Undoubtedly, fishkeeping began when fish were first maintained in ponds or containers as part of the food supply. But no one knows exactly when people first started keeping fish in containers purely for enjoyment. The bright colors of some fish may have led people to regard them as special, perhaps in the same way that colorful gems came to be valued more than drab-colored rocks.
Thai workers refer to the Betta as “the jewel of the Orient.” Wild Bettas have plain colors compared to their gaudy modern descendants, but perhaps a rare colorful fish turned up in fishing nets from time to time. Considered, perhaps, a token of good luck, the fish would be kept in a bowl and cared for. We don’t know for sure how keeping Bettas started.
We do know the history of the scientific study of this fish. The Betta (Betta picta) was first described in 1846 by French biologists Valenciennes and Cuvier. After the first shipment arrived in the United States in 1909, C. Regan gave this marvelous fish the scientific name Betta splendens.
The beautiful Betta varieties found in today’s tropical fish market are the descendents of Asian stock, selected by breeders for vivid colors and long, elegant fins for more than a century. Americans such as Warren Young have also contributed much to the production and development of the long-finned and highly colorful Bettas that you can buy today. Young developed the Libby Betta, the prototype of the large variety of strains that are now available. These brilliant new strains no longer resemble the plain-looking wild Bettas from which they were originally developed.
Commercial breeding offers the hobbyist plenty of choices among a wide range of patterns and fin styles. Most tropical fish dealers stock Betta varieties to match almost any individual taste.
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