Do some searches. You'll learn a lot. There's a wealth of knowledge contained in these forums.
I have spent an inordinate amount of time on this forum, entirely too much for my partner's comfort, in fact. That's why you rarely see me asking stupid newbie questions that are covered in the stickies and other obvious places.
Perhaps you can direct me to posts, stickies or other places where I can get definitive answers to these questions?
I have spent an inordinate amount of time on this forum, entirely too much for my partner's comfort, in fact. That's why you rarely see me asking stupid newbie questions that are covered in the stickies and other obvious places.
Perhaps you can direct me to posts, stickies or other places where I can get definitive answers to these questions?
Thank you, Copper. Been there, read that....twice...all 36 pages (and with my slow dialup, that's quite a chore). I've read the posts that you and Rayne posted when you first joined...about the same time as me.
I still don't know the difference between a Dragon and (just) a Copper. (I've often read it just this way and wondered why.) Is it tone or hue or color or value? Does "metallic" refer to scale refractivity or is it a generic description of Dragons/Coppers which have refractive scales? Most Betta scales are reflective; refractivity is the light-shift displayed by those thick-scaled fish in question. As a custom-motorcycle painter, I make that distinction.
I infer that dragons are described by their base color; "red dragons" are white-scaled over a red body. How about Coppers? I had a turquoise refractive fish. Was he a Copper, or merely metallic? He changed color radically according to the angle of light. Is there a separate term for this phenomenon? The custom-paint term is "flop."
But how much dragonscale coverage is required to call a fish a Dragon? Is there a percentage or will any small amount of refractive scales suffice? What if the scales are only partially covered?
By the way, what is a "red Devil" (or black or blue)? Is that one of the refractive types? How does it differ from a Dragon or Copper?
As a painter and photographer, as well as a committed Betta enthusiast, these are not trivial questions to me. And I have spent a considerable amount of time researching. I would be most humbly appreciative if someone would take a few minutes to answer these questions. I'm sure I'm not the only member here who would like to know.
Thank you, Copper. Been there, read that....twice...all 36 pages (and with my slow dialup, that's quite a chore). I've read the posts that you and Rayne posted when you first joined...about the same time as me.
I still don't know the difference between a Dragon and (just) a Copper. (I've often read it just this way and wondered why.) Is it tone or hue or color or value? Does "metallic" refer to scale refractivity or is it a generic description of Dragons/Coppers which have refractive scales? Most Betta scales are reflective; refractivity is the light-shift displayed by those thick-scaled fish in question. As a custom-motorcycle painter, I make that distinction.
I infer that dragons are described by their base color; "red dragons" are white-scaled over a red body. How about Coppers? I had a turquoise refractive fish. Was he a Copper, or merely metallic? He changed color radically according to the angle of light. Is there a separate term for this phenomenon? The custom-paint term is "flop."
But how much dragonscale coverage is required to call a fish a Dragon? Is there a percentage or will any small amount of refractive scales suffice? What if the scales are only partially covered?
By the way, what is a "red Devil" (or black or blue)? Is that one of the refractive types? How does it differ from a Dragon or Copper?
As a painter and photographer, as well as a committed Betta enthusiast, these are not trivial questions to me. And I have spent a considerable amount of time researching. I would be most humbly appreciative if someone would take a few minutes to answer these questions. I'm sure I'm not the only member here who would like to know.
I am proud of you for asking. My motto is ... there are no dumb questions if you really wanna know the answer.
I dont know the difference between a copper and a metallic or if they're the same or not.
What would the paint job be called if you mimicked my betta's color? I know you said flop but more specifically I am curious of the actual colors. I *think* that's what I'm going to name him.
From what I gather about the dragon scales... they look iridescent even in lower light where as metallic iridescence shows up under a brighter light. THAT .. and the scale thickness
Last edited by RayneForhest; 03-25-2012 at 08:17 PM.
See what I mean? I've seen Dragons at Petco in dim store light. Looks like a grainy mostly-white fish which needs more light to "flash." My colorshifting turquoise "flop," on the other hand, I spotted from ten feet away in the lower row of cups, because he glowed. And that appearance doesn't even begin to show up in photos.
In my business, color names were marketing tokens, names given by the OEM for their color. Sometimes we used the common color-code number and generic color, or year/model ("'99Taurus dark-green"). Not very romantic. ;-}
If your fish were a car, I say lavender/salmon ghostfade grey. But I really can't comment because I don't know the lighting setup, color temp, contrast or saturation. And the degree of iridescence (or refractivity) doesn't show well in pictures, as I've mentioned..
BTW, I never considered mine a stupid question. In fact, I thought it rather erudite and sophisticated. And I'd still appreciate an answer from someone who knows. Thank you in advance.
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