Many home fish lovers keep betta fish in their aquariums. But not all of them know how to distinguish a female cockerel fish from a male. Let's try to figure this out.

cockerel fish, or veil-tailed fighting got its name because of the pugnacious nature of males. This fish, which has no equal in the beauty of color, is very popular with aquarists. Probably, many of those who keep such fish at home have repeatedly wondered how to determine the sex of their pets. It's not that difficult, you can do it as per their appearance as well as their behavior.

How to distinguish a female from a male cockerel fish in appearance?

Male cockerel fish:

  • more brightly colored than females;
  • have larger dorsal, caudal, ventral and anal fins;
  • during spawning or during a skirmish with other males, they become especially bright;
  • when excited, the gills of males swell and protrude like a collar.

Male cockerel fish:

  • smaller and slightly paler in color than males;
  • have smaller fins;
  • on the stomach near the anus they have a white grain, similar to a caviar;
  • V Lately new breeds of female bettas were bred, having more long fins and a brighter color, but such females can also be distinguished from males by a white grain next to the anus.

Characteristic signs of behavior that help distinguish a female cockerel from a male

Male cockerels:

  • have a pugnacious nature and often clash with other males;
  • build nests and take care of eggs and fry.

Male cockerels:

  • calmer in behavior than the male;
  • if the female is ready for spawning, then at the sight of a male, she becomes covered with vertical stripes and her color becomes like a “zebra”.

As you can see, it is not difficult to distinguish a female from a male cockerel fish.

The cockerel aquarium fish is well-known and popular among aquarists. This species is called betta splendes or fighting fish, refers to labyrinth fish, which are of interest not only for their appearance, but also for their lifestyle and habits. For beginner aquarists, bettas may seem complex view for maintenance, as they require special care. For the process of reproduction and breeding, certain knowledge is needed, for example, how female cockerels differ from males and how to spawn.

The fish has interesting features, thanks to which it is so popular for keeping at home:

  • The volume of the aquarium for a betta can be extremely small, an individual will survive even in 1 liter of water (but not recommended, because the fish will feel uncomfortable).
  • Breeding cockerels do not need an air generator, this species has a unique labyrinth organ that allows them to breathe atmospheric air, so this individual is suitable for keeping in the bedroom and other rooms where you do not want to hear the sound of a running compressor.
  • Individuals betta spend interesting and beautiful games V mating season.
  • In order for the female and male rooster to breed, they need to create the appropriate conditions.

TO general requirements keeping of individuals refers optimum temperature water equal to 27 degrees, acidity from 6.5 to 7.3. Hard old water is not suitable for these fish.

reproduction

Breeding males consists of four stages: selection of a partner, preparation for spawning, spawning itself, then growing fry. Each stage of reproduction of the fish is part of one complex system, bettas are able to reproduce only in a specially created habitat, which, as a rule, is provided inside an artificial reservoir.

An ideal option for further breeding of fish is the keeping of individuals in a common vessel with a partition. In such an environment, the fish quickly get used to each other and are able to further breed offspring. Bettas breed well at a young age.

How to distinguish a male from a female

For successful breeding, it is important to distinguish the male betta from the female. You can determine the sex of a cockerel fish by reaching the age of 3 months. During this period, a number of differences between fish of different sexes already appear. In order to determine the sex by color, it is important to know that under favorable conditions, the male will be much brighter and more elegant than the cockerel girl. But if the female rooster was stressed due to a change of residence or other human interference in her life, the color of the female will be no less bright, in which case it will be impossible to distinguish between genders, the male and female will be the same.

There is another way to determine the sex of individuals, for this you need to pay attention to the fins. Males have fins bigger size, outwardly resembling sails, this feature begins to manifest itself especially brightly after 6 months. The older the male, the more beautiful his fins become.

Pair selection

Reproduction of cockerel fish begins with the selection of a pair. Most of all, cockerel fish, female and male, from 5 months to 1.5 years are suitable for procreation. If older individuals breed, then the risk of problems with the reproductive system increases, in which case the fry are born with defects, most of them die.

