# Betta Anatomy



## nunuchan (Nov 6, 2010)

Does anyone have any detailed pictures that outline betta anatomy in a non-cartoon fashion? I have not found any pictures of this sort and believe that there ought to be some.

I believe that my late betta had somehow expelled some organ from his body (he was very weak and the bacterial infection was so bad that it was possible). The only problem was that I had no clue if it was an organ or rather a hunk of food that he had been trying to expel for months (he had been constipated for the longest time).

Due to this incident, I'm going to research betta anatomy and put my findings on the internet. Any pictures that you may have would be greatly appreciated!!


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## copperarabian (Apr 27, 2011)

Internal anatomy or outside anatomy?


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## copperarabian (Apr 27, 2011)

this one seems good to me, or do you want something really realistic?


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## nunuchan (Nov 6, 2010)

Definitely more realistic. I would like to see actual organs. I've got a feeling that I'm gonna have to ask Petsmarts and Petcos for their dead betta :/


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## Shimizoki (Jul 8, 2011)

You planning on dissecting some fish? If you do take pics and make a thread... I wanna see it


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## gmd1800 (Feb 19, 2011)

Me too! I'm a major science geek and I've always wondered what the insides of small pet fish look like.


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Dissecting a Betta? Ewww...


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## gmd1800 (Feb 19, 2011)

No different than what my college does - dissecting pigs, frogs, mice, sharks, snakes, cats, and dogs. If done properly and with respect to the animal, it's okay. 

If you're talking about the fishy aspect - dissecting a dead fish, I can see where you're coming from. The smell can be a bit strong sometimes.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I've never seen a dissected betta labeled.. I doubt you'll find it on the internet.


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## nunuchan (Nov 6, 2010)

I'll post when I make some progress.


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## pens (May 17, 2011)

Betta anatomy should be analogous to almost any teleost fish, but bettas are so small it would be difficult to differentiate between organs (or any piece of tissue resembling one for that matter) unless you have a microscope at hand. I don't think it's possible for fish to expel an organ (prolapse maybe), but... ouch. Sorry about your betta!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Oftentimes poorly digested food can seem strange as it is expelled especially if your fish eats large pellets and doesn't chew his food properly


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## nunuchan (Nov 6, 2010)

My bf did an autopsy of my fish and found large white masses. Due to our inexperience with this so far, we've concluded that it was either a bacterial infection within the swim bladder, or tumors that grew to the point that his organs shut down.
I personally side with the tumor idea because a) I don't believe he could have lived that long with a bacterial infection of this size and b) he had had the lumps (at a manageable size) for months without any swimming issues.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Doing your own necropsy on your fish? Wow!


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## bettaloverforever16 (Jan 14, 2011)

I'd be too sad to do that


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I've wanted to do one for a while. I just don't want to do it until I have a good microscope... Preferably one that you can hook up to a computer and save the images
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## nunuchan (Nov 6, 2010)

Yeah... I don't have the funds for that :/


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

Any progress? I'd be interested in seeing too. I was actually looking for a labeled diagram of the outside of a betta, like what each fin is called. But this would be interesting in a 'different' way


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## BlakbirdxGyarados (Feb 10, 2011)

Interested as well... Always wondered about the organs and what they actually look like... should I ever have the guts (pardon the pun) to perform an autopsy on one of my fish, I'd like a guide to know what I'm looking at.

Though I'm not so sure how I'd go about dissecting him/her... as I already can barely stand to see their dead eyes staring at me... :|


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Refer back to post 13. The OP's boyfriend did the necropsy and found tumors. There were no pictures.

Without a photographic microscope wouldn't go very well. A betta's organs are so small that even with a zoom on a camera it would be hard to see in any usable detail.


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## roadplug (Sep 1, 2011)

how about a scanner? [I know, ew] don't smash the lid down. I only think of it because i know a scanner can get amazing detail of stuff. i scanned the tiny symbols on jewelry when i played on ebay a lot.


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