# What is dragon scale



## bluebetta49 (Dec 18, 2017)

Is the blue betta in your third picture a dragon scale? I have a betta, and i've noticed she's starting to have coloration over her eye, and I found out that this is called Diamond Eye and is very common with dragon scale bettas, BUT I honestly know next to nothing about dragon scales, and I've been looking for information and pictures everywhere to compare, and she's blue and green, metallic, and when I purchased her, she was just labelled as "Female Veiltail" and nothing else. I'm slightly worried about my Lily, because she's partially blind in one eye and the colouration is starting to appear in her other eye. The colour in her eye is the same colour as her scales. I just want to know if she's a dragon scale or not...


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## moodynarwhal (Mar 24, 2016)

Could we have pics? If it is diamond eye, banana leaves should help.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Dragon scale is a result of crossing splendens to other betta species (mahachai, smaradigna) which brings out the matallic genes.

Though dagon scales are the result of metalic genes, they do not exhibit sparkling colors. Instead they show thick scaling. And unlike regular metallic which shows shiny colors since very young, dragon scale's "dragon" trait develops as they age. Unfortunately this dragon "armor" may also effect/cover their eyes. This is unavoidable. . . . . I read once someone claiming to be able to reduce diamond eyes. But I forgot where I read it nor do I remember what to do.

More info on dragons;
Dragons were designed to have light colored bodies with various colored fins which give give them their name - 
Red dragon = white body with red fins
Black dragon = white/silver/grey body with black fins . . . And do on.

Iridecent colors (turquoise, steel blue, and royal blue) cannot exhibit light colored bodies. They remain irid, similar to regular scales but with more blue/green varieties. Some people do not recognize these as dragons and will call them metallic. . . . (In case you read conflicting views). However they have thick looking scales of dragons.


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## bluebetta49 (Dec 18, 2017)

The first, clear picture is what she looked like when I first got her. The others, I JUST took. And yes, she is temporarily in a bowl because I had a problem with her tank, and a new one is in the process of being shipped to me!
So Lily is a VT female betta, and I've had her since February.


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## bluebetta49 (Dec 18, 2017)

idk why the pictures are not uploading together and properly...!


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## bluebetta49 (Dec 18, 2017)

indjo said:


> Dragon scale is a result of crossing splendens to other betta species (mahachai, smaradigna) which brings out the matallic genes.
> 
> Though dagon scales are the result of metalic genes, they do not exhibit sparkling colors. Instead they show thick scaling. And unlike regular metallic which shows shiny colors since very young, dragon scale's "dragon" trait develops as they age. Unfortunately this dragon "armor" may also effect/cover their eyes. This is unavoidable. . . . . I read once someone claiming to be able to reduce diamond eyes. But I forgot where I read it nor do I remember what to do.
> 
> ...



So, Lily is like a bit of turquoise, and royal blue, she's metallic, and if you look at her in bright light you can kind of see it, I think she might be a dragon scale betta, because i've been trying to figure it out and spent a lot of time looking at her lol, she does seem to have thicker scales than my other betta, James. I think (and hope) he is just a regular VT male. Thanks for the information, though.


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## trahana (Dec 28, 2015)

Are you talking about a white clouding over the eye? That looks like popeye to me. If so, its a bacteria infection and should be treated right away. None of your bettas a dragons. 
Diamond eye is scale colored, and starts at the top edges of the eye. 









Red dragon betta


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

I agree with trahana. That looks like popeye to me as well. Poor water quality is often the cause of popeye. 

It seems your betta are in small bowls with not much water. Although betta can survive in such environment, it's not ideal at all. I would suggest to get bigger tanks (2.5 gallon or bigger) and heaters for each of them.


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## bluebetta49 (Dec 18, 2017)

trahana said:


> Are you talking about a white clouding over the eye? That looks like popeye to me. If so, its a bacteria infection and should be treated right away. None of your bettas a dragons.
> Diamond eye is scale colored, and starts at the top edges of the eye.
> 
> 
> ...


No, there is no clouding at all. It's not popeye. There is scaling over her eye in the exact same, metallic blue colour of her scales. It's not white, and her eye is not large or swollen either. And yes, it's around the edge of her eye.