If several female cockerels live in an aquarium, they need to acquire a male and vice versa. A pair should be purchased from a breeder, as pet store salesmen may not have information about the age and reputation of the individual. They should be bought at the age of 5 months, not earlier, in order to easily distinguish the gender of the cockerel when buying.

Preparing for spawning

Aquarium males are bred without significant difficulties if the required conditions are provided for them. In preparation for spawning, it is important to prepare a special aquarium where the couple should be deposited. Aquarium - jigger must meet the requirements:

  • Be voluminous, with a capacity of at least 40 liters of water.
  • There should be a partition inside the vessel so that the female rooster is separate.
  • The nest for spawning must be suitable for placing in it shelters of eggs and fry, as well as floating vegetation.
  • It should have a sponge filter and heating.
  • For a comfortable stay of individuals, a water height of 15 centimeters is sufficient;
  • The temperature inside the vessel should be between 27-28 degrees.

Before the female begins to spawn, it is important to properly feed the individuals. 2 weeks before the start of spawning, live food must be included in the diet:

  • Worms.
  • Crickets.
  • Cockroaches.
  • Bloodworm.
  • Artemia.

Feed should be crushed, the amount of food at one time should be equal to the needs of the fish. Excess food should not remain inside the container. A pregnant cockerel fish also needs a high-quality, varied diet.

It is important to observe the behavior of the couple. A sign of a successful spawning will be the couple's obvious interest in each other, excited behavior and demonstration of their appearance. However, if the fish show aggression, it is better to separate such a pair from each other. In such a situation, it is necessary to choose a new pair for them.

Spawning

Spawning time for cockerels is unusual. Before spawning, the male builds a nest of air bubbles that cling to each other. The cockerel swallows oxygen, then spits it out. It is here that subsequently caviar and, for the first time, newborn fry of cockerels are located. The size of the nest does not matter for the quality and quantity of future fry.

Initially, the male behaves aggressively and strikes the female. Further, during the ritual dance, the pregnant female rooster shows her partner imaginary eggs, provoking the male. The release of eggs is carried out as a result of wrapping the male around the partner. He puts pressure on her abdomen. The male picks up the discarded eggs and moves them to the previously created bubble nest. During this process, the female is motionless, waiting for the male to continue spawning.

There is no certain number of fry, the older the spawning pair, the more fry the cockerel will have. The average number of fry is 600.

During the entire incubation period, the bubbles will burst, while the male will regularly restore the nest and plant the falling eggs back. Process repair work nests can take up to 5 days until the first larvae begin to appear. At the end of spawning, the male is placed in a separate container, as he can show aggression, resulting in harm to future offspring.

fry care

Male fry require careful care, as they do not survive. Feed should be prepared a week before the fry appear.

For food you will need:

  • Infusoria.
  • Vinegar eel.
  • Artemia.

After two weeks, the microworm and chopped tubule must be added to the feed. In addition to a properly composed diet, it is necessary to create comfortable conditions for the development of young animals:

  • The aquarium must be equipped with a compressor, since up to the age of 20 days, the young animals have not yet formed a respiratory organ;
  • The water temperature must be gradually reduced to 22 degrees;
  • It is important to change the water daily.

As soon as the young animals reach the age of 3 weeks, they must be moved to a spacious aquarium. When the bettas are 3 months old, the fighting fish can already be distinguished by gender and prepared for spawning again.

Conclusion

If you follow all necessary requirements and recommendations to breed cockerels under conditions home aquarium it won't be hard. Even a novice aquarist will cope with this task. An unusual marriage period will be remembered for a long time by everyone who sees it.


