Order Perciformes
Suborder Anabantoidei
Family Osphronemidae
Subfamily Macropodusinae
To be continued…
Genus Betta, or Siamese fighting fish — Betta.
Breeding Siamese fighting fish. Bettas reach sexual maturity at the age of 4-6 months. And, of course, it is preferable to spawn younger breeders. For breeding, young fish with developed fins and a slender, defect-free body that meet the standard of a particular color line are selected. It is desirable that the female’s belly is slightly swollen. After years of observation, I came to the conclusion that the brightest coloration (not matte, but glossy) occurs in fry if the female is pink. When breeding, attention should also be paid to the body shape of the male. The male offspring have the largest fins if the parent male had a thin, spindle-shaped body. By the way, fins reach their maximum size after one or two spawnings. No matter how large a betta’s fins are, spawning noticeably stimulates their growth.
A spawning tank of 3, but preferably 10 liters or more (15x15x25 cm), can be set up without substrate, but it is necessary to provide hiding places for the female. A water layer of 10-12 cm is preferred. Spawning is stimulated by adding fresh water and raising its temperature to 27-30°C. The water must be fresh and aged for 3-4 days. It is recommended to add small floating plants (duckweed) to the surface, which the male can use to build a nest, and one or two small fern-like plants where the female can hide.
Dense thickets of floating plants are not needed. The male will still choose an open space on the water surface to build his nest, and he uses very little plant material in the nest itself. Only the presence of water current in the aquarium forces the male to reinforce the nest with plant particles. Aeration in the aquarium is not needed, and lighting should be subdued. About a week before spawning, if the breeders are kept together, they should be separated into different aquariums, during which time they need to be intensively fed live foods. The male is placed in the spawning aquarium first, and three to four hours later, the female is introduced. The temperature in the spawning aquarium is raised to 27-30°C.
As soon as the male sees the female, he usually immediately starts chasing her. He spreads all his fins, which look like small fans, and seems to increase in size. The male’s color changes noticeably at this time — it darkens and becomes deeper. The female also becomes more ornate. If the female is not yet ready to spawn, she tries to hide. Aggressive males can chase the female to death. If the male shows strong aggression towards the female, the fish must be separated and tried again in 2-3 days; if the male’s attitude has not changed, a larger female should be introduced to him. If that doesn’t help, the male is replaced.
The male begins building the bubble nest the day after being placed in the spawning tank. He takes air inside, holds it in his mouth, and releases air bubbles that stick together. The nest is quite large, built from saliva and air bubbles. The female swims near the nest, letting the male know she is ready to spawn. The fish in the spawning tank should not be fed. Dim lighting is left on for the night. Spawning occurs in 1-2 days.
Spawning repeats several times and lasts about two hours. During spawning, the female releases 100-250 eggs. The eggs fall to the bottom of the aquarium, and the male’s task is to collect all the eggs with his mouth and release them into the nest, where they attach to the foam and float there until the fry hatch. The male also cares for the eggs and larvae. If the female tries to participate, the male chases her away not only from the eggs but also from the nest. The spawned female is removed from the spawning aquarium, leaving the eggs in the care of the male.
He swims under the nest all the time — adding foam, repositioning eggs, and eating rotting unfertilized eggs so that putrefactive bacteria do not spread to the fertilized eggs. Larvae appear in 20-60 hours. For better egg development, boiled water can be added to the spawning aquarium (the temperature of the added water should be the same as in the spawning aquarium). The larvae turn into fry after 3-5 days.
After the fry appear, the male must be removed from the aquarium. The male should be removed on the fourth day after spawning: he is no longer needed and can even be dangerous to the fry — he might start catching them. Lower the water level in the aquarium to 5 cm. If the spawning aquarium is small, the fry need water aeration until their labyrinth organ develops. For the first time, the larvae do not need food: they feed on their yolk sac. As soon as the juveniles switch to an active lifestyle, they need food. It is best to start with infusoria, rotifers, and Artemia nauplii.
Feeding should be done as often as possible, in small portions. Young bettas, like adult fish, avoid bright light, so semi-darkness should be maintained in the spawning tank. In about two weeks, they should be transferred to a grow-out aquarium. As the fry grow, young males may start fighting. In such cases, it is advised to separate the fry into different rearing containers to ensure as many survive as possible.
Classification of bettas by tail type. Fin shapes.
Betta splendens, Siamese fighting fish. 
