Housing and Care
Betta splendens is a very popular aquarium fish. A number of hobbyists usually keep single males as these are the most impressive of the two sexes. Bettas are not demanding fish in terms of space, they require little or no flow therefore they are considered easy to care for. With a small initial investment a hobbyist can have a really attractive planted tank with a great looking fish in it.
The fish commonly available are a man made variety, result of selective breeding. In the wild fish have much duller colouration and short fins. This allows them to move fast, which is essential for survival in their natural habitat. With regards to the length and shape of fins of some of the Betta splendens varieties there is much debate; some consider certain varieties to be ethically unacceptable as the length and the shape of the finnage impedes the fish from swimming and / or spawning properly. In other words, it is argued that some varieties are selectively bred to be ornaments and very little respect is paid to their welfare.
Wild bettas have been discovered in Thailand (previously known as Siam), hence their common name, Siamese fighters. The fish live in abundance in shallow streams and rice paddies in South East Asia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. They have been originally used for gambling. Locals would get two males to confront each other and bet on the winner, a deplorable habit similar to the western cock fighting and the such like. (1)
The fighting ability of the is not something extraordinary or particular to this species. Intraspecific aggression is a quite common phenomenon particularly amongst males. In the wild the fish do not fight to death. Each male holds their relatively small territory and will only attack an intruding male, very much like what happens with other species. The fish do not fight to death; the loser leaves once the winner displays. The fights are encouraged by forcing two males to confront one another in confined quarters.
Betta splendens varieties
Nowadays there are a number of cultivated mutations of Bettas available; the fish are distinguished by the length of their fins, the size and shape of their tail. The different strains command different prices; the purity of each strain is an important issue amongst dedicated Betta fans. Show fish can command really exorbitant prices, ranging from one and going up to a few thousand pounds. Colour combinations are also important in determining the selling price.
The known varieties of Betta splendens, depending on the shape of their tail and the finnage, are the following:
- Veil tails: This is the most common variety. The fish has a long trailing tail. In the Betta circles this fish does not quite have high standing, to say but the least.
- Crown tails: Similar to veil tails though the tail and finnage has a fringed look.
- Half moon: The tail of the fish, when flared, should resemble a half moon. The edges of the caudal fin (tail) should be 180 degrees when apart and should turn outwards, not inwards. The dorsal and the anal fin, when extended, should form one shape, so they should have the same height (length). The body should be proportionately place in exactly the middle of the caudal fin so that the finnage, when fully extended, forms a circle.
- Double tail: the tail has two distinct caudal lobes and the dorsal fin is equal in length to the anal fin (tail).
- Round tail: the tail has got rounded edges.
- Spade tail: the caudal fin starts wide at the base and ends pointed, resembling the shape of a spade.
- Delta: the edges of the caudal fin extend outwards, forming a Δ shape.
- Super delta: this is an enhanced version of the Delta tail, with the caudal fin just falling short of forming a half moon.
- Plakat: These are short finned Bettas. They come in two types, the traditional and the modern. The traditional type has finnage according to the wild type, with no more than 2 ray branching, a rounded tail and 180 degrees spread the the base of the caudal fin. Modern plakats are bred to criteria similar to the longfin show Bettas: symmetrical form, more than 4 ray branching, 180 or better span of the edges of the caudal fin with sharp edges and wide dorsal fin.
- Rosetail: 4+ rays branching, making the caudal fin look like a flower petal.
- Combtail: the reduced webbing between the rays creates a fringed look. It is reported that combtails that achieve 180 degrees spread at the base of the caudal fin are occasionally called Half suns. (1)
In addition to the above, the fish are also classified by colour and pattern. Recognised colours are the turquoise, green, yellow, pineapple, orange, red, royal blue, steel blue, cellophane, white opaque, cambodian, black, copper and chocolate. The fish can be single colour, bi-colour or multi colour. Patterns include marble, piebald and butterfly.
Though none of our fish has ever been a pure strain of any of the above, differences in the shape of the tail and the dorsal fin between them are clear; you can see them in the photos in the Gallery. There is information available about the dominant and recessive genes which determine the shape of the fins as well as the colours of the offspring depending on the pair spawned. Specialists advise not to cross some of the forms while others have to be always out crossed to avoid offspring deformities. It is also argued that some of the strains are more prone to disease than others.
