# Dumbo Bettas?



## JaydeDancer (Feb 27, 2016)

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any information on the dumbo bettas that I have been seeing recently at Petco and Petsmart?

They are soooo pretty! But I had never seen a betta sub-species like the dumbo until last year. Are they relatively new? They weren't listed in the betta identification thread that I saw. Are they healthy or are they the result of unhealthy breeding practices?

I would love to have one eventually, but I don't know much about them.

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

I own a dumbo aka ee aka elephant ear betta that I got from petco in Nov 2014.
They aren't really a sub species. Elepahtn ear, cornw tail, veil tail, plakat, halfmoon, double tail, rosetail, etc are ALL betta splendens.... its like different coloration/fur lengths of dachshund, but its still the same breed not a sub breed.
Healthy issues vary depending on breeder and store care of fish, elephant ears are not more prone to genetic defects/health issues over other betta splendens as far as I've seen. There's no extra care involved with keeping an ee compared to other betas, but with all bettas you should be mindful of rough decor/hardscape/equipment as all betta fins are very delicate and easily ripped on rough surfaces/edges.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

I don't know where you got your info fanatic but there are a lot of parts that are just *wrong *in there.
Bettas should be kept in warmer waters than 72. Bettas are tropical fish not subtropical. 78-82F is much better temp range.
Availability is not seasonal for betta splendens but dependent on breeders who supply the fish. Bettas can be bred year round its just a matter of what a seller has in stock to give to petoc/mart. And there are available year around at those stores
Females can be just as mean as males gender does not dictate temperament.
1 quart is 0.25 gals and cruel to keep a pet betta in, there's no room for any proepr equipment or decor in something so small and no swim room for a fish.. its like sticking a kid in a small dog kennel it can barely turn around in!
Freeze dried foods are strongly advised against for bettas as they swell in the stomach and can lead to bloating-bad for the fish. if you insist on using freeze dried foods soak them in some ta water in a cup/bowl for a minute+ before feeding. However a higher quality betta pellet such as New Life Spectrum or Omege One Betta Buffet would be a better route to go.
"communit-Gourami".. no.. Bettas are Andantiods (labyrinth fish-can breath air) which is the same family as gourami but not in the gourami family (ts like saying a cat is in the horse family because they're both terrestrial mammals).
"Compatibility"..That's just vague or wrong.. If you keep more than 1 female betta splenden you need a minimum 10g and 5 girls, ideally 20g or larger tank, more girls don't hurt in a larger tank though, and EXTREMELY DENSELY PLANTED/DECORATED to reduce aggression by giving a LOT of line of sight break up. Not going to get into keeping bettas with other fish..someone else can cover that.. but not all betas tolerate tank mates and are best kept alone.
There is a huge argument n tank size but 1g is too small. After substrate, decor, heater, and filter there is no room left. 2.5 is the commonly recommended minimum tank size.


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## JaydeDancer (Feb 27, 2016)

Aqua Aurora said:


> I don't know where you got your info fanatic but there are a lot of parts that are just *wrong *in there.


I was also concerned about that information. +1 quart for water amount?? 

I'm glad someone else caught that. Please tell me if you got that from the Petsmart website so that I can write to them and complain.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Aqua, Fanatic took that from PetSmart's website.

@Fanatic - Don't trust the petstores. yes, they're petstores, bu that doesn't mean they have an education on every species of animal they have in their stores.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Naw dumbos (Elephant Ear aka EE, or big ears) aren't new. Neither are they a subspecies. Just one bred for large pectorals. Somehow they're not very common in PetSmart but they're definitely not rare. My Petco has a couple, and my LFS has an entire spawn up for sale ATM. Personally I don't really like how they look, but people go crazy for them


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

No she didn't misread. The ideal range is 78-82.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

ThatFishThough said:


> Aqua, Fanatic took that from PetSmart's website.


Yikes. Yeah don't trust anything from those chain store's sites on care info. They don't know [censor].




Fanatic said:


> Aqua, I believe you misread my post the temperature for betas is Water temperature: 72-82° F. Read that, from 72 to 82, so it has to be in that range


72-77F is in the ideal reange for bettas, 78-82 *is*. 70-77F is typical subtropical fish temps like otos and some cory (a few like Sterabi can tolerate warmer temps into the 80s). Tropical fish like bettas and plecos need 78-82. You should stop looking at petsmart/co for fish info, they are pretty much never right.


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

72 degrees is too cold for bettas, it's not necessarily going to hurt them but they won't be happy. 

