The Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), also sometimes colloquially known as the Betta, is a species in the Gourami family which is popular as an aquarium fish. They are called pla-kad (biting fish) in Thai or trey krem in Khmer. Bettas are a highly aggressive fish and it is unwise to house two males together - and even the females may kill each other. The Betta Fish are a species native to the Mekong basin of Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Bettas can be found in vast standing waters of canals, rice paddies and floodplains. In January 2014 a large population of the fish was discovered in the Adelaide River Floodplain in the Northern Territory, Australia. As an invasive species they pose a threat to native fish, frogs and other wildlife in the wetlands.
