# EEHMDT cruel or beautiful?



## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

Looking through ebay sales I came across a platinum white EEHMDT male. yes, you read that right, a double tail with elephant ears. I am torn tbh whether I like this or not. Mostly leaning towards no. On the basis of how much finnage that fish has to carry around. I mean, why take a fish who already is predisposed to things like swim bladder issues and fin biting due to heavy finnage (due to having two tails!...well tecnically) and add onto that dumbo ears? 

Now don't get me wrong, I love elephant ear bettas, love love LOVE the jazz hands. I have a EEHM myself but what I don't understand is why put that trait on a fish who already has enough fin to deal with without giant pectoral fins. I have known a EEHMPK that near the end of his life could barely swim up because his pecs weighed him down so much. A Plakat couldn't swim up because of his dumbo ears...imagine a longfinned double tail with pectorals that size. yikes. I can see the appeal on maybe a double tail plakat, but I just can't see it for the long finned fish. 

Here's the link:

Male DOUBLE TAIL Dumbo Ears White Platinum Halfmoon Betta Top QUALITY Thai Imp | eBay

To each their own I guess but I just don't understand this. I have two longfinned DT's and one is biting due to his fins the other (thank god *knocking on wood*) doesn't seem to mind his finnage too much but I can only imagine if he had giant pectoral fins to drag around through the water as well. And my EEHm male is longfinned HM with the EE pecs and he's just started to bite his caudal due to its size. I couldn't imagine him having another caudal fin added onto that.


----------



## KaderTheAnt (Jan 19, 2017)

I think there's an expression for this, "Beauty comes at a price". While this betta is down right gorgeous, knowledgeable people know how much suffering his betta could endure from its own beauty. Sadly, i wouldn't buy him. I do love EEs as well and DTPK aren't that bad looking (if you like boxy fish that is) but adding weaker pectoral fins to something that already has issues with having heavy finnage doesn't seem very smart and not very safe for the fish. Lovely fish though, I have to admit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, he's beautiful, but again personally I wouldn't buy him. I never was really a huge fan of DT's or DTPK until recently. Now I have two DT's and one DTPK lol.


----------



## KaderTheAnt (Jan 19, 2017)

I personally don't like the DT and prefer the DTPK. Not only do they have way less issues (fin bitting and such) but they have a nice, thick build to them. I used to own a DTPK named JetStream because he had angled dorsal and anal fins. He's probably one of my favorite and most memorable Bettas 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## seemsligit (Nov 24, 2016)

i have a DTHM and honestly he swims sideways half the time when he goes too fast (and that's with being otherwise perfectly healthy with no issues with his swim bladder!). any time he flairs he ends up tilting after a second. I don't really think putting ears on a DTHM is really ethical. If I ever did take in a fish like that, because frankly he /is/ beautiful, I would never put him in anything deep and certainly with nothing stronger then a sponge filter.


----------



## Kaxen (Mar 3, 2013)

At the rate my double-tail boy chews himself up (and I think as he gets older he gets tired faster and it annoys him more because it gets easier and easier to set him off), I can't even imagine how much saltier he would be about life if he had dumbo fins.


----------



## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

I should rephrase it, because i can see my wording being taken wrong. Where he is being sold at that price I would not buy him. If I came across him at a petco/petsmart or something like that then I might just to make sure he wasn't bred or stuck in something deep with big filter flow. But on ebay at 53 dollars...no sorry. He is a beautiful fish, I have a strange weakness for platinum whites, I just don't agree with the elephant ears on double tails. 

Yeah I hear ya with the DTPK better. Though my two DT's are polar opposites. Brad (technically he's mom's fish I just do water changes and medicating if needed) fin bites and is currently giving me hell with fin rot on top of that, whereas Zephyr refuses to mangle his fins and he definitely has the right to. I got Zeph with buoyancy issues which thankfully resolved quickly and haven't relapsed yet. *knocks on wood*. My new DTPK Maui looks great and the issues with heavy fins are pretty much abolished with him.


----------



## sabrinah (Jan 2, 2015)

I think he's gorgeous but making a fish carry around that much fin isn't fair. I have a double feather tail and the poor boy struggles to hold himself up. Half the time he has his tail resting on something so he isn't pulled down. Adding heavy pectorals to that is just downright cruel.


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I don't know if it could be considered cruelty, but I _personally_ don't like to see a particular trait bred to such extremes that it starts to impact on quality of life.

For me this includes everything from abnormally shortened bodies (such as balloon fish) to fins that are of such a size and weight that they prevent a fish from being able to move freely. 

It's why I would never keep fancy goldfish, or long-finned bettas. 

I like my fish to be as close to their natural form as possible.


----------



## MysticSky22301 (Apr 16, 2016)

His fins aren't overly huge he should be just fine  my Dt might be a little sinker he gets tired easily and tail sits some times I'm not really sure what to do :/


----------



## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

I personally don't mind it, thought I wouldn't pay $53 for him. As long as you have little filter flow, lots of tall plants, and a nice, healthy home, he should manage. DT's are bred with thicker bodies for a reason; they have larger fins. The EE's, IMO, are actually helpful when he wants to move. More finpower!


----------



## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

More fin power maybe but EE are weaker than normal pectorals too from my understanding. With the right habitat he'd be ok.


----------



## hannat (Oct 9, 2014)

I don't know... up until recently I've found myself only buying PK's. (bettastarter24 you're partially responsible for this.... lol. You found Darth Vader.) I personally wouldn't think it's ethical to breed an EEHMDBT, but since he already has been bred he deserves a home with a knowledgeable keeper, you know? At the same time though that would encourage breeding more of them.


----------



## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

EEHMDT**

Lol, sorry. There is no "B" in the abbreviation of Doubletail.  my OCD was killing me.


----------



## rafaelbetta (Oct 16, 2016)

I have a DT, and I'd never buy another one. He's prone to bloat and swim bladder issues because of his short body, and his fins are far too heavy. He has trouble swimming, even after he bites them to decrease the weight. He's also had fin rot several times from biting. I love my boy very much, but I hate seeing him struggle. 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


----------

