Can male wild bettas kept together?

[SQUIRT1216]

Yea, thanks for the heads up. The Ibc betta websites say they (some types of wild, although most of the species seem to say the same thing) could be kept in a pair in a 10 gallons and group be kept in 30 gallons. I'm not sure what "group" imply here, is it group of bettas, or group as in a community tank?

And I will PM OFL about this. Actually, i was very interested in Setsuna's imbellis so I was hoping that he would breed and sell me some :D

[Mo]

I don't really trust that website, lol. They say that Splendens live in 10 gallon tanks in pair and groups live in 30 gallon tanks

[Mo]

"Betta splendens can be housed in pairs, species tanks, and community tanks. Pairs can be housed in a 10 gallon tank, groups should be housed in a 30 gallon tank or larger. Pairs should be given cover such as caves and plants. In a pair or species situation it is possible that fry could be discovered in the tanks. For best results remove a pair to a breeding tank with little to no filtration." Betta splendens

[SQUIRT1216]

Oh ok, thanks haha, i never actually looked up Splendens since i know for a fact they cannot coexist. I mean I can always keep the wild separate no problem if it is too much of a risk, given that they are ok being alone which i guess they are.

[LittleBettaFish]

Each species is grouped together based on breeding habits, appearance etc. under something called a complex. For example I keep coccina complex bettas so that covers species such as burdigala, uberis and coccina. The splendens complex covers mahachai, splendens, smaragdina, imbellis and so on.

Species within each complex generally have similar care requirements along with looking similar and exhibiting similar spawning behaviour.

Wild bettas can be quite different shapes and sizes. My persephone are only around 5cm while my ideii is at least 11cm. Therefore, one ideii lives in a 15 gallon tank while a whole group of persephone live in a 10 gallon one.

Mo they are talking about wild splendens. Not domesticated splendens. Wild splendens can live in pairs provided you give them plenty of cover and hiding spaces.

[babystarz]

Yes you can keep imbellis males together if they're siblings and have spent their whole lives together. I keep 4 imbellis (2 males and 2 females) in a 20 long NPT tank.

I feed them .5mm NLS small fish food pellets and the occasional frozen bbs, bloodworm or daphnia. Their care and behavior are very similar to that of Betta splendens.

Feel free to PM me if you ever have questions. I keep wild smaragdina, albimarginata, ocellata, and patoti too. You can also PM Setsuna but I think he keeps his adult males separate. He does have fry now so he can probably send you a pack of juveniles before he separates them.

I have found the IBC website gives acceptable guidelines, but the http://www.seriouslyfish.com website has far more information on each species. Another good resource is The Betta Handbook by Robert John. Goldstein, PhD.

Good starter wild species are imbellis, albimarginata, and channoids. They're all small and tolerate a wide pH range.

It is possible to keep some different betta species together (preferably types that cannot interbreed) but a larger than average tank is recommended.

[Mo]

Oh, okay, that makes much more sense now! Lol