| Betta | |
|---|---|
| Betta albimarginata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Osphronemidae |
| Genus: | Betta Bleeker, 1850 |
| Species | |
|
B. persephone |
|
Betta ( /ˈbɛtə/) is a large genus of small, often colorful, freshwater ray-finned fishes in the gourami family (Osphronemidae). The type species is B. picta, the spotted betta.[1] By far the best known Betta species, however, is B. splendens, the Siamese fighting fish.
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All the Betta species are small fishes, but they vary considerably in size, ranging from under 2.5 cm (1 inch) total length in B. chanoides to 12.5 cm (5 inches) in the Akar betta (B. akarensis).[1]
Bettas are anabantoids, which means they can breathe atmospheric air thanks to a unique organ called the labyrinth. This accounts for their ability to thrive in low-oxygen water conditions that would kill most other fish, such as rice paddies, slow-moving streams, drainage ditches, and large puddles.[2]
The various bettas can be divided into two groups, based on their spawning behaviour: some build bubble nests, like B. splendens, while others are mouthbrooders, like B. picta. The mouthbrooding species are sometimes called "pseudo bettas", and are sometimes speculated to have evolved from the nest-builders in an adaptation to their fast-moving stream habitats.[3]
There is often much confusion in terminology regarding these fish. Siamese fighting fish, B. splendens, are frequently sold in the United States simply as bettas. Fish fanciers are thus often unaware that, as of 2006[update], there are around 65 species classified within the genus Betta. A further source of confusion is that while the generic name Betta is italicized and capitalized, when used as a common name it is usually not capitalized.[4] The common name of Betta pugnax, for example, is thus Penang betta.
The name Betta (or betta) is pronounced /ˈbɛtə/.[4] That is, the first part is the same as the English word bet. By confusion with the name of the Greek letter beta, the name is often pronounced /ˈbeɪtə/ in American English, and may be misspelled with one t. The name of the genus is unrelated to that of the Greek letter, being derived from the Malay word ikan betah ("persistent fish").[5]
The Betta is native freshwater fish from Thailand (formerly Siam) and Cambodia (formerly Kampuchea).[6] Wild Betta can often be found in a small pond, river and drain. As Betta can survive in a low-oxygen level of water, Betta can live anywhere and mostly in Asia.
Naturally, wild Betta fish is easy to survive as it can eat almost anything in its living environment, such as living worms, larvae of mosquitoes or other insects and even smaller fishes. This is because their living environment basically is in poor condition, so Betta species have no much choice for them to choose their food.
Betta fish are not big eaters but should be fed a small amount once a day to once every other day.[7] Betta is easy to feed, they can be fed floating flake food, freeze dried blood worms, live black worms, frozen brine shrimp or betta pellets that can be bought from an aquarium store.
Betta pellets are a type of small, round edible pellets that can be fed on most betta species. Betta pellets are made out of crude protein, crude lipids, crude fiber, crude ash, moisture, phosphorus, carbohydrates, certain vitamins, and other ingredients. [8]
While many Betta species are common and B. splendens is ubiquitous in the aquarium trade, other bettas are threatened. The IUCN Red List classifies several Betta species as Vulnerable. In addition, B. livida is Endangered, and B. miniopinna, B. persephone, and B. spilotogena are Critically Endangered.[9]
The United Nations Environment Programme lists an unconfirmed species, Betta cf. tomi, as having become extinct in Singapore between 1970 and 1994.[10] This likely refers to the extirpated Singaporean population of B. tomi, which continues to exist in the wild in Indonesia and Malaysia as well as in captivity; the Red List classifies it as Vulnerable.[11][12]
The currently described Betta species can be grouped into complexes for conservation purposes. (This grouping of species makes no claim at representing a phylogenetic reality.) The complexes of the associated species are:[1] [13] [14]
There are also several known populations without a valid species status, like Betta sp. machachai from the splendens complex. These may be described as valid species in the future.