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Betta - Siamese Fighting Fish

Family: Osphronemidae

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Betta splendensPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy Ken Childs

     The Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish are truly a favorite fish that has been part of the aquarium hobby for a long time!

     Along with Paradise Fish, the Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish are said to be the oldest known fish to be kept in aquariums. This is a great fish for a beginning aquarium enthusiast or for someone who wants minimal space and upkeep, but still wishes to enjoy a beautiful fish.

     The name "fighting fish" comes from the fact that males will most often fight each other until either one or both of them are dead. For this reason you can only keep one male per tank.The needs of the Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish are minimal in comparison to other species. They are quite disease resistant, very resilient, readily available, and inexpensive.

     Wild male Betta's have short rounded fins The beautiful specimens that are available in pet stores today have been developed from the wild variety. Through selective breeding quite a number of different varieties have been developed, sporting gorgeous colors and incredible fin formations. Only the male has the long fins however, the female's fins will be shorter and they are generally more drab in color.

Betta Types For Sale
For sale online from Buy & receive at home!	Male Betta	Female Betta	Crown Tail	Twin Tail

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Distribution:      The Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish Betta splendens were described by Regan in  1910. These fish are found in the Malayan peninsula and Thailand where they inhabit slow-moving waters with thick vegetation. They feed on a variety of plants and animals, including green algae and zooplankton as well as aquatic insects near the water surface.

Status:      These fish are not endangered

Description:      The natural Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish has a stout elongated body and short rounded fins. Their body coloration is a dull green and brown. Today there are many brilliantly colored varieties, and even some color patterns. Both male's and the female's have been developed through selective breeding. It is most common to see fancy colorful males, but females that were once quite a drab fish, are now available in much more intense colors and finage. Even so, females do not attain the same showy fins nor the color intensity that males of the same type do.

     Blue and red colors were the first and easiest to develop. They have now been followed by magenta, orange, white, yellow, and dark green colorations. Marble and butterfly patterns have emerged, as well as metallic tones such as copper, gold, and opaque.
     Bettas have been selectively bred for finage that is longer and of various shapes. The most common is the 'veil tail' (which is also seen in mollies and platies). Other tail forms include the 'double-tail', 'crown tail', 'half-moon', "plakat', and variations on these.
     Like all other labyrinth fish they can breath air, generally gulping it at the water's surface. They have a special 'labyrinth organ' which acts like a lung and enables them to survive in oxygen-depleted waters.

Size - Weight:      The Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish fish get up to 2.5 inches (6 cm). Their general life span is 2 - 3 years.

Care and feeding:      The Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish are carnivores, and will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and dry protein foods. To keep a good balance give them a high quality protein pellet or flake food everyday. Also feed brine shrimp (either live or frozen) or blood worms.

     NOTE: A glass vase topped with a plant is a current trend today to create a decorative aquarium for this fish. This has led to confusion about the food requirements of these fish. They do not eat the roots of the plant. They are only protein eaters, not omnivores or vegetarians. They must be provided a protein food.

     This fish is quite hardy and will adapt to most aquarium conditions. Like all other anabantoids their special 'labyrinth organ' enables them to survive in oxygen-depleted waters. Because of this they can survive in smaller spaces. A minimum sized aquarium for a single specimen would be 3 gallons if kept in a warm room, and with regular maintenance. They will do best however in a larger aquarium, with adequate filtration and a heater, along with regular maintenance. A 10 gallon aquarium is recommended. Provide gentle water circulation and some sturdy aquarium plants. The aquarium should be covered to prevent jumps.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:      These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:      Temperature: 75 - 86 ° F (24 - 30 ° C)
     Hardness: 5 - 35 dGH
     Ph: 5.0 - 8.8

Social Behaviors:      Generally they are considered a good community fish, however the Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish can get picked on. Other tanks mates will sometimes keep nudging it as if though to get it moving,and sometimes the fins become an easy target for an occasional nip. It has been noted that occasionally a Betta will attack other tank mates. This generally seems to be a case of misidentification, usually it's a brightly colored platy or molly.
     Only one male can be kept in a tank as two males together will fight to the death. Females can be kept with each other and usually a male can be kept with females if the tank is quite large and there are plenty of hiding places.

Sexual Differences:      The male is brightly colored and has long colorful fins. Female's have shorter fins and are rather drab in color, and they may display horizontal striping.

Breeding/Reproduction:      Like most of the labyrinth fish, the Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish are bubble nest builders and will readily breed if you put a male and a female together. Their eggs as well as the fry, are lighter than water and float to the top. See the description of how to breed these fish in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Buy Bettas From LiveAquaria.com

Availability:      The Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish is readily available and inexpensive. Specimens run $3.00 and up, with the more exotic varieties being more costly. Females usually cost less than males.

