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Betta is a large genus of small, active, often colorful, freshwater , in the gourami family (Osphronemidae). The best known Betta species is B. splendens, commonly known as the Siamese fighting fish and often kept as an aquarium pet.
Bettas are , which means they can breathe atmospheric air using a unique organ called the labyrinth organ. This accounts for their ability to thrive in low-oxygen water conditions that would kill most other fish, such as Paddy field, slow-moving Stream, drainage ditches, and large Puddle.Marcus Song, Caring for Betta Fish Lulu Press, 2006.
The bettas exhibit two kinds of spawning behaviour: some build , such as B. splendens, while others are , such as B. picta. The mouthbrooding species are sometimes called "pseudo bettas", and are sometimes speculated to have evolution from the nest-builders in an adaptation to their fast-moving stream habitats.
A phylogenetic study published in 2004 concluded tentatively that bubble-nesting was the ancestral condition in Betta, and that mouthbrooding has evolved on more than one occasion in the history of the genus. However, it was unable to establish a correlation with any of three habitat variables studied: whether a species was found in lowland or highland streams, whether it was found in Peatland swamp Forest, and whether it was found in water with fast or slow currents. Mouthbrooding species tend to exhibit less sexual dimorphism, perhaps because they do not need to defend a territory as the bubble-nesters do.
The name Betta (or betta) is pronounced ; the first part is the same as the English language word bet. The name is often pronounced in American English, and may be spelled with one 't'. The name of the genus is derived from the Malay language term ikan betah ("persistent fish").
The vernacular name "plakat", often applied to the short-finned ornamental strains, derived from pla kad which means "fighting fish", is the Thai language name for all members of the B. splendens species complex (All have aggressive tendencies in the wild and all are extensively line-bred for aggression in eastern Thailand). The Thai phrase is not restricted to one specific strain. The term "fighting fish" is generalized to all members of the B. splendens species complex, including the Siamese fighting fish.
The United Nations Environment Programme lists an unconfirmed species, Betta cf. tomi, as having become extinct in Singapore between 1970 and 1994.
This likely refers to the Local extinction Singaporean population of Betta tomi, which continues to exist in the wild in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as in captivity; the Red List classifies it as Vulnerable.
Name
Siamese fighting fish ( B. splendens) are frequently sold in the United States simply as "bettas". , around 73 species are classified within the genus Betta. A useful distinction is that, while the genus name Betta is italicized and capitalized, when used as a common name it is usually neither italicized nor capitalized.
The common name of B. pugnax, for example, is thus Penang betta.
Diet
Wild Betta fish are hardy and eat almost any animal small enough to consume. This includes worms, larvae of mosquitoes or other insects, and smaller fish. Their natural environment is often resource-limited, so many Betta species are generalist feeders.
Bettas as pets
Bettas are commonly kept as pet fish, especially Siamese fighting fish. Bettas are popular fish due to their color variety and ease to care for, although the males must be kept separated from other bettas.
Conservation
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, Betta livida is Endangered, and Betta miniopinna, Betta persephone, and B. spilotogena are Critically Endangered.
Species
There are currently 76 recognized species in this genus. The currently described Betta species can be grouped into :
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