Betta Splendens- The Ultimate Tropical Fish

The Betta splendens or by its common name Siamese Fighting-Fish is a beautiful hardy tropical fish. This Siamese Fighting-Fish is from the Mekong river basin in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia (South-East Asia). Usually lives in shallow waters with little water movement, like Rice-Paddies. In nature, this specie’s males have shorter fins that those we usually see in shops, these are called by the Thai “Plakad” (meaning- “Fighter”), and are used in Thailand for show-fights (just like roosters).

Although their fins are short, they are still bigger than those of females. These males are more aggressive than long-finned males, but they are less susceptible to infectious diseases and have faster ability to recover after fights. Of the long-finned strains, there’s the most known Veil-tail, which are the commonest in shops. More appreciated tail forms are the Round-tail, Fantail, and Delta-tail. All these tail forms can appear in two fin forms- Double-tail and Comb/Crown-tail. Double-tail has a long dorsal fin, and their caudal fin is variably divided to two lobes.

Comb-tail has fin rays that grow variably longer that the fin’s soft tissue, resembling a comb. Crown-tail is a Comb-tail with equal and symmetric lengths of fin rays and soft tissue. Another famous strain and probably the most famous is the Half-moon. This is a fin form, appearing mostly on Delta-tails, in which the caudal fin is spread to 180o, while flaring. Aside of it, the fish must have other criteria to be considered as a true Half-moon.