It can be confusing with them being called Siamese Fighting Fish in UK (
Betta Splendens) but for some reason people in USA call them just Bettas which is technically wrong in biological nomenclature terms - sorry but I am a marine biologist
and there are actually quite a few variants - Betta Bellica, Betta Pugnax, Betta Edithea, Betta Akarensis, Betta Albimarginata, Betta Anabatoides, Betta Balunga, Betta Brownorum, Betta Coccina, Betta Burdigala, Betta Dimidiata, Betta Fusca, Betta Foersche, Betta Macrostoma, Betta Livida, Betta Picta, Betta Persephone, Betta Rutilans, Betta Smarargdina, Betta Simorum, Betta Tussyae, Betta Taeniata, Betta Imbellis, Betta Unimaculata, and Betta Strohi.. You can buy Siamese Fighting Fish on eBay in the UK -
K.G. Bettas sells them online there and from a dedicated website.
Family: Belontiidae - If you are interested this is the Gourami family...
Origin: Cambodia, Thailand
Adult Size: 3 inches (7 cm)
Social: Males cannot be kept together
Lifespan: 2-3 years
Tank Level: Top dweller
Minimum Tank Size: 3 gallon
Diet: Live foods preferable, will eat flakes and frozen foods
Breeding: Egglayer - bubblenest
Care: Easy to Intermediate
pH: 6.8 - 7.4
Hardenss: up to 20 dGH
Temperature: 75-86 F (24-30 C)
Description: The brilliant coloration, and long flowing fins of the Siamese Fighting Fish make it one of the most well known of aquarium fish. Colors range from red to blue to white. Females are not as highly colored, and have much shorter fins. A well conditioned breeding female will often display horizontal stripes.
Habitat/Care: Siamese Fighting Fish are one of the most recognized, most colorful, and often most controversial fish in the freshwater hobby. Debates range on about the appropriateness of keeping them in small bowls. To fully understand their needs it is important to become familiar with their native habitat. Siamese Fighting Fish originate in the shallow waters in Thailand (formerly called Siam, hence their name), Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and parts of China. They proliferate rice paddies, shallow ponds, and even slow moving streams.
Although many fish keepers are aware that Siamese Fighting Fish come from shallow waters, a key factor that is often overlooked is the water temperature. These countries are tropical, which means the water temperature is quite warm - often reaching into the 80's. Siamese Fighting Fish thrive on heat, and will become increasingly listless when the water temperature falls below 75 degrees F. Water temperature is perhaps the biggest argument against keeping a Siamese Fighting Fish in a tiny bowl (which cannot readily be heat controlled).
Even though Siamese Fighting Fish do well in waters low in dissolved oxygen, that does not mean they require less oxygen than other fish. Siamese Fighting Fish have a special respiratory organ that allows them to breath air directly from the surface. In fact they inherently must do so. In experiments where the labyrinth organ was removed, the fish died from suffocation even though the water was saturated with oxygen. For this reason, Siamese Fighting Fish must have access to the water surface to breath air directly from the atmosphere.
Optimally the water for keeping healthy Siamese Fighting Fish should be soft, warm, with a neutral to slightly acidic pH. Water movement should be kept to a minimum, which means that power filters and powerheads are not suitable. Siamese Fighting Fish may be kept in a community tank as long as the water conditions are met, and if no aggressive or fin-nipping fish are present. However, only one male may be kept in each aquarium, unless they are separated by a barrier.
The use of plastic boxes that hang inside the aquarium is a popular though restrictive option in my opinion for keeping more than one Siamese Fighting Fish in a tank, or for keeping them in a tank with fish that might nip their fins. Females will generally not fight with each other, and may be kept in the same tank.
Diet: In nature Siamese Fighting Fish subsist almost exclusively on insects and insect larvae. They are built with an upturned mouth that is well suited to snatching any hapless insect that might fall into the water. Internally their digestive system is geared for meat, having a much shorter alimentary track than vegetarian fish. For this reason, live foods are the ideal diet for the Siamese Fighting Fish, however they will adapt to eating flake foods and frozen and freeze dried foods.
Brine shrimp, Daphnia, plankton, tubifex, glassworms, and beef heart, are all excellent options that may be found frozen or freeze dried. If flake food is fed, it should be supplemented with frozen and freeze-dried foods, and if possible live foods.