish as small as the babies at Petco and I have seen Petco selling babies labeled as something else that is a higher price (which is everything non-baby since babies are the cheapest) even though they are the same size as the babies.
As for other tail patterns, I do think it is confusing for all the stores to have different names, but that's marketing and copyright for you. For big box stores, fish are just another product they need to sell. Produce cheap, and sell for a lot. It's where profit comes from and if they can trick people into thinking there are these special types (especially when Petco started carrying the "exclusive Paradise bettas" for Finding Dory promotion) they get more money for a cheap fish.


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## CuriousKitty (Jan 13, 2017)

So when I'm looking at fish at Petsmart or Petco, don't trust the lables or the color? I just have been seeing a lot of threads about bettas changing colors when they are in the tanks and not in the tiny cups.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

CuriousKitty said:


> So when I'm looking at fish at Petsmart or Petco, don't trust the lables or the color? I just have been seeing a lot of threads about bettas changing colors when they are in the tanks and not in the tiny cups.


In a word, yes. If you read the link I posted you'll be well-armed to know what you are truly buying. She also has a section on fins.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

CuriousKitty said:


> So when I'm looking at fish at Petsmart or Petco, don't trust the lables or the color? I just have been seeing a lot of threads about bettas changing colors when they are in the tanks and not in the tiny cups.


When I purchased Mishi, he was mislabeled. I notified the girl working in the store who brought it to the department manager's attention and he dropped the price by over 50%.
Find the one that speaks to you, but make sure you pay a fair price for them.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

@Veloran, Good point. Some managers are nice and will give you discounts, or change the price to whatever they actually should be, but I've come across a couple rather rude store managers that wouldn't give discounts on sick or dying fish that were labeled 75% off. As soon as they saw me walking to the register with the fish and some meds, they would come up, snatch him/her out of my hand, and say, "You are obviously not going to provide proper care to this fish, therefore you cannot buy him at discount". Sometimes they have even said this as someone walked by with a .5G container and a fish with no Water Conditioner or food.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Just an update; My PetCo has come up with two new names. Talked to the manager and they said it was location-specific, but don't be fooled if you see them.

The "Pot of Gold" - A Gold Dragon or Yellow VT. 

The "Valentine" - Nothing more than a solid red DT. 

It seems as though they are starting to come up with holiday-specific names. *sigh*


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## OrionPiscesLove (Nov 27, 2016)

I've gotten 5 baby bettas in the past, 2 have grown into normal sized bettas, 1 died, the other 2 are still babies I just got them, my longest living baby was 6 months *she was about 8 months old at death* she dies of my tank crashing. I have 3 very healthy babies, 1 is now an adult Cellophane girl. *sold as a baby girl* the other two babies I currently have are only about 3 months atm, growing steadily, 1 is a girl 1 is starting to appear male and I have yet to be able to spot ovaries on it yet it has a false eggspot and not a very big beard.


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## MorgenAmera (Jul 29, 2017)

I have come to the point where I do not care what kind of betta I get as long as it is healthy, pretty, and has a good temperment. I have actually mentioned to the people at my local petco that most of the bettas are mislabeled or not even remotely close and usually they agree that the blatent misdirection shouldn't be happening. Actually, in the last few months most of the "fake" breeds prices have drastically dropped to about the same price as the HM... at least where I live. Don't know if it is the same anywhere else, at my main store it might just be because I go so regularly, whether or not I buy anything and have informed so many in my area of the truth about betta breeds and care that they are having to change their ways to save face. Dunno, I am not a breeder so I am not worried about having a show quality fish, just healthy ones.


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