imbellis + guppies?

[homegrown terror]

is this as much of a no-no as spendens and guppies, or does the smaller size and less aggro nature of the imbellis mean they can live together? just as an idea, i was thinking of a heavily planted and all-natural furnished 30 gallon tank with two female and one male imbellis, and 5-7 guppies. would this be a good setup, or is a fishy time bomb?

[Mahachai]

Mmm... in my opinion I'd say no to guppies. Wild type bettas are really fast and unpredictable when they're with other fish. But here is a youtube vid that might help give you ideas about bettas and guppies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7WDntAFPWg

[LittleBettaFish]

Guppies prefer harder water while your wild imbellis are going to prefer water on the softer side of neutral. Imbellis and other wild bettas, while not as aggressive as domesticated splendens can still be quite savage at times. Some of mine come out with quite impressive battle wounds if they have been feeling particularly tetchy.

Honestly, I think wild bettas do best in species only set-ups. You will not be able to enjoy the true beauty of your imbellis with a group of garish coloured guppies swimming around everywhere.

Also if you want to successfully spawn your imbellis you are going to have to have a species only, appropriate set-up. They probably won't settle if you have fish like guppies in there. Really the only fish I would suggest in a wild betta set-up are those that stick to the lower levels of the tank like corydoras, or peaceful algae eaters such as otocinclus. They will also do well in the conditions necessary to comfortably house imbellis.