It is possible to distinguish cockerel fish by sex only after three or four months of age.
Distinguishing a female cockerel from a male cockerel is almost always easy. Although it also depends on the type of cockerel. It is difficult to do this with poster bantams, and you often have to guess, especially when the fish are young.
So, about females:

    they almost always have a white grain on their stomach.

    short pectoral fins in front of that grain.

    short tail fin

    short anal fin (under the belly) and sleep n noah.

    at the sight of a male, if the female is ready to spawn, she will be covered with vertical stripes - her color will become like a "zebra". But white females are not covered with stripes if desired and ready to spawn - the lack of pigment in the scales.


    You can also distinguish them by the presence of caviar in the stomach - it is clearly visible on the white one.


I will say one thing about male Betta Splendens cockerels - they have large fins - tail, dorsal, ventral and anal. Even in adult short-tailed forms of poster cockerels, one can distinguish a female from a male. However, young males often have grains on their stomachs, which is sometimes confusing. Then you need to pay attention to the betta's pelvic fins - they are under the belly, thin and long.
cockerel poster:


Surprisingly beautiful, beautiful, unpretentious, daring - all these words can be applied to a cockerel aquarium fish. Aquarium bettas have a bright, variable color. Males of almost all types of bettas have chic, veiled fins. And their maintenance and breeding does not present any difficulty.

That is why bettas are one of the most popular fish among beginners in the aquarium world, as well as among professionals who keep beautiful breeding forms, putting them up for competitions.

To understand the beauty and character of these fish, below we give literary description behavior of cockerel fish in nature, from the book by I. Sheremetyev: “Along with beautifully colored gourami, a grayish-greenish fish is not immediately evident. Her body is 6 cm long, slightly laterally compressed, elongated. On the sides there are cloudy longitudinal stripes with a greenish sheen.

And then the same gray, inconspicuous fish approached the fish. And suddenly, as if something flashed and shone in small body. The body and splayed fins became emerald. The fish opens its gill covers and goes to meet the guest. Who it is - a female or a rival - a male, the fish can determine only by seeing how the stranger will answer. The female is in front of a magnificent male, obeying, spreading her fins. If she is not ready to spawn, she immediately flees. If two males meet, then their intentions will be more serious than you can imagine. Mutual posing begins, demonstrations of brightness, play of brilliance and size of fins.

This can take several minutes, and sometimes an hour. If one fish turns out to be half the size of the second, then it leaves someone else's site. But, if the males are the same size, then sooner or later the first blow will be made! In a matter of minutes after the start of the fight, the fins of the weaker male hang in tatters, the gill covers are broken, and the body is covered with bloody wounds. The fish do not bite, but with their mouths open so that their teeth stick out forward, they drive dozens of needles into the opponent's body with all their might. After some time, the opponent is defeated, ... the male who won the battle does not allow him to the air and the surface. The loser dies!

According to FanFishka statistics, Betta splendens is the most popular aquarium fish. Every second begins his journey into the world of aquarism with a cockerel. From which the forum cemetery of cockerels is simply limitless. With these videos we wanted to draw attention to the problem.

Subscribe to our You Tube channel so you don't miss a thing

Let's take a closer look at these amazing representatives South Asian reservoirs.

Latin name: betta splendens;

Russian name: Cockerel fish, Siamese cockerel, cockerel, female hen, betta, fighting fish;

Detachment, suborder, family, subfamily, genus: Perciformes - Perciformes, Anabantoidei, Osphronemidae, Macropodusinae, Betta.

Comfortablewater temperature: 25-28 °C.

"Acidity" Ph: it doesn’t really matter, but 6-8 is comfortable;

RigiditydH: it doesn’t really matter, but it’s comfortable 5-15 °;

Aggressiveness: cocks - relatively peaceful fish, they cannot be called predators. However, they have strong intraspecific aggression and territoriality. It is impossible to keep two males in a small aquarium. The dominant male will definitely kill the weaker one. Two or more males can only be kept in large and wide aquariums, while fights for territory and females still cannot be avoided. In addition, males often show aggression towards a “disliked” female during spawning.

