Historically speaking, Betta Fish is said to have gotten its name from an ancient clan of Asian warriors called “Bettah”. They were named after these warrior fish because about 150 years ago people enjoyed participating in a popular sport that involved two of these warrior fish fighting. (In fact, the sport was so popular that it was regulated – and taxed – by the King of Siam!)

An interesting note about betta fish fights is that, unlike cockfights or dogfights in the west, in Siamese fighting fish tournaments, the actual fight was more to test the bravery of the fish, rather than a fight to see how much damage would be dealt. , or a fight to the death.

Spectators bet on how long a particular fish will fight and which one will give up first. (In fact, most fish would only fight once or twice, and then live the rest of their lives being pampered and used for breeding.)

Natural habitat

The natural habitat of a Betta fish is in shallow tropical waters. This is because they need to be able to surface frequently to breathe air. They can be found in the wild in paddy fields, drainage ditches, slow-moving streams, and freshwater ponds. Betta fish have even been known to thrive in large puddles! Their natural food source is insects and mosquito larvae.

How the breeding began

According to historical accounts, a close friend of the King of Siam, Dr. Theodore Cantor, received a pair of breeding Bettas from the king in 1840. The doctor bred and studied them for several years, later writing a scientific paper about them, giving them a Latin name of “Macropodus Pugnax”. However, shortly after the publication of his article, Dr. Cantor discovered that a species with that name already existed, so the fish were renamed “Betta Splendens”.

Several breeding pairs of Bettas were shipped to Germany in 1896 and then in 1910, Mr. Frank Locke of San Francisco California imported several Bettas to the US.

One of the fish he received had unusual red fins, and he excitedly thought that he had discovered a new species, and named it “Betta Cambodia”. In reality, he had one of the first Betta splendens that had naturally developed new colors and characteristics through breeding.

Since then, breeders have been able to develop Bettas with all the vibrant colors and varied fin shapes that we find today. Breeding Betta fish has become a profitable and ongoing passion for many people today, many of whom started out with just one or two Betta fish in a small aquarium.