Do Betta Fish Have Teeth?
Betta fish do have teeth that are so small that you can call them tiny. To see their teeth, have a very closer look when they open their mouth while they eat. You may even need a magnifying glass to have a look because their teeth are really tiny.Most peopl ask this question for the simple reason that Bettas are well know a Siamese fighting fish (which is their original name, by the way) and a fighter fish without sharp looking teeth is almost too good to be true. But have a closer look at what happens when you feed some bloodworms to the bettas and you'll be able to see their teeth, if you are really lucky.
Why do bettas have sharp teeth?
The primary use of teeth in a bettas mouth are mostly for eating live food like bloodworms. Though tiny in size these teeth are really sharp and help a lot in tearing bloodworms apart while eating time. Bettas use these teeth to smash live food into pieces, chew them and make it easy for eating. It's kind of preparing the food for easy digestion. In the wild bettas are "carnivores" and having sharp tiny teeth helps a lot in eating live food like small worms, bloodworms found naturally.
Tiny teeth are also used while fighting with other fishes and establishing their own identity in the (fish) society. Using the teeth for fighting is a kind of pride for every individual fish and show strength. While fighting with other fish bettas will use teeth to tear their fins and spoil their beauty. That is why if you are thinking about putting two male bettas in one tank then think twice because thy will end up fighting with each other and use these teeth very often.
Bettas are also known to attack other fish that happen to occupy their territory. If other fish species living with bettas are colorful or have large fins then a male betta will feel stressed and attack other fishes in the tank. Before you think about adding other fishes in a betta tank make sure you check the fish compatibility with bettas.
You will face some situation where you'll need to dip your hand in a betta fish tank. For example while cleaning a betta fish tank you will need to dip your hand in the betta fish tank water for siphoning dirt particles from the bottom of the tank. However don't worry because bettas are no harm for humans because their bits really are not that hard on hands. Their teeth being tiny you'll really feel any biting at all.
Image credits - By Marion Schönborn (www.bee-point.de) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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