We will not have this discussion here. We feel it is out of the realm of fish keeping and into designer genetics. Undoubtedly some of these selectively bred fish are simply breathtaking appearance wise though there are those who find them too showy and unreal. Whatever one’s stand on this issue may be, it should not distract from the pertinent issue, which is the welfare of the animals themselves. It is true that these fish will never find themselves living in a stream or a paddy (hopefully) so in the main their colour and finnage will not be the cause of their early demise, as it would have been if they had to survive in the wild. Yet we should not forget that the fins are for the fish what limbs are for humans: they are there to serve a purpose. Creating a fish with a caudal fin twice the size of its body equals to creating a person with a normal size body and 2 inch long limbs. The fact that the fish survive surely does not mean that they do not suffer or that the practice should be accepted unquestionably.
In addition to the lack of space in the plastic cups the stand is revolving so that customers can see the different fish; the fish get stressed. No surprise that most of them were totally listless.
Bettas in Jars
Bettas have also been the target of a different type of cruelty. This is related to the environments they are often kept: the infamous Betta jar. It is true that the fish do not like big spaces as it can be quite tiring for them to patrol their territory constantly, which is what they do (we suspect this becomes more difficult if a small fish has to carry all that heavy and lengthy tail which in the end is more of a hindrance than help). It has been reported that Betta keepers who have placed their bettas in larger tanks often had to place them back to their smaller quarters as the fish were getting quite stressed in the new bigger environments. Having said that, Bettas do enjoy a territory and they need some space to swim around. We have found that shallow tanks with a 20-40 liters capacity are ideal for these fish. The tanks should not be more than 15-20 cm in depth to allow the fish to come easily to the surface to breed and also to pick its eggs during spawning and place them in the bubble nest.
Betta splendens aquarium decoration
We have found that Bettas thrive in shallow tanks with very slow flow (a small air filter is more than adequate), plants (the thicker the vegetation the better for the fish, provided there is sufficient space for them to swim amongst the plants comfortably) and some wood. Try to avoid ornaments and other tank furniture which may trap the fish; if they cannot get to the surface of the water easily and readily they will suffocate. Sand substrate is very much appreciated. The temperature should be high, around 28 degrees Celsius. Our fish get really uncomfortable if the temperature drops below 26oC. Bettas are supposed to like soft, slightly acidic water and it is often argued that they will do well in lower pH too. We always kept ours in neutral water and this has never been an issue. The tanks can be open at the top, though this is not advisable as the fish may jump out of the water, which they do occasionally if they are excited or feel threatened. It is preferable to cover the tanks with a piece of egg crate or a glass lid with breathing holes in it. There should always be some space left between the surface of the water and the lid to ensure adequate air circulation; where floating plants are used we ensure these do not bar the access of the fish to the surface of the water. Bettas breathe via their labyrinth organ. This enables them to live comfortably in poorly oxygenated waters as their oxygen intake comes from the air rather than the water. In turn this means that they do need access to the surface of the water to breath. If this is not possible the fish will drown. Finally we ensure the tanks are well lit to encourage plant growth.
It is sometimes argued that Bettas can be kept in tanks with no filtration. Though technically this is true we do not feel it is is good practice. Water stability is as important for Bettas as for any other fish. Filtration is the most appropriate way to keep the water clean. If there is something wrong either with the water parameters or with the quality the fish will become inactive and sit on the substrate. This is a serious sign which should not be overlooked.
Feeding Betta splendens
Bettas are carnivores; we feed ours a good quality carnivore staple diet though black mosquito larvae seem to be a favourite with them. Other small frozen food (artemia, cyclops etc) is also taken though never welcomed in the same way as the mosquito larvae. The fish have their mouth turned upwards, indicating that the eat from the surface of the water. We have found that they adapt easily to eating from the bottom too.
