# King Bettas/Giant Bettas



## Alphahelix (Dec 7, 2013)

I see "king Bettas" sometimes in my local petco, are they the same as the giants? They are much larger and have smaller fins

Also do giants require more space? I have an empty 20 gallon I'm deciding how to use/divide up and usually keep my fish in a minimum of 5 gallons.

Do giants come in different fun types?

I'd really love to buy a dragon colored giant- anybody know of good breeders?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

King Betta's are Half Giant's usually. True Giants are 5-7cm in length. The King's you see are basically just large Plakat's (short fins) and most of the time they're just the regular wild type coloration, although some times you come across different ones but it's rare at PetCo's. If you want cool Giants and aren't afraid to spend a bit of money, look on AquaBid for Giant's and you'll see much larger selection. 

This boy is a Giant, see they show the measurements as well. I would be wary if they didn't show the fish against a ruler, sometimes they try to sell them as Giant's when they really aren't or they just mean Giant finnage or something. They aren't always the best as communications lol
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1388617137

Another:
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1388617230

Here's a girl:
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1388617300

And these are the colors you'll generally find at PetCo
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1388617369


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## Alphahelix (Dec 7, 2013)

Awesome, I would like a true giant if I can find one reasonably priced

Any giant breeders members of this forum?


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

Giant/king same thing no such thing as a "half giant" it either has giant DNA or it doesn't, logisticsguy is working on breeding them but is in canada so shipping could be a hassle, you can try aquabid but again most are in thailand so shipping is a hassle, there is http://www.mnbettashop.com/giant-bettas they are in the states but import form thailand so less less of a hassle for you no transhipper involved, I got 3 of my giants off of ebay from aquaworld68 he imports them from thailand too, I bought 2 from him and he sent me a free one, if you wait long enough petco has some beauties now and then I have 3 from petco and they all are nice


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I got my King Charles (aka Charlie) from PetCo. he was a rare find I believe. He's a marble too. I picked him up because he was different, I must have just come in after their shipment.
He originally looked like this:


And marbled out to this, he's still darkening up though. Funny since now he looks like their normal King's, the sole reason I didn't pick up the other ones lol but I'm glad I bought him.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Stone said:


> Giant/king same thing no such thing as a "half giant" it either has giant DNA or it doesn't,



<----- Giant Betta @ 2.2 inches BO

Stone has the most accurate assessment of giant Betta. Each breeder is trying his best to breed the largest fish they can. Or, having achieved a satisfactory size, are back-crossing to get a better variety of color and fin-type. 

On AB, anything approaching 2 inches (5cm) body-only length is labeled giant.

"King" is Petco copyright terminology for giant Betta.


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## JustinieBeanie (Apr 22, 2013)

Mnbettashop.com has giants for sale!


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

http://www.mnbettashop.com/giant-bettas yes they have giants for sale they get a shipment every 2 weeks, they have some real sweet ones now and then


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## Polkadot (Feb 10, 2013)

hmmmmm,looking at those measurements my beautiful boy Mako would be classed as a Giant Betta,I just thought he was a big Plakat,but he is 6cm long body only.:mrgreen:


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## Alphahelix (Dec 7, 2013)

Awesome guys, thank you! I'm definately going to keep my eyes out and probably wait till it warms up in the spring to order (winter shipping is a must and killer on the bank)


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I noticed the Betta Shop is selling fighter bettas so that means they are selling bettas bred to fight to people who intend to fight them?


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## Jinyi (Dec 28, 2013)

wow Charlie's colors turned out quite cool! like war paint


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

I have no clue I would guess most likely it is just a name for a coloration or pattren, or maybe its the smaller fin type hard to say so many terms get thrown around these days


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I know in some countries they are soley known as Fighting fish, not because they fight them, but that's just what they call them. I think it's in Germany they're known as Rumble Fish ^_^ I thought that name was pretty neat! But yeah, most likely they're just a name, not actually meant to fight but I guess we never quite know. I suppose you could email them and ask ^_^

And thanks! Yeah Charlie is still coloring up too, I think his face will fill in eventually as well lol


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## Alphahelix (Dec 7, 2013)

I have seen several sites about fighting Bettas- they are definitely still fought and done so "humanely" (don't ask me I don't agree) so I assumed those were actual fighting fish.


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## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

jadaBlu said:


> I noticed the Betta Shop is selling fighter bettas so that means they are selling bettas bred to fight to people who intend to fight them?


Yes they are sold to people that intend to fight them. Betta Shop does have a solid source for good quality giants from Thailand.



Alphahelix said:


> I have seen several sites about fighting Bettas- they are definitely still fought and done so "humanely" (don't ask me I don't agree) so I assumed those were actual fighting fish.


There is no real way to fight them humanely. The training methods for fighters are almost as bad as the fighting itself.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I think some people call them fighters, like they're called Siamese fighting fish.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Pit bulldogs are sold as pets and never fought.


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## jadaBlu (Feb 14, 2013)

I found a site that describes the practice of fighting and breeding them for fighting at least in some Asian countries I don't know about elsewhere. If you google countries where bettas are fought you will find it. Plakats are preferred There are are not any graphic picture of fighting but pictures of containers they are kept in and details of how they "train" them. I will check with mods to see if it's ok to post it on a fresh post as I don't want hijack this one. I guess I'd question ethics in who I buy from if they are selling for fighting. Furthermore, if the fish are bred to be more aggressive they might no be good for a divided tank or for breeding with your average fish. The fish might end up dead.


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