Classification
The word Betta is the genera name of a group of fish which many of us are familiar with. This is how the system works.

Kingdom: Animals (Animalia)
Phylum: Chordates (Chordata)
Class: Bony Fishes (Osteichthyes)
Order: Percoids (Perciformes)
Family: Belontiidea
Sub Family: Macropodinea
Genera: Betta
Species: splenden, imbellis, smaragdina

Thus a species name is usually recorded as Betta splendens or Betta imbellis.

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Morphology of a Betta

http://arofanatics.c...

You can see from the above diagram, the betta, like any other fishes have a set of organs which help is fish to move, sense and most importantly, to survive in its harsh habitat.

Mouth: for feeding, fighting and nesting

Eyes: for sight, eg. distance and colour judgement

Nostrils: for smell

Gill cover: primarily is for protecting the gill structures, but some bettas have evolved to use them as a organ to size up with other males and attract females. Size of the gill reflects on the size of the fish as a whole.


Scales: Outer covering of the fish which act as a armor to resist bites form another fish or prevent damage from knocks and bumps. It is also a barrier between internal tissues and microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.

Lateral line: They are actually row/s of tiny pits found along the body of the fish. Bettas have a pair too, one row on each side of the body. This special organ behaves a little like a pair of ears of a human, sensing vibration in the water. Thus, they are able to know what's around them and how close are they.

Fins: One of the most important structure of the body and serve many functions. Mainly, they are use for swimming and steering the fish around it's environment. They can also be used to attract mates or intimitate other males.

Fishes is able to move in 3 differenet dimensions, up and down, left and right, forward and backward. This is made possible with the help of the fins and the swimming bladder.

http://arofanatics.c...

This is the Pitch. The ventral fin and anal fin allows the fish to rise, stay level or dive.

http://arofanatics.c...

Next is Roll. With the help of the dorsal, pectoral, ventral and anal fin, the fish can roll on its own axis.

http://arofanatics.c...

Lastly is the Yaw This involves all the fins moving is a certain combination.

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What makes a fish a labyrinth fish?
All fishes have gills as their respiratory system. Water, together with the oxygen, will enter through the mouth of the fish and gill structures. The blood vessels in the gill filaments is able to perform gas exchange through a thin layer of cells using diffusion. where oxygen from the water enters the blood and carbon dioxide in the blood exits into the water. Wonderful mechanism isn't it?

Since many labyrinth fishes make their home in muddy, oxygen deprived waters, their ancestors begin to evolve a special breathing accessory called Labyrinth.

The labyrinth is a air-breathing organ with have a sponge like structure and is able to extract oxygen directly from air instead of water. It works very much same as a human lung.

So what happens is that when you see your betta getting a gulp of air from the surface, that collection of air will be push into labyrinth and gas exchange takes place. Once the amount of oxygen in the collection is low, the fish will rise to the surface, expel the air in the "lungs" and take a new gulp of fresh air. To make this task easier, the mouth type of the fish evolve to become superior, where the bottom jaw is longer the the top half and the mouth is pointing upwards. Even when the mouth is close, there is still a gap to aid in breathing.

http://arofanatics.c...

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So here ends the simple introduction to Bettas. Feel free to discuss with me about the topic.

The pictures above is taken or drawn by me, so do ask for permission or credit it of you're gonna use it. Thanks ^_^

Angel signing off~

__________________
Angel
Betta Forum Moderator
Betta Forum FAQ

Breeding
Many people have complained that they encountered problems in trying to get their bettas to spawn. Bettas are by nature violent fishes. Males cannot coexist together and will fight to their deaths when placed together. Females too have the unfortunate tendency to fight amongst themselves. When a single male female(s) are placed in the same tank, it is common for the male to attack the female(s), although there are recorded instances of aggressive females battering their male counterparts.

Personally, I have spawned more bettas than I cared to count. To help new hobbyists avoid the many pitfalls in breeding the bettas, I have documented below the methodology that I adopted. They are just suggestions by personal experience, steps that are generally applicable. Due to the varying characteristics, traits and genetic background of the fish, there will be times when a judgement call needs to be made and modifications applied to the flow below.

Episode 1: The prelude

A breeding pair is selected. The pair has to be conditioned to full spawning capability. This means a period of multiple feedings a day, preferably with live food. With proper care, most females should be ready within 3 weeks. The keyword here is patience, patience and more patience. I have seen too many cases of the over enthusiatic aquarist introduce the intended breeding pair to each other before either is ready. The end result is almost always an aborted spawning attempt and two injured fishes. The female at the time of mating should ideally be swollen with eggs. Swollen as in she appears to be bursting from eggs. The more accomplished breeder can probably make do with less ready females. I have read that black water extract helps to spur them into breeding mood, but personally never needed to do that. There are cases where the intended breeding female is bigger than the male. Such pairing should be avoided if possible as the male may find it difficult to position himself for a complete "wrap" of the female. This in turn may reduce the chances of the eggs being fertilized.


