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How to look after
Betta splendens
Siamese fighting fish
Regan, 1910

(Other members of the genus Betta)

ADULT SIZE: 6 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Not critical

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 23-28 C

FOOD: Feed Betta splendens live and dried foods

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from Thailand

AQUARIUM CARE: The Siamese fighting fish is an aquarium favourite, worldwide; yet it was one of the first species to be commercially sold. It originates from still waters around the Metang river in Thailand, but is now widespread in south east Asia, and even parts of Southern America.
The Siamese fighting fish lives up to its name - males will fight to the death (which was a desireable characteristic in the past) and nowadays they are often kept in Betta jars, especially in shops. Males will also attack other species that are similar enough to it.
The females are less aggressive, however at spawning time will eat each others fry and eggs.

BREEDING: Spawning occurs and eggs are deposited in a bubble nest, typical of anabantids. The nest can be scooped out and the fry raised seperately from their parents. The fry take artemia and dried foods.

Have you bred Betta splendens? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Betta splendens breeding reports

Betta splendens
Siamese fighting fish

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Betta splendens
Siamese fighting fish
breeding notes

BREEDING: Spawning occurs and eggs are deposited in a bubble nest, typical of anabantids. The nest can be scooped out and the fry raised seperately from their parents. The fry take artemia and dried foods.

Have you bred Betta splendens? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

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This page summarises breeding reports provided by visitors to this site, along with some statistical analysis. Please feel free to contribute - whatever your experience! 4 breeders have filled in breeding reports, a summary of the results are shown in the graphs below. You can read the full reports here. To add details of your experiences of Betta splendens, why not fill in a Breeding and maintenance Report.
Would Betta splendens be a good addition to a community tank? Never Doubtful, only with VERY calm fish Only with species of similar size Yes, a good community fish	How would you describe the disposition of Betta splendens? Very timid Slightly timid Neutral Somewhat aggresive on occasions Very aggressive
In which water conditions do you keep these fish? Very soft and acidic Moderately soft and acidic Neutral Moderately hard and alkaline Very hard and alkaline	At what average temperature? 10-15°C 16-19°C 20-23°C 24-27°C 28°C+
What, if any is the biggest difficulty encountered when breeding these fish? Poor egg production Poor egg survival Poor fry survival rate Deformities Skewed sex ratio	How would you describe sex ratios when breeding Betta splendens? If you are unsure please leave this question unanswered. Almost all males Somewhat male heavy Roughly equal Somewhat female heavy Almost all females
In general, how difficult is Betta splendens to keep and breed? Very easy Easy Average Difficult Very difficult	How sucessful have you been at breeding Betta splendens? Very unsucessful Fairly unsucessful Average Fairly sucessful Very sucessful

Remember, each record represents only one persons experience; if you had different results, or used different methods, please share your experiences

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Water conditions: Neutral	Water temperature: 20-23oC
Disposition: Very aggressive	Community tank?: Never
Spawning Method: Adult fish removed from tank	Breeding problems: none
Sex ratio:	Breeding difficulty: Average
Sucess:	Years Experience: 1
Other Comments:
Date this record created: 29th December 2009	Breeding date: 2009
Breeder:	Location:

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Water conditions: Moderately hard and alkaline	Water temperature: 24-27oC
Disposition: Very aggressive	Community tank?: Yes, a good community fish
Spawning Method: Adult fish removed from tank	Breeding problems: none
Sex ratio: Roughly equal	Breeding difficulty: Difficult
Sucess: Average	Years Experience: 30
Other Comments: The hardest parts are as follows; 1) a ready female, if not she will be damaged and not breed. 2) Maintain a constant temperature (80-82F) 3) remove female when breeding done, male will attack her and may destroy nest. 4) remove male when fry are free swimming, he will eat them. 5) Very important, feed well, RINSE brine shrimp before feeding. Excess salt will stunt growth of fry. Keep tank clean and surface free of film. 6) Keep best females for further breeding stock
Date this record created: 28th January 2009	Breeding date: 2009
Breeder:	Location:

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Water conditions: Neutral	Water temperature: 24-27oC
Disposition: Very aggressive	Community tank?: Yes, a good community fish
Spawning Method: Adult fish removed from tank	Breeding problems: Poor fry survival rate
Sex ratio: Roughly equal	Breeding difficulty: Difficult
Sucess: Fairly unsucessful	Years Experience: 2
Other Comments: I hav two fighting fis a simese one and a crowntail the male and female siames spawned and one fry survived because i haven't notice that the eggs turned to frythat's why, the male has eaten all the fries except one..... IN my crowntail, many survived but they all died because of pneumonia..
Date this record created: 7th September 2008	Breeding date: 2008
Breeder: john mark	Location: imus, cavite, philippines

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Water conditions: Neutral	Water temperature: 16-19oC
Disposition: Slightly timid	Community tank?: Never
Spawning Method: Spawning Mops	Breeding problems: Poor egg production
Sex ratio: Roughly equal	Breeding difficulty: Average
Sucess: Average	Years Experience: 3
Other Comments:
Date this record created: 8th January 2008	Breeding date: 2002
Breeder: cool_78	Location: Philippines