Siamese fighting fish

Betta splendens · The Siamese fighting fish, or betta, is a colorful freshwater fish native to Mainland Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Also called Betta, Siamese fighter, Chinese fighting fish, Japanese fighting fish.

Siamese fighting fish
Photo: Henryk Niestrój, CC BY 4.0
Siamese fighting fish
Photo: Daniella Vereeken, CC BY 2.0
Siamese fighting fish
Photo: Pariskanza, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderAnabantiformes
FamilyOsphronemidae
GenusBetta
SpeciesBetta splendens

Where it lives

Shallow rice paddies, marshes and ditches of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Fun facts

  • Bettas have a special lung-like labyrinth organ that lets them breathe air from the surface, so they can cope with water that has very little oxygen.
  • A betta can even sleep out of the water, resting on a leaf or another flat object that sticks out of the surface.
  • Wild bettas are mostly green, brown and grey, and they show strong colors only when they are agitated.
  • Male bettas look after their eggs, keeping them safe in a bubble nest they build at the water's surface and repairing it when needed.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).