What type of tail is this?

[morius]

Hello everyone!
I used to be a huuuge betta aficionado about 5 years ago (my second Betta living almost 3 years!). But until now I finally decided to try and breed bettas for the first time.

I got a female as a secret santa gift at the office and I decided to go buy my male betta today.

I wanted something really close to white or really close to black. And I found this guy. He was in the VT section (then again, many pet stores don't know what they've got. I once got an albino double tail for a dollar...), but his tail is very short... I thought maybe part of it was broken? Or maybe it's a different type of tail?

The only tails I'm familiar with are veils, crowns and doubles... Maybe someone here can tell me if he's a different type of tail?

Here are some pics (I know his house is a bit small for now, I'm waiting for my sister to bring me my old, large tank this weekend). Can you recognize him that way? Or should I try to get him to flare?

[babystarz]

He looks to me like a veil tail who's been fin-biting due to stress.

[sandybottom]

veil tail. what happened to his tail fin?

[jeaninel]

Looks to me like his tail is just damaged or he's bitten it off. Looks like he could be a VT.
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[morius]

Wow, you guys reply quite fast! Thanks!

I honestly don't know what happened to his tail. He's new, so it wasn't me =P

I chose him because his tail was little and I thought he might be "unwanted" by people because of that. I was almost sure it was a VT with a damaged tail, but after some closer inspection I wasn't very sure anymore.

[aemaki09]

Looks like a VT who bit his tail. Either that or he ripped it on some kind of decoration or filter before you got him.
Goodluck with him and breeding. Remember, clean warm water is the best way to heal damaged fins. If you dont see regrowth after a week or two then you can try to add AQ salt.

[kfryman]

The easiest way that you can tell if a betta is a veil is by the caudal fin first, which your boy's most likely bit it. After that you can look at the dorsal and the anal fins. With veil tails, their fins are usually longer and much more sloped back. You got a veil tail most definitely. If his tail does stay short it will just make him more unique and special. If it grows back long, you will have a nice long finned betta, so either is fine as long as you love him!

[morius]

Thank you all for your replies.

aemaki09: I'll make sure to try that. Thank you for giving me a good time frame (I had never really had damaged Bettas so I wasn't sure how long it would take him to heal).

kfryman: That's good to know, thank you. Back in the day I used to think all fins looked the same and that the only thing that changed was the tail =P
But yeah, he's a nice Betta. I wish I had a better camera (it's a pretty decent camera, but I just can't find a way to take good pictures of a fish tank), because his colours are quite nice. He actually has an almost black body with red fins. If I get to breed him, maybe eventually I'll manage to get the pure black Betta I've always wanted =P

[bryanacute]

He looks like a veil tail with a tail biting problem. Also, not being rude, I would not breed him. I would find a male that has a full tail.

[morius]

Hi bryanacute. No offense taken. But what would be the problem of breeding him?
I mean, if the tail does grow back and he doesn't bite it anymore, I don't think there'd be any problems. I mean, it's not like his short tail is hereditary (maybe the "tail biting" behaviour could be, but if he doesn't bite it again, then it means it was probably just stress).