Name:- Betta Splendens

Family:- Anabantoids

Origin:- Throughout Thailand, Malaya & Cambodia.

Size:-  5.5cms

Betta Splendens, commonly known as "Siamese Fighter" is the most recognised of all aquarium fish.

It has a history going back over 100 years & during this time many colours and fin variations have been developed. The name fighting fish comes from the fact that when two males are put in the same tank they will fight, usually to the death. In Asia where this fish comes from the locals fight these fish professionally & the aggressive champion fighters sell for high prices.

Because of its colours this tends to be one of the first fish chosen for a community tank. This can also lead to problems.

In its natural habitat the fighter is found in sluggish sometimes stagnate waters with little or no flow. The water is usually very muddy, coloured water.

Most home Aquariums have lots of air or filtration which the fighter does not like & this tends to make this fish look for sheltered areas in the tank. Also many people feed flake food to there fish & again the fighter will happily accept this food but their long flowing fins also resemble flake food, making them targets for other tank mates.

Betta Splendens will accept most commercial flake foods & live feeding such as Glass worm, Daphnia & White worm. They have also been known to reduce your tank population of Neon Tetras & Cherry Barbs, Etc.

The breeding pair where kept apart until the female was plump with eggs & the male was attempting to build bubble nests. 

A simple tip, keep the male & female in separate tanks i.e. large show jars next to each other so they can see but not touch, this will induce the spawning habit.  

When I spawned the fighter I set up a bare

9" long x 6" wide x 9" high tank with only 6" of water, the tank was not filtered as I prefer to give small water changes when breeding them. I added an air line with just a trickle of air.  The temperature was 80°F - 82°F.

Keep a lid on the tank as the fry don't like drafts.

The pair was added to the tank with only a piece of Polystyrene for the female to lay her eggs on.

When they settled down it tends to be the female that shows off to the male unlike most species of fish when the reverse is the norm.

The male will blow bubbles under the polystyrene creating a nest to hold the eggs.

Breeding is quick, the male wraps himself around the female at the bottom of the tank as to squeeze the eggs from her, he then picks up all the eggs and spits them into the nest. After spawning, I removed the female as the male may kill her.

The male tends to the eggs and as they start to hatch he picks them up & spits them into the nest.

In nature he may be defending the young putting them in the nest.

I removed the male as he can get fed up & eat their young. I fed the fry on Liquid fry for ten days then newly hatched Brine Shrimp until they would except crushed flake.

I have been very successful using this method, & I hope you are.