To first learn what the Rose Petal Betta is, one needs to learn about what Bettas are. Betta fishes (Betta splendens) is a fish species originating from Thailand. These fishes are colorful, playful, and easy to keep. One of the most popular pet fish in the world today is Betta fish, only to be preceded by the traditional goldfish.
They are an extreme version of the Halfmoon Betta. The name Rose Petal describes its tail form. It is easy to care for these fishes as they are hardy.
Rose Petal Betta, also known as Rosetail Bettas, is considered to be one of the most beautiful fish in the Betta family and has been part of the aquarium trade since the early nineties; however, they rose to popularity in recent times. These Bettas are known for their brightly colored bodies and magnificent fins. They are also called Siamese fighting fish as the male bettas are extremely aggressive towards other bettas. They live for about 4 years on average if cared for properly.
Origin of Rose Petal Betta
This variant of the Betta family was developed in 1989. The subspecies were developed by the well-known breeding team of Rajiv Masillamoni and Laurent Chenot. The name was officially given by breeder Jeff Wilson after he joined the team.
The Name Rose Petal
The name for this fish comes from the form of its tail. The Rose Petal Betta has been specifically bred to have a wider tail span which allows it to have a 180° caudal fin spread. The increased number of branches in the dorsal, caudal and anal fins gives these fishes a ruffled of feathery appearance. When the fins are opened, the dorsal and caudal fins overlap one another, giving it the shape of a rose petal. Hence the name Rose Petal Betta.
How to choose a Rose Petal Betta
If one wants to get a Rose Petal Betta there are certain points one needs to keep in mind.
A D-shaped caudal fin is a sign of a healthy Betta. In addition to the D-shaped caudal fin, it should also be extremely branched, but at the same time, it should also have balance in the finnage and should appear proportionate, and have symmetrical scales. The most important thing to look at while buying a Betta fish is to check whether it can swim well or not.
How to take care of Rose Petal Betta
There are various ways one could help the Rose Petal Bettas. Tail Trimming is a method followed by many while it is not recommended and extremely dangerous for the fish. The trimmed tail could lead to infections which could eventually kill the fish.
The majority of the Betta prefer water without much movement. They are naturally found in slow-moving or stagnant with little or no current. As mentioned earlier, the long-tailed Betta already struggles to swim due to the weight of the tail, so having a strong current could affect them adversely even more, and filters add that current to the aquarium. However, a Betta tank does need a filter system to ensure clean water for the Bettas. What can be done is one could adjust the filter outflow and reduce the current in the aquarium.
As the fish struggle to swim up, it would be better if the aquarium is longer rather than being taller. The shape of the aquarium would help the fish in having a comfortable life.
Decorations and resting places help fishes more than one might think. Rose Petal Bettas like having decorations in their tanks as they get bored with plain aquariums, and resting places help the fish take occasional rests after they have been swimming for a while with their heavy tail.
Controversy
There has been intense debate over whether Rose Petal Bettas should be used for breeding or not. The debate has been put forward as the negatives of breeding Rose Petal Bettas outweigh the positives.
The fish stands out for its beauty however some hardships come with this beauty.
While the beautiful fins of the fish make it stand out, it also makes it hard for these fish to swim. The two main fins are almost always unbalanced and uneven. They also show asymmetrical body scaling and often grow at a languid pace. Various health issues have been associated with this breed of Betta fishes as they grow older and generally tend to these aquatic beauties leading a miserable life. Some of the health issues of the Rose Petal Bettas are listed below:
Lethargy
All Betta breeds take rest often. Resting is something that is considered a natural behavior in this breed; however with the heavy, beautiful flowing fins make the fishes tire easily, making the fishes take rest more often, and with old age, the fishes find it incredibly hard to swim.
Breathing
Betta fish are Labyrinth Breathers, which means they can breathe in atmospheric air at the surface level. As a matter of fact, no variant of the Betta family can extract all the water they need from the dissolved water. They must get to the surface level to get all the oxygen they need; however, with its heavy tail, it often finds it hard to get to the surface level, which could even lead to them suffocating, especially during the older ages.
Feeding
Bettas are carnivores that are surface feeders, they come up to the surface to eat the mosquitos or unlucky insects that come and land on the water surface. Once again the beautiful fin of the fish comes to affect it adversely. Because of the heavy flowing fin, they would not be able to swim up to eat and that could lead to them starving.
Stress
When the fish is unable to reach the surface, they easily become stressed, and stress is never good for any fish as it weakens their immune system leaving them open to bacterial and parasite attacks.
Broken Fin
Since Betta’s are artificially bred to have longer spread fins, sometimes the fins spread longer than usual. This excessive branching makes the fin appear bigger. While beautiful, it also adds more weight to the fish and breaks when they can no longer hold the weight of the fin. If the rays break, the whole tail collapses. If this happens, the flowing beautiful tail of the betta will be gone, and a crippled betta that is unable to swim properly is left behind.
Tail Biting
When the Betta feels its tail is too heavy and to help, itself swim faster. They bite their tail. However, if this happens, the fish would be open to infection and diseases such as tail rot.
Also, Read | Alien Betta – Beauty which is out of this world!
Commonly asked question
Are Rose Petal Bettas aggressive?
Female Bettas are not that aggressive and can sometimes coexist and live together peacefully, but male bettas are aggressive towards one another.
What does Rose Petal betta fish eat?
A variety of flakes, frozen food, freeze-dried bloodworms, pellets is what generally consists of a diet for Rose Petal Bettas. Feed in small quantities so the fish could eat it in one to two minutes.
What does Rose Petal betta fish eat?
A variety of flakes, frozen food, freeze-dried bloodworms, pellets is what generally consists of a diet for Rose Petal Bettas. Feed in small quantities so the fish could eat it in one to two minutes.
How big do Rose Petal Bettas grow?
In an aquarium, the male betta fish could grow up to three inches long including its tail.
What is the rarest Betta color?
Purple is the rarest color to be seen in a Betta fish. They are also very expensive.
Conclusion
Bettas are lovely fishes; however, all that beauty only gives a life of misery to these aquatic beauties. The fins are heavy, leading to a stressful uncomfortable life. They do not enjoy a long life and generally succumb to diseases and die.
