Fighting fish
The genus Betta is also known as fighting fish. As labyrinth fishes, they belong to the large family of climbing fishes (Anabantiformes). They breathe atmospheric air with the help of their labyrinth organ, which functions similarly to a lung. Therefore, the aquarium should always be well covered - if they can breathe in air that is too cold, bettas can actually catch a cold. In the wild, these ornamental fish often live in shallow, plant-rich waters, in puddles with lots of foliage, or in rice paddies in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. If their original biotope threatens to dry out, they will jump until they get to another suitable body of water - even out of the aquarium. The migratory instinct is simply pronounced in bettas, and if you want to prevent losses, you should definitely cover the aquarium without gaps. They even find the openings at the back of the aquarium cover through which cables are pulled, so you should stuff them with filter sponge or something similar to prevent escape. Since fighting fish can drown underwater, you need to make sure they can get to the surface regularly and not get caught or trapped anywhere underwater. As far as water values are concerned, fighting fish do not have any great demands; they do very well with soft to hard water.
Feeding Bettas
In nature Bettas are pure carnivores, even the wild forms like the Peaceful Fighting Fish Betta imbellis. You won't be doing them any favors with a commercial flake food for omnivorous aquarium fish - they need animal food. In the wild they eat insect larvae, insects landing on the water, worms, small crustaceans and other approach foods. Nevertheless, a good betta food has a small vegetable content that simulates the intestinal contents of the prey animals, which usually feed on algae and small suspended particles. We recommend our NatureHolic Bettafeed for feeding your female and male high breeding fighting fish with bright colors and spectacular fin veils (Betta splendens) and also the not less beautiful wild forms. But also frozen food or especially live food is very suitable for feeding fighting fish in the aquarium. Here they have the additional fun of the hunt and a stimulation to move.
Breeding Bettas
Fighting fish breed in the foam nest that the males build. After the courtship dance, the male embraces the female. It ejects its spawn, which the male fertilizes. Then the male collects the eggs and spits them into the foam nest. The female should then be removed from the breeding aquarium to minimize stress to the male Kafi. If the foam nest was built in the aquarium, you can also transfer it together with the male to a breeding tank - very carefully! The male collects falling eggs and returns them to the foam nest. When the fry have hatched, you also catch the male out. The fry are fed with Artemia nauplii. About breeding Artemia you can find a detailed blog from Garnelio here: "Artemia züchten, halten, vermehren & verfüttern - Alles wissenswertes über Artemia". With Betta splendens you have to separate the fry at first aggressiveness, Betta imbellis you can leave together longer.
Betta splendens in the aquarium
Bettas originally come from Asia, where especially Betta splendens is still used for fish fights, where the inferior male often does not survive. The high-bred forms of the Siamese fighting fish are extremely aggressive against conspecifics and should therefore not be kept in a group, but only in single keeping. Also the females of Betta splendens are quite aggressive within the species and should rather be kept alone in case of doubt. For the keeping a well planted Nanocube of 20 l is already sufficient. Although Betta splendens is not really a nano fish in terms of size, it has made it into our "The Nanofish Encyclopedia" in the Garnelio Onlineshop Blog because it really does well in a nano aquarium. Large-leafed plants are especially important for the betta to lay down on to chill. Especially the large finned forms have a hard time getting to the surface in tall aquariums, you don't do them any favors with a large aquarium. Some shading by floating plants is good, but the water surface should not be completely overgrown, so that the fish can still get air.
Betta imbellis in the aquarium
ThePeaceful Fighting Fish Betta imbellis can be kept in pairs, the animals are not aggressive to each other. In the species tank they can even stay for breeding, although breeding in a separate breeding tank is more stress-free for the males. In the aquarium with an edge length from 50-60 cm the Peaceful Fighting Fish feels well. A good planting provides hiding places.
Conclusion
The high breeding forms of these pretty ornamental fish in red, blue, orange, white, black, yellow and pink of Betta splendens with their long, specially shaped Long Fin fins are called Roundtail, Brushtail, Veil Tail, Crowntail, Halfmoon, Dumbo and so on. There are even Siamese fighting fish with double tails! The short-finned (poster) are in no way inferior in color to their long-finned counterparts. The females of this great ornamental fish always have short fins. Those who like things a bit plainer and less aggressive may be well served by a wild form such as the Peaceful Fighting Fish Betta imbellis. These blue and red jewels sparkle and shine under aquarium lighting and can be kept in an aquarium as small as 50 cm edge length. As labyrinth fish they are well established in aquaristics and have a long tradition. There are even own championships for the high breeding fighting fish. Their natural behavior can be shown for example with a small mirror - then the male Siamese fighting fish spread their fins and threaten impressively and beautifully. This natural behavior is really exciting and fascinating to watch. We at Garnelio Online Shop are pleased to offer you many popular forms of Betta splendens as well as wild Bettas for sale, which have been successfully on the road as charming aquarium fish for many years.