Choosing the correct male beta fish?

Question

At my local Petco, they are selling male beta fish for 4 dollars and male Crown-tail betafish for 7 dollars.
Are there any differences between these two besides their fins/tails?
They have a bunch of bowls of beta fish. Is there a way I can tell by looking at the fish which ones are healthier or which ones will live longer?
Is there any other information I can get just by looking at them through the bowls?

Answer 1

There is no difference between the two except fin differences, but are the same species of fish. You can't really tell which will live longer, that's really determined by the care they receive throughout their lives. There are some things you can look for however.

1. look at the fins. If they are ragged, edged in white or have holes in them I would avoid that fish.

2. See if the fish "flares" or spreads his fins and postures when he sees another male betta. If so, that's a good sign that he's fairly healthy and young.

3. Look closely at the fish for any white spots or a gold-ish shine. Both are signs of disease, but the shine can be present on some bettas due to color. Yellow or gold colored bettas will naturally have this shine sometimes.

4. Look at the poop in the bowl. If there is a lot that's a sign it has not been well cared for in the last few days. Also, if it's white a stringy don't get that fish as it's probably diseased.

5. Of course you will also not want any fish that has any red spots, fuzzy looking spots, open wounds or other things that just don't look right when compared to the other bettas.

6. Make sure it's eyes look clear. Cloudy or whiteness around on on it's eyes is a sign of disease.

Look them over carefully before buying and that will help you be sure you are getting a healthy fish!

MM

Answer 2

Hello there. I breed bettas for a retail store, so I can shed some light on your question.

There are several differences between crowntails and your typical veiltail variety. Crowntails tend to have worse temperaments when placed in an aquarium with other fish, and crowntails are also more susceptible to disease because of inbreeding in their lines. The crowntail line is only a few years old, which means that defects in the first generations are still there.

However, Crowntails have a lot of personality and a lot of what I call the "wow" factor. There's just no comparison when looking at a crowntail and looking at a veiltail--I'll take the crown any day. If you are looking for breeding stock (which I don't recommend buying from Petco, as these fish are not breeding stock at all with their mysterious lineage and questionable age), crowntails are a little more difficult, in my experience, to get to breed. Sometimes their tails get in the way of properly embracing the female.

If you have kept bettas before, though, the crown is not much harder than a typical betta...You wouldn't want to keep one in a bowl that gets changed once a month, that's for sure (nor any betta, really). If keeping in a bowl, change once or twice weekly with the crowntail (preferably twice; never go more than five days without changing). I do recommend at least a five gallon aquarium, no filter, for this guy though. The same with the veiltail--they're so much happier in a five gallon!

Yes, you can look for signs of disease when you look into the little cups they keep them in. Here's the checklist:

1.) Are his eyes unnaturally large? If so, don't buy him.
2.) Is he lethargic? A lethargic fish is likely ill, though bettas DO sleep, so he could just be sleeping. I alwaysgo for the ones that are awake and fighting their neighbors, just in case.
3.) Are there any tiny white specks on him? If so, leave him. He is ill and ich is an annoying ailment to treat.
4.) Is he puffing his gills hard and fast while underwater (also known as gasping)? If so, he's not well at all, and should be left.
5.) Are the ends of his fins frayed? Even on a crowntail, you can see where it looks like the fins have been snagged, since the rays on a crown should be perfectly smooth. If fins are frayed, leave him, as he has fin rot, and fin rot can easily claim any fish.
6.) Is he bloated? This is never a good sign--either he's eating way too much and not releasing it or he is ill. Always leave a bloated fish behind.
7.) Are his scales sticking out (also called pineconing)? If so, he has dropsy, a fatal disease that is rarely cured properly. Leave him.
8.) Does he struggle for the surface of his tiny cup? If so, this indicated a swim bladder problem. These can never really be fixed, so leave him.

Basically, look for an alert, happy-seeming fish whose body looks in order. Like I said, I always go for the one who's fighting the hardest!

Answer 3

Betta's are very pretty fish. the crown tails are more exotic and they have shorter fins with spikes. the care for both of them is the same. the ones that are healthier will be looking at the other Betta's with his gills puffed up which is a sign of aggressions. if they are laying on the bottom of the bowl they are not very healthy. you want to pick a fish with fins that are not all raggedy. hope that this helps.

Answer 4

I acquired Freddy-the-Fish from the Beta section at the Super Wallmart in Plymouth, MA. He's a happy little guy, a beautiful shade of blue with magenta markings.

He and Josie, my cat, enjoy playing with each other. I'm serious.

My cousin and I chose him from a half dozen Betas sitting around in their little, cloudy plastic containers.

Today, he lives the life of Riley in a small aquarium I purchased on eBay that filters the water and has its own little light. (For the first six months he lived in a very large glass vase I bought at Ikea.)

Freddy is happy. Josie is happy. My cousin is happy. I am happy.

That's all the work we put into choosing Freddy.

Oh, yes, he likes to eat every day and comes out of his little cave every morning when I turn on the light.

Answer 5

colorful bettas indicate that they are healthy
also you want a betta that is fairly active but does not puff out alot: active means it's healthy; however if the betta is puffing out his gills to look bigger than he may be excessively aggressive OR easily stressed out and neither is a good thing...granted that those cups are small and any betta will be more acitve in a larger bowl/tank you still want to be looking for good color and one that swims alot without puffing out
here's a link on betta care and signs of good health from petco.com:
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/fish/Betta.pdf
the only thing on that link that I don't agree with is the section on tank mates because they say not to put male bettas with other fish but I keep mine in a ten gallon tank with four danios and a African Dwarf Frog
btw: if you have a five to ten gallon tank with a filter and a heater then I strongly urge you to get a african dwarf frog to go with your betta...however if you only have like less than a five gallon tank or you don't have a filter and a heater then I'd just get the betta and some plastic plants for him to hide in and swim around: oh and see if you can get your betta a special treat once in a while...mine LOVES blood worms and if I move my finger outside of his tank he'll follow it and then he gets a blood worm...I realize he doesn't understand what he is doing gets a reward the way a dog does but I still think its cool
congrats on your soon to be new betta!

Answer 6

i had both fish i found that male beta fish lived longer then the crown tail.

Answer 7

I had a male betta for almost 4 years before it died last year, and I now have 1 now. Thay live forever and I only feed mine 2 times a week.
-Twister

Answer 8

Well Honostly there is no difference besides the fins. If you want a healthy one just look at it their behavior. If they stay at the bottom and dont respond to any of your movements they arent that healthy.

Answer 9

Nope.