1. It’s a Betta Fish, not a Beta Fish

Beta is the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet. Betta is the beautiful Siamese Fighting Fish swimming gloriously in your 10-gallon (minimum) aquarium. “Beta” is pronounced “bay-tuh.” “Betta” is pronounced “Bet-Tuh.”

Got it? Good.

2. Bettas are gentle and not fighters.

In the wild, Bettas don’t kill each other unless they’re in an area that’s too small. Normally the loser swims away after the winner flares at him. If there’s nipping involved, the loser gets nipped once and then escapes. It’s never a fight to the death.

3. Bettas are way different than their wild ancestors.

The original Bettas were not fancy and colorful as they are now. Those traits were bred in over the years as Betta made their way from being warrior fish to prized aquarium tropical fish-bettas. (Today in fact Bettas are becoming less aggressive as breeders favor their ornamental qualities — colors and finnage — to fighting ability.)

4. Bettas can breathe air.

Betta fish are known as anabantids because they have the ability to breathe atmospheric air thanks to a unique organ called the labyrinth. This accounts for their ability to thrive in low-oxygen water conditions that would kill most other fish. Bettas also prefer shallow water that allows them to easily come up for air.

5. Bettas do not prefer confined areas.

The saddest thing I see is Bettas being kept in tiny cups at pet stores.

There is evidence to indicate that the male Betta prefers a confined area when breeding, but other than that he appears to be perfectly happy to swim in larger tanks, as long as he has small places in the tank to stake out his territory and hide. So there is no hard and fast requirement to keep your Betta in a small area, contrary to popular belief.

If you notice your Betta swimming in circles a lot, rubbing against the glass, and other sorts of odd behavior that says “Get me outta here!”, it indicates he wants to be in a larger tank.

You see, Bettas do like to have room to swim around. They like clean water that’s filtered well. The males like to display their toughness to one another — i .e., to see other Bettas on occasion and flare (puff out their gills and fins) at them. It makes them happy and stimulated.

And it’s beautiful the way a Betta’s fins flow when they’re given lots of room to sprint around their tank. Basically the bottom line is this… Bettas have a lot of personality. So as a rule, you should give each Betta enough room to display their individuality. Ten gallons is a good rule for minimum tank size for your Bettas to be happy.

On an emotional level, however, things are different. How happy would you be if you had to spend your whole life in a tiny apartment? Probably the most convincing argument for me though is the fact that Bettas will always use the full tank space you give them.

One Betta I got, Charlie, was sad and lifeless in the little vase he lived in when I got him. He was sickly and lethargic.

Then I moved him into a 10-gallon tank and today he’s in hog heaven. He spends his days racing and frolicking through his water, exploring pathways through his plants, and flinging around his gravel. He enjoys life and doesn’t have to sit crammed into a vase anymore. Vases are for flowers, not Bettas.

So, even though your Betta would be okay living in a gallon-or-so sized jar, there is no reason to consign him to a life of confinement. Bettas will thrive in a goldfish-sized bowl, a small aquarium, or even a larger aquarium under certain conditions.

If you decide to keep your Betta in a small container, remember this:

Although Bettas are used to living in shallow mud holes, rice paddies and swamps, these habitats are part of a natural ecosystem. This means that the water receives nutrients regularly, fresh water constantly flows in and bacteria is flushed out and destroyed by the natural water purification process. And the typical rice paddy is enormous — about the size of a large pond.

None of this happens in an artificial environment, and the smaller your Betta’s habitat is, the more danger they are in due to the quicker formation of adverse environmental conditions.

Overall, your Betta will be happier in a small tank than he will be in a plastic cup or vase.

For your little ones to not only survive but to start to be happy, give each Betta a bare minimum of 2 gallons of water.

And really I’ve found (and so have the other breeders I’ve interviewed) that no Betta — male or female — will ever get upset with too much room. There’s no real upper limit to how big your Betta’s tank can be, except for the practical fact that larger tanks are that much more difficult to heat and keep the wat er clean. So consider the maximum (and ideal) per Betta to be about 10 gallons for each fish.

