Siamese Fighting Betta Fish and About Them

There are many fascinating facts and tidbits of information about betta fish, one of which is the fact that they have excellent eyesight. As a result of their well-developed eyesight, these fish will learn to swim to the surface when you approach their bowls.

These beautiful fish are often referred to as a Siamese fighting fish. The name is pronounced like the letter in the Greek alphabet, which results in common misspellings, particularly in America. The name for these fish has nothing at all to do with the Greek letter and is actually a derivative of Thai ikan bettah’. These fish are known as pla-kad in Thailand and live in freshwater. They originated in the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia.

These fish grow to be about 6 cm long and they have an average lifespan of four years although well-kept specimens can live even longer than 6 years.

When agitated, these fish will puff out their gill covers so that their fins appear much more impressive in this case it is generally meant to intimidate males seen as potential rivals. In other circumstances this act is used as part of a mating ritual in order to attract female attention.

Asian countries have a sport’ very much like cock fighting in which betta fish are used. The fighting fish have shorter fins than the traditional betta fish pets common in the west. Longer fins are more common in those that are bred rather than those that are born wild. You will also find that bred betta fish also have more brightly colored fins than their wild counterparts.

Betta males create what are known as bubble nests for spawning. These nests are made from air that is coated in their saliva and are meant as a place for the fertilized eggs to be placed then watched over by the male until the time in which they hatch.

Once spawned, the eggs either float upwards into the bubble nest or are carried by the male in his mouth. Once in the nest, the eggs generally take anywhere from 24-48 hours to hatch at which time they are closely guarded by the male of the species who retrieves any eggs that fall away from the nest along with making any repairs to the bubble nest that are required during the waiting period’. Once the eggs hatch the male will also tend to the babies for the next few weeks.