Complexitycontent: light;

Cockerel fish compatibility: in addition to the previously mentioned intraspecific aggression, fish aggression extends to all small, clumsy and veiled fish. Therefore, they can only be kept by nimble, active fish, which will be similar in size. As a recommendation, cockerel neighbors can be advised: corridors (speckled catfish), danios, mollies, swordtails, other nimble platies, tetras.

Males are incompatible with cichlids, a family of goldfish, other labyrinth fish are undesirable. They are also not compatible with snails, they eat small ones, and cut their mustaches off large ones.

In addition, when combining fish, you should always take into account the similarity of the conditions of detention and water parameters, more about compatibility aquarium fish see

INlive in nature: Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam. They live in stagnant, anoxic waters - puddles, ditches, rice fields.

Description: A very beautiful fish, its veiled tail and fins are simply mesmerizing. The color of the fish is different. The most common ink color with a reddish tint. Males are much more brightly colored, fins are longer than females. The size of the fish is 5-10 cm. The body is laterally compressed, elongated, oval. They have cycloid scales, pointed pectoral fins, a rounded upper and tail fin, the lower fin originates from the head and ends at the base of the tail.

The minimum volume of the aquarium for betta fish

The question of the volume of the aquarium for these fighting fish is a separate issue.

Alas, almost all pet stores sell these gorgeous fish in 250 ml. glasses, while sellers tell people that these are “unique fish”, they say they do not need oxygen, filtration, that they feel great even in a glass!

Do not believe the sellers of pet stores, their task is to sell the goods, and what will happen next with the fish, with you and the tears of a child who sees a cockerel floating up belly up - THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED! You would know how many cockerels do not survive from pet stores until the moment of purchase! You would sincerely feel sorry for these innocent fish!

Yes, of course, bettas are hardy fish, in their natural habitat they live in muddy, silty, anoxic rice fields. But, this does not mean that they can be kept in a small glass of water. Firstly, because the conditions of keeping any animal should be as close as possible to natural conditions a habitat. Monkeys have to jump through the trees, birds have to fly and fish have to swim! When a cockerel fish just hangs in a glass, lowering its fins - this is actually a sad sight. Secondly, it is completely absent in a glass, vase and other small vessels. In a rice field, for example, various biochemical processes take place that clean water from various poisons (ammonia, nitrites and nitrates), in a glass of water these processes are absent, poisons accumulate, the fish's immunity weakens and it dies. biological balance in artificial conditions can only be achieved in aquariums with filtration, aeration, stable temperature conditions and other attributes of a "normal aquarium".

So, the minimum volume of the aquarium for bettas should be 3 liters. It is difficult to call such a vessel an aquarium in every sense, and therefore, if we talk about creating a full-fledged aquarium, then the minimum volume for one individual should be 5-10 liters. In such an aquarium, you can put a mini-filter, such an aquarium can be beautifully - naturally arranged, you can plant aquarium plants, adjust the biobalance, and caring for such a reservoir is much easier than washing the “flowerpot” weekly, while giving the fish a lot of stress.

The modern aquarium market provides a wide range of nano aquariums for bettas. There are aquarium cubes, there are balls. For example, it is interesting in that it is equipped with a waterfall filter, due to which the filtration and aeration of the aquarium is carried out.

Such an aquarium will become a wonderful house for a cockerel, it can be properly and beautifully arranged. The only thing you need to buy is an inexpensive mini-heater to maintain a stable temperature regime, for example,.

See how many fish you can keep in X aquarium (at the bottom of the article there are links to aquariums of all sizes).

Requirements for the care and maintenance of cockerel fish

From the foregoing, we can conclude that in one, small aquarium, only one male cockerel can be kept. If the aquarium is large - from 50l. you can try to plant a second male or make transparent partitions in the aquarium, for example, from plexiglass, having previously drilled holes in them for water circulation in the aquarium.

