The Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens, ) also known as betta, 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, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and are called pla-kad (lit. biting fish) in Thai or trey krem in Khmer.