Description
Siamese Fighting Fish is probably the second most popular fish kept, after Goldfish. Fighters are a favorite because of their beauty, its long fins and because fighters are relatively easy to care for. The male sports deep beautiful colors whereas the females are less colorful. Their stunning colors and flowing fins are some of the reasons for their popularity.
Betta fish are called the Siamese Fighting Fish because of its behavior towards other males of the same species. You cannot keep two or more males in the same tank. If more than one male fish are placed in the same tank, they will fight until only one of them remains. They will flare out their gill covers and erect their fins showing the other fish their fighting posture. This behavior is also why they are kept separated in small containers at the store.
You can get small tanks that come with dividers which will allow you to keep two in the same tank. Many keep them in small bowls and they may live for a while in these small bowls. However, to get the most beautiful colors and optimal health for your fish, they will do better in a 10 litre or larger tank with a heater that can maintain a constant temperature in the aquarium. If you plan on keeping yours in a small bowl or aquarium, make sure you change 100% of the water once per week.
The Siamese Fighter can be bred in the home aquarium. For breeding purposes, males and females can be temporarily housed together. Once laid by the female, the eggs are placed inside a bubblenest and tended by the male Siamese fighter. Fry appear in about 24 hours and must be fed very small food initially, such as crushed or powdered flakes and newly hatched brine shrimp. Provide the fighter with a carnivore diet consisting of a quality flake food, frozen or freeze dried bloodworms and brine shrimp.
Siamese fighters require a diet high in protein. We recommend Betta Bio Gold, Hikari Micro Wafers, Hikari Micro Pellets and Hikari Frozen Bloodworms.
