# Giant Bettas



## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

I am looking for a breeder/seller of Giant Bettas (preferably in the US) who has a good reputation for healthy Giant Bettas. I have been a Betta owner for over 5 years now. I currently own 4 beautiful Male Bettas King, Samurai, Cota and Ninja and am looking for a big brother/sister for them. Can anyone help me out?


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## chocolateturtle (Dec 31, 2015)

Would you consider looking at your local Petco to see if they carry any? Lots of them need home : Petco does sell giants, they're labeled as "halfmoon kings", and kings are labeled as it is "king".


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## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

There are not a lot of giant specific breeders in the USA. For the most part they are imported. I am in Canada with no ability to USA ship which is really frustrating. You may look at a breeder named Kacey Clark in the USA she often has giants.


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

Chocolate Turtle, I see that you own some King's yourself, did you purchase them from petco? If so, how big are they? I want to have a marquee tank with one giant in it, which is my main reason for wanting a Giant Betta. Their size is what makes them beautiful and rare in my eyes


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## chocolateturtle (Dec 31, 2015)

adelpino4 said:


> Chocolate Turtle, I see that you own some King's yourself, did you purchase them from petco? If so, how big are they? I want to have a marquee tank with one giant in it, which is my main reason for wanting a Giant Betta. Their size is what makes them beautiful and rare in my eyes


Yes, they all came from Petco, I have 2 regular kings, 1 halfmoon king (giant) that I'm fostering/maybe adopting. I just want to clarify that Petco does sell giants, and they are labeled as halfmoon kings and priced higher at 19.99 as opposed to 11.99 for a regular king. 

So the 2 regular kings are about 1/2-3/4 the size of a halfmoon king. The halfmoon king is definitely a giant and larger than the the two kings I have, I would say the halfmoon king is a good 3 inches, and a thicker body as well. 

Good reference of body size of a giant:

















You can see a picture of a regular king in my profile/album of Sushi. Hope this helps.


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

Thank you chocolateturtle, I'll have to pay a visit to my local Petco soon and hope they have some in stock. I have been inquiring with overseas vendors but the shipping costs is outrageous.


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## chocolateturtle (Dec 31, 2015)

You're welcome! Keep us updated on what you find, this person found a halfmoon king recently from her local Petco. He's massive as well as you can see his size in a 10G tank. 

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=648369


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

Wow! you weren't kidding he's huge! Definitely making my way to petco soon. I'll update you with what I find


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## Strawberry12 (Mar 6, 2015)

I think it depends on your Petco, any of the "kings" or "halfmoon kings" i've seen at my petco are just dense fish, but not necessarily "giant" status. It's a bit disappointing, really. 

Looking Glass Bettas in California is a giants breeder!


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

Strawberry12 Do you happen to know how to get ahold of them? I tried googling the name and nothing came up


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

I will be spawning giants in about a month, it will take a month or so after that to get them ready for homes. 
I live in Colorado.
This is my male Vincent








And this is his potential mate, she will get here early next week, both came from the.same breeder in Thailand









Pm me if you are interested.


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## chocolateturtle (Dec 31, 2015)

How are they just "dense" fish? Are giants not dense as well? The giant betta that bettastarter24 has is the same size as the one her roommate has from Petco.


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

I didn't get the "just dense" reference either. Maybe she means they are half giants, which tend to have the same body.And head style as most giants? Their heads do tend to be more blunt and they are less torpedo shaped than small bettas.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Hey, Witchipoo? What are you looking to get on your spawn? Totally hijacking the thread here but I'm curious. What will DS x Platinum White produce? Also, is it true that a fish needs to be 4 inches or more to be considered a true giant? Can 3-inch fishies count?


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

My King from Petco is turquoise and I'd say he is about 4.5 inches.


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

JadaBlu do you have any pics of your King


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Not on this computer.


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

This is my giant, Zuri, he's 4 months old and is about 3-3.5 inches.


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

Oh ok. If you get one i'd love to see it. Ive never seen a Betta that big


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

Thats a great looking Giant. Can't wait until I have one of my own


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

Vincent is just shy.of 4 inches sans tail length at about 17 weeks.
He will not let me get a decent picture, the minute I put a camera any where near the glass he hides like this,


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

The first picture you posted of him does him justice. Can't wait to see how big his spawn will be


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## Strawberry12 (Mar 6, 2015)

chocolateturtle said:


> How are they just "dense" fish? Are giants not dense as well? The giant betta that bettastarter24 has is the same size as the one her roommate has from Petco.