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Latest Comments
I just got a fighting fish and was trying to look on the internet to learn about training your fighting fish. Well I told my boyfriend one way how to train which was by stirring the water and letting them fight the current. But what had happend was that I think he might of stirred too much cause now its not even moving at all. Its not dead, its just not moving!....Should I assume its gonna die?? Whitnee Ahina 2010-02-03
i have just bought a female betta i have a male in a 40 litre tank,can they go together ,and the one thing i cant find on thge net is a clear picture of the egg tube,how visible is it..My son is the actual owner and he is keen to breed them any help would be greatly appreciated i can be emailed on heyyou1358@yahoo.com.au jeff 2010-01-06
I have hade my betta fish for 2 years and about 3 months. He lives in a 2 gallon container and is curently OK. I named him Purple (cuz he is purple.) and just yesturday I saw my betta very pale. I cleaned out his container and kept him in the sink. I cried (he means alot to me). Curently he is healing and I hope he will be as healthy as he has been these last 2 years! Collin 2009-12-02
I bred Giant Bettas, size mostly range from 3 inches to 4 inches, some are 5 inches. There are problem with my Bettas, when I put smaller Betta to breed with the giant, the result will be very sad. From now on I can only breed the large male Betta with other large female Betta. My green and blue Giant Betta and the Butterfly Blue White Betta are now traveling to southern place in my country, where I live. One is 4 inches, while other is 3 inches half. They both are 5 months old. Amiene Rev 2009-10-11
I had my betta for 5 months! His light bulb went out so my dad bought a new one. My fish's name is Lu, he's like 2in. I feed him 3-4 pellets a day. I learned that they are carnivores! That's so cool. If u want to figure out more about them, then keep reading peoples comments. Good bye, u r welcome. iliketk 2009-10-07
Some of the coolest comments:
hi, I am Bob. I am keeping betta for many years. There are a little problem with feeding when you first buy them. Try to feed them livefoods, especially live bloodworms, mosquito larvae etc. If it is taking prepaired food, then no problem. My betta, which have reddish blue colouring which did'nt take pellets, but insects and meat pieces. If you want a fancy show from your betta, try to keep a mirror in your tank so that your fish can see it. He will inflate it's gillls, and straighten his fins, looking highly magestic. Betta's are curious and intelligent fishes, try to keep caves in the tank and your betta will sometime hide there, even when there are strong currents, to escape fron the currents. bob 2010-02-01
Housing your betta can be a a little confusing for most starters. A common rumour has been passed around about bettas. It's said that bettas can live happily in a 1 gallon or less bowl with no filtration, no heating and low maintenance. This, like most rumours, is false. Bettas need at least 2.5 gallons of filtered, heated water. However, I personally believe bettas need at least a 5 gallon tank. Keep your betta tank clean by doing 20 - 30 % weekly water changes. Bettas will eat a variety of foods you give them, including frozen blood worms, live blood worms, frozen brine shrimp, frozen beef heart, live blood worms and more. Flakes and pellets can be offered, but this is probably the worst thing to give your betta. Flakes and pellets are too processed for a betta. Also, some people feed their bettas peas. Do not do this, peas are not natural for a betta. Bettas are carnivores, feeding them vegetables could cause health problems. Live mosquito larvae and mosquitos themselves are also a great food source for bettas, along with other small insects and very small earth worms. The Fish Guy 2010-01-15
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
Hello all, I have had a pair of betta splendens for about 8 months now. The male is a silver-grey longfin, spikey, and the female is orange with long fins. They recently started breeding but the male keeps eating the eggs. I have them living in a 40ltr aquarium with 6 rummy-nose tetras and 4 julii catfish, heavily planted with silk plants, temps around 27c and slightly acidic. I feed them granules, frozen bloodworms and freeze dried. They love showing off for each other and never found the male to be aggressive towards anyone. Highly recommended to anyone who likes slow and graceful fish in their tank. PS.. this the best site I've seen, keep up the good work and information coming... suckonmelefone 2008-12-04
I love bettas! I have a male and 4 females in the aquarium. I have a red female, 2 blue crown females, a blue female, and a red male. My two biggest and my medium females some times chase each other, but nothing happens. My male is really mellow and the little female always minds its busuness. Graet website! Bettas rule! Anonymous 2008-06-15
hi i just want to thank u warmly, because this site help me very much for the reproduction of my fighting fish. ALAN 2007-03-25

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