Types, behaviour and breedingComplete guide
Betta Fish Types: Tail Shapes, Colours and Patterns
Every common betta tail shape and colour pattern, what the names actually mean, and which types need more care than the shop will tell you.
What this section covers
- Tail types and finnage
- Colours and patterns
- Male and female differences
- Behaviour, flaring and enrichment
- Tank mates and sororities
- Breeding and fry care
6 of 6 written. New guides three times a week.
Complete guides
Types, behaviour and breedingComplete guide
Betta Tank Mates: What Actually Works
Which tank mates a betta tolerates, which are sold to you and fail, and why the honest default is a tank with one fish in it.
More on types & behaviour
Do Bettas Get Bored? Enrichment That Actually Helps
Bettas are curious and explore. What genuinely enriches a tank, what is marketed as enrichment and is not, and why mirrors fail the test.
Betta Sororities: What They Require and Why They Fail
Five or more females, twenty gallons, dense planting and a spare cycled tank standing ready. An honest account of an advanced setup.
Can Two Bettas Live Together? The Short Answer Is No
Two males fight until one dies. A male and female is worse. Divided tanks, sororities and the one arrangement that occasionally works.
Plakat Bettas: The Short-Finned Type That Swims Properly
Closest to the wild body plan, and the best swimmer of any betta type. What a plakat is, how care differs, and who should choose one.
Halfmoon or Crowntail: Which Betta Tail to Choose
Both are beautiful and neither swims well. What each tail costs the fish, which is easier to keep, and what to look for in the shop.
Betta Colours and Patterns: Koi, Marble, Dragon and More
What koi, marble, galaxy, dragon scale and butterfly actually mean, and why your betta changing colour is usually normal.
Breeding Bettas: What It Actually Requires
A spawn runs into the hundreds. Every male needs his own tank within months. What breeding bettas really demands before you attempt it.
Betta Bubble Nests: What They Mean and What to Do
A bubble nest is instinct, not a report card. Why bettas build them, whether to remove one, and what a missing nest does not mean.
Why Do Bettas Flare? What the Display Actually Means
Flaring is a threat display, not exercise. What triggers it, when it is normal, and why mirror training is worse than people think.
Male vs Female Betta: Differences, Care and Which to Choose
How to tell them apart, whether females are really less aggressive, and what changes about care. Both need the same tank.
