Piebald, Masked, and Full Mask: A Confusing Subject

I have been trying to figure this one out for awhile. "Masked". It's an interesting name and yet so very confusing. There are Piebalds, with 1/3 of the body being white (sometimes with a bit of marbling or grizzling on the head, but most often being fully white). Then there are Full Masks, Bettas with a single colored body but what I would call a "blaze" on the top of the head, most often extending to the dorsal fin. "Masked". Looking it up, the results are often confusing. I most often see Full Mask Bettas, but that can't be it. I also see Bettas with only their head being one color (often white, but never extending past the gills), their body being another. Is this truly a Masked? If so, may I ask a question? A question that I've been wondering for quite awhile. For several years, in fact. What would be the name of solid colored Bettas who have a deep black head, extending to the dorsal fin, covering only part of the back, which ends in a triangular pattern? These are most often seen in blue colored Bettas, but I have also seen this feature in red and in other colors. My beloved girl, Bluestar, an absolutely stunning long-tailed female Turquoise Roundtail, had this intriguing feature that I could never find the name for. So I'm asking you, the wonderful people of Fishlore, do you know the name of these black-headed beauties, whether or not these are called Masked, and what "Masked" truly looks like in Bettas! Thank you all for reading, and remember, have a fin-tastic day!

 

I don't have an answer to your question, but I just learned my betta is a piebald. Neat! I just thought he was a blue marble.

 

I don't have an answer to your question, but I just learned my betta is a piebald. Neat! I just thought he was a blue marble.

Well, I'm glad I helped you!! He must be a beautiful boy!

I once had a sweet, stunning boy who was a Blue Grizzle Combtail! His name was Ghast, and he lived to be a whopping 6 years old!! He had the derpiest little eyes, the sweetest disposition! One characteristic that I loved the most was that he had this little yellowish pyramid shape on his face! It made him all the cuter

 

Well, I'm glad I helped you!! He must be a beautiful boy!

I once had a sweet, stunning boy who was a Blue Grizzle Combtail! His name was Ghast, and he lived to be a whopping 6 years old!! He had the derpiest little eyes, the sweetest disposition! One characteristic that I loved the most was that he had this little yellowish pyramid shape on his face! It made him all the cuter

Here's a picture of Mick for reference . He is a piebald right? It still looks like he has some white scales turning blue on his body but I never see any near his head. He was almost all white when I got him.




Aww, I love that name! I have never heard of blue grizzle before. I wonder what exact color Mick is..very confusing topic indeed. I hope someone can help, I want to know the answer now too!

 

Here's a picture of Mick for reference . He is a piebald right? It still looks like he has some white scales turning blue on his body but I never see any near his head. He was almost all white when I got him.

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Aww, I love that name! I have never heard of blue grizzle before. I wonder what exact color Mick is..very confusing topic indeed. I hope someone can help, I want to know the answer now too!

Well, he certainly looks to be a Piebald to me! Certainly a very colorful boy! He definitely looks like an HMPK, but also seems to have the characteristics of a Giant Betta? How big is he, overall?

 

Well, he certainly looks to be a Piebald to me! Certainly a very colorful boy! He definitely looks like an HMPK, but also seems to have the characteristics of a Giant Betta? How big is he, overall?

And he uses his looks to his advantage when trying to beg for food that's for sure! He's grown a little but last time I measured him he was around 2.3-2.4 inches.

 

And he uses his looks to his advantage when trying to beg for food that's for sure! He's grown a little but last time I measured him he was around 2.3-2.4 inches.

Is that including his tail? I've kept Giants before, one of which was 2.5" at only 3 months! Insane!! His name was Harvey

 

Is that including his tail? I've kept Giants before, one of which was 2.5" at only 3 months! Insane!! His name was Harvey

Yep, including tail. I pretty sure he's fully grown at this point, I've had him 5 months and he was already the biggest betta in the cups which made me think he was already an adult.

Wow that's nuts! I would looooove a giant betta but I need to get a bigger tank for sure .

 

Yep, including tail. I pretty sure he's fully grown at this point, I've had him 5 months and he was already the biggest betta in the cups which made me think he was already an adult.

Wow that's nuts! I would looooove a giant betta but I need to get a bigger tank for sure .

Aww, he's a little boy! He could actually be a "Dwarf". This just means that he'll stay smaller than most Bettas throughout his lifetime! In my experience, Bettas will reach anywhere from 2.25-4", or around 2.5-6" including the tail! This takes into account whether they're a standard size, dwarf, giant, plakat, or long-finned! Very interesting!!