# Wild Betta Fish?



## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

I own _betta splendens_, but lately I have heard of different species of betta fish generally referred to as wild betta fish... I may be interested in some since I saw some in Aqua Bid, but I know nothing about them, so buying some is not going to happen anytime soon. However, I am curious and would appreciate any info people may be able to give me referring to wild types of betta fish, such as what they actually are, differences between wild betta varieties and betta splendens, and if there are any similarities between the two.

Thank you for any help given!

-Joelouisvachon


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

I know of one member that will be great here lol. She has tons of wilds!

Usually wild bettas tend to be much more peaceful and usually can live in pairs and sometimes groups. however there are always some that will be a bit more aggressive that would need to be housed alone.

One key thing, almost every single one needs soft ,acidic water. If you don't have that type of water you would want to use distilled water and get a supplement that adds essential minerals back in without raising the hardness or anything. Also the don't like bright light so tanned water and floating plants to block out the light is preferred, lighting should be soft. Things in the tank is usually driftwood, leaf litter (Usually IAL, but other leaves can be used, just make sure they are safe for them), and peat. These should all help stain the water.

Most species won't accept pellets, live and frozen food is best unless you can some how get them on a pellet.

Research the individual needs of the species you might decide on. Some only like 4-5 pH which is very hard to achieve, so setting up the tank and testing the pH, GH, and KH will help you know what species is best for you.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

Thank you for the help, they sound like they would be good in a planted community tank.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

That would be me! I keep eleven species of wild bettas, most from the coccina complex, and breed a few of them as well. 

Most wilds do prefer softer water, but some captive bred species will do fine in neutral/slightly harder water. They probably just won't spawn. 

I keep my set-ups very natural looking, with tannin-stained water, lots of java moss and dim if any artificial lighting. Not only does this make the fish feel more comfortable, but it will show off their best colours. If your tank is too bright or sparsely decorated, wilds tend to look like either big brown stripy fish or little brown stripy fish. 

Wilds are easy as to spawn once you get your conditions right. The bettas from the coccina complex do not usually eat their fry so I raise mine alongside their parents. It can be a little harder with mouthbrooders though, as they tend to swallow their eggs/fry if disturbed. 

I highly recommend browsing the IBC species index and the profiles of Seriouslyfish.com. This will answer around 99% of your questions. 

As an aside here is a picture a quite rare species, Betta persephone. They are only found in one place now in the wild I believe. 










They have three batches of fry that I am currently rearing.

Just read your above. Only certain species would be good for a community set-up. I would not put any of the coccina complex in your average community setting as they have specific needs. However, some of the other hardier and more peaceful species like channoides and albimarginata should do fine.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

Wild betta varieties seem to be a bit more work than betta splendens, but definitely sound worth it. What do you think from your experience is the best wild betta variety for someone whom is just starting out with them?
Those betta persephone look beautiful! Will you be selling the fry, or keeping them?


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Nah, I keep most if not all of my coccina complex fry. I get too attached, and they don't need much tank space for a group so I end up with them everywhere haha. Persephone are definitely one of the most beautiful wild species available. That photo doesn't even show how rich their colour is as the LED washes them out. 

Wild bettas once settled in are more robust and less neurotic than splendens. They can be harder to switch onto pellets, but I have lots of live food cultures and they get frozen as well so it's not so bad. Most of mine will take pellets but only the ones I have actually bred are enthusiastic about it. 

Betta channoides and betta albis are great for beginners. They are hardy, tolerate a wider range of conditions and spawn as easily as livebearers. Plus they are two of the most peaceful species of wilds. Mine lived with all sorts of smaller fish and never had any issues with them. 

Some of the bigger mouthbrooders like unimaculata are easy care as well. You just really need a tight-fitting lid that covers absolutely every last inch of your tank though as wilds will get out of gaps that seem to tiny for them to fit through.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

ha ha, it was worth a try to get one of those Betta Persephone. :3

i'll do more research on betta albis and betta channoids and see which are better for me. thanks for the help and please don't stop giving tips!


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I'm in Australia anyways so my persephone are safe haha. But wild bettas are awesome. So much better than splendens although don't tell mine I said that. Just be aware if they do spawn wild fry grows nowhere near as fast as domesticated splendens. I think it takes like a year for a coccina complex betta to reach full maturity. 

