PLAKAT female betta vs. VEILTAIL female betta??? Whats the difference???

the branching of the rays in the caudal fin (tail) separates hms from other tail types
this is an hm female: http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c89/BettySplendens/suporn_goldfemale.jpg
see the tree-like things coming out of her body and through the tail, branching as they go? those are the rays. halfmoons can spread their tails 180 degrees because each ray branches into 4 or more rays by the time it reaches the end of the tail. this female has 6-8 branches (depending which ray you count).

here is a vt female: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3656/3460847991_8570daf820.jpg
see how each of here rays only branches in 2? with less branching she cannot spread her fins 180 degrees.

pk (plakats) have shorter fins then other types. there are hmpk fish, that are plakats, with 4+ ray branches giving them a 180 degree caudal spread. female hmpk: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LeSEUUObjMM/T8TQsqB5i4I/AAAAAAAAAZo/wCuLM25reb0/s1600/DSC_0032.JPG
and there are ctpks, vtpks (which are just pks) and dtpks.

@[email protected] said:

not necessarily. the shape of the anal fin is for sexing the fish (males tend to have pointier, longer anal fins than females of the same spawn). though a pk has shorter fins, and vts have longer fins than most tail types, so a pk female is more likely to have the feminine rectangle-shaped anal fin, and a vt female more likely to have a macho anal fin thats almost as pointy as her brothers.

if he has only 2 ray branches, he is still a pk. just not an hmpk.
like i said before, pk gene(s) controls the length of the fins, not the caudal spread which is variable as the other tail types combine very easily with pk.

are you looking for a matching female for your male?
post a pic of him and ill let you know if i run across a similar female.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I know that a lot of PK females have only two rays as well, if they were not mixed with HM Betta's. So interbreeding a PK male with a VT female would cause an outcome of about 60% PK tail? How about the other way around??? I've also been told that females generally carry the body structure gene(s). IS this true?

I have some pictures of the male. One as he is normal with out flaring. And some with him flaring. I have been trying to find a suitable mate for him PK+PK. Though a lot of the females are expensive sometimes even with out shipping, but that is suppose to mean good quality correct? If you come across any suitable female for him. Let me know and I'll have to see if I should really branch out for it.

I have two females but one is a VT (larger one) and I am not sure what the other female is. Her fins don't look nothing at all near the larger VT female.

Female Betta. DUnno what type it is. IF you can help me identify it, thanks.



CLOSE UP. Her fins are now tucked. Not really flaring or stretching making her anal fin look like a VT. IS she a VT though; in the above Photo her Anal fin branches out and spreads square like with a sharper down turn in the front. I cant seem to make her flare. Useless, she doesn't flare at all. ; (



MAlE PK: Flaring.







Not flaring:

PICTURES WILL BE POSTED SEPARATE SINCE I WAS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH PUTTING THEM ALL TOGETHER BECAUSE I PUT THEM IN WRONG ORDER. LOL!

PICtures in order from above reply. Lol... hope it is not confusing.


Female:

View attachment 51233

Closeup:

View attachment 51234

Flaring male:

View attachment 51231

View attachment 51232

No flare of male: View attachment 51235

ive never worked with pks so i cant really tell you the exact outcome of a pk x vt cross, but i have read that pk is recessive to long fins, whether it is a strong case of incomplete dominance (like with dt and st) and to what extent, i cant say.

females and males have slightly different body shapes. males are more streamlined, and females more top-heavy. males are more prone to be hunchbacked and shovelnosed, while females are more likely to have pinched caudals.
both contribute to the gene pool of the offspring though, and you want good form in both of them.

i cant see the pics of the females in either post (links in second post dont go anywhere).

the male looks like a 'wild type' pk.
here is a pk female of that coloration: http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettaswt&1342913408
expensive though, $25 plus shipping and transhipper fees. but check that category from time to time and youll likely land on something.

you could also get a hmpk female. this will make fish with 2-4 ray branches (delta pks mostly), and then a backcross to the female would yield superdelta pks and maybe some hmpks, or a backcross to the father would yield ordinary pks.

@[email protected] said:

ive never worked with pks so i cant really tell you the exact outcome of a pk x vt cross, but i have read that pk is recessive to long fins, whether it is a strong case of incomplete dominance (like with dt and st) and to what extent, i cant say.

females and males have slightly different body shapes. males are more streamlined, and females more top-heavy. males are more prone to be hunchbacked and shovelnosed, while females are more likely to have pinched caudals.
both contribute to the gene pool of the offspring though, and you want good form in both of them.

i cant see the pics of the females in either post (links in second post dont go anywhere).

the male looks like a 'wild type' pk.
here is a pk female of that coloration: http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettaswt&1342913408
expensive though, $25 plus shipping and transhipper fees. but check that category from time to time and youll likely land on something.

you could also get a hmpk female. this will make fish with 2-4 ray branches (delta pks mostly), and then a backcross to the female would yield superdelta pks and maybe some hmpks, or a backcross to the father would yield ordinary pks.

Click to expand...

Epic fail on photos let me try again.

OH yeh. VT seem to be a very dominant gene. Dominating over all tail types. Darn, well the VT x PK wont work. ; (

When you said females are more top body and males are prone to hunchback and etc... Is that a bad thing or good thing? ARe those like diseases/deformations that they get?

Wow crossing is such a excitement of seeing which one is going to be the one for the persons likings. Though ofcourse this will be done over periods of time.

Your ideas of the genes seem very interesting. MY pursue is to either end up with spawns of PK betta or HMPK, A.K.A. Short Tails.

MY female photo's anal fin looks exactly like the female on AQuaBid (to my eyes). Except without the sharp point at the end of the fin.

Back to my photo (about male) Does wild type bettas mean anything? Or does it mean that it is crossed with wild types?