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Wild Species Bettas

97K views 1K replies 59 participants last post by  evilone 
#1 ·
Due to popular demand, I am creating a Wild Species thread so as not to keep clogging up Setsuna's thread in the Breeding forum :)

Who owns or has an interest in wild species? Do you have pics? Baby wild types for sale to others? Looking for breeding stock? Have questions about care? Are you simply looking for more information on these many species?

Resources

Link to IBC Species Management Program page and species index:
http://www.ibcbettas.org/smp/species/index.html

Seriously Fish species profiles (scroll down to the bottom of the page I've linked to see a full list of current species profiles for wild bettas):http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/betta-imbellis/


FAQ

Q: Do wild bettas need the same care as betta splendens?
A: Not necessarily. Many wild betta species prefer slightly cooler temperatures compared to bettas. Actual wild-caught pairs are the hardest to care for, and it's not necessarily ethical to buy them, seeing as over 56 species are identified by the IBC as in need of preservation. Wild bettas who were born and raised in hobbyist aquariums tend to be much easier to care for. Please be SURE to thoroughly research the species you are interested in before you acquire a pair.

Q: Do male wild bettas need to be separated from other fish like betta splendens?
A: Probably not. Many, if not most, wild betta species can be kept in pairs or communities. The general recommendation for most species is a heavily planted 10 gallon tank for a pair and a 30 gallon tank for a community, but this is not a hard and fast rule and breeders have successfully raised fry in smaller settings.

Q: Can wild betta species interbreed with betta splendens?
A: Some can. That is actually how metallic copper genes were introduced to betta splendens. However, because of the vast global spread of betta splendens and the shrinking natural habitat of many wild betta species, interbreeding is not seen as a responsible thing to do. There may come a day soon when the only populations of wild species exist in the hands of aquarists, and maintaining a pure gene pool is needed right now to boost numbers.

Q: Do wild betta species breed the same way as betta splendens?
A: Some of the more closely related species like betta imbellis are bubble nesters just like betta splendens, although the parents don't need to be separate from their fry. Other species are mouthbrooders (the males carry the fertilized eggs in their mouths until the fry hatch).

Q: Aren't wild bettas dull and uninteresting?
A: Not at all! Of course the aesthetic in wild betta species is their natural beauty, which is different from what many betta keepers may be used to. Betta splendens are the yin (artificially selected for exaggerated traits and bright colors) to the wild betta species yang (naturally evolved beauty). This isn't to say there are only muddy colors going on here. This is just a sampling of different species:


Source: IBC species index


Source: IBC species index



Source: IBC species index


And some Youtube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSV3nEbCVqE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5yg8Spbiw0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyEHk-A0F7M
 
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#761 ·
Ok so here are some pics of my tanks. This will be a very pic heavy post. LOL

20G long: B. Picta tank. Right now it houses B. Midas(pair loose in the tank and fry in the breeder) as well until I send them to their new home and my deformed albino BN pleco.

FTS


Left side:




Middle


20G long: B. Albimarginata tank. Has 6 pepper corys, 2 hasbrous corys, 1 or 2 pygmaeous corys, and a L/F calico BN. (the smaller corys are planned to be moved eventually to one of my smaller tanks but that hasn't gotten fixed yet) Have a holding male in the breeder net.

FTS:


Left side:


Right side:


Middle:


20G long: B. Simplex tank. Has 4 panda corys, 2 bronze corys, 2 green dragon BN plecos, whiptail, and 3 khuli loaches. Male in HOT breeder for recoup from last spawn.

FTS:


Right side:


Left side:


Middle:


5G fry tank that is currently holding my older B. Albimarginata fry.


7G approx fry tank that currently holds B. Simplex and B. Albimarginta fry.


10G: Killifish tank. F. Gardneri (trio) and Orange Austrayle pair


10G: Bluefin killlifish, scarlet badis, and one black molly. Was originally my shrimp tank and will probably be again soon in the future.


