Betta Fish Data Sheet
Order:
Anabantiformes
subordination:
labyrinth fish
Family:
Osphronemidae
subfamily:
Macropods (Macropodusinae)
Size:
5-7 cm
Reachable age:
approx. 3 – 5 years*
gender difference
Males have brighter colors and larger fins
Lining:
Live and dry food
Aquarium:
min. 60 cm edge length / 54 liters
social behavior:
Solitary with harem formation
offspring:
Foam nest with egg packets
Remark:
Strong fights among males (which lead to death)Keeping of bettas
keeping betta fish
Fighting fish with Corydoras panda. Photo: Marc Kevin
Fighting fish originate from South East Asia. Originally were fighting fish monochrome. There are now fighting fish in vmany color variationscreated through breeding. It is not clear whether the original specimens were originally dark grey/brown or whether the original colors were red, blue, green, orange and white. White in this case does not mean albinos.
Betta fish become restless in crystal clear water. Specimens that live together constantly from birth can be kept together in an aquarium. If the animals are isolated from the group and cared for individually, they become solitary. Being solitary, they become combative and will attack any other betta. As soon as they see even the silhouette of a conspecific, they spread their gills and approach the opponent in a assessing fighting position.
Otherwise, they are very sluggish and prefer a quiet life. Betta prefer smaller and calm aquariums with not too high water levels. This follows from the slow eating habits. They take aim at the food and then snap.
ivabalk / Pixabay
Nevertheless, they should not be kept in containers that are too small. Although you can get by with little space if necessary, the attitude is still z. B. in mason jars not species-appropriate. Even a single male should have a tank of at least 24 liters.
For a couple are so-called Asian tanks from 60 liters water content. In 112 liters one male can be kept with 4 females.
Some bamboo sticks are suitable for decoration, possibly a root, a 1/2 coconut.
The filter flow should be weak so that the surface is only slightly agitated. The tank must be covered because bettas can jump out of the water and the air above the water must not be too cold. Otherwise you’ll catch a cold.
ivabalk / Pixabay
Betta like it warm. Recommended temperatures are between 24 and 27 °C. 24 to 25 degrees should be the lower temperature limit when kept alone. Fighting fish usually only become really active at temperatures between 28 and 30°. However, the temperature should not be too high. High temperatures greatly shorten the service life.
At low temperatures, bettas can be very sluggish. Even newly bought specimens can be sluggish for a few days until they have acclimated.
If you hold a small mirror up to a male, you can see why the betta got its name.
The water level should be about 25 centimeters. Fighting fish absorb oxygen from the air via the labyrinth. In their home waters, they only occur in very low water zones and in moist soil areas. The labyrinth is an additional respiratory organ that allows life in very oxygen-poor water.
A water level of 25 centimeters is also the maximum upper limit for desired and successful breeding.
In a 40 centimeter high aquarium with approx. 8 centimeters of substrate and approx. 5 centimeters of water distance to the upper edge of the tank, the water height is z. B. only 27 centimeters.
The water should not be too hard. At least 50% live food should be given.
Trusting specimens will even eat out of your hand and nibble your fingers.
When keeping them, always have an aquarium available to house a repressed animal.
Betta splendens have two different, so-called paired fins under the head. These are the pectoral fins on the left and right of the head and the pelvic fins under the head.
There are several causes in Betta splendens in which an animal loses the pelvic fins down to the base. Such animals are definitely hindered in spawning. To lose the fins z. B. ascites, tuberculosis or similar bacterial infections.
threatening behavior
Betta threaten each other by using the Spread fins and raise gill covers or spread out.
Both males and females can show these threatening gestures.
How intolerant bettas are
There are many different representations of the compatibility of fighting fish.
This goes from supposedly absolutely peaceful animals to downright horror stories.
Causes are:
- uninformedness
- Uncritical copying of others, without own real experiences
- Keeping in tanks that are too small
- Keeping in underplanted tanks, in which mainly floating plants are missing.