Betta splendens personality
For a small fish Bettas have an amazing personality. They will reward their keeper with lots of interaction if treated properly. This is more evident with the males as they are usually kept on their own (a single male per tank); females are the same though as they are usually kept in groups their ability to interact with their keeper is not as evident. Some fish are extremely aggressive and territorial; it is advised by breeders of ornamental fish not to breed these fish as the father’s aggression is hereditary. Others are quite friendly and interactive; they clearly enjoy the attention of their keeper and they will show this by performing a series of activities, including a small dance, when attention is paid to them. One of our males, Red Sin, will immediately come to the front of the tank once we approach it, dance and get close to the surface of the water. If we move across the tank he will follow us. He will stay at the front glass for all the time we are prepared to spent with him looking straight at us while we talk to him. This is not unusual; in his book, Caring for Betta Fish, Marcus Song reports that a number of Bettas do this. Each male has apparently their own little dance which they perform when they are happy. (2)
The reaction of the fish to tank maintenance is also indicative of their personality. Some of our males hide behind a piece of wood and watch us, others come forward to sniff at the pipe used for siphoning the substrate, a few even attack the pipe – but none ignores what was going on. Once they get familiar with their environment the fish will own it; they want to know and be in control of everything that is going on in it. It is reported that some males will redecorate their tank; there is also a report of a male who would help his carer carry out the tank maintenance by going round pointing with his nose the bits of debris his carer had missed. (3)
It is argued that male Bettas need stimulation so from time to time it is good to get them to see other males so they can display. If that is not possible putting a mirror inside the tank to allow the male to see its own image and display at it is an alternative. This should be done carefully and for short periods of time or else the fish will be stressed. We have never employed any of these techniques. Instead we keep our breeding males in their own quarters, usually shared with young catfish growing up. The males share the tank happily with their peaceful tank mates while the movement of the cats provides the required stimulation without making the fish feel threatened or on edge. A couple of our males take an extreme interest in the catfish, to the extend that they interfere when these get involved in fights.
We keep our sexually mature females together. We have had, on occasions, some particularly aggressive females who needed to be kept separately as they attacked the most vulnerable in the group. These, however, were exceptions. On the main there is a hierarchy in the tank and each female knows her place. On one occasion we had to put our females in a 100 lit community tank for a short period of time. The fish stayed together, as a group, at all times, something we have never observed when they were in their own dedicated quarters.
Breeding
It is important to choose a compatible pair. Bettas are highly selective of their breeding partners. Males are commonly reported to attack unwanted females while females will also attack a male they do not like, though this is less common. The best way to start is to get two or three females per male, thus giving your male an option should that be required. Mature males are easy to tell by their long finnage. Females have shorter finnage and they display bars at the sides of their body when seeing a male.
The first thing to be aware off is the age of your fish. Bettas are short lived fish; on average you should expect a well kept fish to live about 4 years. That means that they get sexually mature quite early. The fish commonly found in shops are already over 16 months old; some say that this is because breeders breed a fish a lot then hand it over to be sold when it is past its prime. We have seen people preferring older males to younger ones as the former have fully developed their finnage so they look more like what is usually seen on photographs, as opposed to younger males whose finnage is not yet fully developed. Whatever the case if you intend to breed your fish you are better off starting with a younger, rather than an older, pair. Obviously the younger the fish you get the more they will live under your care, which is important given the short life span of these fish. Fish which have been bred too often and are already middle aged by the time of the acquisition are more likely to pass away sooner rather than later.
There is often discussion about conditioning Bettas to spawn. It is also often argued that Bettas will not spawn unless they are fed live or frozen food. Our experience is different. We feed frozen food only once every month, as a special treat. All our fish breed regularly and produce healthy batches of young fish. If kept on a good staple diet the fish will spawn. We are quite confident in saying that they do not need conditioning if kept properly (water quality, water parameters, food). Having said that, it is often reported that males who have no reason to establish a territory will not spawn. To get these fish to spawn breeders get them to see other males and females in adjacent tanks for a short period of time daily (30-60 mins). They then do a partial water change with cooler water and place a female in the tank. We have not tried this trick ourselves as we usually find that healthy males do not need such encouragement.
We keep our females in a dedicated 40 lit tank and our males in a dedicated 20 – 30 lit tank, one male per tank. We feed them once daily Blue Line Basic Grade 122. The tanks are planted and have good lighting. We prefer to have our tanks covered but as indicated above this is an additional precaution in case a fish decides to jump out.
