Betta growth rate?

LeahK

AC Members
Jul 5, 2007
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I have two bettas. One is about double the size of the other. I've had the larger one for over a year, and I've had the smaller one since October.

It seems that since I've gotten the little one, he hasn't grown at all. He lives in a 20 gallon tank, so I'm sure it's not stunting or anything. Are some bettas just much smaller than others? Or is this guy just growing very slowly?
 
I've had a female betta in a 2.5 gallon tank and she's an inch long. I've had her for months. I'm also wondering if she'll ever grow.
 
Why didn't I get that NBA contract? Oh yeah, I'm 5' 11"!
 
My bigger betta is just over 2 inches long, not counting fins. My little one is only about 1.3 inches long. Could this be his adult size?
 
That sounds pretty small for a betta! I got my boy Feb 14th, not sure how much he's grown... but his body is about 1 3/4". What type is your little one? I've seen small/young betta for sale, but figured that they'd just grow out to about 2".
 
Yeah, I think he's a little too small, too. I keep waiting for him to grow. But otherwise he seems healthy, so I guess it's ok.
I'm not sure what type he is--his tail is rounded, like a halfmoon or fan tail, and he's a really neat peachy-yellow color. The bigger guy is a red veil tail.
 
Ooh pretty peach, you must post pics!

Your red boy is gorgeous, saw him in your photo gallery thread :)

perhaps halfmoons are slightly smaller? My boy is a delta tail, marbled translucent with some iridescence. Is it an absolute that betta are a defined 2" fish, or is that a generalization?
 
are you positive it's not a female?

I think my oldest (female, i've just got my first male) was around 9months or maybe a year before she was full grown.

they seem to grow pretty slowly.
 
I'm not positive, but "he" looks typically male to me. I'll try to get a pic later.
 
They're all really different
Bettas with higher temps, more wc's (they secrete a growth-reducing hormone when young), and more food (not overfeeding of course) tend to grow generally faster than those that don't
 
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