What is a Betta Splenden? Bettas began their lives in the lakes, rice paddies and streams of Thailand & Malaysia, being round up and fought one on one by locals who bet on who would win, this being 150 years ago. The King of Siam decided to license them and to collect on them as well. And then it all began to steamroll, skipping to present day, there are now distinct differences between various Betta Splendens, some completely unrecognisable from their wild & thai fighting cousins. Owning one Betta means you're probably going to find yourself suddenly owning 10! They are an addiction. What is a Betta Splenden Crowntail? The crowntail is one of the newest tail-types bred in Betta Splendens and originated in the far east. By selectively breeding together bettas that showed strong combtail traits the first crowntails were created. Fringes can get very long and are very striking looking. Crowntails can be found in a single ray variation, or double ray or even double double ray. Now a day crowntails come in almost all colors. And their advantage is that they do not blow their tails. the downside is that they remain quite aggressive and may be a bit more challenging to spawn. How do I care for a Betta? Bettas are easy to care for, as long as follow several simple rules. 1. Keep them in a bowl or tank, sized 1 gallon to 10 gallon, any larger and they may get overly stressed trying to patrol their territory, hampered by over-sized fins, and any smaller is cruel. They also do not make fantastic community fish, they don't mind being alone! I think they prefer it. Make sure your tank is heated! Bettas are Tropical 2. Never Ever Ever keep more than one betta in a tank! Do not keep a boy with a girl. Girls can however be kept in groups of 4 or more, but this can only be done in a 10 gallon tank or above. Do not think you're clever and "fight" a pet shop betta, thai fighting bettas are completely different and have been conditioned and trained to fight they do NOT fight to the death! Your pet shop bettas will just rip each other's fins off and die a grisly horrible death. It's CRUEL! 3. If the bowl or tank is unfiltered the water must be changed 100% at least once a week, preferably 2 or 3 times a week. If the bowl or tank is filtered you must assure the current is not too strong, and water changes can be done 25%-50% once a week. Remember to dechlorinate your water first!! 4. To keep crowntails, it's advised that the ph not be too high and kept constant and the temperatures kept around 24-26 degrees centigrade, this is to try and stop the rays curling. The rays may naturally curl with age. 5. Feeding, Bettas are carnivores, they love live insects, bloodworm, daphinia etc. Flake food is not recommended, pellet food should be fine, just make sure the pellets are not too large as Bettas can choke. Keep their diet varied. Cooked de-shelled peas are also recommended, feed once a week (mash up into bite size mouthfulls), this helps them poop!! And avoids possible life-threatening problems such as swimbladder and constipation. 6. Do not keep Bettas in open topped tanks, they're known jumpers!! 7. If you see your Betta gulping air from the surface and blowing bubbles, this is completely normal. They have evolved a labyrinth lung, which means they can breath from the surface, they still take oxygen from the water as well though. The boys will also blow bubble nests, some do, some don't, so don't get worried if yours doesn't! For more Betta Care visit the site at the bottom of this page. Where can I buy a Crowntail? It is unlikely to find Crowntails in your local fish shop, although they are slowly becoming more popular, so you may get lucky! If you're in the US you can buy and ship from Aquabid. In the UK their are a growing number of breeders & importers that sell online. Go to Ukbetta.co.uk and you can find some links there. Elsewhere in the world, enquire at your local fish store, they may be able to order some in for you. All information gleened from my own experiences and Bettatalk.com Pictures sourced from google images & aquabid