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I just bought my first bettas about a month ago. Three females that are being housed in a planted 5 gallon tank with some ghost shrimp.(They are sisters that were kept in the same tank at the store. I actually had four, but the light coloured one developed a fungus infection the likes of which I've never seen. Maybe it was just that she was so pale that I didn't catch it until it was full blown, but from the point I noticed a spot of fugus to the time she was completely covered, and I mean there was white growth everywhere, was only 24 hours. I added fungus cure, but it was already too late for her. )

Anyways, what I've been wondering is this.... How is it that these fish can change their colour and patterns so fast? My fastest and most dramatic colour changer is Iro. She's normally a dark greyish/chocolate with a belly that's a lighter cream (and red fins). I've watched her change from normal to practically white with almost black horizontal stripes, with the dark stripes even forming on her previously light belly. And it happens in less than a second.

I've been trying to find information on how bettas physically can do this. I've read that they have two layers of "skin", and that when they become pale, the outer layer becomes "see-through" and then the stripes show. But that doesn't explain the darkness on her previously light belly. Does anyone know how this colour change happens? And how it happens so fast? I mean, even chameleons take time to change colour, and my bettas do it instantaneously. Or perhaps can someone tell me where I could look to try and find out? I really think it's an awesome thing, and I want to learn more about it.

The little one, Tai, can change almost as quickly, though she rarely does. She's blue with a cream belly and red/blue fins, and her horizontal stripes show even when she's dark. I thought it was because she was getting picked on the most, but now she's not being singled out anymore. (It's so funny watching her flare at and chase the big one who's twice her size! I didn't realize she was so tiny in comparison until I got her home. Thankfully, she's getting bigger.) So it looks like her stripes are just part of her colouration, and only the shade of the blue is what changes. (She's pretty unique because she'll won't eat food unless it's on the bottom of the tank. She follows the ghost shrimp until they pull food from between the gravel that she couldn't reach, then charges them and steals it.)

And the big one, Shima, never changes colour, even when being chased. I honestly don't think she can. Her body is almost completely matte black, with only a slight navy blue irridesence on her back. Her fins are also matte black, but they have veins of the blue running through, and her dorsal fin is zebra striped with the black and blue. (If you don't look closely, she looks like a huge black torpedo.) I got the names mixed up in the begining. Taisei means black, and Shima means striped. But somehow Shima just fits her personality better. She's the top dog.

(And in case anyone is looking for a way to get females to live in harmony, what worked for me was a variety of food. As soon as I started mixing different foods at feeding time, they stopped fighting and chasing each other so much. There's only a nip or two on each of their tails, and that's already started to heal. I currently have 6 different foods that I make a "Betta Buffet" of, and I plan on getting some frozen and/or freeze dried brine shrimp as well.)

Ahem... back the topic... :%) ... If someone can answer or point me in some kind of direction, I'd be most greatful!

I have never kept a female Betta and know little about them. Your post made me, like you, start looking for an answer on the internet. I admit, I didn't look very long or hard and I didn't find an answer to how they change but I did find a page that kind of explains why they change.
http://www.bettatalk.com/answer35.htm
Hope this helps somewhat. It's at least an interesting read.

O Tempora O Mores

I've been looking around the net for about two weeks myself, and while I've found information about the females getting stripes, I've never been able to find a mention of how fast they change (seconds, minutes, or days) when ready to mate.

And yes, I know that bettas will change colour as they grow older. (My best friend has a male that looks different everytime I go over her house!) But my females just change back and forth between the "stripe coat" and the "solid coat", they don't develop a "new" colour.

So you are looking for the physical mechanism that allows this to happen?
I will have to have a bit of a look. I'm sure i read something on it before, but for the loife of me i cant recall where.

(its seconds BTW )

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Though your answer, for me at least, seems elusive, here's a site you might be able to get your answer at. You get to ask a scientist. It seems the site was designed to aid students with their school work, it appears, however,as if they take questions from anyone about anything. The site could prove useful for a host of things.
[link=
Hope this helps.]http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/[/link]
Hope this helps.

O Tempora O Mores

Thank you sooooooooo much, Fergus!!!!! Kudos to ya!

That website did have the answer! (And here I thought that fish didn't have chromatophors.... Heh, maybe I shouldn't have skipped so many science classes in school...)

Here's the article.

Again, thank you!

Female Bettas get stripes when they are either frightened or when they are ready to breed. One of these causes vertical stripes, and the other causes horizontal stripes, I just can't remember which is which.. It could be that the other females bother it. Even though they all live together in a tank in the store, I personally don't think they like it. I now there is no way my female could live with other female bettas, she would destroy them. Hope this helps a little.