Introduction to the Betta Splendens
The Betta Splendens, more commonly known as the Siamese Fighting Fish is one of the most easily kept fishes in the world.
And this hobby is fast catching among Singaporeans.
This is mainly due to the relatively small space that each fish takes up,
and also because it does not require any air or filters pumped into the water.
How the betta lives without aeration in the water is because the betta species of fish has an organ called the LABYRINTH.
It is with this organ that allows the fish to breath air from the atmosphere rather then getting it's oxygen from it's gills like other fishes.
This comes about mainly because of it's countries of origin like Thailand and Cambodia,
where it lives in shallow pools of water like rice fields or shallow polluted puddles.
Due to lack of oxygen in these places, they rely on the labyrinth organ to enable it to breath.
Bettas now are very different from many years ago where you only see Veiltails and Plakats.
Now there are many types of beautiful bettas with different colours and fins.
And also, the pricetag has also grown tremendously.
No longer is a beautiful Betta a $1 Veil Tail but maybe a $200 Half Moon Betta
But of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
So the expensive ones may not be the beautiful ones to everyone. =)
Please note that what I have put up is what I have learnt from my own experience as well as reading on the topics
from sources from the internet and books.
It may not apply to all cases and if there are any obvious errors in it, please feel free to tell me about it.
All pictures are personal pictures, and would appreciate it if you can ask for permission before using any of the pictures.