Here's a picture of my now sold channoides male in breeding colours










As you can see they are a nice fish.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

So they get brighter coloring in breeding season? Cool!
Wild Betta fish just get better and better! It sounds like you can keep more than one in a large tank, unlike splendens.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

They don't really have a breeding season, but whenever they do want to spawn both genders will become much richer in colour. 

You can keep most wilds in male/female pairs as long as you have enough cover. I do keep three males in a tank with a female but they do fight and I have had some bad fin damage from it. However, they usually do not fight as tenaciously as splendens and I have never had any fish die from fighting.

Do be aware that it is best to get a reverse trio of fish if they are mouthbrooders. This is one female to two males. Because they do not eat when they are holding eggs males can starve or waste away because the female will always be ready to spawn. Having two males generally means one of them gets a break every now and then.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Since I'm thinking of getting wilds, I'm going to be stalking this thread. LBF, you are definitely our resident wild betta expert! So glad to have your knowledge on the forum.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

I aimed to keep wilds from the get-go, once I found I could keep a splendens in good health. I wanted a pair of macrostoma (they are truly spectacular and my hands-down faves for wilds) but was advised against it as a beginner to other betta species. So I bought five B. strohi juvies from LittleBettaFish (I am so glad you're in Aus LBF haha) and they are AMAZING. 

Not hard to keep at all. They take pellets as well as live foods quite easily and are really entertaining to watch. I find they're not that different to splendens really apart from the aggression levels. They 'argue' a lot over territory but I have yet to see a worse fight than a small nip here and there, no damage at all. 

It's no trouble to put some wood and a few IAL in the tank to keep the water soft. Put 'em in, the water goes dark - nothing is simpler. I loathe keeping blackworms, I really do, so that's the only hassle.. and one which is easily remedied once the warmer weather comes. Oh, and it turns out I have four females to one male, so I might look into an extra male for the tank soonish, and perhaps dividing them into two 'colonies'. Yay, more wild tanks, lol!

I love how the strohi change colour all day, depending on light and mood. Even the females colour up from yellow to olive green and sometimes even almost as dark as the male, who at his best is black or deep blue with brilliant white ventral tips and peacock feather colouring on his tail-tips. The male is stunning! I'll include some pics below of him and the girls, and some of the colour variations they exhibit from moment to moment. 

They are mouthbrooders, and the male has swallowed the first clutch of eggs he held - I think he has another as of this morning but I'm not worried if they are eaten, as I'm moving soon and don't particularly mind not moving baby fish as well as all the others..

I'd recommend them to anyone looking into wilds. Next, I'd really like to try channoides and maybe unis (to be better prepared for the macros I WILL own some day haha)


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

the way they change color sounds like little chameleon fishies! they are nice looking, I'll look into them as well.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

I couldn't find them on seriouslyfish.com, do they go by any different names?


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Here is their profile on the IBC website.

http://www.ibcbettas.org/smp/species/strohi.html

They don't go by any other name that I am aware of. They are very similar to another species foerschi.


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## bettaboytroy (Apr 15, 2012)

Thank you for this thread! I had no idea the wild types were so beautiful. I really like learning about different species types, as well as tail types, color types and the like.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

It's a lot of help for me too, considering I knew nothing about wild bettas until now.

Thanks, LBF, for the link! I'll put it in my word document I'm using to collect this info. So far, these are the betta varieties I've been considering:

_Betta Strohi_
_Betta Channoides_
_Betta Albis_

How does this list sound? So far I've looked at _Betta Strohi_ and _Betta Channoides,_ and I'm just about to go and research _Betta Albis_.

EDIT:
I've found a betta variety called _Betta albimarginata_, is _Betta Albis_ just a short form for that fish, or is _Betta Albis_ a whole other variety?


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Nah Betta albis is just Betta albimarginata. It just saves typing it all out. 

All those species (particularly if captive bred) are pretty hardy and easy to care for. My strohi spawned constantly, even when I had them in quite a small tank. Just be aware they do have quite large mouths being mouthbrooders so not sure how they would do with smaller tankmates.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

I know the IBC website already suggests a tank size for these species, but what size of tank have you used successfully? I want as many different opinions based on experience as possible.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I kept my strohi in a 12 inch cube but that was only supposed to be temporary and I sold them before I upgraded them. I should think for a pair of adult strohi, a tank in the 18 inch - 2ft range would be fine. 

