# I'm new here and here is my newest boy!



## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

Howdy! I have been raising fish my whole life. I bred Bettas, Cambodian Veiltails, back in the 70s, quite successfully for 3 generations. I also bred many others species, mostly African and South American Cichlids. 

I was given my nephew's Betta (not yet pictured) last fall and was bit by the bug again. I tried to hold myself back and did for a few months.

But I walked into a ma and pop tropical fish shop in Houston (2 hours from our farm so I try to go to the fish store when I am in the city) and found a bunch of bags hanging on hooks with Bettas in them so of course I bought one.

I saw this beautiful Crowntail mixed in with VT or whatever. He looked too special to leave behind (they are all special). He won my heart so here he is. Please critique. I am new to Crowntails, they had not appeared back when I raised Bettas in the past so I don't know too much about them. Also, he is red with a bluecast to his body. Does that make him less "valuable"...just trying to learn. Sorry about the pic quality, I was using the wrong setting on my camera. I will try again later....Diane

This is "Firebird"!


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## Alienbetta1 (May 9, 2010)

Hes nice and what size tank is he in and does he have a heater?

Sorry for the questions.


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## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

Thanks. He was a spontaneous buy so he is in a half gallon plastic goldfish type bowl with no heater. Summers here are warm, even with the central a/c on all day. It has been triple digits already every day outside and I have been using a candy thermometer to check temps and the water is 78-82 degrees in all my bowls. I keep them under lights too, reading lamps on end tables. He will eventually get his own planted aquarium. The fish store has a very nice selection of live plants. I allow the tap water to stand over night to get to the same temp as the bowls. I live in the country so we have well water that is like clean spring water. The fish do great in it. I have a 60 gallon with some large cichlids in it and they want to spawn constantly. The male Betta I already had builds bubblenest constantly and is thriving so I am thinking that my methods are fine.


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## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

I am still wondering about the blue cast to his body, as Alienbetta1 simply asked me about his living quarters, which I hope I answered adequately. I would like to know yall's opinions on this little fella, conformation wise. Or tell me where to look for info.


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## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

Another view. I was having trouble photographing him, he was very quick and nimble!


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## mysquishy (Mar 12, 2010)

He is very pretty. He looks like a bicolor or maybe tricolor. Is his body red or black? I can't tell. The blue is probably just some iridescent coloring over his other coloring. One of my boys has a bluish iridescent coloring too.


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## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

Here is a better pic of "Firebird".


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

He's a pretty fish. As far as "valuable" he isn't the best example of a crowntail IMO. His body shape is a little too narrow IMO and lacks a good arch. His rays are uneven and mixed up (meaning they branch differently).

If you google the IBC standards for Crowntails you can see what to look for in a good CT.


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## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

Thank you 1fish, that is what I want to know. He appears to be quite young "in person" although it doesn't reveal itself well in these photos. I do not know what the proper size of body is. I will check the IBC standards on the CT, as you suggested. I do not expect him to be anything overly fantastic, but I was very happy to find such a nice little Betta just hanging there in a little bag of water.

As far as my question about value, I was originally referring to color. I was wondering if a pure red Betta was more highly desired than a red Betta with the blue overtones. 

I am new to all this Betta talk and terminology so bear with me.


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## mysquishy (Mar 12, 2010)

He may not be the best CT according to the standards but I think he is really pretty.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Color is really subjective. There are color classes in shows but really you can't tell if one fish would be more valuable over another based on color.


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## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

1fish2fish said:


> Color is really subjective. There are color classes in shows but really you can't tell if one fish would be more valuable over another based on color.


1fish, could you explain further please? I was under the impression that some colors of Bettas were more rare than other colors, harder to obtain, with recessive genes and perhaps less hardiness in some cases for instance, thus making them less common and thus more valuable. That is true with many species of animals raised by man. Is it not true with Bettas?


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## FireKidomaru (Jan 24, 2010)

i love him!! im a fan of crowntails! you have a beautiful fish right there


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## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

*Like feathers*

Thank you Firekidomaru, he looks lovely when he moves, like feathers or silk. A still pic does not show how this Crowntail moves. I have never had a CT Betta before and am amazed at the grace and style. In pics they just look pointy but that is not at all how they look in person.


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## beta novice (May 9, 2010)

get a heater a bigger tank for him filter etc even if it stays that temp you need a heater blood worms for a treat and red is hard to get rid of in genes for breeding


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

this is a champion CT beta.my favorite species so far. the one i owned grew up to 4 inches before it went to fish heaven.Mine was imported from Indonesia.
btw you fish looks great =)


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## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

beta novice said:


> get a heater a bigger tank for him filter etc even if it stays that temp you need a heater blood worms for a treat and red is hard to get rid of in genes for breeding


Yes, he is getting a ten gallon with a heater. And he is already getting live mosquito larvae everyday for his live food. But I do not understand what you mean by "red is hard to get rid of in genes for breeding". Did you mean to say that the red gene was dominant?


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## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

kitten_penang said:


> this is a champion CT beta.my favorite species so far. the one i owned grew up to 4 inches before it went to fish heaven.Mine was imported from Indonesia.
> btw you fish looks great =)


kitten, he is beautiful! But the CT is just another variety, is it not, rather than another "species"? 

The fish store owner said mine was imported from Thailand to Florida and then to Houston, Texas where I found him. My guy probably has a bit of jet lag :lol:


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

thailand has beautiful bettas. these 2 country's produce some of the finest breeding stock and i agree about the spring water being good for them as the best fighters are breed and kept in pools of fresh spring water. a few years back i owned 25 bettas all males. everything from the platinum plakat, gold HM, giants,the type of CT in the above picture and a few fan tails.but i had to stop as my buisness was taking up too much of my time.i'm lucky cause in my country we don't need heaters or i'de be dead broke.


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## ThePearlFish (Mar 31, 2009)

My Spartan that has very similar colorings to yours, has a green "tint" to his black body instead of a blue one like yours. I agree he is very pretty, but I don't know about betta conformation.


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## Feral Nature (Jun 22, 2010)

My guy was just $5.99 and hanging in that plastic bag-o-water. So he is just a regular ol' Betta, nothing fancy or expensive. But he was the prettiest one, I thought. I could not leave such a spectacular fellow there with an unknown future.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Hello and welcome to the forum. I have several of mine in smaller containers too and they are just fine.  Your betta is beautiful!


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

Feral Nature said:


> kitten, he is beautiful! But the CT is just another variety, is it not, rather than another "species"?
> 
> The fish store owner said mine was imported from Thailand to Florida and then to Houston, Texas where I found him. My guy probably has a bit of jet lag :lol:



lol got the whole variety thing wrong


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## Jakr959 (Jun 15, 2010)

standerd shmanderd he is beautiful and thats all that matters. geesh, it started to sound like the AKC in here. (amercan kennel club) those guys are really stuck up! They wont let my boxer partisipate in dog shows because "she is a white boxer" and "her ears are not croped". what a bunch of balony


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## Learn To Fly (May 15, 2010)

My betta Titan had those same colors...I've seen a lot of crowntails with those colors. But it's still really pretty, even if it is common


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## TheJadeBetta (Mar 31, 2010)

He is beautiful. I had a VT just like him.


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## goldyboy (Dec 6, 2009)

He may not be fancy but you don't have to be fancy to be awesome. And awesome trumps all. 

I for one think he's a handsome boy. I hope my newest CT's fins colour up to be that crisp a red. We'll have to wait and see.


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