Learn About Betta Origins And History
Fortunately, there is a lot known about the betta origins. The history of these Siamese fighting fish is over 200 years old, with these bettas originally coming from what is now known as Thailand (aka Siam). As history tells us, these fish were bred in that part of the world as amazing fighting fish, which was as popular as cock fighting and dog fighting is today.
The betta fish is famous for having the most powerful jaws of any fish on the planet, even more powerful than a Great White Shark – pound for pound that is. These fish became accustomed to their native habitat in paddy fields where the waters in China are warm, usually about 76-82 degrees, and that is why they are most healthy living in water that is this temperature.
Over time, these beautiful fish were bred for their amazing beauty, and over the past 200 years, dozens of new and colorful betta fish have been born. These fish were not as beautiful in these early days as they are today, and since they were used for fighting, when a winning fish recovered from a fight, it was entered into another competition to fight with other bettas. Betta fish were very popular in Thailand, and could be found in muddy water, streams, and small ponds nearly everywhere.
As Thailand became more industrial, the favorite past time of fish fighting eventually calmed down, and the fish began to be seen as a status symbol because of their amazing colors and interesting fins. The paddy fields where the majority of Beta fish lived was being farmed by big industry and machinery, and the numbers of bettas plummeted. Although the fish could be found in other places where big industry was not farming the land, the shortage of betta fish meant less fighting, and resulted in them becoming more valuable as people started keeping the ones that they found in their homes.
When the betta fish started to be looked at for their beauty, and not just for their fantastic ability to fight, this is when they began to be bred to display the wonderful colors that we have today. Even the Siam King had collected betta fish during the times while the fish fighting was popular, and several of his valuable fighting fish were given to a medical scientist from Bangor.
This scientist was Dr. Theodor Cantor, who wrote articles about fish, and about the nature of their nature. In an article he wrote in 1849, he named the betta fish “Macropodus Pugnax”. Sixty years later in 1909, the betta fish were renamed again as “Betta splendens” by Mr. Tate Regan.
He renamed the bettas because the name “Macropodus Pugnax” had already been given to another fish species before Dr. Cantor gave the name to the betta fish. It is widely thought that the name “Betta splendens” that Mr. Tate Regan gave them, is based on the name of a tribe of ancient warriors called the “Bettahs”.
The betta fish were first observed in the United States around 1910, and had been in France and Germany for the 40 years prior to that. In 1927, the Betta Cambodia fish were spotted in San Francisco. A man there by the name of Frank Locke had given them the new name, since their bright red fins were different from the other colors and color combinations that were common at that time. Thus, Mr. Locke thought that this betta fish was a different species from all the rest, and this was the beginning of a long list of different names that have been given to the betta fish.
Today, you can find commercial betta fish farms in Malaya and Singapore. The breed betta fish for display purposes and for fighting purposes, and the fighting version of the fish makes them more money. In Japan and the United States, bettas are typically bred to be ornamental fish that are to be admired for their beauty.
