Welcome note: This site is made to provide you with information about Betta Splendens. After not being able to find many good quality sites on Bettas, I decided to make my own. It is a massive undertaking and will never be complete as long as I continue to care for and breed Bettas. Enjoy!

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History of the Betta: Betta Splendens, more commonly known as a Siamese Fighting Fish, are found all over the world. They originated in the ponds and rice patties of Thiland and Malaysia, and were brought into the market by people who liked to fight the males for sport. However these Bettas were quite dull in color, and the real vibrant colors of captive Bettas today come from many decades of selectively breeding certian species. The name Betta Splendens came from Mr. Tate Regan who changed the origional name 'Macropodus Pugnax' when he realized there was already another species named that. It is believed that 'Betta' came from a nearby warrior tribe 'Bettah' and splendens because the fish are obviously splendid :). It wasn't until the early 1900's that Bettas came to the USA. And even then it wasn't until the late 1920's that the first brightly coloured Bettas ended up in San Fransisco. From then on Bettas have been bred into almost every color imagineable.

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Common facts about the Betta:

They are a freshwater fish that have the uncommon ability to breathe surface air via thier Labyrinth, an organ located halfway between the gills and the lungs used for oxygen diffusion. They can breathe underwater as all fish do, but because they also breathe surface air they can live in poor water conditions such as muddy ponds and dirty fish bowls.

Thier average lifespan is roughly 2-4 years.

Females are identified by a small white dot on thier belly known as an Ovipositor (for laying eggs). Their fins are also quite short and colors more dull. They also display either horizontal or vertical stripes on thier sides (which are talked about in my Breeding section), however these are often hard to see on light bodied Bettas.

Males have long, vibrantly coloured fins and a larger plume around thier neck that they use to flare at other Bettas.