Betta

Taxobox
name = "Betta"

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image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Betta albimarginata"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Osphronemidae
genus = "Betta"
genus_authority = Bleeker, 1850
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision ="B. persephone"
"B. picta" - spotted betta
"B. pugnax" - Penang betta
"B. splendens" - Siamese fighting fish

"and others (see text)"

"Betta" is a large genus of small, often colorful, freshwater ray-finned fishes in the gourami family (Osphronemidae). There are 28 known species of betta. The type species is "B. picta," the spotted betta.FishBase_genus|genus=Betta|month=March|year=2006] By far the best known "Betta" species, however, is "B. splendens," the Siamese fighting fish.

Characteristics

All the "Betta" species are small fishes, but they vary considerably in size, ranging from under 2.5 cm (1 inch) total length in "B. chanoides" to five inches in the Akar betta ("B. akarensis").

Bettas are anabantoids, which means they can 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, such as rice paddies, slow-moving streams, drainage ditches, and large puddles. [Marcus Song, "Caring for Betta Fish" ?????????(Lulu Press, 2006). ISBN 1-4116-9365-5]

The various bettas can be divided into two groups, based on their spawning behaviour: some build bubble nests, like "B. splendens," while others are mouthbrooders, like "B. picta." The mouthbrooding species 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.cite web
author=Fernando, Yohan
title="Betta edithae" - a Pseudo "Betta?"
publisher=International Betta Congress Species Maintenance Program
url=http://ibc-smp.org/articles/edithae_pseudo.html
accessdate=2006-06-30]

Food

Betta fish are not big eaters but should be fed a small amount once a day to once every other day.http://www.petco.com/caresheets/fish/Betta_Male.pdf] They can be fed floating flake food, freeze dried blood worms, live black worms, or frozen brine shrimp.

Betta pellets are small, round edible pellets that are food for most betta species. Betta pellets are made out of crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, crude ash, moisture, phosphorus, certain vitamins, and other ingredients.

Name

There is often much confusion in terminology regarding these fish. So-called "Siamese fighting fish", "B. splendens", are frequently sold in the United States simply as "bettas." Fish fanciers are thus often unaware that, as of 2006, there are around 65 species classified within the genus "Betta". A further source of confusion is that while the generic name "Betta" is italicized and capitalized, when used as a common name it is usually "not" capitalized. cite encyclopedia
url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/78/B0217800.html
title=Betta
encyclopedia=American Heritage Dictionary
edition=4th ed.
accessdate=2006-06-29] The common name of "Betta pugnax," for example, is thus Penang betta.

The name "Betta" (or betta) is pronEng|ˈbɛtə.That is, the first part is the same as the English word "bet." By confusion with the name of the Greek letter beta, the name is often pronounced IPA|/ˈbeɪtə/ in American English, and may be misspelled with one "t." The name of the genus is unrelated to that of the Greek letter, being derived from "ikan bettah," in a local language in Thailand.

Conservation

While many "Betta" species are common and "B. splendens" is ubiquitous in the aquarium trade, other bettas are threatened. The IUCN Red List classifies several "Betta" species as Vulnerable. In addition, "B. livida" is Endangered, and "B. miniopinna," "B. persephone," and "B. spilotogena" are Critically Endangered.cite web
title=2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. they are amazing.... -> male betta
url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/
accessdate=2006-06-30]

The United Nations Environment Programme lists an unconfirmed species, "Betta" cf. "tomi," as having become extinct in Singapore between 1970 and 1994.cite web
title=Extinctions since 1970
url=http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/latenews/extinct.html
publisher=United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre
year=2006
accessdate=2006-07-01] This likely refers to the extirpated Singaporean population of "B. tomi," which continues to exist in the wild in Indonesia and Malaysia as well as in captivity; the Red List classifies it as Vulnerable.cite web
title="Betta tomi"
url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/2778/all
publisher=2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
year=1996
author=Kottelat, M.
accessdate=2006-07-01] cite web
title="Betta tomi"
url=http://www.ibc-smp.org/species/tomi.html
publisher=International Betta Congress Species Maintenance Program
accessdate=2006-07-01]

pecies

The currently described "Betta" species can be grouped into "complexes" for conservation purposes. (This grouping of species makes no claim at representing a taxonomic reality.) The complexes of the associated species are:cite web
title=Species Complex Management
url=http://ibc-smp.org/Pages/complex.html
publisher=International Betta Congress Species Maintenance Program
accessdate=2006-07-01] ITIS|ID=172610|taxon=Betta|date=30 June|year=2006]