Veil Tail - Over 80% of fish sold by pet stores are VT males. They’re characterized by bottom fin rays being longer than the top rays. (Rays are the “spines” you see in fins.) With fins flared out, VTs look rectangular or diamond-shaped. Most breeders and Betta show enthusiasts look down on the VT as inferior. I think they’re mistaken because I think the VT’s multiple colors and wavy fins are one of the true miracles of nature.

Round Tail - The tail appears round, hence the name. The circular shape comes from the middle ray of the tail being the longest, and then the rays becoming progressively shorter away from the middle.

Delta Tail - The tail has a triangular shape, which comes from the outermost rays on the tail being the same length as the middle. In Betta shows the widest-tailed of the Delta Tails are the most sought after.

Half Moons - A Delta Tail’s tail can become so wide that it forms a half circle (or half moon) shape, at which point it becomes known as the Half Moon Betta. Half Moons are the most popular variety among hardcore Betta fanciers.

Double Tails - These little guys have their tail fork into two halves. DTs are genetic rarities you will never find at a pet store.

Crown Tails - The rays of the tail extend well past the webbing, giving the tail a prickly appearance. The Crowntails is most commonly single rayed. Then breeders bred double rayed Crowntails which had tail rays branching off. Since then breeders have developed “double double ray” and “double double double ray” Crowntails, which are the scarcest and costliest Bettas you can buy.

Even in 1840, when the King of Siam made his gift to Cantor, colors still ran towards the drab. By the time the fish began showing up in America, some had begun to develop longer fins and rounded tails, and specks of bright colors could occasionally be found.

There are several basic color genes present or missing in Bettas. Yellow is the base color followed by black, red and blue. There are sub colors as well. For example, the blue gene can be represented by metallic blue, royal blue, or blue-green. The popular royal blue is actually a mixture of the other blues.

Just because you are interested in breeding Bettas, it doesn’t mean that the Bettas will be. Your job is to set the mood for love.

Also keep in mind that you might become too successful. The typical highly-fertile female can produce a few hundred eggs… meaning you might wind up with a few hundred Bettas!

The good news though is that your local pet store will often be happy to take them off your hands — and often for as much as a dollar a piece or on rare occasions as much as $2.50 or $3.00.

When the time comes that you’re ready to give it a shot, follow the tips and you could be rewarded with a brood of new fry.

Breeding Bettas can be fun but it can be a challenge as well. Just because you are interested in breeding Bettas, it doesn’t mean that the Bettas will be. Your job is to set the mood for love, so your male blows a bubble nest and they get ready to have little baby bettas. In the next post I’ll talk about the next step.

The name “Betta” is said to be derived from an ancient Asian warrior clan known as the Bettah, although some accounts differ.

Bettas have their origins in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam where, some 150 years ago, the sport of fighting Bettas was actually regulated and taxed by the King of Siam. As popular then as boxing is today, people would bet all of their money, and sometimes their personal belongings and children, on the outcome of just one fight. Thailand was once known as Siam which explains the Siamese Fighting Fish label.

1. Remove any fish that is exhibiting signs of illness or disease from the general fish population.

2. Test the water for ammonia, nitrites, pH, and oxygen levels. The ammonia and nitrites should be 0; pH should be between 6.8 and 7.0. Dissolved oxygen levels should be above 60%.

Betta Lover’s Tip: An easy way to reduce nitrites and ammonia, a big cause of betta illnesses, in your water is to put in a piece of Java Moss.

3. Remove any dead fish at once. Refrigerate in a baggie until you can get it to a vet or lab for examination.

4. Perform a 50% water change using aged and treated water.

5. Remove live plants and conduct a salt treatment.

Fin rot is a condition caused most commonly by dirty water. Bacteria blooms when your Betta’s feces and uneaten food accumulate. So make sure to keep to a regular water cleaning schedule. Also make sure to keep your Betta’s water at the tried-and-tested optimal temperature as I talk about in my book.

Try to detect and treat the condition early. You see, the good news is that your Betta’s fins will grow back.

Apply a product called “Neosulfex” by Aquatronics (available at almost all pet stores that sell aquarium supplies). It should take about a month to work, so be patient. If Neosulfex is not fully effective, also use a product called Jungle Fungus Eliminator.

Meanwhile, keep your sick Betta separate from your other fish, since fin rot is contagious.