Talk:Betta

Merge?

The "Siamese Fighting Fish" page is really similar to this one. I added a "See Also" at the bottom since to most people they are synonymous.

00:02, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I'm in favor of a merge. I have set up a new page called Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) and have the identical information in it. We should just get an admin to delete the old pages. After that we can hash out the new article (as some minor differences do exist) Any objections.Gator1 17:19, September 2, 2005 (UTC)

I hope I'm not moving to quickly, but after no objection I have merged the two articles into Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) and put redirect links on both of the old pages. Hope that's not going to freak someone out! lol.Gator1 00:26, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

I've done a tidy-up here, turning this page into a stub for the genus Betta and renaming the page for Betta splendens as Siamese Fighting Fish. It's a bit awkward given the frequent use of "betta" to refer to B. splendens, but it seems like the most logical thing to do given that there are over 50 other species in the genus. Does anyone know anything about any of them? 3 or 4 of them do have common names - are they ever kept in aquaria or studied scientifically? seglea 22:57, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

plakats are just only a terminology for short tailed betta. there are many species of betta, the most common ones being halfmoon, halfmoon plakat, crown tail, double tail, and veil tail. these are the betta splendens. of course, there are also the wild betta kind. which are harder to find and more expensive in price.

the above anonymous comment fails to recognise what is meant by a "species" in biology. If these are all Betta splendens, they are all one species; they are just varieties. seglea 22:59, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Images

Does anyone think this page needs more images, specifically of different Betta colours and flaring? (I'm asking because I have images that might be of use) Pharaoh Hound 12:50, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Of course, we appreciate your affort to incrase more images in this Betta article. I also keep many Betta as my pet too.Palaxzorodice (talk) 04:09, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

Moving more stuff to the species page

Yet again a whole lot of stuff has grown up on this page which only applies to Betta splendens, so I am moving it to the Siamese fighting fish page and merging it with similar material there. seglea 22:59, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Sorry

My sincerest appologies about putting stuff about Betta splendens on this page. I got confused, however it will never happen again. --Pharaoh Hound 17:58, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

No worries, it's a common confusion. seglea 20:50, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

and yet again

Here's another chunk of material that I have removed, which again belongs on the Siamese Fighting Fish page - except that it is already covered there, rather better:

Unlike many other fish, bettas can live in a fish decent size bowl without a filteration system. Small bowls used in fish shops are not suitable for bettas. This bowl should be cleaned at least once a week. If bubbles appear at the top of the tank, that is a sign that the male betta is healthy. The bubbles are in fact the nest for male betta. When cleaning it, make sure to put pre-filtered (reverse osmosis) water and water conditioner in.

A boy and girl betta usually don't get along in the same tank together. If you are breeding two bettas, get a girl equal or smaller than the boy. You should also read extensively about breeding bettas - it's not easy. You must also learn how to hatch baby brine shimps so the fry will have some food to eat.

It is safe to put several female bettas in the same tank, but NEVER put two male bettas together. These fishes are territorial and will fight to the death. It is also safe to put any gender of betta with another type of smaller, less colorful fish. Female bettas form a pecking order, so having only 2 female bettas in a tank is not a good idea.

At the pet shops, most bettas are of veil Tail or Plakat types. They are the original types of bettas. Plakats are short tail fighters. Veil tails are the long tail show only bettas. These long tails are not suitable fish for fighting. In the Western cultures, people call fancy bettas by many names such as Delta, Super Delta, Half Moon, Comb Tail, Butterfly, ... but these names are really about traits, color or shapes of the fins. In Eastern cultures people generally call them either long tail or short tail. In Eastern countries people have fish fights or even go to fish fight shops to bet. Fish fighting is considered a sport in several countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Fish fighting is illegal in most Western cultures.

Fancy bettas have special traits. These are only available through specialised shops or Internet mail order venues. They are often inbred, small in size and hard to maintain. They are harder to breed and grow.

seglea 20:50, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

And perhaps again

I think the current "Habitat" entry refers only to B. splendens, and should be updated to include the entire genus. Either way, this also needs a better reference. Here's what it says now:

Habitat

The betta is native freshwater fish from Thailand (formerly Siam) and Cambodia (formerly Kampuchea).[6] Wild bettas can often be found in a small pond, river, or drain. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Apegrrl (talk • contribs) 09:22, 9 July 2015 (UTC)

External links

I re-removed the external links: the FishBase link is redundant because it's in References, and the other one (fishfriend.com or something) is not terribly useful--it appears to be about B. splendens, not about the genus, but that is not really clear. At any rate, it's a few paragraphs of unsourced, unscientific information. Tkinias 08:38, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Betta vs. B. splendens; Photos

