# New Betta!!!!



## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

I wasn't expecting to get a new betta so soon after my old boy passed but when I was at the store I saw him and another boy (that I didnt get) and fell in love. Im looking for names and your opinions on his tail type and overall health. He is really small so im guessing that hes pretty young, and was labeled as a half moon. This is what the other boy looked like but he had longer fins. 






























This is him


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)




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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Lovely boy!.

Without a flaring shot it is hard to tell whether he is a Delta Tail (DeT) or Over Halfmoon (OHM).

If you bought him today he will probably color up some more. Right now I would call him a pastel bi-color. If he gains the reddish color in his dorsal he would be a Butterfly.


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Awesome!


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Still open for name suggestions!


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## littlescallop33 (May 16, 2020)

A few name suggestions: Moby, Manuel, Sherbert


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## littlescallop33 (May 16, 2020)

He’s really cute btw!! 🙂


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

I have a little concern, nothing serious. His dorsal fin looks a little ragged its been like that since I got him so its not from me, do you think it could be fin biting, maybe from the stress of the store?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Sometimes Betta have reduced webbing between rays. Does it look like that or actual biting? Usually if they bite it starts with the caudal.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Oh I just realised that I forgot to add the pics that I took oops😂
















He moves so much its hard to get a good photo.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)




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## Rana (Apr 27, 2013)

He's lovely! Bettas are usually sold around six months but can be younger, so he probably does have some growing still to do. I hope you get to enjoy his company for a long time. 


That looks like just some natural reduced webbing to me, not damage! Fin-biting damage is usually more random, bettas don't often take bites perfectly in-between the rays.

It's also possible that his fins are still growing, and the rays of his dorsal are growing faster than the webbing- if that's the case, they'll even out in length as he fills in more. But based on the appearance if his other fins that's probably less likely.


To determine if he's a "true" Halfmoon, you'll need to see him flare. If his tail makes a perfect "D" shape as it spreads apart then he's Halfmoon! If the fin spreads less than that he is a Delta, and more than that makes him an Over-Halfmoon. These tail-types are all in the same "family" since the only difference is the degree of spread, which is why they can be so hard to tell apart.

Personally, I tend to just call any of my bettas who are in that category HM's, since I am not showing or breeding them so it doesn't really matter to me.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

From your photos, he has reduced webbing. I've never had one with reduced webbing "fill" in but I guess it's possible. The last one I had I named "Spike."


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Ok thankyou!


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Im stuck between two names Cotton candy (cotton for short), and winter because of his light blue and white.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Good choices. You may have to flip a coin.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

I decided on Winter. His personality has started coming out and hes so active, whenever he sees me he races to say hi and see if I have food. 😂


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

I have another questions about him, hes colored up a lot more and has some fin tears (I think). Im doing a water change today and rearranging his tank a little bit so I will try and snap a picture.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)




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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Does anyone know?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

What I can see looks like reduced webbing; note his anal fin in the last photo. If you could get a shot of his caudal that clear it would be easier.

Betta get fin tears from everyday living. Mine are all in tanks with nothing but plants and yet they still have minor tears. As long as we do weekly maintenance to keep their water clean there should not be any issues.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Ok tomorrow I will try and take a picture with a darker background so its clearer


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I never included a photo of web reduction. So sorry. This is my "Spike." Sadly, he is no longer with us.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Wow ive never seen a betta with that colour hes so pretty!!


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Hopefully these make it easier to see I can take more pics if you like.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

fishowner550 said:


> Wow ive never seen a betta with that colour hes so pretty!!


Thank you. He was a special Betta.

Winter has both fin tears and web reduction. Is there anything in his tank on which he could have caught his fins? You can check decor using panty hose or fine mesh cloth.

The most important thing is to prevent infection. This is accomplished by keeping his water clean with one 25%-50% water changes and vacuums per week. You could also add either IAL or plain Rooibos tea for their antifungal and antibacterial properties.

Winter is turning out to be quite lovely. You made a great choice!


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

There is one thing that I was a little bit concerned for, he has a small cave thing in his tank that had a little bit of sharp edges on the inside, ive never seen him use it since I put the plants in so I assumed it would be ok. I will take it out and if it keeps happening I will go through everything in his tank.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You can file down the sharp edges if you want to continue using it.

Can you see the difference in his web reductions and tears? If not, I'll be glad to circle each for you.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

I know that everything on his dorsal fin is web reductions, but other than that I dont know.


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## granitecoast (May 24, 2020)

Those fins are amazing. It must be hypnotic to watch it swim. Where did you purchase him?


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Hes just a petstore betta but I got him from a store that only sells bettas and keeps then in ok sized containers. They get their bettas from specific breeders. He came from a store called Petvalue. Thankyou he is really pretty!


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

After about a month I noticed that the tears weren't getting better and there even were some more. I think I nailed it down to what was tear them though, on his filter there was some craft mesh to slow the flow and there were some sharp pieces. I took the craft mesh off since hes strong enough to fight and play in the current now. His new favorite thing to do is stare at me when ever i come in the room, its his way of begging for food its so cute!


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

The tears on his fins have gotten way worse and he has chunks missing now I took the cave decoration straight out and I hope that was the cause. Is it possible that he is biting his fins?


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)




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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Yep, he is also biting. 

And I forgot to say earlier, he is not "just a pet store Betta." He is a "beautiful pet store Betta!"


