The Fighter.

Siamese Fighting fish aka fighter aka betta is one of the most vibrant and popular of freshwater exotics.So much so that they are termed "the jewel of the orient". I hope the picture depicts the message.
This is one fish that requires minimum maintenance, little space and maximum entertainment. They are a sheer delight to look at come in various forms depending on the form of their fins.

Here are a few established forms:

Veil tails (flowing veil like fins)

Crown tails (extended rays making a crown)

Half moon (fins form a round shape of a half moon when flared.. like Japanese fan)

pla-kat (Short oval finnage)

Delta and super delta (the fins mimic a flowing delta)

And my personal favourite the double tails.

The fighter is a pretty much a loner and spends most of his life guarding his territory. Hence males cannot be kept together. Females although are aggressive too but can be housed together in a community tank with ample cover for them to hide from the aggressive ones. The are pretty brave and curious. They would watch your every move if you were around the tank intently.

The betta male builds a "bubble nest" on the surface of the water. This is nothing but oxygen trapped in thin coat of saliva. The males deposits the eggs in here after spawning. Speaking of which, the way these guys procreate is pretty extraordinary. The female is clasped by the flared male by the belly and squeezes it. The female releases her eggs and the male fertilises them with his milt. the eggs that fall to the bottom are picked up by the male and female and deposited in the bubble. After the act the female is driven away by him as she would in all probability eat all the eggs of starvation. For the next 4 days the male cares for the eggs till the fry are free swimming.

Bettas display a wide range of colours and some iridescent colours like blue/ green/ turquoise. This however is not a colouration of the fish, but a coat of guanine crystals that diffract light. Interesting?