# Hello! New with a question about betta eyes.



## hcebetta (Feb 5, 2017)

Hi everyone! Thanks for having me. 

I'm a new betta owner and have an eye color question. We purchased this guy (supposedly a "Dragon Scale Male" from Petco, but I hear those are actually rare and probably not carried by a chain) and he has two different colored eyes. One is black, and the other is shimmery blue, just like his scales. It does not appear that his scales have grown over his eyes, but I don't know if this is normal or something to be concerned about. Any help would be very appreciated! Picture of eye (and full body, just because he's pretty!) below.

Thanks so much!
Emily


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## hcebetta (Feb 5, 2017)

For what it's worth, I noticed this and mentioned it to a salesman at Petco. He looked at him and said, "not to worry, that's just his eye color," and said he had bettas, though that doesn't mean he knows much about them. I noticed that the other eye, the black one, has some of the shimmery blue at the top, but not as much as this eye. It's not cloudy or opaque.

I held up a mirror to his blue eye about a minute ago and he definitely noticed it and puffed up, so he has _some_ sight in it, at least.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

He is a Dragonscale. It's not that the petstores don't carry them or they are rare, it's just that PetCo and PetSmart often mislabel their bettas. Your boy, specifically, is either a Halfmoon or Superdelta or Delta blue. I'm guessing that is the beginning of Diamond Eye, which means he is probably going to go blind. Start practicing a feeding regimine, just in case. Also, try not to move any decor around.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Welcome to the Forum! :wave:

I can't tell much about his eye. Can you post a photo of the other eye for comparison?

First, he's definitely not a Dragon. Dragons are bi-color with one color on the body and another on the fins. They also have noticeably thicker scales on their bodies. As we've sadly discovered on this forum, PetCo and PetSmart take great leeway in labeling their Betta and mostly they're wrong. :-(

Second, he's gorgeous! Without a flaring photo it's impossible to tell if he's Halfmoon (HM) or Delta. He appears to be solid blue but on closer inspection you can see his fins are two different colors and then there's the red and white ventrals. He could be considered a Multi-Color but his main color is Royal Blue.

Royal Blue HM from www.bettasource.com


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## Hopefish (Feb 9, 2016)

But even though he's not really a "Dragonscale", he could still be developing diamond eye -- because of the metallic gene; is that right guys? More pictures may help.
It's worth noting that some fish are odd-eyed (meaning 2 differently colored eyes) but that doesn't necessarily mean there is anything wrong with them.
He certainly is beautiful!


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## hcebetta (Feb 5, 2017)

Thanks so much, everyone! 

The other eye looks like a typical black eye, though it has some of the same blue at the top, on what looks kind of like an eyelid. I tried to get a picture just now but he wouldn't turn. I'll keep trying.

If it is diamond eye, does that mean he's in poor health? Does it mean the other eye will go blind, too? This is our first fish- I do not know how to care for a blind one! 

I'll try to grab some more pics.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

As Hopefish said, he could have two different colored eyes; it's not uncommon. He could also have received an injury in that eye and that's the worst it's going to get. And should he have it, Diamond Eye doesn't always happen to both eyes. I don't see scales growing over that eye.

Here's Diamond Eye aka Dragon Eye:


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## hcebetta (Feb 5, 2017)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> As Hopefish said, he could have two different colored eyes; it's not uncommon. He could also have received an injury in that eye and that's the worst it's going to get. And should he have it, Diamond Eye doesn't always happen to both eyes. I don't see scales growing over that eye.
> 
> Here's Diamond Eye aka Dragon Eye:
> View attachment 865242


Thank you! That looks much more...solid (for lack of a better word?) than this does, so maybe there's still hope for that eye, if there is an issue.


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## hcebetta (Feb 5, 2017)

I was able to get a couple more photos, but the quality isn't the best. Hopefully they're good enough! The first is his black eye and the second his blue. There's still some black on his "blue" eye, it just looks like a smaller pupil toward the bottom.


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## hcebetta (Feb 5, 2017)

Blue eye (could not get it to attach!):


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I think he'll be fine. Keep us posted, though.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Ugh, I need to start explaining myself better. Sorry for the miscommunication.
@RussellTheShihTzu, how do you tell the difference between DS and non? I looked at the picture, and his scales looked thicker, compared to my boys.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Dragon scales are bi-color; not solid. I've seen people call Metallics "Dragon scales." :roll:

This is a Dragon (BettaSource)








This is a Metallic (BettaSource):








www.bettasource.com is a great site to memorize until we finish editing the one on Betta Fish.


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## hcebetta (Feb 5, 2017)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> I think he'll be fine. Keep us posted, though.


I sure will! I know it's hard to tell, but what would be your guess as to what it is?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

hcebetta said:


> I sure will! I know it's hard to tell, but what would be your guess as to what it is?


It might well be an injury. I'm hoping that's it.

BTW, we have a "Journal" section where you can post about your boy and what you're learning. Or, you can just post photos.


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## hcebetta (Feb 5, 2017)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> It might well be an injury. I'm hoping that's it.
> 
> BTW, we have a "Journal" section where you can post about your boy and what you're learning. Or, you can just post photos.


Thank you! I'll check it out.


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