Observing the females is important in finding out when they are ready to spawn: their sides will bulge and the bulge will appear as a white spot on the sides of the fish. The ovipositor will appear as a white dot at the underbelly area of the fish.
When the female is ready we place the male in a breeding tank. The breeding tank should not be deeper than 15-20 cm, to facilitate the male picking the eggs up. It is usually advised to keep the breeding tank bare; this allows the male to see the eggs that fall on the substrate and pick them up to place them in the bubble nest. We only did that once; in all subsequent spawns we used a fully furnished planted tank as a breeding tank. The substrate is a layer of fine sand which allows any eggs or fry falling off the bubble nest to be easily located and picked up by the father. This has a number of advantages, namely:
- it allows the female to hide if the male is too aggressive when she is introduced in the tank, prior to spawning
- it allows the female to hide to avoid post spawning aggression
- it allows the fry to hide and grow up in a more natural environment without intervention from ourselves
- it does not stress the parents who find themselves, just before spawning, in a fully unprotected and strange environment where there is nothing to hide behind.
We allow the male to stay in the breeding tank for a couple of days so he can become familiar with the surroundings and feel safe. After this is repeated three of four times you will find that the male does not need this adaptation period; he will recognise the breeding tank immediately. Three of our males, when moved to the breeding tank, will start immediately building a bubble nest without even waiting for the female to appear first. Our breeding tanks are usually planted with cabomba caroliniana which is an excellent plant to use as it is delicate, it offers quite a lot of hiding places for adults and fry and, provided it is well shaped, it does allow the fish to swim freely amongst the branches and leaves. We add some floating plants (Phyllanthus fluitans is a good choice but any other plant with relatively small leaves will also do) though this is not necessary as we have had spawns without the aid of the floating plants. The flow should be minimal so as not to disturb the bubble nest. Finally the tank must be covered; the bubble nest tends to get destroyed if exposed to fluctuating room temperatures or dry air. This is the reason most people advise putting in the tank wide leafed plants or the bottom of a styrofoam cup for the fish to build the bubble nest under. You can safely skip this step if your tank is covered with a lid. If you don’t have a lid you can use cling film – just make sure there are some holes near the filter outlet for the air to circulate freely. Never make holes at the end of the tank opposite to the filter outlet as this is where your male will try to build his bubble nest.
Introducing the Betta splendens female
Introducing the female may be tricky, particularly if the pair have never met before. Keep an eye on both the male and the female. If both parties are ready to spawn the male will chase the female out of the territory where he intends to build the bubble nest and leave her alone. If he continually pursues her and you see her stressed, (displaying vertical bars) losing colour or hiding, then remove the female immediately; this pair is either incompatible or not ready to spawn. You can try your male with a different female or put him back in his tank and try him with the same female a bit later to see if he has changed his mind. Females ready to spawn display vertical bars often referred to as breeding bars.
A good way of introducing the pair to each other is to put a glass partition in the tank and place the female in one side and the male in the other. This allows the pair to get used to seeing each other without any of them being able to hurt the other. Another popular trick is to place in the middle of the tank the glass cover of a storm lamb with the wide part secured firmly in the substrate and the narrow part coming out of the water. The female is placed inside the glass cover so that the pair, again, can see but not touch each other. We never did this as we feel it will unnecessarily tress the female prior to spawning. For us, observation works well; once the female is placed in the breeding tank within an hour you can tell if the pair will spawn or just kill each other.
Building the bubble nest
If the male likes the female he will display to her by flaring his dorsal and caudal fin; the female will watch the display rather than running to hide. The male will then start building a bubble nest. Males do that, occasionally, even when they are on their own; this is a sign that the fish is settled, healthy and ready to spawn. If that happens and we do have a female ready to spawn we prefer placing her in the male’s tank and skipping the part about the breeding tank. This, of course, means that the male will have to give up his own quarters after the spawn as it is easier to remove him from his own tank than the fry. In that case we immediately prepare the breeding tank to accept the male as it will become his permanent quarters for about 3 months after the spawn.
Depending on the speed and diligence on the male and the size of spawn he is expecting to have the bubble nest will be constructed in 48-96 hours. The size of the bubble nest varies; some males build really large bubble nests, occupying a massive surface area, others are more moderate. The spends a large part of the day building the bubble nest and the rest of his time he invests in maintaining the interest of his female by displaying to her around the tank. The female by this stage should be pretty relaxed; though she will not be allowed anywhere near the bubble nest (she will not even try to go there) she should be quite comfortable with the male approaching her to display.
