Human beta male personality types tend to avoid risk and confrontation.
But betta males of the aquatic variety are fierce combatants: They flaunt their ferocity to other males by ramming and nipping each other's fins.
"I guess it's just male nature because they feel threatened," sophomore betta fish owner Kara Mitchell said. "If two guys got together and they were both like really masculine guys they would fight, so it's the same thing with fish."
Mitchell kept her fish at a friend's house and witnessed betta fish aggression firsthand.
"She has a betta fish too, but they're both males," Mitchell said. "If they see each other, they get really mad and puff out their gills. We had to separate their tanks because I was like, 'My fish is going to get so stressed out and have a heart attack and die.' So, I made her move her tank."
According to Ball State University student code pets are not permitted in the residence halls except for marine life in fresh water aquariums.
Mitchell adopted a betta fish, or "Siamese fighting fish," to learn the responsibilities of owning a pet while away at school. The purple betta, named Omega, caught her eye because it is her favorite color.
"It gives me something to do and something to take care of," Mitchell said. "Something is depending on me, so it makes me feel like I have a purpose or a duty. I need to feed it and make sure the tank is clean. I need to give it some light ... I'm the deciding factor whether it lives or dies."
Paul Andrews, an employee at Uncle Bill's Pet Center in Indianapolis, has researched and kept betta fish for 35 years. He agrees bettas make good pets for college students who are living in residence halls.
"Bettas can live in four ounces of water, but may be happier in about a quart of water. Either way, bettas do not occupy much space which is ideal for college students," he said.
Andrews said in captivity bettas live on average about two to three years. The beginning of a betta's life is in a mud puddle then it stays in a cyst in the mud until the rains come.
Domesticated betta fish have adapted to living in shallow water without much oxygen. Andrews said bettas need de-chlorinated water to survive, and tank water should be changed about every week.
Although males may attack each other, they do not prefer to eat feeder fish. Otherwise, bettas do not eat large amounts of food - which usually consists of frozen or live black worms or food pellets - because they don't exert much energy.
"You can feed them two or three grains or pellets of food every two or three days and they're okay with that," Andrews said. "That's another good reason they're good for students: because they're cheap."
Betta facts
- Bettas are one of the most recognized, most colorful and often most controversial fish in the freshwater hobby.
- Bettas 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.
- Bettas have a special respiratory organ that allows them to breath air directly from the surface.
- Tank water should be at a pH of about 7.0, and temperature around 80 or slightly above.
Source: freshaquarium.about.com/
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