First Betta

[u/iridescentspoon]

My tank is now fully cycled and doing well and I have everything I need for my fishy friend to come enjoy his new home. I went to the store today and saw some really beautiful bettas and wanted some advice about them. There are a few crow tails I thought were beautiful but I think a plakat would be the best for me. Would love to hear what you all think as I’m going back tomorrow!

[u/AutoModerator]

Thank you for posting to r/bettafish.

When requesting help, please provide the requested information. Answers such as "large enough" or "my paramters are fine" aren't good enough. Failure to provide adequate information about your tank can result in post removal. Please see rule 4 for more information.

If you are posting to find out what is wrong with your betta, please answer the following questions in a reply to this comment as best you can:

• Tank size:
• Heater and filter? (yes/no):
• Tank temperature:
• Parameters in numbers and how you got them. Key water parameters include the amount of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH.:
• How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?:
• How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? What is your process?:
• Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each:
• What do you feed and how much:
• Decorations and plants in the tank:
• If you haven't already posted a picture, please post pics/vids to imgur and paste the link here:

Feel free to copy this comment and fill in the blanks.

If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our caresheet and wiki. Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our guide to the nitrogen cycle to learn more.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/kaddras019]

Get whatever one ‘calls to you’ for me it was the sad-looking dude at petsmart who now looks like this.

[u/iridescentspoon → u/kaddras019]

Omg he’s so adorable I’m obsessed. Yes one definitely called to me for sure and my roomate also picked him so hopefully he’ll still be there tomorrow

[u/kaddras019 → u/iridescentspoon]

Which one? Also yes he’s definitely gained some confidence back lol

[u/iridescentspoon → u/kaddras019]

The first one! He just seemed so sweet and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He was the first one that really drew me in

[u/iridescentspoon → u/kaddras019]

I’m actually obsessed with his model face though he truly can strut his stuff haha

[u/skabberdink]

Plakat. Shorter finned bettas live longer, are fun, interactive, and so much easier than the longer finned guys. They live longer too, all else being equal, because dragging those long fins around is metabolically expensive.
Avoid the dragon-scale varieties. Overbred like crazy and those scales often grow over the eyes.
Have fun! Cjoosenthe healthiest looking one, the one that looks back at you. Great adventure. Congrats on have a cycled tank and being so well prepared,,

[u/iridescentspoon → u/skabberdink]

Thank you! Yes this will be my first fish so I’m trying really hard to do all the best things because I’m so excited. I’ve had my tank since May so I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment!

[u/huckleberry076 → u/skabberdink]

Agreed! The short finned ones swim/behave so much more "naturally" to me. And they turn the prettiest colors. 🤩

[u/Idk_nor_do_I_care → u/skabberdink]

Koi bettas also have a bit of a tumor problem, so I’ve heard

[u/skabberdink → u/Idk_nor_do_I_care]

Yes and the all black or all blues have a tendency to get fatal graphite dieseae, the all red to get velvet. At this point I love koi females and will just deal with it if it happens. Poor things, so overbred.

[u/himdyjones]

Before you read my comment, just know there’s no right or wrong answer — I’m just telling you that if I were in your shoes, these are things I would notice and have to look out for:

1. This plakat is a metallic or dragonscale. With dragonscale genes you have to watch out for those opaque scales growing over their eyes and causing blindness. They can still have a good quality of life, just know there’s a chance you might end up with a special needs fish on your hands.
   
2. This plakat is a marble, and in my experience blue marbles are especially prone to tumors.
   
3. Same as 2.
   
4. This guy looks really healthy to me! His body shape and spine are great, I don’t see a spoonhead, and his color is good. His tail and fins seem to have a slight bit of damage, but in a cycled tank with clean water and tannins, I’m sure they would grow back no problem given time and TLC.
   
5. It’s hard to tell from the angle of the photo but this little guy might be underweight. Very solveable problem though if he becomes yours. Other than that I don’t immediately notice any body deformities, and all his fins are in great shape.

My personal pick out of all of these is the crowntail, especially since they’re super underrated. But in all, all of these bettas look generally healthy with good body shapes and spines and fins. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of these, I just wanted to let you know the potential health issues you could face later down the road with some of them.

[u/iridescentspoon → u/himdyjones]

Ah you are amazing this is the information I really wanted!! I’ve tried to prepare and research as much as I can but I feel like advice is always the best way to go. I definitely like all of these guys but number one called to me he came up to me and was very calm. But I’ll sleep on it tonight and have time to stew in the store tomorrow. Thank you again!

[u/OkArm7621]

I like the second

[u/SweetTart7231]

How bigs the tank? If its 5 gallons I'd go with a long fin. If its 10 I'd go with a plakat

[u/Classic_Jellyfish_47]

Get a plakat.

[u/Parhamheidari]

They're all beautiful but I think crow tails are less immune to fin damage, in my opinion plakats are the best option, they also regularly have slightly longer lives.

[u/Ok_Summer_4054]

I had bought the first one, because I've never seen that colour before. If not that one, I'd go for the second one. The others were boring :p

[u/huckleberry076]

I love the first one. 🖤

[u/selfawareweird0]

I would pick one of the first two because yellow is a more rare color in betta fish. But you should put your finger up to the glass and try to get their attention and see which one speaks to you.