King Bettas?

[Laurelin]

What ARE king bettas? There seems to be so little known about giant and king bettas out there. I am trying to do research but there's just nothing out there.

I'm just curious since Monstro is pretty obviously massive. He's from Petco and is a 'king betta'. I tried to eyeball measure him with a ruler through the glass and he is roughly 3 inches long, not including his tail. Roughly 2 times the size of my normal bettas. He is super active and aggressive and just such an impressive fish to watch swim around. I don't know how much of it is the fact he's a plakat or how much is that he's a king but he's just a very different kind of fish compared to my past bettas. I'm pretty sure the rest of my bettas will be kings or giants. I'm just hooked.

Anyone else ever had one?

 

[ravennr]

"King Betta" Variety Sold at Petco - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Found this article. Seems they are just a variety that Petco offers, but not a recognized type.

 

[Laurelin]

I read that article and it does offer a few of the common theories. But I've heard literally dozens of theories about what they are- giants? half-giants? hybrid species? regular plakats? fighting bred surplus? given growth hormones?

I have to add his pretty mug:

Whatever he is, he's cool.

 

[MericoX]

Any more pics of him?

 

[Laurelin]

Here's a bad one from when I first got him. He's grown some since then.

 

[Kat09Tails]

King betta is a term for a really big betta without very well developed fins. It's a marketing term like fancy parakeet at petco simply meaning pied or dilute vs green, or blue.

I still worked there when we first started stocking them. In theory they are less aggressive than the larger finned bettas but I have found that to be pretty untrue..

The way I understand it they are a normal occurring variant.

 

[Laurelin]

He is certainly much more aggressive than my past bettas. I bought him because his size intrigued me. I need to get an official measurement but I bet it's around 3 inches. His body is so thick though, he must weigh about 3 x what my others have. He's currently my only betta since Fish died.

1st day after I got him:

Today: My crap camera doesn't capture his color at all. He's still that blue but he does seem to have a bit more red wash than he used to.

This accidentally used the flash. I need to clean the outside of the tank lol.

And without it he looks black.

Are they not classified as plakats? And what about real giant bettas- how big are those?

 

[Kat09Tails]

As far as I am aware there is only one betta splendens just like there is only one Canis familiaris in all it's splendor and variety. Even the plakats as far as I know are just normal bettas bred for aggression/size for gaming/fish fights.

No idea on real giant bettas. Betta Splendens - Half Moon, Double Tail, Crown Tail Bettas - Observations On a New Giant Betta Splendens here's an article on comparison