I've added links to the Species Maintenance Program run by the International Betta Congress, who are a respected authority on the genus. (IUCN links to their Web site from the Red List, for example.) This is part of the work to clarify that Betta is a genus, not just the single species sold at Walmart. There are also conservation issues with some Betta species that are confused if people think "how can bettas be endangered if I can buy them at every store?" I also changed the main photo to B. albimarginata, since ATM that's the only non-B. splendens species we've got photos of. I'd like to get a B. picta photo for this, as that's the type species and should be the one pictured according to WikiProject guidelines. If anyone has access to non-splendens bettas and a camera, help out! Tkinias 13:49, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

Forum for helping with the care, keeping and breeding of bettas :http://betta-paradise.find-forum.net/forum.htm —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wilsonnw8 (talk • contribs) 00:24, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

ikan bettah is not a Thai word

I'm sad to say that fishbase is most likely wrong on this. The word Ikan bettah does not exist in Thai (Siamese), but it is most likely a word in Malay/Indonesian, which is also spoken in Southern Thailand. So I changed it from the "Thai language" to "a local language in Thailand." --Melanochromis 04:03, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

It isn't a Thai word at all. To say it's "a local language in Thailand" is also a vague and inaccurate description. It should be changed to "Malay language" or "Indonesian language". In Malay, ikan = fish; betah = settled, comfortable, to feel at home, tough, persistent, to get well (ref). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.79.69.117 (talk) 06:36, 5 July 2010 (UTC)

No of species in this genus

The intro on this page states that there are 28 species of Betta, yet the article lists 70. Are these listed species actual species, or are some of them sub species? Also the Siamese fighting fish page states that there are nearly 50 "types" of Betta. It would help if someone with some detailed knowledge of the taxonomy of this group could clear this up. Nick Thorne ^talk 22:32, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Fish vs Fishes?

Why use fishes, I am not sure that the word fishes is proper... The plural of fish is fish. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.187.53.46 (talk) 15:24, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Both "fish" and "fishes" are correct plurals for fish. However, generally the plural "fish" is used when speaking about multiple numbers of individual fish and "fishes" is used when speaking about numbers of fish species. For example, "I saw many fish around the coral reef" and "the fishes of the Murray Darling Basin include Murray cod, golden perch and silver perch". Nick Thorne ^talk 21:58, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Betta is a large genus of small, often colorful, freshwater ray-finned fishes in the gourami family (Osphronemidae).

correct me if I'm wrong -although both gouramis and bettas are anabantoids (they have a special organ to breath air from the surface) I don't think Bettas are part of the gourami family. They are similar but a specific genus to themselves.

Bniedem (talk) 10:14, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Betta Awareness

I have had all kinds of fish, but nothing like a Betta. It is a gross miss-conception that Bettas are "easy to take care of" and "they don't need much". Bettas are actually very complicated and interactive fish, if given a chance, and a proper living environment. They are very sensitive, and aware creatures with a HUGE personality. They need careful care and attention, and yes, they do need a proper aquarium, at least 3 gallons or more. Imagine yourself…you can live in a 5’x5’ room, if someone threw food at you, for a while, you may even not become ill. Is this a life you want to be subjected to? Please take care of your Bettas in a responsible manner. They need exercise, space to move, and to show you how wonderful and interesting they can be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.249.223.185 (talk) 18:13, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

Betta fish relations

i would like to add in a small bit of information regarding betta and their arbitrary interactions with other fish. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gingerben93 (talk • contribs) 05:44, 7 October 2011 (UTC)

Of course, you are welcome! Me too, want to improve this article in overall to make it into A-class article but i am busy this few month. I will be back after some months and doing more improvement because i love this article. Palaxzorodice (talk) 12:50, 7 October 2011 (UTC)

Edit request on 6 March 2012

The History section cites no sources and doesn't read like an encyclopedia article. I have no expertise to change it myself.

174.140.69.122 (talk) 18:53, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

The content added was copy and pasted from another source, so I have reverted back to an earlier version--Jac16888 ^Talk 19:35, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

Crowntail Betta

I got one last month and today I went to buy 4 species more so that the first one wouldn't be lonely, whoever I was told that I can't do that or they would fight each other. Yoshida Keiji (talk) 12:28, 16 June 2013 (UTC)

The paragraph under Habitat is structured with poor grammar. I thought you might like to know. Thank you very much for the information, if I understood it correctly.67.206.161.46 (talk) 03:06, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

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Female Betta and Their Newfound Adaptation to Increase Chances of Fertilization.

