Feisty Fins Bettas - Bettas by Jennifer Lapello

Bettas by Jennifer Lapello

Quick Pronunciation Guide

Most words in Betta language are generally pronounced correctly, because they sound exactly how they look. For that reason, I am only touching base on two words here: Betta, which sounds exactly like it looks but is commonly mispronounced, and Plakat, which throws every new person through a loop.

Betta is pronounced bet-uh, as in better, not bey-tuh, as in bay. In other words, the "e" is pronounced as a short e, not a long a. Every pet store I have been in has had employees that pronounce it incorrectly, so it's no wonder why its mispronounciatian has become very widespread.

Plakat is pronounced pleh-cot, not plack-at. This is a particularly hard one to remember at first, because unlike the word Betta, it doesn't sound like it looks. The first time I heard someone pronounce Plakat correctly, I thought he was abbreviating Plecostamus. So, I stupidly made a remark about my Plecostamus at home in the community tank. You live, you learn, what can I say?

Common Abbreviation Guide

When you first get into Bettas, you will undoubtedly get an email from a breeder at one point stating something like, "I will have HMPKs available, but they are still small and eating BBS". Or, you will see a listing on Aquabid for a DDRCT and be wondering what the heck all this means. Hopefully, the guide below will help you decipher what all those strange letters are referring to.

BBS - Baby Brine Shrimp

BS - Brine Shrimp

BF - Butterfly

CT - Crowntail

CTPK - Crowntail Plakat

DDR - Double Double Ray (when referring to Crowntails)

DR - Double Ray (when referring to Crowntails)

DT - Double Tail

DTCT - Doubletail Crowntail

DTF - Doubletail Female

DTHMPK – Doubletail Halfmoon Plakat

DTM - Doubletail Male

FS - Fairy Shrimp

FT - Feathertail

HM - Halfmoon

HMF - Halfmoon Female

HMPK – Halfmoon Plakat

IAL - Indian Almond Leaf

MG - Refers to a strain name (Mustard Gas)created by a breeder of a bicolor line with yellow fins. Outdated, but still commonly used to describe fish with a dark body/yellow fins. Bicolor is the proper terminology for this coloration.

MSP - Modern Show Plakat (Halfmoon Plakat in symmetrical or asymmetrical form)

MW - Microworms

OHM - Over Halfmoon (a Betta with a caudal spread greater than 180 degrees)

PK - Plakat

RR - Random Ray (when referring to Crowntails)

RT – Rosetail

SR – Single Ray (when referring to Crowntails)

ST - Single Tail

STF - Singletail Female. Usually used to describe females from HM lines, but canrefer to any singletail female tail (VT, PK, HMPK, etc.)

STM - Singletail Male

VE - Vinegar Eels

VT - Veiltail

About Bettas

Spawning Bettas

Links

www.feistyfins.com