The Veiltail -


Mustard Gas Veiltail Male


Multicolor Veiltail Female

Veiltails usually have a single ray extending all the way from the body, without any ray branching (though once is fairly common). The membranes are all connected, and the fins affected are the dorsal, anal, and caudal (tail). Only males show this characteristic, and their fins can be up to four times the length of a short-finned betta. Veiltails are the most common type available, and are the kind usually found in petstores. The tail fin droops and is non-symmetrical, meaning it cannot be evenly divided with a horizontally drawn line through the middle.

The Plakat -


Black Plakat Male


Orange Plakat Female

Plakats are the natural form of Betta splendens, the type occuring in the wild. The short fins allow for the fish to get around quickly, without any excess finnage weighing them down. Any other tail type is a man-made mutation. In the Plakat male, the anal fin is markedly extended and pointed, when compared with females. The tail is symmetrical, and the rays branch at least once.

The Crowntail -


Blue/Red Crowntail Male


Multicolor Crowntail Female

In Crowntail bettas, the fin rays protrude beyond the membranes of the caudal, anal, and dorsal fins, creating a "fringed" look. The length of the membranes varies, which can also create the following tail type (Combtail). In Crowntails, the rays branch at least once, creating twice the amount of rays as many veiltails. Some Crowntails have the trait of yet another ray branching, which is known as "Double Ray".

The Combtail -


Multicolor Combtail Male (photo courtesy Arashi)

Combtail bettas have also have fin rays extending past the membranes, though to a much smaller extent. There do is not enough of a length difference between the membranes and rays to classify as "Crowntail". The male is this photo is a also a Veiltail.

The Doubletail -


Red Doubletail Male


Red Doubletail Female

Doubletails have an increased number of fin rays, with that amount being variable depending on the fish's tail type. The fish actually has two tails, each with an equal amount of rays. The dorsal fin is also twice the size of single tail bettas, due to the increased amount of rays. Ideally, the Doubletail should have an full split down the middle of the tail lobes, and the lobes should be identical in size.

The Halfmoon -


Red/Green Halfmoon Male

In the Halfmoon tail type, when fully flared, the caudal should be a full 180-degree half-circle. This is due to an increased amount of ray branching. If the tail is larger than 180 degrees, it is known as "Over Halfmoon". These tails are symmetrical and very heavy.

The Delta or Super Delta -


Gold Delta Male


Red Super Delta Female (non-flaring) - note the ray branching

Delta and Super Delta tails are those which do not meet the 180-degree requirement of a Halfmoon. They fall short of this, but still have enough ray branching to create a tail which looks much like a fan when opened. It should be much wider at the end than at the base, and be symmetical. Super Deltas are those which have a wider angle to their tail, such as around 130 degrees.

This post has been edited by juliethegr8t: Oct 29 2004, 07:28 AM

Hey guys. Lately I've been noticing quite a few questions about tail types, so I thought I'd post a basic overview. I hope it is helpful, and if the mods think it could be useful in the future, perhaps it could be pinned.

Arashi - If you don't want me to use your photo I'll take it out, but yours is a great example, and a pretty fish, so if you don't mind - Thanks.


If y'all think it needs any additions, I'll add them. I think these are the most common tail types though. "Round tails" and such aren't very common, and not really a standardized type. Also, if you guys think the addition of female photos might be helpful, I might do that. I've got pics of most of them, and if I don't, I'll ask.

u missed spade tail! , does it not count as a tail type?

Spade tails are pretty uncommon anymore. If anyone has a photo of their own fish who is a spade tail and they don't mind me using it, PM me and I'll add it.

wow, many thanks Julie
this helps a lot I now think my new
femle is actually a male plakat.

could u add female pics in aswell i find females hard to tell what kind of tails they have.
thanks
-candy

informative, thanx

Female pics would be cool cause I am now wondering if all my little girls are crown tails, or plakats.

Females would be nice......

Heres a pic of my CT Female

This is a really great post! Thanks, very informative. I also would like pics of the females and explanations of what type they are. Many thanks!

Actually..a Super delta is a 180 degree caudal, but the edges curve towards the caudal, and not straight. If it curves toward the body, it is OHM. If it is less than 180, but more than 165 degrees..it is a HMx..Check Phil Laffertys web page...BettaCave

f250 - Interesting, thanks. I've never heard that before, and still don't necessarily agree, but don't really want to start an argument. I've read a lot more sites with information contradicting that, than sites that agree. From what I know, and what I believe, Delta tails have the straight edges to their tail, and they are "Fantails" if the edges are rounded away from the body. So that's just MHO, but thank you for your input!



Thanks everyone, glad it's helpful, and I hope the newly-added female pics are also helpful.

accually iv heard exactly what fisherman said most places, there is no real perfect deltas, the tail ranges in size and shape but 180 degrees is considerd the norm.

so would that basically mean that deltas are just "imperfect" halfmoons?? i had a delta that i thought was just some funky cross gone awry.....

I have couple questions that dont really have to do with tail type I think, but what makes it a 'Mustard Gas' or a 'Butterfly'?

Wow, was surprised the first one was a veil tail. It looks just like a CT but with less dramatic ray extension.

I noticed tonight that my VT is completely smooth except one section on each fin that extends into two rays. Caught me off guard.

MAM - Yeah, pretty much. The IBC is trying to get rid of deltas all together, basically. HM's are ideal.


Amber - You're right, those aren't tail types. Mustard Gas is a color - blue or greenish body with yellow/chocolate fins - sometimes blue highlights in the fins. You can see an example of my MG in the first picture. A Butterfly isn't an actual color, but a color pattern. The fins (all of them ideally) have more than one color (usually 2) in rings.... for example - white near the body, and then a ring of red.


Below is a photo of Sorrell's fish - a red and cellophane (clear) butterfly. HTH.

Ok, I have a Betta that has tail nothing like anything shown here.....sorry, I don't have a picture at the moment, but let's see if I can discribe him....

Red with a blueish wash on it's body (I know, that does not help ).
Tail is "double" but not rounded like the Double-tail, it's more V shaped, and it has spikes like the Crowntail.
His dorsal and Anal fins look very similar to a Crowntail.

Anyone seen this type?