About Betta Fish: The Siamese fighting fish ( Betta splendens ), also known as the betta (particularly in the US ), is a popular species of freshwater aquarium fish . The name of the genus is derived from ikan bettah, taken from a local dialect of Malay . The wild ancestors of this fish are native to the rice paddies of Thailand , Malaysia , Cambodia and Vietnam and are called pla-kad (lit. biting fish) in Thai or trey krem in Khmer . (Source Wikipedia) History : The Siamese Fighting Fish is native to the South-East Asian region of Thailand (formerly Siam), Cambodia and Vietnam. It survives in the wild anywhere where still water lies, such as rice paddies, stagnant ponds and road-side drains. The species attracted its name because of the aggressive nature of the males towards each other. Because the fish are common to very small bodies of water, even water-filled buffalo hoofprints, males must fiercely protect their territory, or
The effects of the trade Most Red-Eared sliders destined for the pet trade are doomed to die a premature death from the day they hatch. The vast majority are sold to un-Knowledgeable dealers who in turn sell them without adequate care information to equally un-Knowledgeable purchasers. The Tortoise Trust would like to see it made a legal requirement that all exotic animals can only be sold if accompanied by accurate and adequate information on basic husbandry. Some 3 to 4 million Red-eared sliders are exported from the U.S.A every year. Most originate from intensive farms in Louisiana and Mississippi. The same commercial turtle hunters who supply replacement breeding stock for these farms are also responsible for collecting as many as 25,000 - 30,000 adult animals per week for export to foreign food markets (mainly in the Far East). Commercial intensive terrapin farms usually consist of several artificial ponds each of which can contain up to 13,000 breeding adults. There is