What I mean is, at my petco, the "kings" and "halfmoon kings" are the length of regular plakats, but have a thick "dense" body. Their length would not qualify them as giants.


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## chocolateturtle (Dec 31, 2015)

Strawberry12 said:


> What I mean is, at my petco, the "kings" and "halfmoon kings" are the length of regular plakats, but have a thick "dense" body. Their length would not qualify them as giants.


My petco had Halfmoon kings that were definitely 3 inches +, the one I have is 3.5-4 inches, and another girl's halfmoon is at least 4 inches in length. Plakats length are definitely smaller at 2-2.5 inches, you can't compare a halfmoon king to that. I think you have to visit these set of fishes yourself to determine this, the regular kings though are definitely under 3 inches.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

Actually I checked my King "Andre" is 3.5 inches. I was guessing before.


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

You have to consider age of the fish too, if they are 2 1/2 or 3 inches at 3 months old or so they could very well get over 4 inches/ with the right conditions, by the time they're 6 or 7 months old. 
Sitting in little cups for any length of time is going to trigger the stunting hormone ad they'll likely not reach full potential.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

My King is not likely to grow anymore he was in bad conditions when I got him. He was big when I got him. I wish I could have got his likely brothers.


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

I finally received my Giant. More pictures are in the picture thread under "Meet Emperot My Giant Marble Betta"


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Just so we're on the same page here. Betta are measured from nose to peduncle, where the tail starts. That's so long fins can be fairly compared to short-fins.

Betta with giant genetics are "giants" regardless of size. Thai breeders sell giants at just over 2-inches; they won't grow to 3-in. If the parents were giants, the issue are giants. There are no "half-giants." No breeder would go through the trouble of breeding giants with standards anymore. When giants first started, they were long, fat, sausage-looking things. They were back-bred with standards for color, form, and style. They don't do that much anymore.

"King" is merely Petco's brand name for their giant Betta. The "dense" fish of large but normal lengths they may sell as giants or Kings, are probably the culls of plakats bred for fighting. They certainly match that description. Although I've never seen one at my Petco.

Careful post-partum rearing is required to get large giants. As Witchipoo says, stunting pheromone (hormones are interior, not exuded) is more of a factor with giants than with standards because of the ultimate goal of size. Giants (any Betta) cupped too early will not achieve maximum growth. Water quality and parameters (including nutrients and antisepsis), and feeding, are also more critical.

All this information is on breeders' websites and in discussions among breeders on this forum. Logisticsguy's Giant Betta journal is a wealth of information.

Breeding a colorful well-formed male, like Witchipoo has, with a well-formed but relatively colorless female encourages the male's color in the offspring. I, for one, can't wait to see Vincent's fry.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Speaking of water quality for giants: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/betta-fish-care/water-hardness-ph-info-655874/


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Because this thread is no longer about buying a Giant I'm moving it to the appropriate section.


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

Hallyx said:


> Speaking of water quality for giants: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/betta-fish-care/water-hardness-ph-info-655874/


Thank you so much for that link, I had been looking for a water parameter guideline and was coming up empty. That's really helpful.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

That's really pretty basic stuff. It gets a lot more complicated. Check in at Oscarfish for more depth.

Also, check with logisticsguy about the use of salt and the inclusion of spirolina and other dietary supplements. He's had greatly improved yield among his giants since he got onto that.


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## Witchipoo (Dec 13, 2015)

I 've been reading his journal. Haven't gotten that far yet.


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)

Happy to say that Emperor has settled in just fine and built his first bubble nest in his first week!


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## adelpino4 (Jan 28, 2016)




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## SydneyA (Jan 17, 2016)

chocolateturtle said:


> You're welcome! Keep us updated on what you find, this person found a halfmoon king recently from her local Petco. He's massive as well as you can see his size in a 10G tank.
> 
> http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=648369


That's my big boy! I love his personality. I may have found a solid purple giant locally. I'm waiting to see if he's still available.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

SydneyA said:


> That's my big boy! I love his personality. I may have found a solid purple giant locally. I'm waiting to see if he's still available.


I am interested to know if you find a purple one.


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