# Giant/King bettas, anyone?



## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

I know there are a lot of members here that have giant or king bettas. I got one of my own about a week ago. He's a teal and black plakat male named Spica. (Get it? Spica is the name of a blue giant star. ) Unfortunately, I don't have any good photos of him.

I'm especially interested in seeing halfmoon king bettas. The Petco that I got Spica from had a beautiful male halfmoon king today. He was bright blue with a white "butterfly" marking on his tail. He looked like a 4" long HMPK. I would have bought him, but he cost $30, and I can't stomach spending that much on a pet store fish.  They did have him in a 5 gallon tank to himself in a secluded part of the fish section, which I thought was nice. 

Anyway, I'd love to see your giant bettas.


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## bettafishfinnatic (Mar 18, 2012)

i have a super male delta named starky


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## Enkil (Jan 15, 2012)

I have Uther. He's a HMPK giant. Black with yellow marbled onto his face and beard.


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## copperarabian (Apr 27, 2011)

My first betta was a HM king. I really want another but I have no where to put one


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

You're looking at him


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Meant to add this to the post above


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Here's my giant HMPK marble pair. Male lives in the barracks while his missus lives in the sorority.


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## Batmantha (May 27, 2012)

<--- avatar

Phantom or Phanta for short


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## fleetfish (Jun 29, 2010)

Well, I do have my CT girl, Brunhilda. 
She wasn't labelled a giant, but she sure is huge.


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

My old Sookie (may she rest in peace) was a giant.


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## tunkisCR (Jun 24, 2012)

This is Pipo my Giant Solid Blue Veiltail who I rescued from my cousin! He is currently in a 1 gallon tank because his 5 gal in under remodelation!


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## Whittni (Jun 21, 2012)

Cool fish people, I've only got a small veintail but I really like him


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## FrostSinth (Apr 26, 2012)

How big does a betta have to be to be considered a king?


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## Bethydan (Mar 22, 2012)

Who even knows what a "King" is?  I don't know if anybody has figured that mystery out. I don't believe Petco has ever explained the origins of their King bettas. I've never heard of a specific size mentioned as being a King size. Just that they're obviously larger than the average betta, but smaller than a Giant (Which is a separate species I think? :-?), and I've only ever seen plakat Kings.


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## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

It's not quite known what king bettas are. It's thought by some that king bettas are a hybrid of giant bettas (_Betta anabatoides_) and regular bettas (_Betta splendens_). True giant bettas are very large, measuring about 4-6 inches (although I have read that some have gotten as large as 8"). King bettas look like a regular betta, but they do have some characteristics of the giant betta. They grow to about 2.5-4". For reference, a regular betta will grow to about 2" max.


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## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

Beautiful colors !!!


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Here we go again!

1) "King" is a Petco marketing term indicating their line of larger-than-standard sized Betta. I have only seen Plakats. Other tail types are extremely rare and not likely to show up at Petco

2) Giants are B. splendens. Most other large wild Betta are mouthbrooders and cannot be crossed with B. splendens.

3) There is a genetic component to giantism (recessive). Absolute size is, therefore not the sole determinant. It is conceivable that you may see a genetic giant smaller than a large regular Betta.

4) The IBC (International Betta Congress) and most breeders measure their fish from nose to caudal peduncle (the start of the tail) not to the end of the tail. To avoid confusion, they sometimes say "BO"---Body Only. I have a 4 inch VT, but his body is two inches long. He's a fair-size fish but no giant.

Here's an article by a master breeder and member of this forum. Its status as a sticky testifies to its acceptance and agreement of other breeders and members.
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/breeding-betta-fish/king-giant-bettas-99066/

There's a lot of information about giant Betta online. Need I say more?


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## FishyFishy89 (Jul 3, 2011)

I has a tiny spunky CT
But his attitude is larger than any king or giant xD


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Yeah I own several wild mouthbrooding bettas and I can't see how they would hybridise with splendens. Completely different method of hatching the eggs and raising the fry. 

I do have some _big_ females but when my giants are side-by-side with them you can see the obvious difference in size. Plus I've found the proportions of giant bettas is different. It's not just an age/growth thing the whole body and everything else is bigger.


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