2007-03-27 05:45:45 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Originally Betta splendens (our bettas or fighting fish) came from Tailand Cambodia and Sumatra. They are still found tin the wild there but of course look nothing like the colorful inbred fish with large fins we keep today.
MM
2007-03-27 05:50:14 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Originally bettas were discovered in Siam (hence the original name of Siamese Fighting Fish), which is now called Thailand. There, they live in rice paddies and small ponds and slow moving streams. They do not live in puddles as some people would have you believe (so they can sell you small bowls or vases to keep them in, a slow death at best).
Their natural environment is large enough for the water to be clean and clear (yes, rice paddies are large and clean, but not deep). Ponds and streams have a natural biological process that keeps the water fresh and clean.
Bettas can live up to 7 years in the home aquarium under ideal care and conditions and have lived up to 10 years in a laboratory setting.
So, bettas do need filters and heaters (Thailand's temp is in the range of high 70's to low 90's). They are tropical fish. The best temp for them is around 78-82 degrees F.
BTW, the name is pronounced bet-tah, not bay-tah.
2007-03-27 13:01:21 · answer #2 · answered by 8 In the corner 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Bettas originate from the rice paddies of Thailand. Wild bettas are not as attractive or colourful like the pet bettas.It is due to laboratory testing that colourful and patterned bettas have evolved.. Most of them have never been in the wild.
2007-03-27 13:44:28 · answer #3 · answered by oops1388 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wild bettas? they look nothing like the bettas you find in petco for a start.
wild betta splendens (which are red/blue/green/brown and have short rounded tails) mostly live in large rice paddies in Thailand, Cambodia, Sumatra and Vietnam, which are 4"-6" deep and several acres wide. They have also been introduced and are thriving in Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.
there are dozens of other types of betta, which range from living in high mountain lakes and fast flowing streams, to leafy forest bogland.
the fish you find in petco are cultivated betta splendens, fancy bettas, they would not survive in the wild. they are bred from thai fighting bettas, which are in turn bred from more passive wild betta splendens. they were selectively bred to the fish you see today in pet stores.
some of these wild bettas are now endangered and many people have committed themselves to breeding them. i'd love to, but a lot of them need a pH of 4 to 6, and where I live, i have a pH of 7.5-8, so they're a no go without a ton of blackwater extract and IAL.
2007-03-27 12:50:40 · answer #4 · answered by catx 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Bettas are from Asia, and in the wild state the have been found living in wagon rutts on dirt roads full of muddy water. That doesn't mean you let his bowl get that dirty.
2007-03-27 13:22:19 · answer #5 · answered by pet lover 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
in the wild they come from south east asia..... they actually live in very slow moving or stable water like rice fields - not actually in "ponds" as some people think.
ohh.. and they have a lifespan of 8-10 years.
2007-03-27 12:53:05 · answer #6 · answered by raspberryswirrrl 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
rice paddies in southeast asia. theyre quit large but shallow.
2007-03-27 14:05:55 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