Betta Splenden, The

A brief history of the Betta fish:

All the way in pre-1900 century Siam the air is calm and there is barely a breeze. Several villagers plant seeds in a large rice paddy field; unperturbed by the colorful fish that swim between their fingers. The villagers called these fish Pla-kat the biting fish and soon these fish would be known as the Siamese fighting fish. (A picture from Google images of a rice paddy field) 

From villagers to nobles and to the King of Siam the art of fighting the Betta splendens became a huge pastime. People bet money, property, houses, and even their families for a chance to fight their prized fish. In the wild two Betta males fighting over territory would last a few minutes. It took only a few years of breeding more aggressive Bettas to make these fights last for hours. People bet on the willingness of the fish to fight, not fights that resulted in deaths. The winning fish was the one that didn’t retreat first.

Eventually the Bettas became so popular that the King of Siam gave a breeding pair to his friend Dr. Theodor Canto. Dr. Canto studied and wrote articles on this fish and later called it Macropodus pugnax. Later in 1909 an Ichthyologist named Charles Tate Regan renamed these fish the Betta splenden. As more studies came out on the Betta fish, so did the popularity of breeding them. Today, there is a large variety of different types of colors, tails, and scales that come about from breeding the domesticated Betta fish.

I decided to dedicate this page to the Betta splendens. They are the first fish that I owned (they are most people’s first fish) and they are my favorite freshwater fish. They come in a vast array of colors and tail forms, they are one of the hardiest fish, can breathe air, and their jaws are incredibly impressive. However, even though I may love this fish there are still many customers who regard them as, “carnival fish” or as “feeder fish.” Here are three common sayings or questions that I often hear from customers.

1. The Betta is so aggressive that it can’t be put with other fish!

Of course the name, “Siamese fighting fish” does not help change this idea. Thanks to years of breeding aggression into these fish males have become more territorial with each other. It is advisable to keep males separate in aquaria. Many customers don’t keep them in large or long enough aquariums to comfortably host more than one male. That is not to say that no one can keep males together. I have met a couple of people who were able to successfully keep two males together. This was because they had a large enough aquarium and used plants or decorations to provide plenty of hiding places. Another thing to keep in mind that males have been known to attack females when they're placed in two small of an aquarium and are unready to mate. There is a whole technique on how to breed Bettas, but that will be addressed in another post.

I've kept males and females together many times and rarely have had a problem. I used live plants and driftwood to create places where the female can hide from the male. Actually, the only problem that I had was when I had three females and one male together in a 16 gallon. The females tore the male's fins apart. I had to quickly remove him and put him in a tank by himself. That's how I found out the hard way that females can be just as aggressive as males and that they usually establish a hierarchy. It's suggested to keep three or more together rather than two, because even females will fight over territory!

As for keeping Bettas with other species of fish, I can say from my own experience that this can be done. Just use caution. Have a large enough aquarium (preferably 10 gallons or more) and enough hiding spaces. Males have been known to attack shiny fish (neon/cardinal tetras) and long tailed fish, like fancy tail guppies and swordtails. Luckily, I've never had that problem. I have had my female Bettas eat my decorative cherry shrimp. However, when putting larger shrimp with them like Amano shrimp, I didn't have a problem. There are dozens of sites dedicated to which type of fish best suit the Betta. 

Some of the fish that I've kept successfully with male and female bettas: neon tetras, white cloud minnows, blue rams, dwarf cichlids, otocinclus, corydoras, algae eaters, amano shrimp, harlequin rasboras, clown plecos and endlers livebearer guppies.

2. Can Bettas live all their lives in a little fishbowl?

This one will always have mixed feelings for me. There are many people who swear up and down that they've kept their bettas in a little bowl (usually the ones that the Bettas are displayed in at fish stores) and it lived "forever" and others who can never keep them alive in bowls. 

Personally I could never keep a Betta in anything less than 1 gallon. I feel that they need space to swim around. After all if an adult male who reaches about 3 ½ inches is kept in a fishbowl that is the same size then he won’t be moving around very well.

This is Shiru one of my males. (Unfortunately he passed away. A bacterial infection claimed him before I could get the medicine!)

