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i have an adolesant betta who is only an inch long no, he shouldent be that small anymore, the betta in question in Lucky lefty, his fins are growing still, but its like his body just stopped in another few weeks he will probably look like a mini viel tail betta ... any one else ever run into this oddity? he is a few months old, and i have bettas that were morn months after him that now dwarf him, he loves to flare (he goes crazy zipping all over the tank)but he realy is only one inch...

Would love to see his pic! Personally, I've never experienced this situation.... At the present time, I don't even have a betta - male or female! But once I had 12 males -- mostly juveniles when purchased (mine came from fish breeders or reputable dealers online - so I was advised of the approximate ages...)and primarily crowntails .... Can't imagine what a small bodied, long finned male would look like --- although I figure he's probably a beauty! Only question I would have, is does he have difficulty swimming? I know that one of the reasons bettas prefer calm water is due to the fact that it takes so much out of them to swim in active currents due to their finnage --- so I'd think that with a smaller body yet normal fins he'd have even greater difficulty, especially if this out of balance growth continues...

To thine own self be true...

i can get new pics, yea. and he can swim realy well, as of now his fins arnt too much of a burden to him, he eats whole pellets and is just a happy boy he lives in a 1 gallon just like most of my other bettas, but too bad i dont remember exactly who his parents are, and i htink his parents might be dead now anyway, i still wonderr what his simblings would have looked like, he has a pink body a blue design on both sides, and he has redish fins, no dorselfin, and his missing ventral is begining to grow in now i doticed that after the other ventral finstarted comming in, his swimbladder issues have stoped, and he can now float upright and not on his side

I've stunted entire spawns before (just ask Strange1, he thought it was hilarious!) and no harm done. Well, its not a good thing to aim for, but the fish sprout fins in proportion and live just as happily and breed to produce normal-sized fish.

It happens in large spawns where the water changes aren't keeping up and when the fish doesn't get constant nutrition, or both


I have a 2yo at 1.5" and a 5 month old at 1" And try as I might it keeps happening. its quite common too, I know at least 5 others who are good fishkeeprs, who start with wonderful stock, and turn out bonsai bettas!

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

i saw some "dwarf" bettas awhile ago, many years back, or short body bettas. i am guessing that they were just stunted. they were kinda nice, as they had a nice 180* spread on them.