Those who have Rose/Feathertail betta, is the tail bad for them?

[Mint]

I’m looking into getting a betta sorority. Anyways, this has meant obsessively googling every betta type known to man. Just stumbled across a picture of a feathertail betta, plus a little info below, and it said the tail could hurt them. How? They’re beautiful fish, and it seems to be a average-weight tail, so…how would their tail hurt them? Are they extra prone to fin rot or something?

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Rosetails or feathertails are soooo beautiful but I really feel sorry for them. Trying to swim with yards and yards of extra finnage can make a fish exhausted. It's heavy and cumbersome, so they have to work very hard. Imagine trying to swim wearing a king-size duvet cover! It's hard work. So if these fish are not kept in pristine water, optimal conditions with the right dietary requirements, they tend to fair badly as their immune system is under fire a lot with all the physical strain they're under.

 

[Mint]

Yeah, they’re absolutely gorgeous. All those long, ruffly fins…all prettiness comes with a price, I suppose, as can be demonstrated by fancy goldfish. Maybe it would be fine with females? I mean, they’re short-finned…or maybe not. Guess that’s one type to nix from the sorority.

Edit: just googled, and they do apparently exist as females. Short-finned, so maybe?

 

[Sgooosh]

Yeah, they’re absolutely gorgeous. All those long, ruffly fins…all prettiness comes with a price, I suppose, as can be demonstrated by fancy goldfish. Maybe it would be fine with females? I mean, they’re short-finned…or maybe not. Guess that’s one type to nix from the sorority.

Edit: just googled, and they do apparently exist as females. Short-finned, so maybe?

rose tail females are slightly longer finned than other females, but if you're looking for long fins, a male in a small and calm flowing tank is the best option.
Betta sororities are not really recommended since especially adding new ones causes them to fight

 

[GaryE]

I would argue that all long finned Bettas are harmed by their fins, and that the whole fancy Betta business has a cruel edge to it. Unnaturally large fins are not always supported by the body. Ever since I kept wild Betta splendens, which are not beautiful in the same way as the man made fish but are marvels of speed and balance, I haven't been able to look at a store or hobby betta with anything but pity. The fish struggle to swim.

I know I'm in a tiny minority, but you did ask, and this would be my answer. I think the level of mutation in high end Bettas has taken them into the ugly realm of celestial eyed goldfish or other disfunctional linebreeding products. There's money in them, and if you buy 'feathertail' females you'll spend a lot for fish with largely hidden genes. It's the males who express the deformities. If I were a breeder, I wouldn't sell the females cheap, as bettas are easy to breed, and someone with diligence and a willingness to work at it could do something commercial with them.

If I were ever again tempted to breed fancy Bettas, I would start with plakats, because the fancy breeding has aimed more at colour than at gargantuan fins. They can at least act like fish and aren't in danger of death from infections starting in the folds of their fins.

I know that's a hardline, tiny percentage of hobbyists view, but I would love to see the "over bettered bettas" fade out of the hobby.

 

[Mint]

I would argue that all long finned Bettas are harmed by their fins, and that the whole fancy Betta business has a cruel edge to it. Unnaturally large fins are not always supported by the body. Ever since I kept wild Betta splendens, which are not beautiful in the same way as the man made fish but are marvels of speed and balance, I haven't been able to look at a store or hobby betta with anything but pity. The fish struggle to swim.

I know I'm in a tiny minority, but you did ask, and this would be my answer. I think the level of mutation in high end Bettas has taken them into the ugly realm of celestial eyed goldfish or other disfunctional linebreeding products. There's money in them, and if you buy 'feathertail' females you'll spend a lot for fish with largely hidden genes. It's the males who express the deformities. If I were a breeder, I wouldn't sell the females cheap, as bettas are easy to breed, and someone with diligence and a willingness to work at it could do something commercial with them.

If I were ever again tempted to breed fancy Bettas, I would start with plakats, because the fancy breeding has aimed more at colour than at gargantuan fins. They can at least act like fish and aren't in danger of death from infections starting in the folds of their fins.

I know that's a hardline, tiny percentage of hobbyists view, but I would love to see the "over bettered bettas" fade out of the hobby.

Hang on, are you talking about Betta Imbellis or true wild Betta Splendens? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the wild betta Splendens sold, but I do see fairly regularly betta Imbellis, and they’re always nice-looking fish.

As for the other points…can’t really say much, because bad genes is something you get with every commercially bred fish. It’s part of the reason nobody can keep neon tetras anymore, they literally have circular family trees. Bettas are more imbred/overbred than others, though, as can be evidenced by looking at a over-halfmoon or dragonscale. And I’m coming from a position of someone who wants to keep a betta in every tank, all the time, every time. They’re just…overbred.

 

[Mint]

rose tail females are slightly longer finned than other females, but if you're looking for long fins, a male in a small and calm flowing tank is the best option.
Betta sororities are not really recommended since especially adding new ones causes them to fight

Oh, I don’t already have the sorority. Just planning. Trying to scope out opinions of bettas to keep in it, what kind of dither fish…lotta stuff. I have seen some long-lasting harem tanks on YouTube, but none of them are particularly pretty and the male draws attention away from the females, so I’d rather just keep a big tank full of girls instead.

As for the adding of new ones…have seen that, am planning. My best idea so far is to either let the sorority girls slowly die of old age (Which might also mess up the hierarchy…), or go to the store with a betta mirror and be picky about my girls. I am making arrangements to have a bunch of spare 5-gallons sitting around and hand off a few to my mom, so I think it would work fairly well if anyone is too aggressive.

 

[GaryE]

Hang on, are you talking about Betta Imbellis or true wild Betta Splendens? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the wild betta Splendens sold, but I do see fairly regularly betta Imbellis, and they’re always nice-looking fish.

I had a couple of generations of wild caught splendens, from a friend who caught them in Laos while working there, and brought them back. They were not colourful, but they were quick little things - remarkably tolerant of each other. She also brought back some imbellis - also nice fish to keep though I didn't breed them.

 

[Mint]

Ooh, mind sending a picture of one?

 

[GaryE]

This is where it all started...

 

[Sgooosh]

This is where it all started...

these look better than commerical bettas, but they're so expensive, like here around $100 for a pair at lfs