In addition, we stand up for the creation of a natural environment in the aquarium. The aquarium can and should be decorated with stones, snags, as well as live aquarium plants. Lighting should not be very bright. The aquarium itself should not be filled with water to the brim, you need to leave 7-10 cm and it is advisable to cover the aquarium with a lid. All labyrinth fish and bettas in particular breathe atmospheric air, swallowing it from the surface of the water. In the absence of airspace or access to the surface of the water, the fish will suffocate. The lid is needed so that the air swallowed by the cockerels from the surface of the water is not too cold.

A betta aquarium can be set up with artificial plants, but if you can, get live aquarium plants. With live plants, the aquarium looks more natural, the plants themselves contribute to biological balance, in addition, males can use them for spawning and creating a foam nest. From unpretentious plants for males, we can recommend: ,,, other simple plants.

Feeding and diet of cockerels: they are unpretentious in food, with pleasure they eat both dry and live food (brine shrimp, bloodworms, etc.). Bettas will eat any branded dry food, and leading aquarium brands have developed special, personalized foods that work best for them. Feeding aquarium fish should be correct: balanced, varied. This fundamental rule is the key to the successful keeping of any fish, be it guppies or astronotus. The article talks about this in detail, it outlines the basic principles of the diet and feeding regimen for fish.

In this article, we note the most important thing - feeding fish should not be monotonous, the diet should include both dry food and live food. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the gastronomic preferences of a particular fish and, depending on this, include food in its diet either with the greatest content protein or vice versa with herbal ingredients.

Popular and popular food for fish, of course, are dry food. For example, all the time and everywhere you can find food from Tetra, the leader Russian market, actually and the range of forages of the given company strikes. Tetra's "gastronomic arsenal" includes both individual food for a certain type of fish: for goldfish, for cichlids, for loricariids, guppies, labyrinths, arowans, discus, etc. Also, Tetra has developed specialized feeds, for example, to enhance color, fortified or for feeding fry. Detailed information You can find out about all Tetra feeds on the official website of the company -

It should be noted that when buying any dry food, you should pay attention to the date of its manufacture and shelf life, try not to buy feed by weight, and also store food in a closed state - this will help to avoid the development of pathogenic flora in it.

History of cockerel fish

The first mention of fish dates back to the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was then that the inhabitants of Siam paid attention to these small, but brisk and aggressive fish. Further, the Siamese began to cross wild Betta individuals and received the new kind fish, calling it "biting fish". A couple of copies of these "pieces" in 1840. The king of Siam handed over to Dr. Theodor Kantor, who in 1849. gave them the name Macropodus pugnax. After 60 years, the British ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan renamed them "Fighting Fish", arguing that the species Macropodus pugnax already exists in nature.

It is known that the cockerel fish appeared in Paris in 1892, in Germany in 1896, and in 1910 appeared in the USA with Frank Locke from San Francisco, California. By breeding these fish, he got a new fish, calling it Betta Cambodia - one of the first color variations of Betta Splendens. The history of Bette's appearance in Russia is not known for certain. There are several versions. The first is connected with the aquarist V.M. Desnitsky, who allegedly in 1896. brought exotic species of fish and plants from Singapore, but it is not known for certain whether cockerel fish were among them. The second version says that the aquarist V.S. Melnikov bred a number of labyrinth fish in Russia around the same period. By the way, a competition for the best fighting fish was established in his honor. AND latest version, says that the fighting fish were brought by the Frenchman G. Seysel and all descendants in Russia and Europe went from his fish.

Types of Betta and breeding forms of cockerels.

The first thing I want to say is that cockerel fish (Betta splendens) is one of the varieties of Betta. Betta species should be distinguished from breeding forms of Betta splendens. On the Internet, breeding forms of cockerel are everywhere passed off as species, which is wrong!

So, the Betta species include: Betta picta (Betta picta), Betta striped (Betta taeniata Regan), Betta emerald (Betta smaragdina Ladiges), Betta unimaculata (Betta unimaculata), Betta black, she is also a pygmy cockerel, she is a black cockerel (Betta imbeIIis Ladiges), Cockerel (Betta splendes).











