Is my fella a crowntail?

[Slow Cheetah]

hey people
recently bought a betta from my lfs. he was unmarked to what species so i looked it up n he appears to be a crowntail to me at least.
just wanted to know for sure ^-^
thanks

[Fishguy2727]

Yes, he is a crowntail.

[lovleeko]

yes that's a crowntail. His fins are not very long. They may just have not had time to get very long yet but you should keep an eye out and make sure their not getting shorter because it is very common for them to have fin rot straight from their there little cups. Congrats on the new bettathumbs2:

[Slow Cheetah]

cheers

and in reference to the finrot thought lovleeko, what would be the early warning signs for it? or would ther be none and his would fins start shortening out of the blue?

[lovleeko]

cheers

and in reference to the finrot thought lovleeko, what would be the early warning signs for it? or would ther be none and his would fins start shortening out of the blue?


It depends. Sometimes the ends of the tail get sort of transparent. Sometimes they may even get black or brownish just on the tips. In some cases the fins just keep shortening with no other sign. The only reason I said it, is because his anal fins look long, which may hint that the tail was once longer. This may not be the case but I keep a close eye out for fin rot on all my new bettas. Those cups are just betta bad health waiting to happen. I was about to post my bad news. My most beautiful betta who had these long gorgeous fins and has been with me the longest of all my betta males blew his tail yesterday :( He will never be as pretty again :( All his beauty is in his past now.

[Slow Cheetah]

o sorry to hear :(
what do you mean by 'blew' his tail?

[lovleeko]

Well once bettas tails get so long it obviously gets harder and harder for them to get around. So nature takes care of this and basically the ends of his tail just sort of fall off. No fin rot or infection, just no more pretty fins. It really makes them much more comfy. This can happen when they flare too much which wasn't the case here. But it stinks but he's still a healthy betta just no longer the prettiest one. And I'm sure he cares not for his looks so much for his happiness. He doesn't like the sight of himself anyway:hmm3grin2orange:

[Slow Cheetah]

ahh ok
well aslong as hes healthy and happy thats teh main thing :)

[Fishguy2727]

I haven't heard of them dropping their tail JUST because it got too long. I had one with the longest tail I have ever seen on a betta and it never had any issues like that. That is not somthing nature will do anything about.

[lovleeko]

Yes it is. It doesn't always happen to every betta because their tail gets long. But it happens when things like over exposure to something causing flaring or current in the tanks. This is another reason why people who show their bettas do not allow them to flare very much at all. A lot of local breeders give away their culls with blown tails. My brother has a friend who does extreme betta breeding and is a member of the IBC. he culls quite often because of it. IT happens. It is even more common in super delta and half moons. Trust me, it's not tail or fin rot. It's there one day and blown the next. Call it nature or what you will. I say it's natures way because that is the term he uses and it caught on with me. We talk bettas a lot so I pick up his way of putting things.

[lovleeko]

description of a blown tail


A bitten tail should not be confused with a 'blown' tail. When a male is described as 'blowing' his fins, it is a term associated with the curious aberration that occurs in some heavily-finned males that are swimming or flaring too hard. The webbing between the rays develops pin holes and the ends of the tail begin to fray, like an old flag that has been whipping around in the wind. In extreme cases the caudal fin completely disintegrates, leaving the betta with spikey ray extensions and no webbing to speak of. In its milder form, tail blowing can cause the fins...all three unpaired fins, not necessarily just the caudal...to split along the ray in several places

The nature thing caught on with other people too. LOL I seen quite a bit of stuff describing it like that.

[Fishguy2727]

Maybe it is nature's way of trying to tell people to stop breeding such extreme animals. If they can't swim without falling apart they should all be culled, not just the ones it actually happened to. Prohibiting natural behaviors because they may may fall apart should prove they are doing something wrong. It is a breeder's responsibility to keep the animals' best interests in mind as well, not just show standards. Shaw standards are an arbitrary guide established by someone somewhere and some time, they in no way take into consideration the health or well-being of the animal.

[lovleeko]

Maybe it is nature's way of trying to tell people to stop breeding such extreme animals. If they can't swim without falling apart they should all be culled, not just the ones it actually happened to. Prohibiting natural behaviors because they may may fall apart should prove they are doing something wrong. It is a breeder's responsibility to keep the animals' best interests in mind as well, not just show standards. Shaw standards are an arbitrary guide established by someone somewhere and some time, they in no way take into consideration the health or well-being of the animal.


i have thought about these same things with many animals. The poor fancy tailed guppies whose tails get so big that their whole back end hangs down and they seem to work so hard at swimming. But you know, people dont care. No one will ever stop breeding bettas with large tail varieties because of it. If they find a way to get them even bigger they'll be on the market soon. Bettas tails grow throughout their whole life so no matter what an old bettas tail will get really long and if he exerts himself to much this can happen to it. What you say is still true because when we look at a plakat betta
(closest to the wild form) with shorter fins even when they grow for five years they still wont be long enough to really blow. But since the bettas are being bred and I love them I choose to keep them and give them a good life.

[invadertoast]

Cheetah - nice male!! I had a crown tail with somewhat shorter fins like yours, I think he was just young as they grew out longer after having him a couple months.

On the subject of blown fins, every crowntail I've had has had blown fins after age two. It doesn't matter if they are kept alone, or in a divided tank where they can see eachother. It seems like their rays just keep getting longer and longer until eventually something splits. Both my crowntails are currently in a divided tank with slow filters where they can see eachother, and I very rarely see them flare at eachother (they flare at me, however.) Both are healthy and happy, both are over two years old, and both have blown fins. I also have a plakat, he seems to have a much easier time swimming and will flare at everything, I love long-finned bettas but after having my plakat I think I would stick with the short-finned variety if they were easier to come by.