Who Gives A Fish Forums

Ever come across a dwarf betta by chance? I mean, a betta that's way smaller than usual and never reached full size. I'm curious if it's possible.

If you've got one, do they live a normal life? Would love to see pics if you've got one to share!

There are indeed wild types of dwarf bettas that occur naturally. The ones we commonly come across can vary significantly in size, just like people do. We have a little female betta that is still quite small in comparison to some of our other bettas, which makes me think that it's not entirely impossible for a dwarf betta to exist in a home environment.

Vega, the copper plakat in my sig, was a pretty small guy. Now that I think about it, all my copper plakats seemed to be on the smaller side. I'm wondering, is that a genetic thing with them?

I was thinking more along the lines of a genetic anomaly, where the betta's body size is significantly smaller than average, like a person with dwarfism.

I've got a tiny male HM, Finney, he's about a year old now and he's really small, his mom was on the smaller side, his dad was a bit larger. I've kept a few of his siblings, Newfishey's got some too, the other boys are all normal sized, maybe one or two of the girls are a bit smaller than average, but Finney's really tiny, he's in perfect proportion though, best finnage I've ever seen on an HM, he's only an inch from head to the base of his tail, and his tail's just a bit over half an inch more, don't know what to make of it.

I think it's a combination of genetics and environment. I've noticed that if I keep a large group of them and don't change the water often, they tend to stay smaller. It's almost like the stress of being in a crowded tank stunts their growth.

I'd think poor water quality would make them ill, rather than stunted.

You can getto dwarf bettas, the logic would follow that since you can getto other bettas, it's possible with dwarfs too.

He's got the same tank conditions and water changes as his brothers, but some of them are nearly double his size.

folker wrote: ↑Fri Dec 13, 2024 2:09 pm Ever come across a dwarf betta by chance? I mean, a betta that's way smaller than usual and never reached full size. I'm curious if it's possible.

If you've got one, do they live a normal life? Would love to see pics if you've got one to share!

I've got one, been with me for over three years now, and he's black too.