* Akarensis complex:
** "Betta akarensis" Regan, 1910 – Akar betta
** "Betta antoni" Tan & Ng, 2006
** "Betta aurigans" Tan & Ng, 2004
** "Betta balunga" Herre, 1940
** "Betta chini" Ng, 1993
** "Betta ibanorum" Tan and Ng, 2004
** "Betta obscura" Tan & Ng, 2005
** "Betta pinguis" Tan and Kottelat, 1998

* Albimarginata complex:
** "Betta albimarginata" Kottelat and Ng, 1994
** "Betta channoides" Kottelat and Ng, 1994

* Anabatoides complex:
** "Betta anabatoides" Bleeker, 1851 – giant betta

* Bellica complex:
** "Betta bellica" Sauvage, 1884 – slim betta
** "Betta simorum" Tan and Ng, 1996

* Coccina complex:
** "Betta brownorum" Witte and Schmidt, 1992
** "Betta burdigala" Kottelat and Ng, 1994
** "Betta coccina" Vierke, 1979
** "Betta livida" Ng and Kottelat, 1992
** "Betta miniopinna" Tan and Tan, 1994
** "Betta persephone" Schaller, 1986
** "Betta rutilans" Witte and Kottelat in Kottelat, 1991
** "Betta tussyae" Schaller, 1985
** "Betta uberis" Tan & Ng, 2006

* Dimidiata complex:
** "Betta dimidiata" Roberts, 1989
** "Betta krataios" Tan & Ng, 2006

* Edithae complex:
** "Betta edithae" Vierke, 1984

* Foerschi complex:
** "Betta foerschi" Vierke, 1979
** "Betta mandor" Tan & Ng, 2006
** "Betta rubra" Perugia, 1893 – Toba betta
** "Betta strohi" Schaller and Kottelat, 1989

* Picta complex:
** "Betta falx" Tan and Kottelat, 1998
** "Betta picta" (Valenciennes, 1846) – spotted betta
** "Betta simplex" Kottelat, 1994
** "Betta taeniata" Regan, 1910 – Borneo betta

* Pugnax complex:
** "Betta breviobesus" Tan and Kottelat, 1998
** "Betta cracens" Tan & Ng, 2005
** "Betta enisae" Kottelat, 1995
** "Betta fusca" Regan, 1910 – dusky betta
** "Betta lehi" Tan & Ng, 2005
** "Betta pallida" Schindler & Schmidt, 2004
** "Betta prima" Kottelat, 1994
** "Betta pugnax" (Cantor, 1849) – Penang betta
** "Betta pulchra" Tan and Tan, 1996
** "Betta raja" Tan & Ng, 2005
** "Betta schalleri" Kottelat and Ng, 1994
** "Betta stigmosa" Tan & Ng, 2005

* Splendens complex:
** "Betta imbellis" Ladiges, 1975 – crescent betta
** "Betta mahachai" Panitvong, Nonn, 2002 –
** "Betta smaragdina" Ladiges, 1972 – emerald green betta
** "Betta splendens" Regan, 1910 – Siamese fighting fish
** "Betta stiktos" Tan & Ng, 2005

* Unimaculata complex:
** "Betta compuncta" Tan & Ng, 2006
** "Betta gladiator" Tan & Ng, 2005
** "Betta ideii" Tan & Ng, 2006
** "Betta macrostoma" Regan, 1910 – spotfin betta
** "Betta ocellata" de Beaufort, 1933
** "Betta pallifina" Tan & Ng, 2005
** "Betta patoti" Weber and de Beaufort, 1922
** "Betta unimaculata" (Popta, 1905) – Howong betta

* Waseri complex:
** "Betta chloropharynx" Kottelat and Ng, 1994
** "Betta hipposideros" Ng and Kottelat, 1994
** "Betta pi" Tan, 1998
** "Betta renata" Tan, 1998
** "Betta spilotogena" Ng and Kottelat, 1994
** "Betta tomi" Ng and Kottelat, 1994
** "Betta waseri" Krummenacher, 1986

* unassigned:
** "Betta apollon" Schindler & Schmidt, 2006
** "Betta bangka"
** "Betta bungbihn"
** "Betta ferox" Schindler & Schmidt, 2006
** "Betta sukadan"

External links

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References