- Males are usually segregated by breeders as soon as they begin the first rank fights and reared individually in mini-tanks.
Aggressiveness can differ from strong. There are reports of siblings who have never been separated getting along with each other. There are also reports that certain breeds are peaceful among themselves. According to one assumption, males, who have always been inferior in ranking fights, are also peaceful. The type of rearing also influences aggressiveness.
Males are often separated early in breeding to allow the fins to develop properly for exhibition. Due to lack of space and costs, only small tanks can often be used for breeding in high breeding. In these tanks, bettas kept together would actually kill each other very quickly because the inferior male cannot immediately leave the territory of the superior male.
Males raised in this way have no opportunity to go through a normal socialization phase. They don’t learn to avoid fights in time. Because they don’t learn this, they are significantly more aggressive than bettas that were able to have this learning experience.
Fighting fish have a rich repertoire of communication options to integrate themselves into a firmly established hierarchy. Possibilities range from graduated color signals to presenting the abdomen to identify yourself as inferior.
This effort would probably not have been driven by evolution if the animals were not able to use these signals to reduce aggression to a non-harmful level in the neighborhood group through a fixed, accepted hierarchy.
Black Narcissus / Pixabay
Fighting fish form a breeding ground, as do many cichlids. The area consists of an inner and an outer zone. The inner zone is usually occupied by the male and the outer zone is defended by the female.
Both partners participate in the defense of the territory. The size of the territory can vary greatly. The size of the territory depends on the temperament of the animals and to a large extent on the visibility in the water, ie how heavily the water is weedy.
Betta love heavily overgrown habitats. The more weedy the water, the smaller the territory.
The inner zone can be up to 40 centimeters around the foam nest.
In a 250 liter aquarium with a base area of 100 x 50 centimetres, e.g. B. a pair live together with the young from different broods carried out in succession. The juveniles can range in size from 1.5 centimeters to almost adult size.
Betta splendens are supposed to recognize their brothers, so that there are no fights between siblings, only threats. There is no stress among the juveniles, even if the older juveniles are colored. A fixed hierarchy is formed, which is observed. If a lower-ranking animal becomes careless, the superior animal will turn its head in that direction and may spread its gills. Usually nothing else happens.
Betta smaragdina pair Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons License: CC Attr. SA 3.0 Author: Acapella
The father makes an unambiguous and clear distinction between his female, who, as usual, is expelled from the inner zone, and his young, to whom he does not pay attention.
As long as the father is in the aquarium, the young animals often do not show a correct fin structure. But there is hardly any aggression.
Even fully developed 9-month-old pups with full color and fins sometimes swim peacefully with the father. However, there is no guarantee whether and for how long it is possible to keep several males together in an aquarium.
If the owner is not present when the animals start fighting, the animal will probably die.
Therefore, such a tank with several males should always be observed closely. If a young male wants to take over from his father, or if there is a quarrel among the young, it must be possible to separate the quarreling quickly.
Females can be just as aggressive as males.
What the black stripes mean
Betta splendens female Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons License: CC Attr. SA 2.5 Author: HAH
Both males and females display horizontal black stripes when under stress. So stress stripes run from head to tail.
If the female shows a vertical stripe, i.e. from the back to the belly, it signals that she is not yet ready to spawn.
Differently colored bettas are not interested in each other.
Experience suggests that bettas that are distinctly different in color tend to lose interest in each other.
This applies to the relationship between males and females as well as between males.
mating or harem
Veiltail Fighter Females. Photo: Caroline Eggert
It is often recommended to keep a male with several females together. The argument usually given is that the male’s aggression is distributed among several females.
If the aggression of the male towards the female becomes a burden for the female, the husbandry conditions are usually not right. The housing conditions must then be adapted to the fish. Common problems with bettas are tanks that are too small and too few weeds in the tank, especially in the surface area.
From the mating behavior of the fighting fish, a recommendation for keeping a harem can be made not derive
Male veiltail fightingfish. Photo: Caroline Eggert
As a pair, Betta splendens form a two-part…