My divided 5 gallon splenden tank, I do not have a current pic of since I am about to upgrade it to a 10 gallon here within the next week or so. I took in another male splenden that needed a home from a local CL ad so now I need a bigger tank for them. LOL
 
#763 ·
So many big tanks. That is one of the reasons I never got into the bigger mouthbrooders. I would probably only be able to fit three tanks on my rack!

Do you find the colours of your wilds wash out under the lights? My wilds hate the light being put over their tank. You think I was aiming a death ray at their tank.

I love your killifish tank. They are my favourite fish alongside wild bettas. I Never had much luck with them, but I was toying with the idea of getting another australe pair, and your picture is not helping!

Looks like you also get a few spawns out of your wilds. I think some of the mouthbrooders are seriously related to guppies haha.


Do you have any pictures of your set-up Setsuna? I've always been curious about how you keep all your fish. Your tanks always look nice in the videos/photos I've seen.
 
#766 ·
Nice set up Setsuna! Love all the little fry. :) As far as keeping wilds together, I think it depends on the complex. The splenden complex seems to be the most aggressive as far true damage to each other is concerned. If I had any of that complex I would most definitely keep them separated. None of mine seem to really bother each other besides a little bit of dominance bickering or spawning nipping.

LBF -- I am loving my killifish. Next to bettas they are now my favorite fish. So colorful and with very interesting behavior.
To me 20G longs are not big tanks but I can see where you are coming from. I could logically keep my wilds that I have now in 10 gallons but that would mean giving up the other fish I keep in the tank with them. I try to keep surface cover plants on my wild tanks but it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes they seem washed out and others they are very bright. They don't like me moving the light to really get good pics.
 
#767 ·
Lots of fry Setsuna, what species are they!

Your males all look pretty feisty in their jars. You are lucky that you can get your hands on so many quality fish.

Some of mine can be downright savage at times. I read somewhere that with my complex, a lower temperature can decrease aggression and I have found that in some cases it works.

I need to get an updated photo of my rack, but I really want to run some fluro tubes for the middle and bottom shelves as they are just too dark currently and I can never see my fish properly.

Also killies rule. I have a lone poliaki female here that I am trying to debate whether to sell or find a male for.
 
#769 ·
Yeah I always rear my wild fry in smaller tanks (usually 3/4s filled 7 gallons) until they are showing adult shape and colouration, and then I usually move them into a 10-15 gallons once they are big enough.

I have at least 20 juveniles of various sizes sharing a 7 gallon tank with their parents, and my betta hendra pair have at least a dozen fry in with them and their tank is only 6 gallons.

I too seem to have better survival rates among my wild fry if a smaller tank is used.
 
#772 ·
Well I had a tank full of rutilans 'green' that were growing out. I then added a single brownorum fry to this tank.

Unfortunately, one day while doing a tank clean I thought I'd sucked up the brownorum and chucked it out on the garden.

Then I noticed one of my 'rutilans' didn't look like the others. I separated it out from the juveniles and put it in with the adult rutilans to see if it would colour up properly.

This is the colour it has stayed and it is now fully grown. Also it has outstripped all my rutilans greens in growth. They seem to take at least a year to reach full size, and mystery fish is already there.

Did you have fish manage to hop from one tank to another? That's a pretty amazing feat.

I have this uneasy feeling that what I have been calling burdigala (and what were sold to me as burdigala) are in actual fact uberis, but can't prove/disprove it. Wish some species weren't so close in appearance!
 
#778 ·
Sound like you have some ferals on your hands Efg321 haha

Since I am cut up about one of my favourite wilds (uberis female) being really sick, I thought I would post some pictures of a few of her offspring. There are 20 more in a grow-out, but these ones live with their father in the tank. There are three males, one definite female and one I think is female but I rarely see.








Very feisty female. She chases around her dad and her brothers all the time.


Youngest male just starting to show colour.
 
#783 ·
Sound like you have some ferals on your hands Efg321 haha......Bruisers and jumpers!
I didnt lay a top on a net breeder now it is a playpen in and out of a sorority. My kids do a count every time they pass by. Kind of like the cop/dunkin donut game (how many bettas in the pen.) Out of nowhere they will shout 5,,,,0,,,,,3.................
 
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