And here, to the selection forms Cockerel (Betta splendes) include:

The size and shape of the fins:

- Veil-tailed fighting fish or "veil cockerel"

- Giant or royal fighting fish

- Round-tailed fighting fish

- Crescent-tailed fighting fish

- Delta-tailed fighting fish

- Flagtail Fighting Fish

- Poster fighting fish

- Crown-tailed fighting fish

- Poster fighting fish

- Brush-tailed fighting fish

- Two-tailed fighting fish

- and others


By colour: Multicolor "multicolor", two-color, one-color.

Photo of some breeding forms of cockerel

(Betta splendes)






Reproduction and breeding of aquarium fish

These fish are easy to breed, you do not need any special conditions or, for example, hormonal injection. In fact, under optimal conditions, spawning can occur on its own.

Much harder to pick good couple producers than to spawn itself. And if we talk about selective breeding of cockerels, then the issue of selecting producers comes to the fore.

General information about spawning and breeding cockerels.

Male fish reach sexual maturity by 3-4 months. It is from this period that they can begin to breed.

Sex differences in fish are pronounced - males are larger than females, their fins are much larger and males are usually brighter than females. In addition, a female ready for spawning can be distinguished by a white “grain”, an “asterisk” in front of the anal fin - this is the ovipositor, as well as by a large abdomen.

in the photo, male and female cockerel fish

The spawning aquarium can be small from 10 liters, the water level in which should be 10-15 cm. The spawning aquarium should not have soil and is equipped only with shelters for the female, for example, a snag, as well as small bushes of pinnate plants, for example, hornwort. You also need to use plants that float on the surface of the water: duckweed, pistia, water paint. These plants are used by the male in the construction of the so-called "foam nest".

The temperature in the spawning aquarium should be between 26-30 degrees Celsius. Various sources, write different data about temperature regime for spawning Bette. Given the analysis, I think that 28 degrees is the norm.

For a spawning aquarium, settled and soft water is used. Soft water is an incentive for spawning. You can soften the water with aquarium chemistry - preparations containing peat, and in other ways. In addition, it is recommended to throw an almond leaf into the spawning aquarium (see. Phytotherapy for fish and aquarium).

Before spawning, I seat the producers for a couple of weeks, and feed them abundantly with live food. After, in the spawning aquarium, the first place is the male, who begins to master. As soon as he begins to build a foam nest, a female is placed next to him. The presence of eggs in the female can be determined by the rounded abdomen.

If the spawning process does not start or the male does not pay attention to the female, spawning must be stimulated: by softening the water, or by changing the water to fresh water, by raising the temperature by 2-3 degrees. If, after these manipulations, spawning does not begin, you can try to plant another female to the male (if available).

But, usually, the problems described above with breeding cockerels do not arise, by the evening the male has finally built the nest, and in a day caviar is already ripening in it.

IMPORTANT! It is forbidden to stimulate fish in a spawning aquarium with live food. While the spawners are in the spawning area, they are not fed at all in order to avoid contamination and unwanted fungi and bacteria.

The spawning process itself is very interesting. It begins with the fact that the male swims up to the female, hugs her and squeezes 2-5 eggs out of her. The eggs begin to fall to the bottom, the male quickly collects them in his mouth and places them in a foamy nest. This “hug and squeeze” process is repeated several times.

A visual sign that spawning is over is the male circling over the foam nest and the female sitting in a shelter. As soon as this moment has come, the female is removed, since in the eyes of the male she begins to pose a threat to the offspring, because of which he can kill her. The separated female is fed abundantly. Further, the father takes care of the masonry and offspring! The main thing at this moment is not to interfere with him. After a day, larvae will appear, and after another day, the yolk sac will dissolve in the larvae and they will begin to swim.

You can plant a happy dad and start feeding the fry with live dust, infusoria, or, for example, as some members of our site do, with melted water from freezing artemia. You can also try dry fish "baby food", such as TetraMin Baby.