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Any Idea on how I can stop him from biting?


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Do you think it could be something im doing wrong? He had gorgeous fins when I got him and then everything went downhill.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Unfortunately, we don't really know why they bite their fins. Sometimes after they damage their fins they start biting. Whatever the reason I'm sure it's nothing you are doing.

FWIW, some theories are: Stress, bored, tank too open, not enough plants, too many plants, to reduce weight so they can swim better.

I only buy online and sometimes they arrive with bitten fins. I use IAL or Rooibos and SeaChem StressGuard and hope for the best. Sometimes they never bite again and sometimes they let their fins grow out and start all over again.

Can you post a photo of his tank? Is it open or bright?


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

I have API stress coat that ive been adding every week or so, I dont know if thats the same thing or not. Today after I figured out that he was biting I watched him for a while and noticed that when he went up against the heater his fins were in a place where he could see them and thats when he would chase them. I will post some pictures in a minute.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

The empty space at the bottom was where the cave decor was.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Its been a few days any input?


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

I don’t know what to say about the fin biting but your tank looks great! You’ve got lots of tall plants it looks thick in there and wonderful. He has his resting places and shade so maybe he is just bored? Perhaps you could take a plant out and rearrange the tank a little so it’s just a bit different? Give him a reason to re explore his tank and occupy him so he doesn’t think about his fins? I’m really just throwing stuff out there I haven’t had a betta fin bite yet but I hope you find something that helps 💜


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

If you had a square tank I’d tell you to turn the heater on his side so it was horizontal instead, that way he would have to swim around if differently and just maybe he won’t see his tail fin in that position lol but with your pillar shaped tank that’s a moot point 🤔 I can’t think of any way to block the heater off from him. I will brainstorm about it though. If I think of anything I’ll let cha know.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Thanks for the advice! Whenever I do big water changes where I take the decor out I rearrange it slightly. I think I may know what is causing it though, I recently took the filter baffle off and thats around the time he started biting, I hope that once he adjusts to that he will be fine.


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Ah! You’re probably right. You know Winter’s quirks better than anyone. I had a similar situation with removed decor. (Fin damage) It turned out fine too 👍🏻


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## LadybugGirl7 (Jul 24, 2020)

I got a delta tail a one time from a pet store that kept their bettas in tiny little bowls. I woke up the next morning after he spent a night in his new 5 gallon tank and he had completely chewed off his whole tail but was swimming around like the happiest fish ever. I didn't ever see his tail again but he lived until old age took him so I think he was happier without his tail really.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Today was water change day, I was planning on snapping some more pics when I was doing his tank but the filter on my ten gallon quit out and I spent awhile trying to figure that out that I never got around to it. Its still not working 😢


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Update! His fins are doing wonderful and hes let them grow back a little bit with the odd bite. Im going to get him the 5.5 gallon ive been want on tuesday or wednesday, its not going to be a planted tank thought I may add a few plants as I go along. Sadly I wont be able to post pictures for a little while (Something wonky is going on with my email) but as soon as I can I will post all the pics of his progress!


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

I just got his new tank today! It was the last one im going to do a leak test overnight. I bought about 65 dollars of new (Silk) plants and a big rock hide, I hope he likes it🤞


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Also I have a question, Do you think I would be able to get some duckweed from a local pond, I would do a few of the bleach dips that @RussellTheShihTzu recommended a while back.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

I think tomorrow I will get some from a local pond and keep in a container, I dont want to put it in my tank without a second opinion. 

When I put him in his new tank he just went around doing his little version of a flare, lol. Hes getting kind of chunky im going to fast him for a few days.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I hate Duckweed. It is insidious and will get in everything (including filters) if you don't stay on top of it.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Its been awhile since I updated about his fins so I thought I would show his progress. 


July 24:










Today:


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Also here is his new tank (a 5.5 gallon) its been rearranged a bit and a betta log was added since I took this pic.










And some pics of his new bubble nests🥰


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Wow! It looks fantastic! Love the new tank set up. Although your other tank was pretty cool too! His tail looks great! He even got his red coloring back 💜


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

I was using his old tank for a fry that I have until the fry is big enough to go in my ten gallon, but yesterday I realized it had a big crack in the back (It wasnt leaking yet but I dont want to risk it).


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## The Outlaw (Sep 11, 2020)

It looks great, man. And your betta is awesome. That color scheme is a really rare find. I've only seen a handful at most and was lucky enough to have one myself. I simply called him 'The Patriot.'


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## AndreaPond (May 2, 2020)

Wow, that's a lot of recovery! Great!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Looks great! Congratulations on figuring out how to help him.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

Honestly I think it was the filter in his old tank. His new tank has a waterfall filter and I think that helped a lot, hes even started flaring at fish kept in a temporary tank beside his. Im going to try and get my hands on one of those floating betta mirrors to see if I can get some flaring pics!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You can use a mirror on the outside of his tank. They'll also often flare at a pen moved across the outside of the glass.


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## fishowner550 (Mar 26, 2020)

I will try that but for now I think I will hold off. He has always bitten himself a little, even in recovery but right now I noticed that there were a few larger and more bites than normal. I will keep an eye on him and update in a week or so.


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## Katlyn Josephine (Feb 3, 2015)

fishowner550 said:


> I decided on Winter. His personality has started coming out and hes so active, whenever he sees me he races to say hi and see if I have food. 😂


Nice name, he is cute


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