Siamese Fighting Fish (redirected from Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish))

Siamese fighting fish: see betta.

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Siamese fighting fish

Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens).

(credit: Douglas Faulkner)

Freshwater tropical fish (Betta splendens; family Belontiidae or Anabantidae), noted for the males' pugnacity toward one another. A native of Thailand, it was domesticated there for use in contests. Combat consists mainly of fin nipping and is accompanied by a display of extended gill covers, spread fins, and intensified colouring. This slender fish grows to about 2.5 in. (6.5 cm) long. In the wild it is predominantly greenish or brown, with red fins; domesticated, it has been bred with long, flowing fins and in a variety of colours, such as red, green, blue, and lavender.

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Siamese Fighting Fish 

(Betta splendens), a fish of the family Anabantidae of the suborder Anabantoidea (labyrinthic fishes). The fish is up to 8 cm long. The males, especially during the mating season, are brightly colored. Siamese fighting fish are found in the fresh waters of Southeast Asia (India, Thailand, and the Malay Peninsula). The male builds a nest out of air bubbles (foam) on the surface of the water; the female deposits the eggs on the bottom of the body of water, and then the male carries them in his mouth into the nest, where he guards them and subsequently the fry. The Siamese fighting fish easily reproduces in small aquariums (at temperatures of 25° to 30° C). Veiled and variegated forms of the fish are bred in aquariums; these forms include the red, cornflower blue, rose, blue, and green fish.

REFERENCE

Il’in, M. N. Akvariumnoe rybovodstvo. Moscow, 1968.