# New Betta Species- Mahachai Betta ?



## MissPokemaster (Jan 18, 2012)

http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/oct07/mahachaibetta.htm 
"Scientists don't have as much information on these little fish as other fish, because they are still studying their behavior, water conditions, and they still need to verify that it is in fact a Betta and not some other type of fish."
"This is one of the most peaceful bettas with the males being able to live in the same aquarium with the occasional territorial dispute."
"They do best in slightly hard, slightly brackish water, with tannins."


So, I THINK the pet shop I love going to is selling the females of this new betta species, and I so want some! The only problem is, I live in Japan and don't speak Japanese very well. The employees at the pet shop speak just enough broad English to help you if you know what you want, and use enough broad words and some patience. Today, when I went in looking for silk plants for Gyarados, I remembered that they had gotten a big tank of. . . unusual bettas. The water they were being kept in didn't look like fresh water exactly, and there were so many of them! I asked one of the employees about the bettas, but like I said, it's a little difficult to have a conversation. 
I asked "Girl bettas?"
"Be-ta?"
"Hai (yes), betta?"
She looked confused, so I said "Fighting fish?" Lol, she nodded and took me to the males, and I said "Girls, others?" So she took me to where the tank full of the bettas I wanted to find were. I didn't get any because I didn't really know if they were the brackish water bettas or not, but I'm so courious about them! The bettas were all dark, with short little fins, and a pretty green shimmer all over their body!
I love bettas, but I've always hated that they were bred for fighting, I would be soooooo happy if I could have a tank full of happy bettas!

Have you heard of this type of betta? Isn't that cool? Would you want one? Or am I totally out of my mind?


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

According to Google (which finished typing mahachai betta for me, suggesting there were pages for it) there are betta called mahachai. They are a willd type, So I don't know if that means they're bred from captives or wild.. I'm a total noob when it comes to wild betta. But Mahachai is a place in Thailand, I'm thinking the betta come from there...
You live in Japan??! Lucky!
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/193525-mahachai-betta/ According to this forum, Mahachai is a different environment to find betta in and, in fact, is brackish..


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## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

here's the ibc page on them. don't think they're that new since it mentions an article in 2005 about them


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## MissPokemaster (Jan 18, 2012)

Less then 10 years is still pretty new, but I didn't think they'd be in pet stores that soon? Anyways, I do love them! Lol The metalic shine is amazing. 

That page helps alot, thanks, I'll remember it next time I go to the pet store, maybe I can figure out if thoes really are Mahachai, or if they're just super peaceful girls. . .


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

imbilis, smaragdina, and mahachai are wild types of bettas - not a splenden but can be crossed to the splendens and create new scale types/colors. 

I don't think they're new as in newly founded but new as in scientific subspecies. They were classified as the same species (not sure which were grouped into one species).


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Yeah they aren't that new. A few people have breeding pairs of them over here in Oz. I was looking at getting a pair but I'm more into a different complex. 

I think what you found were female splendens (domesticated bettas) that had wild-type colouring.


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