Betta Fish Essay

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Betta Fish Betta fish are colorful and aggressive; they originate from Siam, now known as Thailand. In Thailand 150 years ago these fish were known as Siamese fighting fish or Betta Splendens, but are now commonly known as a Betta fish. They got the name Betta from an ancient clan of Asian Warriors called “Bettah”. They were given the name “Betta” because many people participated in a sport that involved two fish fighting against one another, making the people consider the fish as “warriors”. In the 1800’s the people of Siam had started collecting the Betta fish for fighting. Though the Betta fish they collected looked far more different then the Betta fish you would see in pet stores today. The Betta fish they collected had smaller fins and a dirty greenish brown hue to them. These fish were collected and bred for competitive fighting and not for the beautiful fins and colors you would see today. While Betta Fish originate from Siam (Thailand), they can also be found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and parts of China. For the people of Malaya, in southern China, collecting Betta fish was a favorite pastime, being able to catch 50 fish an hour. The people found and collected their Betta fish from paddy fields, ditches, stagnant ponds, and gentle flowing streams. Once the fish were collected the fish fights began to see who the village champion was. The fights would last only a few minutes, but later on when Betta fish were specifically bred for fighting the fight could last for hours. The winning fish was the one that had the willingness to continue, the loser would retreat and the fight would end. Damage to either of the fish fighting was rare, it was usually nothing more than a torn fin. As the popularity in the sport of fish fighting grew, even the King of Siam took notice and started licensing and collecting Betta fish himself. In the last quarter of

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