# "Wild" Type Bettas?



## WallaceGrover (Jan 15, 2011)

Ok, so I had no idea there was a huge variety of bettas other than the artificial betta splendens and their wild counterpart. Would anyone want to tell me a little bit about them? I think they might be a good choice for my 5.5 SE asian biotope...


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

WallaceGrover said:


> Ok, so I had no idea there was a huge variety of bettas other than the artificial betta splendens and their wild counterpart. Would anyone want to tell me a little bit about them? I think they might be a good choice for my 5.5 SE asian biotope...


What type of wild Betta? There is more than one.

Betta Imbellis
Betta Smaragdina
Betta Macrostoma
Betta Albimarginata
Betta Unimaculata

Are just a few wild types that are pretty common. I personally love Betta Imbellis, or the Peaceful Betta. The wilds actually need bigger tanks than 5.5 gallons.


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## Zwei (Dec 10, 2011)

I have a pair of betta channoides. They're mouthbrooders that spawn pretty easily, getting them to hold to term can be a hassle. They seem to prefer blackwater and come out more often if you have a densely planted aquaria. 

Here's the male:


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

lots and lots. They're a quite successful species.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betta


I'm sure there are still undiscovered species in a pool somewhere.


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## WallaceGrover (Jan 15, 2011)

Are there any good resources on these wild bettas?


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

I meet Bob Vang at a Swap Meet here in ChicagoLand http://www.vangsplakat.com/

Bob's a verity nice guy and he imports from Thailand. I got a HMPK from him chart is just stunning. I have him looking for Betta Albimarginata and Mactrostoma for me now.

I'd also suggest Utimate Betta for some good research info.

Some Youtube of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz5jBgykqpY&feature=related

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtO2WOQex_s&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6asvAzhfpo&feature=related


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

A few more Gallery pics:

http://www.oneworldinternetcafe.com/betta/betta_species2.html


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## WallaceGrover (Jan 15, 2011)

Thank you for the links dogfish!


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

I was going to send you to IBC, but their site is down for some reason at the moment ... 

I have a tank of Betta albimarginata. Absolutely love them. Started with splendens, but dislike that you can’t house more than one in a tank. But like TheJadeShrimp said, they really do need more space than a 5G. Mine are in a 20G at the moment, and I’m thinking of moving them up to a 40G soon.


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## WallaceGrover (Jan 15, 2011)

Not even an individual would fare well in a 5 gallon?

If not I can always fall back on a few galaxies or rasboras I guess...


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

try Dario Dario
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Dario&species=dario&id=41

They're distantly related to bettas and they're 2cm big.

ps. Bettas are jumpers. I lost a B. smaragdina when I put it in a 5G temporarily. The tank was partially covered.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Wild bettas generally do best in community tanks with others of their own kind. If you want a single wild betta, you could get a wild type splendens, which would be happy on its own.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

mistergreen said:


> try Dario Dario


I have a bunch of these. They're adorable. They almost look like they're wagging their tails when they hover. A pair of these would be very happy in a 5G (and will cost way less than a single wild betta).


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## WallaceGrover (Jan 15, 2011)

I thought about Dario dario before but I didn't want to be committed to providing live foods 24/7, although I do want to culture daphnia and some sort of worm I don't want the cultures to crash then have the fish die. Seems like rasboras or perhaps galaxies would be a good idea at this point...


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

If you're genuinely interested, I may have a young pair of Betta Macrostoma up for grabs. You can check out my macs in my sig.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

WallaceGrover said:


> I thought about Dario dario before but I didn't want to be committed to providing live foods 24/7, although I do want to culture daphnia and some sort of worm I don't want the cultures to crash then have the fish die. Seems like rasboras or perhaps galaxies would be a good idea at this point...


You don't need live daphnia. Vinegar eels are super easy and don't stink. I'm raising grindal worms now. They're super easy too. You can buy daphnia and BBS frozen.

I think I'll buy a bunch of darios. I'm going to tear down my 10G and rescape. It'll be perfect for these guys.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

I haven't tried vinegar eels or grindal worms. I'll have to get cultures for them ...


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

A picture of my vinegar eels I keep in wine bottles. I've neglected them for a year now. I just added a few slices of apples to keep them happy.


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## unissuh (Jun 5, 2006)

Not sure vinegar eels are a great food for a staple. Fry don't seem to do too well on VE alone, they end up looking scrawy or grow slowly as opposed to putting them onto microworms or others. Have not tried much on adult fish as most ignore grindals, probably because they're too small, even Dario sized fish. Pain in the butt to harvest too IMO.

Grindals are better though, and you can gut load 'em with whatever you want as a bonus.

BBS are easy to hatch out too as another option.

People usually culture multiple foods, and duplicate or triplicate cultures of each individual food so there is no problem if a culture crashes. :icon_smil


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

I buy BBS and bloodworms locally, so that's never an issue. I just like to have the micro worms around as fry food.


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