Now, Bettas can be kept in a small bowl with proper care. Their breathing labyrinth does allow them to breath oxygen from air, so a filter for oxygen isn't needed. If you want to keep them in a bowl there are a couple of things that need to be done. 

A. Use conditioned water to clean the bowl everyday. This can prevent bacterial infections and popeye. (Little bowls can become dirty rather quickly and no one wants to swim in filth everyday.)

B. Make sure the temperature is above 70 F degrees. Preferably 76 F or higher. If the temperature becomes too low then you run the risk of your Betta developing fungal infection. I have seen this happen many times in the fish stores.

C. Feed the fish every other day 2 to 4 pellets of Betta food. Or 2 or 3 flakes. As much as the fish can eat in 30 seconds or less. This will prevent the fish from overeating, the bowl from getting dirty, and the fish from developing bloat.      

D. Put a mirror against the bowl at least once a day for at least thirty minutes to allow the fish to flare up and use some metabolism of his.

E. I suggest keeping a cover over the bowl (make sure the cover has holes) to prevent the Betta from jumping out. Many times I've had a Betta jump out of an aquarium, even in the ones with over a gallon of water. 

I always recommend at least 1 gallon for a Betta fish. This allows the fish to get more exercise and also keeps the bowl from dirtying too quickly. 

3. Betta fish are the “cheap carnival fish” of the freshwater world.

It is true that the prices for veil tails are cheaper than most fish. Hell, at one store that I worked at Bettas were given away to every customer who came in on Sale Day! Veil tails usually range from $1.99 to $4.99. Bettas are great for decoration, because of their variety of colors. I have seen a number of women use Bettas in bowls to decorate the tables at their wedding receptions. One of these women even went as far to order only purple and pink colored Bettas to match the color scheme of her wedding! I even used my Betta tanks as show pieces in my home.

I do get annoyed when someone calls the Betta a cheap fish, because I think these fish are unique creatures and should be prized. At least in my opinion. Which is why when I heard that my co-workers fed Bettas to their Oscars, I was pretty irked. I think of the rich history of the Betta and I feel that each one has its own unique personality. I've owned dozens and each one has acted differently from the others.

Today, Bettas are bred for their colors, tails, and scales. Pearl scale, Delta tail, Halfmoon, Double, and Dragon scale are just some of the names associated with different types of Bettas. With different varieties come different prices. I've seen the dollar signs go up for the types of tails and scales of the fish. I've seen Delta, Double, and Half moon tails go for $5.99 to $13.99. For Pearl and Dragon scales I've seen the price go up to $24.99. It's about which store you go to, what you find, and if the store employees know what they have. I was able to pick up Midori the beautiful female Crowntail (she is in the picture above) for $2.99, but then had to spend over $12 for Shiru the white Delta tail male. For serious hobbyists Betta fish can reach prices of $50 and above. You can see these prices on the popular site, "Aquabid.com." I have read and heard about bids for Bettas going up to the hundreds! One serious Betta hobbyist who came into a store I worked at, told me about a bid he wanted to join for a full white pearl scale female Betta that started at a $1,000! This fish can be “cheap,” but their price tag can also become very high and very quickly!

Random facts about the Betta.

A. The natural habitat of the Betta are shallow rice paddies, slow moving streams, and warm waters of Malaysia, Taiwan, Cambodia, and Vietnam. 

B. The Bettas jaws resemble a Great White's. The Betta's lower jaws have shredding teeth that tear into their food. In the wild their prey can range from mosquito larvae to shrimp. Their lower jaw juts out under its upper jaw, which allows the Betta to blow bubbles and devour prey easily. Also the proportion of jaw to body ratio make the jaws larger and stronger for the size of the fish. 

D. Females can puff out their flap just like males. When a male Betta is agitated or ready to fight he puffs up -  (A picture of two males puffing their flaps out at each other. Google images) A female betta can do this as well. I discovered this when a put three of them together in my 16G tank. The alpha female would do this to keep the other two away from her territory. 

There is still a lot more left unsaid about the Betta. Luckily, information on these fascinating fish can be found easily. I hope you found this post helpful and maybe learned a couple of new things!