# Dragon scale betta



## listener75

Does anyone know about dragon scale bettas?


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## DogFish

Dragon Scale is a scale mutation rather like "Pearl Scale" but, it sounds much more cool.

You may be seeing these offered in the two large chains. Most likey they are HMPKs - Half Moon Plakat. Plakat is the Thai name for fighting fish. Basically, they took the wild type Betta and breed the most aggressive & strongest jaws ie. the ones that didn't die.

The Half Moon is a cross between the fighters and the full finned bettas. 

The best place to see the types is Aquabid.com

I have a very nice HMPK that I found at Petsmart. After looking on Aquabid, I'm sure he was a shipping mistake. Maybe the Shipping packer in Thailand was not paying attention.:hihi:

I visit PetSmart & PetCo in my job. I always look. Seems if I look at a 100 bettas, I find one nice one, body, fin, color, health. Maybe one out off 300 is VERY nice.

I'm on Ultimate Betta they have good info on proper fins, tail and body.


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## Bettalovely

If you have seen "dragonscale" bettas at petsmart...yeah. They are not really dragons. Those are plakats, most not even remotely halfmoon. Occasionally there will be a real one, but most are not. I would strongly suggest doing a search on them and looking at pictures.


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## listener75

Thanks guys!! I will keep looking. I did see it at pets art. I think they are females though bc the fins were short. I didn't see any HM dragon scales there.


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## ValMM

Male Plakats keep the short fins, as that is the trait of the wild type.


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## majerah1

Agree,they would be males.Let me warn you though on dragons.The scales are thickly coated with iridescence,hence the reason they look so thick.They are prone to this pigment growing over their eyes and causing blindness as well as tumors.Some breeders believe the tumors are caused from the irid piling up on the cells causing abnormal growth.

While very pretty fishes,and great pets,just be aware that they may develop issues like these in its lifespan.


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## Sukhoi

I bought one of those betta labeled "dragon scale" several months ago at Petsmart. Like another member said, you have to look for the really nice ones. 

Here is what mine dragon scale betta looks like. Handsome young male.


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## listener75

Wow he is beautiful. I went by pets art by my house today and did see some "dragon scale"labeled. I don't know if he is true dragon scale. I'm thinking if I should still get it. I'm sleeping on it tonight! Will keep you guys updated!


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## wendyjo

I think if you're not going to breed then get what you like and what catches your eye.


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## EnigmaticBettaBreeds

*Halfmoon Plakats-Dragonscale<----*

Im a new enthusiust, This is my Dragonscale Betta Splenden, I Agree with the fact that they are Halfmoon Plakats, and fin lenghts do vary. Thanks for Checking it out.


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## echoskybound

EnigmaticBettaBreeds, that's a really stunning betta. I was surprised to see a number of beautiful HMPKs at my local Petsmart that had beautiful metallic coloration. Sometimes their betta stock is just sad... but recently, it's been impressive for a pet store.


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## Miles

I love bettas, tried to breed a dragonscale betta a while ago but he just ended up killing the female


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## LB79

Bettas are a little like some cichlids, I believe. They need lots of cover in the breeding tank, and the females are best removed after spawning.


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## Schwartzy61

I bought one of the "dragon scale" bettas at petsmart before and the damn thing was GORGEOUS! Never seen a betta with this type of coloration before










His past home


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## acitydweller

This was an awesome read. Personally looking into getting a dragonscale myself.


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## Option

You got this beauty from Petsmart??!?!?!!!!! :icon_eek:

I stopped going to Petsmart a long time ago. But if you can find fish like this there.....then I'm going!




Schwartzy61 said:


> I bought one of the "dragon scale" bettas at petsmart before and the damn thing was GORGEOUS! Never seen a betta with this type of coloration before
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> His past home


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## jemminnifener

Dragonscale bettas are pretty. The iridescence is usually gold or silvery white in coloration. Those with more iridescence coverage on the head are more prone to having the iridescence creep up onto the eyes. The term "full mask" refers to a dragonscale betta with full coverage on the head - including the top of the head - and they are more likely to have the eye problem. 

Schwartzy61: What a pretty betta! I find that a lot of the bettas I see at my local Petsmart have curled ventral fins.


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## Dayumdanny

So where can i get one of these?


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## In.a.Box

From time to time you will find good betta from those 2 chain store.
Better looking betta then some of the u.s breeder betta.


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## VW_Factor

This is Lancelot.


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## Bettas and Giraffes

I have two 'dragon scales' not sure if they are 'real' or otherwise. One is for sure a female because she has the white bump on her belly. The other is a long finned male. They both have tumors as you mentioned. The male has one eye covered by a thin layer but as yet he can still see with that eye, but the tumor itself is below the eye and growing, and has spread to his mouth. I'm concerned it will soon impede his ability to eat. What can do for him? Is there a cure for the tumors?
Thank you in advance


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## Suzie Q

Bettas and Giraffes said:


> I have two 'dragon scales' not sure if they are 'real' or otherwise. One is for sure a female because she has the white bump on her belly. The other is a long finned male. They both have tumors as you mentioned. The male has one eye covered by a thin layer but as yet he can still see with that eye, but the tumor itself is below the eye and growing, and has spread to his mouth. I'm concerned it will soon impede his ability to eat. What can do for him? Is there a cure for the tumors?
> Thank you in advance


No cure. I used to have a White/Platinum male (same as a dragon scale). He developed "over growth" on his tail while he was in is "pet tank". I had bought his son's for breeding, and the seller send him too for free . Anyway, he was a pet, and at one point the growth weighed him down so bad that he struggled to get to the top. I put him in a 5g with my small colony of Endlers and they "picked at" the growth...eventually eating it away and he was able to swim again. His tail stayed ragged from the Endlers picking at it, but he lived another 2 years. I don't know if I would suggest it for your boy because it is his mouth though....


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## wicca27

my dragon scale. wow i cant belive i have had him a year now. i will take some pics and update soon


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## Nubster

Everytime I see a decent look Beta at the store, I think about setting up a new tank for one. I really enjoyed the short time I had with the first one I had but evidently he didn't like having a huge tank (75g) to roam and committed suicide. This time around, if I do another Beta, it will be a covered 10g tank..


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## laqu

the betta i got at petsmart is so pretty.. our petsmart has a nice fish department..the people really care about the fish..


Untitled by laq997, on Flickr

not bad for a few bucks


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## brote005

*dragon scale bettas*



listener75 said:


> Does anyone know about dragon scale bettas?


yes I know about dragon scale bettas. i own one. dragon scales are beutifle fish they tend to look out side of the tank often the have bid tail fins that complement their body scales. but they dont like to go in and hide in caves . if you get a dragon scale i rec that you rocks big ones and real plants. they might also engoy a bed to. you know a betta bed.


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## Starwarsfan

the word plakat is loosely used. the proper usage would be plakat morh(short finned) and plakat cheen(long finned). a halfmoon betta would be a plakat cheen. all in all it really should be labeled as plakat cheen dragon scale halfmoon or plakat morh dragon scale.

Bump:


Bettalovely said:


> If you have seen "dragonscale" bettas at petsmart...yeah. They are not really dragons. Those are plakats, most not even remotely halfmoon. Occasionally there will be a real one, but most are not. I would strongly suggest doing a search on them and looking at pictures.


there are different kinds of plakat. plakat does not automatically mean it has to be a halfmoon. they are all real plakats seeing as plakat is just a descriptive word. you can have plakat morh(short finned) and plakat cheen(long fin. this is what halfmoons are). halfmoon is describing tail shape while plakat morh or cheen is describing tail length, jaw size and a few other characteristics.


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