Betta splendens Spawning
Spawning can be initiated either by the female, who will attempt to come close to the bubble nest and be accepted or by the male who will go to fetch the female and show her his nest. This part of courting is great to watch but easily missed if one does not keep an eye on the fish constantly. We usually try to plan the spawns to start on a Friday so we can have the weekend ahead to keep an eye on the fish. Though one can never be sure that things will go as planned this little trick has allowed us to witness intense courting and spawning on a number of occasions.
At this stage the fish are an absolute delight to watch. They shake their bodies, they get into the same rhythm and they start moving together as they engage in the breeding embrace. The female will get herself into a horizontal position, staying almost immobile while the male will embrace her body with his to help her release the eggs. The eggs will fall on the male’s tail where they are fertilised by the sperm he releases simultaneously, then placed inside the bubble nest. Any eggs that fall off are picked up by the male who places them inside the bubble nest. The female stays stunned after each embrace for a while however she may, between embraces, also descend with the male to assist him in picking up the eggs.
The spawning activity can last anything up to a few hours. On average our pairs spawn for 2-3 hours. Following that the female is usually removed. It is argued that she may eat the eggs; we have not seen that happening. The male will become aggressive towards the female and may kill her if she swims near the bubble nest. If you use a long tank (which is what we prefer to use) there is not great urgency to remove the female; she can easily occupy the other end of the tank and swim comfortably amongst the plants without disturbing the male. It has been reported that in the wild the females, after spawning, will get further away from the nest but will remain in the vicinity. It is speculated that the reason this happens is that she can take care of the fry should something happen to the father. (4) We usually let our females rest for a day or two after the spawning, then move them back to their old quarters.(5) While netting the female it is important to be careful not to disturb the male or the bubble nest. If it is easy, try putting a glass divider in the tank between the male and the female, then net the female safely knowing she cannot run to hide at the male’s side. In any case Bettas are clever creatures and they get to know their keeper. If your female gets on with you you can entice her with a treat, then net her easily.
Raising the fry
The male will take care of the bubble nest, the eggs and fry until these become free swimming. During that time he is quite busy: he checks on the eggs and fry regularly, he occasionally moves them – or appears to do so – within the bubble nest, he patrols the area, repairs or enlarges the nest and so on. He will not go very far away from the nest other than to patrol the periphery. Hence he will not look for food. We make sure that our males eat by adding a small amount of food very carefully near the bubble nest (the food must not be floating food, the fish will eat perfectly well sinking grains). The eggs will hatch within 48 hours and the fry will become free swimming within two to three days. Some Betta breeders leave a light on near the tank during that period of time so that the dad can see the eggs or fry that fall of the nest and pick them up. We do not do that as we believe that in nature that would not happen and the 24 hours lighting period will stress the male excessively and unnecessarily. We have not had any problems with the broods because of that. (6)
Once the fry become free swimming the father’s duty of care is finished. (7) Some breeders remove the father at this stage as he may attack the youngsters; we have left some fathers in with the brood and the young fish grew up fine with their father. If the father has to be moved the easiest way of doing so without harming any of the tiny fry is to entice him with a delicacy at the other side of the tank and net him carefully while he is there. The tank must remain covered for at least one more week after the father is removed. The damp air between the surface of the water and the lid of the tank is required for the fry to properly develop their labyrinth organ. If this step is missed out it is argued that the fry will not develop their labyrinth organ properly and they will drown.
The fry are initially tiny – if they are in a planted tank chances are you will not be able to see them. That does not mean they are not there. If the tank is properly aged you do not need to feed the fry; there is plenty of infusoria and micro-organisms for them to eat there. For the first couple to three days they are still consuming their yolk sac anyway. Interpet Powder for fry, vinegar eels and micro worms are all fine for the fry to eat. Alternatively you can offer them high protein ground adult food (we find Blue Line Artemia grade 12 is an excellent food and can be combined with ground Blue Line Basic 122). The usual advice is to feed the fry three times daily. We add a pinch of powder once daily and this appears to be sufficient.