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## bluebetta49 (Dec 18, 2017)

ryry2012 said:


> I agree with trahana. That looks like popeye to me as well. Poor water quality is often the cause of popeye.
> 
> It seems your betta are in small bowls with not much water. Although betta can survive in such environment, it's not ideal at all. I would suggest to get bigger tanks (2.5 gallon or bigger) and heaters for each of them.


Not Popeye. She's usually in a larger tank, I've placed her in a bowl for right now because her tank cracked and I'm having it replaced. Her water is always conditioned and filtered and the scaling on her eye is metallic blue and matches her body scales. I just wanted to know if she was a dragon scale betta


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

I can't see the eyes clearly so I can't comment on that. But they are not dragon scales (the pictures you posted)


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## bluebetta49 (Dec 18, 2017)

indjo said:


> I can't see the eyes clearly so I can't comment on that. But they are not dragon scales (the pictures you posted)


So I've been trying to take a picture of her eye but she doesn't like the camera and keeps hiding from it. Her eye is not cloudy or swollen, just has metallic blue scales around the top edge, which I'm pretty sure is diamond eye. If she's not a true dragon scale she must have it in her genes, maybe one of her parents was a dragon scale and the other was a carrier? Her scales seem to be a lot more iridescent and metallic than my male betta, James. He is light purple and red and shimmery but not metallic like Lily.

Anyways, thank you to everyone who replied to this thread!


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## trahana (Dec 28, 2015)

bluebetta49 said:


> No, there is no clouding at all. It's not popeye. There is scaling over her eye in the exact same, metallic blue colour of her scales. It's not white, and her eye is not large or swollen either. And yes, it's around the edge of her eye.


Alright, it must be a white thing on the side of bowl wall.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

She is not a Dragon; she does not have Diamond Eye. She's perfectly fine. What she has, for lack of a better word, is an eye "lid" or "shelf." Like a little shelf that protects the eye from above. All Betta have that protection. You can see it above the eye of the red and white dragon PK posted on the first page....which Betta does *not* have Diamond Eye. THIS is Diamond Eye:


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

I'm guessing it's normal coloring. Metallics sometimes have metallic coloring on eye edges.

Diamond eye is usually caused by too much dragon genes. Partial dragon never, to my experience, suffer such blindness. 








Most irid dragons do not show metallic shine. Sometimes green dragons do.
Regular turquoise and metallic show more shiney scales.


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## cmeeksrfl (Jul 15, 2018)

*Maybe I should start a new thread but...*

I'm new to bettafish.com but have kept aquariums with or without bettas on & off for the last 40 years. Up to this point it was just because I think that they are interesting & beautiful. I'm thinking about retiring which would give me more time to do more than just maintain a tank so now I'm thinking about looking into breeding or even showing. 

This particular thread caught my attention because it was about one of the more undefined or misunderstood betta patterns that seems to cause some confusion. The IBC standards don't mention dragons, as well as orchids, ninjas, koi, samurai,candy, nemos, glass, salamanders, galaxy and on & on... that you will see describing bettas when browsing thru places like Aqua Bid, Ebay etc. 

Where does one go to get solid information on all these different pattern types? The fin shapes & colors are covered pretty well in the standards but what about all these patterns? I'm beginning to think that most are just imaginative breeders hyping their fish but if I want to look at breeding where do I go to get specifics on what they actually are & how they are created. Perhaps some of the moderators or breeders on this site could put together something to translate this for me & other newbies. Would appreciate any help you could give.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

To my knowledge show criteria only recognize "solid" and "combination" colors. Names to multi colors are just commercial names to make them sound interesting. I no longer keep up with these names : galaxy, Armageddon, and god knows what else. . . . Older names include mustard gas (line extinct), salamander, Apache, monster, etc.

To easier understand, I group colors into 3:
1. Regular 
2. Metallic
3. Dragon
All of which work slightly differently and the later will result in a wider variety - especially if they've been mixed bred too often.

In short, you won't find one site explaining all commercial patterns. In fact, in some cases you will need to deduct the info and draw your own conclusion.


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