I have two elephant ear/dumbos. No special care needed really. The pecs may get too heavy for the fish but I've only seen that once. One of mine is special needs, but not because of the fins, he's blind from being in a *Petsmart* with no water changes for a month and a half.


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## Nova betta (Dec 5, 2014)

It would be ok I guess but not what I would recommend. I would order a hydor 25 watt adjustable heater online for about 15$.


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## Nova betta (Dec 5, 2014)

yeah you can go with 5 watts per gallon. But in my experience 10 watts per gallon works better. You need an adjustable heater because if your fish gets sick some diseases require for treatment that you raise the temperature to 85F


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I have two EE and love both of them. Mine don't any any problems swimming and are two of my favorites....next to the other six. ;-)

As a note: Please cease posting information copied from PetSmart. That information is wildly inaccurate no matter the species. The best information can be found on www.bettafish.com or its parent site, www.tropicalfishkeeping.com.


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## Nova betta (Dec 5, 2014)

And I also need to add EE are by far my favorite. I think they are adorable!


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## JaydeDancer (Feb 27, 2016)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> As a note: Please cease posting information copied from PetSmart. That information is wildly inaccurate no matter the species. The best information can be found on www.bettafish.com or its parent site, www.tropicalfishkeeping.com.


Perhaps a sticky of this at the top of the forum is in order?

And wow! 8?? I think 8 bettas would be difficult since you would need a lot of tanks and space to care for them. (Assuming they are all male and you don't have a sorority.)


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

Fanatic said:


> Well I researched that 5 watts per gallon is enough


I use hydor theo 25w adjustable heaters almost exclusively in my tanks. I love them.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

JaydeDancer said:


> Perhaps a sticky of this at the top of the forum is in order?
> 
> And wow! 8?? I think 8 bettas would be difficult since you would need a lot of tanks and space to care for them. (Assuming they are all male and you don't have a sorority.)


There is a sticky; it is in the Betta Care Section. There is a link to it one the Betta Fish and Betta Fish Care home page with a light bulb next to it.

BETTA BASICS - Introduction to Bettafish Care

I have heavily planted tanks and those are much easier to maintain. I have four 5.5, one eight, a divided 10 with two males and a 20 long with Minerva, my only females. Below are two of the 5.5 after I stripped all of the plants except the rooted ones and below that is Hobbs in half of his his planted 5.5.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Every person has different limits I suppose. I tip my hat off to BettaStarter24 who keeps eleven while also being a student living in a dorm. I would never, ever, EVER be able to manage that. I have four permanent tanks and four more tiny (1.5g) foster tanks. With that small of a container I vacuum every day, and if that's not possible due to crazy schedule then it's 50% every other day. My permanent tanks are 5.5, 5, 3.3 and 2.6 - which means they're also nano. I do 25% three times a week on the smaller ones and 10-20% twice a week for the slightly larger ones. I don't find it overwhelming at all, but I also know I'm at maximum capacity. At one point I had 11 in the house. I swear I'm going crazy

As far as heaters go, I don't really care about the watts per gal rule. Room temp and whether or not the heater is adjustable is more important to me. Translation: 25w adjustable will work a lot better in a 2.5 compared to a 12.5 always-on in the same tank size even if it follows the 5w x 2.5g rule. With the always-on design, if your room temp swings, tank temp swings too.


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

lol thanks Olivia. 11-12 is my limit though. On top of my 11, I'm caring for my mom's at home. I do have to say though, it can get quite stressful at times but just keep your numbers to the point where you feel you can still adequately care for the fish. I dedicate wednesdays and thursdays generally for fish cleaning when I'm not in class or work. All are being done tomorrow after class.


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## SydneyA (Jan 17, 2016)

On the subject of dumbo, I have 2 and I have found them to be quite hardy. Mine were both in fights (they do seem very meek) by accident when I was using a poorly fitting divider. One was really beat up, lost everything but his dumbo fins and quickly Developed Popeye and fin infection in a matter of a day. All he could do was lay on an IAL in a hospital tank of paraguard. I was sure I would lose him and now he's fully finned and happy as a clam. I also tossed the divider 

As for multiple tanks I have quite a few and the larger ones get water changes on Saturdays and I do smaller tanks twice a week, always depending on water conditions. Saturday I end up doing them all and algae scraping etc. However I own a good sized house, not an apartment or dorm. That said, I'm exhausted Saturday afternoon, lol.


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