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Betta

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This article is about the entire genus Betta. For the species Betta splendens which is often called simply "betta", see Siamese fighting fish.
iBetta
Image:Betta albimarginata 060311 8.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Osphronemidae
Genus: Betta
Species

B. persephone
B. picta - spotted betta
B. pugnax - Penang betta
B. splendens - Siamese fighting fish

and others (see text)

Betta Bleeker, 1850, is a large genus of small, often colourful, freshwater ray-finned fishes in the gourami family (Osphronemidae). The type species is B. picta, the spotted betta.<ref name="fishbase">"Betta". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. March 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.</ref> By far the best known Betta species, however, is B. splendens, the Siamese fighting fish.

All the Betta species are small fishes, but they vary considerably in size, ranging from under 2.5 cm (1 in) total length in B. chanoides to 14 cm (5.5 in) in the Akar betta (B. akarensis).<ref name="fishbase" />

Bettas are anabantoids, which means they can breathe atmospheric air thanks to a unique organ called the labyrinth. This accounts for their ability to thrive in low-oxygen water conditions that would kill most other fish, such as rice paddies, slow-moving streams, drainage ditches, and large puddles. <ref>Marcus Song, Caring for Betta Fish (Lulu Press, 2006). ISBN 1-4116-9365-5</ref>

The various bettas can be divided into two groups, based on their spawning behaviour: some build bubble nests, like B. splendens, while others are mouthbrooders, like B. picta. The mouthbrooding species are sometimes called "pseudo bettas", and are sometimes speculated to have evolved from the nest-builders in an adaptation to their fast-moving stream habitats.<ref name="ibc_fernando">Fernando, Yohan. Male Bettas are most of the time compatible with an Irradescent shark a pleco and lots of other community fish that do not have presenting fins and sre not territorial. Betta edithae - a Pseudo Betta?. International Betta Congress Species Maintenance Program. Retrieved on 2006-06-30.</ref>

Contents

[edit] Name

There is frequently much confusion in terminology regarding these fishes. B. splendens is frequently sold in the United States simply as "betta", and fish fanciers are often unaware that, as of 2006, around 65 species are classified in the genus Betta. A further source of confusion is that while the generic name Betta is italicized and capitalized, when used as a common name it is usually not capitalized;<ref name="ahd"> "Betta". American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.). Retrieved on 2006-06-29.</ref> the common name of Betta pugnax, for example, is thus Penang betta.

The name Betta (or betta) is pronounced /ˈbɛtə/.<ref name="ahd" /> (That is, the first part is the same as the English word bet.) By confusion with the name of the Greek letter beta, the name is often (erroneously) pronounced /ˈbeɪtə/ in American English, and is even often misspelled with one t. The name of the genus is completely unrelated to that of the Greek letter, however, being derived from the Thai ikan bettah.<ref name="fishbase" />

[edit] Conservation

While many Betta species are common and B. splendens is ubiquitous in the aquarium trade, other bettas are threatened. The IUCN Red List classifies several Betta species as Vulnerable. In addition, B. livida is Endangered, and B. miniopinna, B. persephone, and B. spilotogena are Critically Endangered.<ref name="redlist">2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved on 2006-06-30.</ref>

The United Nations Environment Programme lists an unconfirmed species, Betta cf. tomi, as having become extinct in Singapore between 1970 and 1994.<ref name="unep">Extinctions since 1970. United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (2006). Retrieved on 2006-07-01.</ref> This likely refers to the extirpated Singaporean population of B. tomi, which continues to exist in the wild in Indonesia and Malaysia as well as in captivity; the Red List classifies it as Vulnerable.<ref name="redlist_tomi">Kottelat, M. (1996). Betta tomi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved on 2006-07-01.</ref> <ref name="ibc_tomi">Betta tomi. International Betta Congress Species Maintenance Program. Retrieved on 2006-07-01.</ref>

[edit] Species

The currently described Betta species can be grouped into "complexes" for conservation purposes. (This grouping of species makes no claim at representing a taxonomic reality.) The complexes are the associated species are:<ref name="fishbase" /> <ref name="complex_mgt">Species Complex Management. International Betta Congress Species Maintenance Program. Retrieved on 2006-07-01.</ref> <ref name="itis">Betta (TSN 172610). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 30 June 2006.</ref>

[edit] References

<references />

[edit] External links

mi:tapluskala fr:Betta it:Betta he:דגי קרב hu:Betta no:Kampfisker pt:Betta sv:Kampfiskar

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