Breeding my Bettas (Siamese fighting fish, Betta Splendens, Bettah, Trey Krem, Pla Khad)

Bettas are found in the wild throughout Thailand and Cambodia. I have been keeping Bettas as a hobby since I was a kid. The local fighting fish that I used to catch from the paddy fields and narrow waterways in Prai are very much smaller in size than the Bettas. There are over 50 species of bettas and they normally grow to the length of 5 to 6 cm. I like bettas because they are very colourful and hardy fish. They keep my fish pond free from mosquito’s larvae, which happens to be one of their favourite foods. Male betta’s fish are very aggressive and they can fight to death if kept together. I keep bettas as an ornamental fish, not for fights. The male fish have bright colours compared to dull coloured female fish. A pregnant female fish would have a bulge in the stomach and vertical bands when they are ripe for mating. The male would start making a bubble nest on the water surface to be used to keep the fertilised eggs. The mating ritual can be rather ferocious which sometimes ended with the female being badly bitten. The male fish would coil around the female fish body in nuptial embrace and the female fish would release her eggs which would be fertilised immediately. The male fish would then collect all the fertilised eggs from the bottom of the deposit them into the bubbles. After they finish mating the male fish will chase the female betta from the bubble nest. The male fish will take care of the eggs until they hatch which is about 2 days after fertilisation. It would be advisable to remove the female fish or else she would eat up all the eggs.

A colourful male betta.............................................and a dull coloured pregnant female betta

1) Betta eggs in the bubble under the water plants' leaves. 2) 10 days old bettas offsprings