Tips for rearing the fry
During the first four weeks we avoid doing any water changes in the fry tank. The fry are tiny and we do not like to risk siphoning them out of the tank. The filter is still on low and we rely on the plants and careful feeding to maintain a good water quality. Once the fry are clearly visible we perform 10%-20% water changes weekly. However this does not appear to be required. The plants cope with the nitrates well and the fry seem to be growing fine when we just top up the tank to the required level to replace the water lost from evaporation. If the fry are kept in a bare tank then water changes must start earlier, when the fry are about 2 weeks old. It is important to cover the end of the pipe used for removing the old water with a tight net to ensure that none of the babies is thrown out with the bath water (literally and metaphorically). By that time, however, the fry should be strong enough to swim away from the siphon, provided a small pipe is used.
It is usually advised to split the fry up when they become roughly about 1 cm long, as that is when aggression starts. If the fish are kept in a planted tank there is no need for that; they can continue to share the same tank happily (again, it is important that the tank is a long one rather than a square or round one to make sure that there is plenty of space for all the fish to come up to the surface of the water and have some privacy and territory). We keep our fry together till they are about 6 months old. By that time the males have already got the longer, characteristic fins and the intense colouration. Bettas are ready to spawn when they become eight months old; in fact there are those who believe that this is the best age to spawn a fish to produce a healthy brood. At this stage males may attack each other, if they are still together, particularly if they are the offspring of an aggressive father. We have kept the offspring of non-aggressive fathers together for longer periods of time without any ugly incidents.
By that time it is good to have planned out a future for these juveniles. Although Bettas are small and do not require large tanks or heavy filtration they do still require some space of their own. Males are better off kept separately and you end up with lots of small tanks all over the place. Small tanks take up a substantial amount of time to maintain properly – in fact more time than bigger tanks. Your local pet store may be able to take the fish – or at least part of the brood. If you are into Betta breeding seriously you may want to keep some fish for yourself to breed with other fish you have in order to get offspring with a certain colour or colour combination. If neither of these is the case and your friends or acquaintances are not interested in offering a good home to the young fish, then you will be stuck with a number of youngsters you need to care for until they get homed. So after all, we are still back to square one – same as with the larger aquarium fish: you may want to get your fish to spawn only after you have secured a home for their offspring.
End Notes
- Originally fighting Bettas was an activity regulated and taxed by the King of Siam. It has been argued that the main difference between cock fighting and Betta fighting was that the later would not go to the end. It would stop once one of the two opponents would give up fighting. Still the damages inflicted on each of the opponents during the fight can be either crippling or fatal.
- The book is available in paper version and electronically. The link in the text is for downloading the electronic version. Paper version details: Published by Lulu.com, May 2006, ISBN-13: 978-1411693654, pp. 80.
- ibid., p. 16 of the electronic version.
- Victoria Parnell, A look inside the bubblenest
- This will not work if there is no sufficient distance between the male’s nest and the female. It is important to have long, rather than square, tanks. A 70cm tank is a good length to allow the mother to stay in with the father and eggs.
- It has recently been reported that fry that fell off the nest and stayed at the bottom of the tank grew up to become healthy individuals. See Victoria Parnell, A look inside the bubblenest.
- It is possible that in the wild the juveniles remain in the father’s territory until they are big enough not to be eaten by other Bettas, ibid.
References
More information on different tail shapes can be found in Karl Baumgarten, Betta Splendens: General Information And Breeding, London Aquaria Society, Ontario, Canada. May 2001, Aquarticles (no longer available)
- Victoria Parnell, Metallics and Masks
- Victoria Parnell, Different types of Black
- xbetta, Tail Shapes
- A very good presentation of fin types and colours, including some explanation of genetically inherited characteristics: What types of Bettas are there?
- Jim Sonnier, Bettas (no longer available)
- Ethan Wheeler, Information on Betta splendens (no longer available)
- Chris Yew, Basic Colour Genetics Of Betta (no longer available)
- All About Betta splendens – colour definitions and genetics (no longer available)
- Betta finnage
- Plakat Thai an interesting read for those wishing to understand the extend to which some people go to raise and train their Bettas for fighting.`
- Betta colours
Source: MCH Portal
