Freshwater
Description
Betta Splendens are one of the most beautiful looking fish to keep in the aquarium; they have the most striking fins in lovely blues and reds with an eye catching long flowing tail.
They are slow moving and swim elegantly around the tank, hovering near the surface as they breathe in the air from the top of the tank.
They are native to Thailand and Cambodia where they are found within the slow flowing streams, stagnant ponds or rice paddies. Their lifespan is between 2-4 years and they can grow 2-4 inch in length.
Fish Care
Housing
Betta Splendens should be kept in a small filtered heated aquarium with a minimum of 5 gallons of water and a tank temperature of (78-82) These fish are prone to a fungus named fin rot, to help prevent this 1 tablespoonful of salt should be added per 5 gallons of water.
A tight lid must be kept on the tank at all times as the Betta fish will swim up to the surface often to breathe and they do have a tendency to jump.
The Betta Splendens can live in tanks with low oxygen levels this is due to their special air breathing labyrinth organ and because of this it is possible to keep these fish in smaller glass goldfish type bowls and are easy in terms of fish care.
Another name for these fish is the Siamese fighting fish when two males are put in the same environment they will flare out their fins and fight, although they are less aggressive with other fish in the aquarium like Corydora Catfish, Red tail shark, Mollies, Gouramis and Tetras. Do not put them with aggressive fish as they will not get along, or slow moving fish as the Betta could nip their fins.
Feeding
As these fish are not big feeders they can be fed once a day with frozen bloodworms, Tubifex worms, live black worms and floating fish flakes, but the uneaten food must be removed daily to keep the tank clean.
