Betta Fish Research?

Question

I'm doing a research report on Betta fish and I don't have any so I'll really appreciate it if you could help me out with some questions that I have about them:

-Do female Bettas flare?
-What do you feed them?
-Can I keep them in a warm (80 degrees) room instead of giving them a heater?
-What do they eat?
-What are their predetors?
-How do they protect themself?
-Do you have any interesting facts about them?

Thank you!

How can you tell the difference between a female and male Betta?

Answer 1

1. Yes, females flare. Rarely in the attraction of a mate but more often as a defensive action

2. Bettas are by nature primarily insectivores. In the home aquarium they eat formulated foods such as flake and pellets. They also eat bloodworm, blackworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae and similar small invertebrates.

3. As long as water temperature is between about 68 and 90 bettas will do fine. The best range is 78 - 82 but they will tolerate the wider range well.

4. What they eat is the same as answer 2

5. Primary predators in the wild are wading birds, larger fishes and snakes.

6. A betta only real defense is hiding. Wild bettas have almost none of the long finnage and bright colors you associate with cultivated pet bettas. Additionally, bettas are anabantiods. This means they have a very crude lung type organ called a labyrinth organ. This allows them to shelter in water with very low oxygen content that is unsuitable for many fish that would prey upon them.

7. As an interesting fact I would say that bettas are one of the most versatile fish we keep. They can easily be kept in a wider range of conditions then most other fishes. Also I would point out that what we call bettas are only one of several fish to bear that name. Yes, there are other bettas, some very interesting and very peaceful with their own kind unlike Betta splendens.

Male bettas have more coloration on them and much longer fins than females.

MM

Answer 2

-Do female Bettas flare?
Yes they do. They can be territorial little creatures too, but less so than males. Their "frill" isn't as pronounced and full as a males.

-What do you feed them?
i feed my bettas specialist betta pellets (Attison Betta Pro, they float rather than sink, bettas only generally eat from the surface, hence the upturned mouth), frozen/live/jellied Brine Shrimp, Bloodworm and Daphnia.

-Can I keep them in a warm (80 degrees) room instead of giving them a heater?
holy crap thats a warm room you got! i keep my bettas between 75-80 degrees as they're tropical fish.

-What do they eat?
they LOVE bugs and wiggly things. they're quite the little carnivore. hence never turning down bloodworm, daphnia, brine shrimp, i've even had a betta that liked nothing better than a big juicy flying ant, baby earth worms they love too.

-What are their predetors?
fishwise, any predator fish with a mouth large enough to fit a betta in! big fish eat little fish. and i'm sure a pet cat who could get their paw in would too. in the wild, same applies, passing birds etc, fish are pretty low on the food chain.

-How do they protect themself?
towards other fish, they bite, but their teeth are at the back of their mouth. they still have the ability to rip fins and tear at scales, or run and hide!

-Do you have any interesting facts about them?
there are several dozen different types of bettas, but the one you find in the stores is a man-made version of the Betta Splenden. the wild betta splenden is dark green/brown and red with a short tail. many of the other types of bettas are endangered, and some need a pH as low as 4!! all bettas have a labryinth lung, which means they can breath air, gouramis and several other fish have this lung.

- How can you tell the difference between a female and male Betta?
going by the length of tail is a bad idea, as you can get short tailed male bettas (plakats or plakads). however all females will have a shorter tail, they will have an oviposter also which is a little white dot underneath their tummy, watch out though, crossdressers have been seen! (plakat boys with oviposters, and girls with none to be seen!) boys will also have a pronounced pointy anal fin, a girls will be less so. girls come in very stunning colours these days as well, so saying their more muted in colour no longer applies!

Answer 3

-not as much as males, but if you keep more than one female together they will establish dominance.
-betta pellets or blood worms
-i dont ever keep a heater in mine and he seems to do better that way
-in the wild not a clue
-anything bigger than them really
-swim away
-they make great low maintance pets