Episode 2: Building a future

Place the male in a tank with about 15 cm deep water and a place for him to build his nest. Some breeders use floating plants to help the male anchor his nest. I artificially create the anchor point by cutting a party cup into half (from top to bottom) and then taping the half cup to the edge of the tank. Most of the time, the male will build his nest in the sanctuary of this cup. The cup will help shelter the nest from drafts and other water disturbances. Any water agitation at this stage could be detrimental to the male's efforts to build a coherent nest.

Breeding tank setup.

http://www.pacificbe...


Episode 3: Get-together

The next phase is to introduce the female to the male. I always do a indirect introduction first by placing the female in a jar and then put the jar in the breeding tank. The jar is normally only half filled having high walls that prevent either fish from jumping in or out, and at the same time, the female has no problems reaching the surface for air. This indirect introduction may take place concurrently with the male building the nest. Depending on the fishes, the sight of a female can either spurs the male into building a nest faster, or simply just distract him from his job, so the breeder has to react accordingly.

When the female shows that she subverts to the male, by showing very distinct vertical stripes/bars and at times a drooping head, it is time to physically introduce her to the breeding tank. It does not matter how dark of colourful the female is before mating session, her strips will be very visible. There may be identification problems when it comes to light bodied fishes though.

The actual introduction of the female into the breeding tank is a crucial time and one should always pay close attention. Normally, the male will chase and nip at the female. However occasionally, the female wins and abuses her mate instead. More often than not, one ends up with two fishes with very tattered and torn fins. If one party is losing the battle really badly (usually the female), the hobbyist should remove the victim and maybe condition a different fish to try again. A little hiding space (such as a clump of java moss) for the losing party goes a long way to preserving the victim's life. How badly is "too bad" is difficult to describe, it is better for the hobbyist to judge for himself. Some pairs get into the spawning act quickly without any fights, others will shred each other's fins until there are none left. Whatever it is, spawning should take place within 48 hours. My habit is to introduce the female at night, just before lights out, and spawning normally takes place the following day.

Just before breeding, the female (with vertical stripes on) will tend to swim towards the male and his nest. The actual mating almost always take place directly below the nest. The male will wrap his body around the female, attempting to fertilize the eggs that the female betta releases from her body. For each wrap, the female will release a few eggs which will sink to the bottom of the tank. Both fishes will appear to be stunned for a few seconds after each spawning attempt. Normally, the male recovers first and swims to the bottom of the tank to pick up eggs and blow them into the nest. It will be very helpful to the male if the tank is bare bottomed. After the female recovers, she too will swim to the bottom of the tank and search for any eggs that the male fail to find. There is a tendency for females to eat any eggs that they can find, though sometimes females help their hubby to put the eggs into the nest. This cycle repeats itself until the female runs out of eggs or something interrupts the mating session. The male betta will chase the female away from the nest once breeding is completed.


On the left, we have the male embracing the female and we can see
eggs (the white specks) dropping from the entwined pair on the right.

http://www.pacificbe...

Episode 4: The fad shows his true colours

The female should be removed immediately after the mating is completed. Otherwise she will most likely be battered to death.


Episode 5: Fads can be good fathers

The newly crowned father will guard his nest for the next few days. He will constantly repair his nest. Eggs that fall from the nest will be dutifully caught and blown back into the nest. Breeding is now over, but the hobbyist is faced with the titanic task of raising the fries.

http://www.bettatalk...

http://www.bettadrea...

http://www.bettadrea...

На русском это было-бы более интересно. Почему бы вам не переаести это дело? (Если есть возможности) Если.. нет - то помнится кто-то вызывался попереводить...

Нет возможности и времени... в общих чертах знаю о чем идет речь...

Кросавец третий с верху. Вот где такого достать.??? Эх..х

Предлагаю поспрашивать на рынке у разводчиков бойцов (брак).
Т.е. необычние формы и окрас бойца.
Поверьте мне, попадаются из сотни-другой интересные особи.

Принято упоминать подотряд Anabantoidei - лабиринтовые.

Да, действительно именно подотряд.
Точно знаю что своего белого бойца я высмотрел в стае гурамми привезенных оптом из МОСКВЫ !!!