''Betta gladiator'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

gourami Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of freshwater anabantiform fishes that comprise the family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeasterly towards Korea. The name "gourami", of ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It is an inhabitant of the

acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

ic waters of

heath forest Heath forest is a type of tropical moist forest found in areas with acidic, sandy soils that are extremely nutrient-poor. Notable examples are the Rio Negro campinarana of the Amazon Basin in South America, and the Sundaland heath forests (also kn ...

. It is known as a particularly

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

and aggressive species, especially in captivity. This species grows to a length of SL and are facultative air-breathers.

Aquarium Keeping

Temperament

From reports, Betta gladiator is a very aggressive species. Males apparently fight incessantly when housed together and may even kill each other in confined spaces. They're best maintained in pairs, which should be housed in a 55-gallon tank, though it may be necessary to maintain a group temporarily in order for the fish to be able to choose their own partners. Pairs should be given many hiding places. These aggressive fish are not recommended for the standard set-up; their requirements and

disposition A disposition is a quality of character, a habit, a preparation, a state of readiness, or a tendency to act in a specified way. The terms dispositional belief and occurrent belief refer, in the former case, to a belief that is held in the mind bu ...

mean they're best kept alone or with very peaceful species, since much bigger or more vigorous fishes are likely to intimidate and outcompete it. Some small

cyprinids Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest vert ...

and

loach Loaches are fish of the superfamily Cobitoidea. They are freshwater, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Loaches are among the most diverse groups of fish; the 1249 known species of C ...

es that inhabit similar environments in nature are compatible.

Diet

The fish are likely to prey on insects and other small invertebrates or

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

in nature, plus perhaps the

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

that share its habitat. Captive fish will normally accept dried products once they're recognized as edible, but should be offered plenty of small live or frozen foods such as

Daphnia ''Daphnia'' is a genus of small planktonic crustaceans, in length. ''Daphnia'' are members of the order Anomopoda, and are one of the several small aquatic crustaceans commonly called water fleas because their saltatory swimming style resembl ...

, bloodworm,

brine shrimp ''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp. It is the only genus in the family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to the first half of the 10th century AD from Urmia La ...

mosquito larvae Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "lit ...

, bugs, and zooplankton, and brine shrimp regularly to ensure development of optimal color and condition. Large specimens can be offered the occasional

earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

, like in the wild.

Breeding and Sex

Males have a broader head than females do. Males may have longer extensions of their bottom lips. Females have smaller heads and their

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

may protrude slightly from their vent. Females'

ovaries The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. T ...

might also be visible via spotlighting. One might mistake similar species that would be the unimaculata complex members. Gladiator is a

paternal A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

mouthbrooder Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...

and the male should incubate from 12 to 18 days with 14 days being very consistent. Incubation time can vary with water temperature. Females normally initiate

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...

Eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

and

milt Milt is the seminal fluid of fish, mollusks, and certain other water-dwelling animals which reproduce by spraying this fluid, which contains the sperm, onto roe (fish eggs). It can also refer to the sperm sacs or testes that contain the semen. ...

are released in small batches during an ‘embrace’ typical of osphronemids in which the male wraps his body around that of the female, and there may be several ’dummy’ attempts before

commences. Both adults have been observed to collect fertilized eggs. Once the male has all the eggs in his mouth, the cycle is repeated until the female is spent of eggs, a process which can take some time. After spawning, it is very important to give the male as much peace and quiet as possible. Males of this species are notorious for swallowing broods of eggs after a few days, and the chances of this happening increase if the male is unduly disturbed. The incubation period appears to be capable of varying tremendously with reports suggesting a range of 14 – 35 days at the end of which the male will begin to release fully formed, free-swimming fry.

Color

B. gladiator is tan overall with males only exhibiting shiny, bluish scales on the gill covers ( opercula) and forward part of the abdomen. No brilliant colors such as red, orange, yellow, beige, and white exist as in

Betta splendens The Siamese fighting fish (''Betta splendens''), commonly known as the betta, is a freshwater fish native to Southeast Asia, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is one of 73 species of the genus ''Bett ...

Aquarium Keeping

Temperament

Diet

Breeding and Sex

Color

References

Further reading