Rosetail Betta Problems | What you should know about them and Feather Tail Betta fish for sale

What do Rosetail and Feather Tail Betta fish need?

Aquarists who use inline breeding to make beautiful fish for beauty and profit will continue to change the color and shape of Bettas. Check out the Koi Betta, the latest trend in Betta fish for sale, to see what I mean. At any rate, the Rosetail Betta and the Feather Tail Betta are two types of fish that have to carry around extra weight. Both of these Siamese fighting fish are actually Halfmoon Bettas, but they have been line bred to have more branches on their fin rays, especially on the caudal fin. This is what makes this fish so beautiful, with its fins that look like roses or, in extreme cases, like feathers because of how much they branch out.

So, why are Rosetail and Feather Tail Betta fish such a big deal?

Well, Mari at Aquariadise.com says that she wrote an interesting article called Rosetail Betta - the downside of beauty about these two types of Betta fish. She makes a really good point when she says that their condition changes once these fish grow up and become adults, which means they get bigger and heavier. "Rosetail Problems" is the name for this condition. You can read a small piece of her original article and then go to her site by clicking on the link. Rosetails and Feather Tail Bettas have a hard time because they have to carry around this extra weight and have big fins. So, they swim less and are found to be sluggish and rest a lot instead of swimming actively. Mari also talks about broken fins, tail biting, and dying too soon. This is pretty sad, to say the least. Read on to find out what she thought about this. Rosetail Bettas for sale and Feather Tail Bettas for sale are definitely tempting to buy. In fact, they are very popular.

Why should you stay away from this type of tail?

I wouldn't buy rosetail or feather tail Bettas, as I've said before. This is especially true for the extreme ones. Most of the time, the fish you see in pictures and videos are still young and healthy. Their fins aren't fully grown, and they don't have any of the typical "rosetail-problems." After a few months, when they are fully grown and have grown accustomed to the aquarium (5 gallons or more and filtered, of course), it could be a whole different story.

Lethargy. This one can also be found in halfmoons with more extreme phases, but it is more common in rosetails and feather tails. Because their fins are so heavy, they can't swim for long periods of time. Instead, they sit on plant leaves or on the bottom of the tank for most of the day.

Fin rays were broken. The thin bones that hold the fin's web together are called "fin rays." This spreading out of the rays at the end of the fin is called branching. Normal, unless the fish are bred so that the rays spread out much more than normal. When there are too many branches, the tail gets bigger, which makes the rays have to carry more weight. When the weight of the tail gets too much for the rays to handle, the rays can break, causing the whole tail to fall off and hurting the fish. Once this happens, the beautiful rosetail or feather tail effect is usually gone, and you're left with a fish whose fins have folded in on itself and that can't swim well.

Tail biting. One thing leads to another. Many rosetail and feather tail fish cut down on the weight of their fins so they can swim more freely. At some point in their lives, bettas start biting their tails. Fin rot is more likely to happen when the fish just bites off pieces of its caudal fin. If you have a tail-biting betta, it's very important to keep the aquarium very clean!

Death too soon. Most breeders agree that a lot of rosetail and feather tail Bettas have problems with their immune systems. They are weaker than regular bettas and often the smallest of the fry. This is because everyone focuses on breeding the fish with the best finnage and ignores other problems. This can cause the fish to die sooner than it should because it is more likely to get sick.

Ignoring flaws in order to concentrate on the fins can also lead to bad form or scaling, as the video below shows. Look at how the scales aren't lined up the way they should be!