Spotted betta

Taxobox
name = Spotted betta
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Osphronemidae
genus = "Betta"
species = "B. picta"
binomial = "Betta picta"
binomial_authority = (Valenciennes, 1846)

The spotted betta ("Betta picta") is a freshwater ray-finned fish in the gourami family (Osphronemidae) of order Perciformes. The type species of genus "Betta," it is native to relatively cool, 22‒25 °C (72‒75 °F), highland streams of Java and Sumatra.FishBase_species
genus=Betta
species=picta
month=March
year=2006] cite book
last=Goldstein
first=Robert J.
title=Bettas: Everything about History, Care, Nutrition, Handling, and Behavior
publisher=Barron's Educational Series
location=Hauppauge, New York
id=ISBN 0-7641-1653-3
year=2001] cite web
title="Betta picta"
publisher=International Betta Congress
url=http://ibc-smp.org/species/picta.html
accessdate=2006-06-30] In 1967, D. S. Johnson reported the species to be common in blackwaters of southern Malaya,cite journal
last=Johnson
first=D. S.
journal=Ecology
title=Distributional Patterns of Malayan Freshwater Fish
volume=48
pages=722‒30
year=1967
doi=10.2307/1933729] but it is not clear that this population was in fact "B. picta," as many similar "Betta" species had not yet been described at the time.

Of largely unremarkable "Betta" appearance, "B. picta" attains an overall length of 6 cm (2.4 in).It is noted for the pale bars on the male's back, absent in other similar "Betta" species.

Mouthbrooders, spotted bettas spawn "en masse" when triggered by water changes; this is likely to be an adaptation to reduce the chances, by saturating the environment with young, of individual fry falling prey to predators. This betta spawns readily and prolifically in captivity, producing easily-raised fry.cite web
author=Fernando, Yohan
title="Betta picta" (Sumatra)
url=http://ibc-smp.org/articles/picta_sumatra.html
publisher=International Betta Congress Species Maintenance Program
accessdate=2006-06-30] Even though it is easily kept and bred, it is not one of the more popular "Betta" species among hobbyists, likely because, in the words of one "B. picta" keeper, "many just can not get excited by watching a drab colored fish that spends most of its time hiding away under the rocks and behind the plants."cite web
author=Griffin, Gerald
title="Betta picta:" Not Very Beautiful, But Interesting Nonetheless
url=http://ibc-smp.org/articles/picta_griffin.html
publisher=International Betta Congress Species Maintenance Program
year=1988
accessdate=2006-06-30]

Originally described by Valenciennes and assigned to genus "Panchax" (as "P. pictum"), it was found to be identical to "Betta trifasciata" Bleeker, 1850, the type for genus "Betta." "P. pictum" and "B. trifasciata" are thus invalid synonyms for "B. picta."As the original type specimens are now lost, Tan and Kottelat redescribed the species in 1998.cite journal
journal=Revue suisse de zoologie
title=Redescription of "Betta picta" (Teleostei: Osphronemidae) and description of "B. falx" sp. n. from central Sumatra
author=Tan, H. H., and M. Kottelat
volume=105
issue=3
pages=557‒568
year=1998]

"B. picta" is also known as the Java fighting fish.ITIS
ID=172621
taxon=Betta picta
date=30 June
year=2006]

References

External links

* [http://ibc-smp.org/species/picta.html#photos International Betta Congress Species Maintenance Program photos]