# Betta imbellis



## StrangeDejavu (May 1, 2014)

Hoping to hear from owners of Betta imbellis, and more specifically, those that got theirs from The Wet Spot. Sometime in the future, I plan on setting up a 20 gallon long biotope, leaf litter, blackwater, surface floaters- all that fun stuff. I'm looking for tank pics, the imbellis themselves and your impression of Wet Spot's stock of these fish. YouTube brings very few results outside of flaring videos so i'll be interested in what you guys got.


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## Netti (Apr 25, 2014)

Following


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## BettaBoy51 (Nov 13, 2013)

same


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Your set-up sounds fine for Betta imbellis. Were you going to do a group or just a breeding pair?

Personally, I would not buy Betta imbellis without seeing photos of the actual fish I was getting, or having some sort of proof of purity. There are an awful lot of hybrid fish out there being sold as 'pure' Betta imbellis and in some cases it can be very difficult to tell. Hybridisation is one of the big issues with this complex, and imbellis and splendens in particular, seem to be the two most commonly affected species.


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## StrangeDejavu (May 1, 2014)

LittleBettaFish said:


> Your set-up sounds fine for Betta imbellis. Were you going to do a group or just a breeding pair?
> 
> Personally, I would not buy Betta imbellis without seeing photos of the actual fish I was getting, or having some sort of proof of purity. There are an awful lot of hybrid fish out there being sold as 'pure' Betta imbellis and in some cases it can be very difficult to tell. Hybridisation is one of the big issues with this complex, and imbellis and splendens in particular, seem to be the two most commonly affected species.


I plan to do a community, from what I hear betta breeding is a second job. I plan to e-mail Wet Spot and request photos before I go ahead with the idea, or at least get some kind of verification. They're right across the street from one of the largest importers in the US, so access to good fish is probably pretty easy for them. While we're on topic, do you have any trusted breeders/sellers you would recommend?


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## BettaBoy51 (Nov 13, 2013)

Phusit has great prices and imbellis pairs on aquabid and hes a great seller i get most of my imports from him! the betta in my avatar is from Phusit


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I like Pibk off Aquabid also. He has some absolutely stunning stock, either wild-caught or captive bred. 

I would be wary of splendens complex species that have come through a main importer. The may not even know they are hybrids because the differences can be very subtle. Setsuna was a member on here who kept predominately this complex and this was a photo he posted one time to show how to distinguish pure Betta imbellis stock. 

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx20/chongvang916/Imbellismale.jpg

So many of the 'pure' Betta imbellis here in Oz are obvious hybrids and it drives me nuts. It is like one of my major pet peeves in this part of the hobby.


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## StrangeDejavu (May 1, 2014)

Thanks guys, i'll keep my eyes open for both sellers.

LBF, thanks for that photo, that'll come in handy for sure.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

No worries. Good luck with the search for your imbellis. Good to see some more members on here getting into wilds. It seems we are an endangered species on this forum haha


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## Nova betta (Dec 5, 2014)

ok well im not really a aquabid person. but phusit was really nice and helpful, but my fish came dead so he refunded it. so he is good but also has his own flaws.


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## StrangeDejavu (May 1, 2014)

Any idea on M/F ratio for a community? I found a YouTube video of a 2 m 1 f tank and as you would expect, there was heavy aggression out of the males. The one's caudal fin was shredded. I don't want that, I want everyone to live in harmony, lol.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Personally I prefer to keep my wilds in breeding pairs versus a group setting. This is because there is usually much less aggression, particularly if there is any breeding or nesting activity, and you get a lot more spawning happening. I have found the best groups are those where I have let the fry grow alongside their parents. I have definitely had much more aggression when I've introduced unrelated adult pairs in together. 

But each fish will be different. I have such a wide range of personalities amongst my wild bettas. Some are highly aggressive and some are much more mellow.

Also you probably won't ever have 100% harmony with this complex. Even some of the more docile wilds can be surprisingly aggressive at times.


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## StrangeDejavu (May 1, 2014)

A little aggression is fine, and would be expected. I keep a spawning pair of German Blue Rams and these guys can get very feisty when they're spawning. I would just hate to set them up and see bullying or lots of injuries. I don't tolerate that and would rather have less.

Oh also, Wet Spot's fish stock has the "WILD" tag next to the Betta imbellis so hopefully that's a good sign. I'm e-mailing them but not really expecting a reply since they have a dedicated warehouse just for mail orders.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

It will greatly depend on the individuals as to the level of damage done, particularly during spawning. 

It's not uncommon for my pairs to cop a fair amount of damage, particularly during courtship and when the male is guarding his fry. The complex I keep is probably the most aggressive next to the splendens complex, and I have had fish kill their breeding partners or need to be permanently removed from the tank due to aggression. 

If I was going to keep a group of imbellis, I would probably go with a harem. So a single male with multiple females. I would want probably four or five females so as to avoid the weakest being too greatly bullied.


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## StrangeDejavu (May 1, 2014)

Oh a harem, that's a good idea. I wont be setting this tank up until I move but i'm already getting excited about it.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Wild bettas are beautiful in a way that is completely different from fancy splendens. It's like the difference between a manicured garden and an area of forest or bush. Both are beautiful, but one possesses a different sort of beauty to the other. 










This was my pair of wild-caught Betta stiktos (I stupidly sold them), and this is the sort of fish I admire most.


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## StrangeDejavu (May 1, 2014)

I completely agree. When I discovered wild types like macrostoma and imbellis, it blew my mind. I couldn't believe fish like this existed and yet it wasn't good enough for man. At some point, they decided they need monstrous fins that get caught on everything and slow them down. Don't get me wrong, I have a serious bond with my guys (Halfmoon and an EE Delta), but there's a raw, natural perfectness in the wild types. For me, it's most notable in a male imbellis, which invokes the Homer Simpson drool face, haha.

Beautiful fish, by the way. I should have mentioned that first.


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## katydidmischief (Aug 19, 2012)

Strange, I'm looking forward to seeing what the fish from Wet Spot are like-I was looking at their imbellis this morning myself. Won't have space for a pair for some for a while, but planning for the future.


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## StrangeDejavu (May 1, 2014)

Same here Katy, I won't be setting this tank up until I move in a few months. 

So I e-mailed Wet Spot yesterday regarding hybridization and this was their response:



> Mitch –
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> ...


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