# Giant Bettas



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

You can get them at petco. I'm not a fan of the giant betta. They are bigger but their shape and proportions are off to me.


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## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

I agree they do look alot different. i believe the care requirements are the same as regular bettas. bettas are agressive toward alot of other fish. i think cories would be ok. A school of tetras could outrun him. watch out for any fin nippers.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

I've had REALLY bad luck with these. Got one from Thailand and one from Petco (drunken rescue, cause otherwise I don't buy betta from the torture cups) and they BOTH got dropsy within a few months. Never had a single case of dropsy with any of my other betta.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I see them available from time to time on www.ultimatebettas.com. IDK offhand if there is a reputable breeder in the US working with them or not, though?


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

I'm also very interested in getting one.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

So are all the half-moon Plakats and other Plakets all coming from Thailand at $100 a fish?! There has to be a reputable breeder near us.


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## alex009 (May 21, 2011)

I bought a "king" betta from petco a few months back. He was beautiful and larger than your average sized betta. Unfortunately he got bloated and died about 2 weeks after buying him...


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

The "kings" and "giants" aren't the same.

I've heard quite a bit of speculation that these are both actually hybrids with different larger "wild-type" species, though IDK that anyone's actually paid for genetic testing to figure out whether or not that's the case...


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## alex009 (May 21, 2011)

I have heard that they are hybrids between _Splendens_ and _Raja_ though that would be impossible since _Raja_ is a mouthbrooder and _Splendens_ is a bubblenester. I have also had people tell me that they are half- giants. On another forum, I heard that someone bred a male & female "king" but all the offspring turned out to be normal sized plakats. No one really seems to know their origin. Either way, this betta was bigger and bulkier than any other plakat I have seen.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

I found very few half moon Plakats in the US on Aquabid. None of them interested me. I will certainly not buy from a Petsmart or a Petco. I guess I will wait. The specimens coming from Thailand are breathtaking!


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## Sd760 (Apr 25, 2011)

Sub'd interested


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

It's too bad Erma (DownSouthBettas) isn't breeding any more, she had some nice plakat lines going and was here in Florida. Last plakat I got was from Victoria at BettySplendens.com, but she moved to Europe a few months ago. =(

I haven't looked around recently, but as of last year I know there were some breeders working with plakats up in the Georgia and Alabama area... I think I came across them from the IBC?


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

alex009 said:


> I bought a "king" betta from petco a few months back. He was beautiful and larger than your average sized betta. Unfortunately he got bloated and died about 2 weeks after buying him...


Yep. This happened with both the one I rescued from PetCo and the one I paid $$$ for from Thailand. 

In the betta world, "King" is a top of the line crowntail. PetCo is misusing the word for their giants (the PetCo giant I got was about 1/2" larger than the giant I got off aquabid, but I believe they were both half-giants given what I can find online about the breeding and sizes of these fish). 

Needless to say, I won't be buying any more of them.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

I think petco is using the 'raja' term which translates to 'king'.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

idk what it means. but i got a "king betta" from petco. his body looks larger than any other bettas i've had. but im not so sure that means he is a giant.. IDK! but i've had him for a while and never had any problems. so i just wanted to add a case that a "king" betta _did_ survive and do well.









alex009- your betta was beautiful! to bad he didnt survive. seems like your petco gets pretty nice ones!


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## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

I think if you like this fish it is worth it to give it a try. It also might be worth it to order from thailand. in the summer shipping is easier. good luck


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## Coursair (Apr 16, 2011)

One thing I've always done is give a skinned green pea once a week to my Bettas to prevent constipation. A


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

I feed daphnia once a week for the same reason (I've never been able to get a betta to touch a pea).


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