Betta Fish Basics

Betta Fish are also called Siamese Fighting Fish. The name Betta is pronounced as the Greek letter beta, and because of this, the name is often misspelled in American English, with one t instead of two. The name is unrelated to the Greek letter and originates from the Thai phrase 'ikan bettah'. In Thailand, betta fish are known as pla-kad. Betta Fish live in freshwater. Betta fish are one of the most popular aquarium fish. This is mainly because of their appearance - certainly not because they are easy to keep in an aquarium. Betta Fish originate from the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia.

Betta fish are known to "puff-out" when aggravated. When this happens their gills and fins puff out to appear more impressive. They do it to either intimidate rival males or to impress females during courtship.
One interesting aspect of Betta fish is their extremely well-developed eyesight. Betta fish will swim to the surface when they see your hand over the tank as you feed them.

Betta fish grow to about 6 cm, and have a life-span, on average, of about four years. Well maintained aquarium Bettas have been known to live longer than six years.

In Asian countries, the Betta fish have been used in fights
not unlike cockfighting known in Mexico. These fighting fish usually have much shorter fins than the Betta fish we are accustomed to in the west. Betta Fish breeders have developed the brilliantly colored and long finned varieties of Bettas we see in pet stores today.

Betta fish create nests made of floating masses of bubbles. They are blown with saliva. These bubble nests are a place for fertilized eggs to hatch in. The nest is guarded by the male until the small Betta fishes hatch. The nests are made from air bubbles which when coated with saliva increase its strength. When the male Betta makes the nest you can hear a louder noise than when it breathes normally. After the Betta fish have spawned, the eggs float up into the nest from below or the male Betta carries them there in its mouth.

The male Betta will guard the nest for the next 24-48 hours until the eggs hatch. He also keeps a close watch on the eggs and will retrieve any eggs or fry that fall from the nest. He will also repair the nest by adding bubbles where needed. After the fry hatch (in 24-48 hours) the male will tend the fish for the next couple of weeks.

good info..

If these fish could live in groups, I'd put 55 in a 55.

ALL MALES

Nope, they are community fish and need 2 cups of water per fish. So technically you can have about 500 of these fish in one tank. Be aware, do not put any females in. They are aggressive and will fight to the death! Feed them goldfish regularly and no filter is needed.

i have a 5-gallon tank - could i put 1 male w/2 females? i thought the males fought but not the females.

philuponthepho wrote:

Nope, they are community fish and need 2 cups of water per fish. So technically you can have about 500 of these fish in one tank. Be aware, do not put any females in. They are aggressive and will fight to the death! Feed them goldfish regularly and no filter is needed.

Tried it already. Bought 4 a long time ago. Put them all in a 10 gallon. After the first day, there was only 3, after 2 days, there was only 1. Each fish that died had battle scares from lip to fin. Even the one that lived had a few scares, and died after a week.

TanyaQ2000 wrote:

i have a 5-gallon tank - could i put 1 male w/2 females? i thought the males fought but not the females.

I had all males, and they hated each other to death (literally, to death).

Lol yeah i was joking. Only 1 male per fish tank. You can put a female in but introduce her first.

so I could put 2 females w/1 male, right? just put the females in the tank first and then introduce the male?

I would do one female first. If the male doesn't attack her your good. I've never tried two females before.

This article is reasonably good for beginner Betta keepers.....Be sure to note the temp ranges as this is the one item that Betta keepers are un aware of and their little Bettas suffer because of it.
http://www.cbsbettas.org/petbetta.html

I would be cautious putting any betta together with another betta. They are all very aggressive towards their own kind. Some people have had luck doing several females together, but I wouldn't buy them all at once.

TanyaQ2000 wrote:

so I could put 2 females w/1 male, right? just put the females in the tank first and then introduce the male?

I don't suggest it in such a small tank. Maybe in a 20g with lots of hiding spots but it would still be risky.

I realize this is a very old thread but I was just reading it a realized it is full of a lot of misinformation. First off you can put one male betta in a community tank that's all for the males............ Second, NEVER put a female in with a male unless you are intending to breed them in which case they would be in a breeder tank. A male will kill a female who isn't ready to breed................ Third, You can keep many females together in a tank with just bettas or they can go in a community tank.