Peaceful fighting fish

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Peaceful fighting fish
Betta imbellis (male) in normal color

Betta imbellis (male) in normal color

Systematics
Order : Climbing fish species (Anabantiformes)
Subordination : Labyrinth fish (Anabantoidei)
Family : Osphronemidae
Subfamily : Large Flosser (Macropodusinae)
Genre : Fighting fish ( betta )
Type : Peaceful fighting fish
Scientific name
Betta imbellis
Ladiges , 1975

The Friedliche fighting fish ( Betta imbellis ), and occasionally small Kampffisch called, is a fresh water fish in the subordination of the labyrinth fish and is used as foam-forming nesting Kampffisch the splendens-form circuit assigned.

features

The peaceful fighting fish reaches a total length of about four and a half to five centimeters. Females stay a little smaller. The gill patches are usually blue or green in color, but they can also be red or completely absent. The normal coloring is simple. Both the male and the female have two dark longitudinal stripes, supplemented by a detached tail-root spot. In the splendid coloration, the male appears in an intense metallic blue. Both the edge of the caudal fin , parts of the anal fin and the ventral fin are red. The females change their coloration only in the areas of the fins in a delicate red (with the exception of the dorsal fin ) and blue; the rest of the body color shows dark horizontal stripes. Depending on the distribution area, the peaceful fighting fish differ slightly in body structure and color.

Like all labyrinth fish, the peaceful fighting fish also has a labyrinth organ , which means that it is not only dependent on gill breathing , but can breathe atmospheric oxygen via the labyrinth organ . This enables these fish to survive in relatively warm and therefore oxygen-poor water.

Occurrence

The peaceful fighting fish has a wide distribution area in Southeast Asia . Its natural occurrence extends over Sumatra , Singapore , the Malay Peninsula , Borneo , Laos , the Vietnamese island of Phu Quốc and parts of northern and southern Thailand . It can be found in streams, rivers, floodplains and rainforest areas. Here it inhabits both standing and flowing water, although it tends to stay in shallow water and calm water regions with dense submerged vegetation. Its appearance is difficult to distinguish from that of the Siamese fighting fish ( Betta splendens ). It is significantly less aggressive towards this very close sister species .

ecology

Since the first description of Betta imbellis in 1975 by Werner Ladiges , the ecology of natural habitats has been extensively researched. The type locality is Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia , the holotype is under the catalog number ZMH H4644 in the Zoological Museum Hamburg . Depending on the origin, the water temperatures are very different. They vary seasonally between 15 and over 30  ° C ; it prefers temperatures up to 30 ° C during the breeding season. It can be found in all types of water ( white , clear and black water ), both in still and flowing waters in the acidic range ( pH values between 4.5 and 7.2). The electrical conductivity is between 10 and 280 µS / cm, the total hardness between <10 and <30 ° dGH.

Reproduction

By building a foam nest on the surface of the water, the male signals that it is ready to reproduce. During this time of courtship the male shows its distinctive splendor. Females mature to spawn signal their willingness to mate by means of vertical, darkly protruding body stripes. Through several false pairings, the partners coordinate the simultaneous release of sperm and eggs in the actual act of mating. Immediately below the foam nest, the male wraps around the female turned on its back. While the sperm and eggs are being released, both animals are in paralysis. When fertilized, the eggs fall to the ground. The male then releases itself from the rigidity of spawning, collects the eggs with its mouth and spits them into the foam nest. The male then defends the nest area and carries out very intensive brood care until the larvae swim free after four to five days.

Importance to humans

Females in normal coloring

The peaceful fighting fish is a relatively seldom cared for aquarium fish . Aquarists who specialize in labyrinth fish, mostly organized in the International Association for Labyrinth Fish (IGL) , maintain pure strains of different populations at well-known localities that often differ significantly from one another. Like most Betta species, it is rarely found in stores.

literature

  • Donoso-Büchner, R. & J. Schmidt (1999): Your hobby - fighting fish wild forms . Bede Verlag, Ruhmannsfelden, ISBN 3-933646-09-X .
  • Michael Kokoscha: Labyrinth Fish . Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-8001-7431-6 .
  • Ladiges, W. (1975): Betta imbellis nov. spec., the peaceful fighting fish . D. Aqu. u. Terr. Z. (DATZ) 28 (8): 262-264.
  • Tan, HH & PKL Ng (2005): The labyrinth fishes (Teleostei: Anabanatoidei, Channoidei) of Sumatra, Indonesia . Raffl. Bull. Zool. 13: 115-138.
  • Witte, K.-E. & J. Schmidt (1992): Betta brownorum, a new species of anabantoids (Teleostei: Belontiidae) from northwestern Borneo, with a key to the genus . Ichthyol. Explor. Freshw. 2 (4): 305-330.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Witte, K.-E. & J. Schmidt (1992): Betta brownorum, a new species of anabantoids (Teleostei: Belontiidae) from northwestern Borneo, with a key to the genus . Ichthyol. Explor. Freshw. 2 (4): 305-330ml
  2. ↑ Michael Kokoscha: Labyrinth fish . Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-8001-7431-6 .
  3. ↑ http://www.aqua4you.de/fischart431.html
  4. ↑ Ladiges, W. (1975): Betta imbellis nov. spec., the peaceful fighting fish. D. Aqu. u. Terr. Z. (DATZ) 28 (8): 262-264
  5. ↑ Donoso-Büchner, R. & J. Schmidt (1999): Your hobby - fighting fish wild forms . Bede Verlag, Ruhmannsfelden, ISBN 3-933646-09-X

Web links

Commons : Peaceful Fighting Fish ( Betta imbellis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files