Betta Fish Are Unique Members of Your Pet Fish Family

Betta fish come with multiple patterns of colors which are mesmerizing. If you go to the market, you will find that they are not expensive and the techniques of maintaining them are simple. Here are some more peculiarities of Betta fish -

1. The name 'Betta' fish comes from Thailand. The original Thai word is 'ikam bettah'. Some people assume that they originate from Greece as their name resembles to the Greek letter 'beta'. That is not true.

2. Usually they have short fins but breeders have successfully developed Bettas with long fins and shining colors.

3. The eyesight of Betta fish is well developed. They can see the things quickly and clearly. So if you approach the aquarium which food, they are the first ones to come to the surface for grabbing it.

4. They are famous for fighting. In fact their second name is Siamese fighting fish! Many times they will fight with other males. They will also fight with other fish species. They may nip or bite other fish while fighting! So it is important to keep a watch on them if you introduce other species in the same aquarium. You should also see that two Betta fish are not kept in the same tank.

There is one more possible solution. You can introduce fish condos. These are transparent containers made from plastic and they carry holes. You can introduce a couple of condos for keeping the fish separate. If they have their own space and if they see barriers, they will live peacefully in their space.

If your aquarium is not big enough to accommodate such containers, you can introduce a mesh which will separate the aquarium space and also the fish.

In some Asian countries, Bettas are used for fighting. For this purpose they will use fish with very small fins.

5. They are not large in size. They can grow only up to 2.5 inches and their lifespan is about four years. However, with proper care they can live up to six years.

6. Puffing out is supposed to be the most peculiar activity of Betta fish. If they want to attract females or if they want to intimidate their rivals, they will puff out part of their skin and gill covers. After doing this, they will look more impressive.

7. They will respond to your actions! So if you get closer to them, they will turn their head for looking at you. This is not possible with many fish species. For this reason, they are very popular.

8. They love live food. As their eyesight is good, they will grab it as soon as you put it in the water. It is the fun for everyone to look at this activity. However you should feed them with multiple varieties like vegetables and pellets for maintaining their health.

9. One more interesting fact about Betta fish is - the male will protect the eggs as well as the new ones while the female will try to eat the eggs! The male builds up a nest, he looks after the eggs and he will take care of the kids.

Many people want to keep Betta fish as an item of decoration. As they are available in many colors, people want to keep them to beautify the aquarium. However this is not correct. They are intelligent and have good eyesight. They may even learn some tricks. They enhance the quality of your aquarium. So you should treat them as one of the important members of your pet fish family.

Chintamani Abhyankar is a goldfish enthusiast and has been raising and breeding goldfish for many years. He is an expert on their care and an advocate for raising healthy goldfish the natural way. His famous digital book, "Secrets on Keeping Beautiful Goldfish", offers simple, easy to follow instruction for raising healthy, long-living goldfish. Visit his website http://www.goldfishcaretips.com to learn more about expertly raising your goldfish and to receive your FREE copy of his special report, "Fish-Keeping Hobby Secrets Revealed".