Thai Culture, Siamese fighting fish Color

Colors
Bettas have been affectionately nicknamed "The Jewel of the Orient" due to the wide range of colors which are produced through selective breeding.

Wild bettas only exhibit strong colors when agitated.^{[citation needed]} However, breeders have been able to make this coloration permanent, and a wide variety of hues breed true. Bettas come in a variety of colors, such as red, blue, turquoise, orange, yellow, white, and green. Most are slightly iridescent, and can appear to change color with different lighting or viewing angle. Breeders have also developed different color patterns such as marble and butterfly, as well as metallic shades such as copper, gold, and opaque.^{[citation needed]}

Breeders around the world continue to develop new varieties. Often, the male species are sold preferentially in stores because of their beauty, compared to the females. Recently, breeders have developed in females the same range of colors previously only bred in males. However, females never develop fins as showy as males of the same type and are almost always more subdued in colouration.

The true albino betta is a 'holy grail' that has been feverishly sought after since one recorded appearance in 1927, and one in 1953. Neither of them were able to establish a line of true albino betta. In 1994, a hobbyist named Tanaka successfully bred it

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Thai Culture, Siamese fighting fish

Reproduction and nests

The Siamese fighting fish mate in a fashion that is called "nupital embrace", in which the male and female spiral around each other, around 10-41 eggs are released and fertilized at each embrace, until the female is exhausted of eggs. The male carefully keeps every egg in his bubble nest, making sure none fall to the ground, and repairing the bubble nest as needed. Incubation last 30-40 hours, and the eggs hatch in 3-4 days.

Betta males build bubble nests of various sizes and thicknesses at the surface of the water. During and after spawning, the male uses his mouth to retrieve sinking eggs and deposit them in the bubble nest. After approximately two days the eggs hatch, and after three more they become free-swimming fry; at this point the male is generally removed from the breeding tank to prevent eating the young. Betta fry are fed infusoria for the first several days, followed by newly hatched brine shrimp or similarly sized food.

B. splendens can be hybridized with B. imbellis, Betta sp. Mahachai and B. smaragdina, though with the latter the fry tend to have low survival rates.

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Thai Culture, Siamese fighting fish, Breating and Diet

Breathing

Like anabantids and all members of the genus Betta, Siamese fighting fish have a labyrinth organ in their heads that allows them to take oxygen directly from the atmosphere in addition to the oxygen taken from water via their gills. Bettas that cannot reach the surface may drown.

Diet
Bettas have upturned mouths and are primarily carnivorous surface feeders. In the wild, bettas feed on zooplankton and the larvae of mosquitoes and other insects, such as flies, crickets, or grasshoppers.^{[citation needed]} Bettas which feed on wide range of foods live longer, have richer colors, and heal fin damage more quickly. Typically, Betta pellets are a combination of mashed shrimp meal, fish meal, brine shrimp, bloodworms, and vitamins. Bettas will also eat live or frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp or daphnia. For variety and fiber, bettas are fed finely-chopped, high-protein vegetables, such as soybeans, green beans, broccoli, corn, and carrots. Some bettas subsist on dried flaked food suitable for tropical fish, because although this feed reduces their coloring, the bettas are able to digest this better than pellets. However, bettas are carnivorous and therefore require meat products as well. Bettas can get constipated, exhibiting a swollen stomach, when their diet lacks variety.

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Thai Culture, Siamese fighting fish

The Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), also known as the "betta fish" or just "betta", is one of the most popular species of freshwater aquarium fish. It is native to the rice paddies of Thailand and called pla-kad or pla-kat ("Biting Fish") in its native Thailand.

The name Betta (or betta) is pronounced /ˈbɛtə/.^[1] The name Betta is not a to be confused with the Greek letter beta. Instead, the name of the genus is deriv

B. splendens usually grow to an overall length of about 6.0 centimetres (2.4 in), though some varieties reach 8.0 centimetres (3.1 in) in length. In recent years^{h 8.0 centimetres (3.1 in) in length. In recent years[when?] breeders have been able to creatillianta member of the Gourami family (family Osphronemidae) of order Perciformes, but was formerly classified among the Anabantidae. Although there are nearly 50 other types of bettas, B. splendens is the most popular species among aquarium hobbyists, particularly in the United States.}

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