Siamese Fighting Fish

Maximum longevity: 2 years Observations: Reproductive senescence has been documented in these animals (Patnaik et al. 1994).

Betta splendens live in thickly overgrown ponds and in only very slowly flowing waters such as shallow rice paddies, stagnant pools, polluted streams, and other types of areas in which the water has a low-oxygen content. (Hargrove 1999)

Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams

The Betta, on average, is 7.5 centimeters in length. Its body shape is streamlined, allowing it to slip smoothly and effortlessly through open water. The fish's body is covered with scales that overlap each other like the shingles on the roof of a house. These scales consist of thin, transparent plates that help protect the Betta's body from injury and add streamlining for efficient gliding. A mucus layer also covers the scales to provide the fish with extra smoothness and to protect against invading parasites and infection. The Betta's scales grow out from the skin and are generally lacking in color. The fish's true color actually comes from pigment cells (chromatophores) located in the skin itself.

In the wild, the fish uses its coloration to ward off predators and to attract mates. Wild Bettas do not possess the vibrant bright red, lime green, and royal blue colors of their selectively bred counterparts. In fact, they are unusually dull and drab. However, captive-bred Betta males have adopted these new colors and use them to their advantage in mating displays.

The actual colors of a Betta are layered. In order to produce a Betta of specific color, other colors that are layered on top must first be "stripped away" through selective breeding. The top color is blue; next is red, then black and finally yellow.

Bettas have mouths that are upturned, indicating that they are a top feeder and will scoop up their food on the water's surface. Their fins are used not only for propulsion through the water, but for maintaining balance and turning in different directions. They have one caudal fin, one dorsal fin, two pelvic fins, one anal fin, and two pectoral fins. (Hargrove 1999)

Other Physical Features: bilateral symmetry

Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 2 years.

The wild Siamese Fighting fish can be found swimming amongst the inland waters of the Orient. It is native to Thailand, but can be found worldwide in pet stores as a domesticated fish. (Hargrove 1999)

Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Native )

Wild Betta splendens feed mainly on insects that have fallen into the water. Because of their rapid metabolic rate, Bettas need to eat frequent, small "snacks", such as algae, to hold them over until their next big meal. (Hargrove 1999) Five different feeding methods have been observed in the Betta: snapping, scooping/gulping, grazing, jumping, and spitting. Snapping is the method most commonly used to "capture" their morsels of food. (Vierke 1988)

Bettas are kept as pets for the enjoyment of humans.

The Betta is not endangered.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: no special status

Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical

Mating begins with the male Betta building a nest of bubbles. To build this nest, the male swims to the surface, takes a gulp of air and spits out a mucus-coated air bubble. He then quickly takes another bubble of air and releases it near the first one. This process continues for hours with occasional breaks for food or to court the female. After awhile, the nest begins to take on a definate shape. However, the shape and size varies.

Once the nest is nearly complete, an extremely intense and often rough courtship begins. The male very aggressively pursues the female, attempting to entice her under the nest. In his efforts to bring her to the nest, he can be quite brutal if she doesn't willingly respond. More often than not, by the time the first spawning embrace begins, the female's fins are badly torn and she may even be missing some scales.

After spawning has occured, the male then guards the nest, taking care of the eggs until the young hatch 24 to 48 hours later, depending upon the temperature of the water. The young Bettas don't begin to show very much color or fin shape until they are about three months old. At about this time, males begin to fight with one another. It is also quite easy to sex Bettas around this age, as the males are usually more brightly colored and have longer fins than the females. The fish reaches sexual maturity around five months. (Ostrow 1989)

Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens, are small (about 7.5 cm long) fish in the gourami family (Osphronemidae) native to slow moving and stagnant, overgrown waters in Thailand, Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos. Characteristic of the suborder Anabantoidei to which they belong, Betta splendens have an accessory breathing organ called the labyrinth organ that allows them to survive in waters with low oxygen content, by breathing air from the surface. These fish have been introduced to Brazil, Columbia, Indonesian and Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Canada, the Dominican Republic and the USA and populations are thought to be established in many of these places. Now one of the most common species in the world-wide aquarium trade, domestication of Betta splendens began in Thailand in the 1800s, where these aggressively territorial fish were bred for competitive fighting. When agitated, wild Siamese fighting fish turn bright colors, and over years of captivity, strains have been bred to take on these colors permanently, as well as varieties with different fin and scale morphologies. In the wild, B. splendens are omnivores, and eat frequently, generally from the surface of the water, such as insects that have fallen in. They also eat algae. Like many gouramis, Siamese fighting fish are bubble breeders, and the males build bubble nests at the surface of the water. After intense courtship displays, the male wraps himself around the female in a nuptial embrace during which he fertilizes eggs released by the female. He then gathers up the eggs in his mouth as they sink and blows them into the nest. This nuptial egg release repeats until the female has no more eggs. The male then tends the eggs until they hatch about 36 hours later. Siamese fighting fish can survive periods in the dry season when water is scarce by aestivating in moist mud. (Froese Pauly 2010. Betta splendens in FishBase. Retrieved March 6, 2012 from Froese Pauly 2010; Sturgeon 2001; Wikipedia 2012)

Betta splendens also known as the Siamese fighting fish is the most common species that is kept and bred, among a variety of species of Betta. The name “Betta” is said to be derived from an ancient Asian warrior clan known as the Bettah, although some accounts differ. Bettas have their origin in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam where, some 150 years ago, the sport of fighting Bettas was actually regulated and taxed by the King of Siam. The original Bettas were not fancy and colourful as they are now. Those traits were bred in over the years as Betta made their way from being warrior fish to prized tropical aquarium fish.

Betta fish are the victims of an enormous and sometimes harmful industry in which humans capture and breed the fish for ornamental value. As pets, betta fish are often mistreated by receiving little care, poor habitat quality, overfeeding, and a general lack of knowledge by the pet owner. While betta fish are solitary creatures, they do need to be paid attention to. They need stimulation, which allows them to expand their gills as a sign of dominance, for proper respiration and exercise. This is often not attended to in the pet industry. While the pet industry has many bettas, the bettas in the wild Thai paddies are decreasing in number due to direct and environmental issues (caused by humans).

Reddish bars on opercle (Ref. 12693).

Recorded from rice fields (Ref. 12693).

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Vertebrae: 29 - 34

Builds bubble-nest which is guarded by male.

Edwardsiellosis. Bacterial diseases

Bacterial Infections (general). Bacterial diseases

Fin-rot Disease (late stage). Bacterial diseases

Columnaris Disease (e.). Bacterial diseases

Fin Rot (early stage). Bacterial diseases

White spot Disease. Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.)

Velvet Disease 2 (Piscinoodinium sp.). Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.)

Fish tuberculosis (FishMB). Bacterial diseases

Occur in standing waters of floodplains, canals, rice paddies (Ref. 12693) and medium to large rivers (Ref. 12975). Feed on zooplankton, mosquito and other insect larvae (Ref. 12693). Air breather and bubble nest builder. Used in behavioral studies (Ref. 4537). Males will fight each other. The many colorful varieties are popular aquarium fish, however, the holding of the males in very small containers should be discouraged (Ref. 1672). Aquarium keeping: sexes should be kept separate unless for mating, and that only one female should be brought into the breeding tank measuring about 20-30 L (http://www.kampffischnet.de).

fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: highly commercial