In some rare cases The Spotted Betta or Java Fighting Fish (Betta picta) is able to change colors when ready to spawn. Although this is very rare it is possible in the subfamily Macropodusinae. It has been observed in approximately one in four thousand cases in controlled environments. There is no documented cases of this in the wild as there is little to no observation of isolated female Bettas in their natural habitat. More research is being conducted to determine the cause of this natural phenomena. — Preceding unsigned comment added by BettaLover (talk • contribs) 22:17, 29 August 2017 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Betta akarensis which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 21:18, 5 January 2020 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Siamese fighting fish which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 00:47, 8 July 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 August 2022

Change "Bettas as bets" headline to "Bettas as pets" Notdoomy (talk) 03:21, 7 August 2022 (UTC)

 Already done [1]. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 12:51, 7 August 2022 (UTC)

Organization and Information

I am looking to edit this article because there are several places where I believe restructuring could be beneficial. The selection on care and "pet-keeping" is very brief and includes information I believe would be better suit to be placed in the first section, I.e. The pronunciation and specification on what people commonly think of when they think of a Betta Fish.

It is a good article that I believe can be improved, and benefit the reader more, by making sure like-content is grouped together, and information readers might be wanting to find is available. Kjw2020 (talk) 03:25, 19 February 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: ENGL-122

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 19 January 2023 and 9 May 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Mmaley2 (article contribs). Peer reviewers: SoccerTB, Jtantillo, Anthony2684.

— Assignment last updated by Anthony2684 (talk) 12:54, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 May 2023

Edits to be made to the sections available within the existing article:

Article Title: change "Betta" to Betta Fish so the subject is more clear to the user and those looking for information are more likely to navigate to this page when the title is clear and specific. Although Betta is a broad genus, the general public needs the clarification of Fish to know that this is indeed the source they need.

Characteristics: change original selection to-

Bettas as a whole are smaller fish breed, but they still vary considerably in size between them; ranging from under 2.5 cm (1 in) total length in B. chanoides to 14 cm (5.5 in) in the Akar betta (B. akarensis).[1]

Bettas are anabantoids, which means they can breathe atmospheric air using a unique organ called the labyrinth. This accounts for their ability to thrive in low-oxygen water conditions that would kill most other fish. This is why in the wild they are able to thrive in shallow environments such as rice paddies, slow-moving streams, drainage ditches, and large puddles.[2]

The bettas exhibit two kinds of breeding behaviors. Some build bubble nests, such as B. splendens, while others are mouthbrooders, such as B. picta. Bubble nests, also called foam nests, are created by some fish and frog species as floating masses of bubbles blown with an oral secretion, saliva bubbles, and occasionally aquatic plants [3]. The mouthbrooding species, characterized by their ability to carry their young in their mouth, are sometimes called "pseudo bettas" and are sometimes speculated to have evolved from the nest-builders in an adaptation to their fast-moving stream habitats.[4]

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 the three habitat variables studied: whether a species was found in lowland or highland streams, whether it was found in peat swamp forests, and whether it was found in water with fast or slow currents.[5] Mouthbrooding species tend to exhibit less sexual dimorphism, perhaps because they do not need to defend a territory as the bubble-nesters do.[6] Diet: change original selection to- Wild Betta fish are hardy and eat almost any animal small enough for these small fish to consume, including worms, larvae of mosquitoes or other insects, and smaller fish. Their natural environment is often resource-limited, so many Betta species are generalist feeders. Because of a naturally varied diet, Betta Fish in captivity should be fed specific pellets and flakes meant to meet their nutritional needs.

Bettas as pets: change original selection to- 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.[9]

Although commonly seen in fish bowls and advertised as a "small tank pet" Betta Fish needs are largely misrepresented by chain pet stores, especially in the EU and United States. At minimum a Betta Fish requires a five gallon tank with a filter as well as a heater since they are a tropical fish species and have specific temperature requirements hard to achieve without regulation 10. Kjw2020 (talk) 14:45, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Callmemirela 🍁 15:08, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

 Not done I can understand this if you edit the wikitext. The {{}}s and <>s are absent from your version. Invasive Spices (talk) 17:16, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

More Species Issues

In the section Name, it states that there were around 73 species as of 2017. In the section Species, it states that there are 76 species (in a variety of species complexes), only one of which is listed as being identified after 2017 (Betta andrei in the B. waseri complex is listed as being identified in 2023). Someone who knows more about the topic than I do (I just came for the visuals) needs to fix that up. MiscGezork (talk) 10:31, 24 August 2024 (UTC)