A reverse trio of albis or channoides could easily fit into a 10 gallon tank. I kept a small family group in a 10 gallon tank and never ran into any issues.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

The reason I asked this was because I have a big tank I'm not using right now that I was thinking of using, but first I'd have to create a lid for it since the last time I used it, it was used for mice and the lid is wooden. it's 10.5 gallons.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

Bump?


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Well if it's waterproof you could house a trio of channoides or albimarginata. You could probably put a pair of strohi in as long as you had plenty of cover for them. I found they do tend to be aggressive during courtship and when the male is holding if the female bothers him. 

I find java moss works best, as they have to worm their way through it if they want to attack anyone. I also use PVC pipes as hiding places and retreats for holding males.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

Thanks! Now I'm trying to decide between channoides or albis, since they seem to need less room.

However, I have a 20 g with only four guppies in it, and I was thinking I could move those four males into my 10 g female guppy tank, and use that.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

I think that sounds like a pretty good idea, if the 10 g has decent filtration and you don't mind a guppy explosion - with the males & females together, I mean... 

The strohi are sure enjoying their 30-odd gallons (I really must get an exact gallonage on that tank!) and even with lots of hidey spaces and plants tend to argue over territory a lot. Tbh, I think the girls are more aggressive! They flare at each other all day sometimes.. and poor Blue just wanders off to skulk in his chosen patch of turf, as if to say, "Women!" :-D

I REALLY want to try some more wild species, particularly some of the bigger ones. But not until my splendens have gone to that big rice paddy in the sky, I think, so I can dedicate the time and effort to them they deserve. I can so see myself collecting mouthbrooders, lol.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

The guppy tank has filters and a heater. The guppy explosion was the orignal reason the genders were separated, but my guppy population has shrunk and I'm ready for more guppy babies.:-D

If I use the 20 g, then that means the 10.5 g is free for another species of wild betta or a sorority, which I like.


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## rosy delta (Jul 17, 2012)

I'm glad i read this thread. I was thinking of getting some wild types, but if they need soft water, it just wont work here. our water is over the charts hard! I mix it with distilled for the fish.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

Is there anywhere you could keep a big plastic barrel? Like a 44-gallon drum type of thing. If so, you could keep a few changes' worth of water, enough for a small tank of wilds, in that and treat it with ketapang and peat to soften it up. Just with three large leaves and some driftwood, my tank's ph has dropped from high sevens down to just over six currently. I think the wood helps to keep it stable.

I don't add pre-treated water, as I only do 25% changes twice a week (sometimes 3, as I have a pleco in there, he poops a lot!) and the leaves do a good job of keeping the water pretty dark.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

A pleco can live with wild betta fish? that's terrific, since she lives in the tank I was going to give to wild betta fish originally. I wouldn't have to take her out!


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

The only problem is that if the KH is really high, peat and IALs may not be enough to bring it down. Our water has a fairly low KH here in Melbourne, so it is much easier to get a lower pH. I think those with a high KH, usually use a mix of RO water and tapwater for their softwater fish. 

You might be overstocking a 10 gallon tank if you have one of the commonly sold pleco species, as well as a group of wilds. Even bristlenose plecos ideally need at least 15 gallons. I have a fully grown bristlenose and it is a decent size.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

I agree, I wouldn't keep a pleco in a 10 gallon. The one I have in 30 (or so) gallons with the wilds is just a tiddler right now and I'm already prepared to give him more space later on if he needs it or is creating too much waste for the tank. He's fine for now, however - and I'm amazed at how utterly the bettas ignore him, as they're highly curious, territorial and argumentative with each other/me/etc. But Om-nomnom is like a bit of decor, as far as they're concerned, lol. 

I love my pleco. =)


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

The pleco doesn't live in the 10 g, he/she lives in the in the 20 g. The 10 g is empty right now.


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## Joelouisvachon (Jul 13, 2012)

What plants would be good for a tank with wild betta fish? So far I have this list:

- java moss
- duckweed


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## tnvol (Jan 6, 2013)

Great thread! I'm getting ready to get a pair of Betta Albis and I've been searching for all the info I can get my hands on. It looks like are easy enough to care for.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Hey Tnvol, there is a big thread here on wild species bettas.

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=116188

Having kept and bred albis in the past, they are one of the easiest and most peaceful wild species to keep. Mine were like guppies. So much so I got rid of them as I couldn't be bothered growing out so many fry haha.


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## tnvol (Jan 6, 2013)

LittleBettaFish said:


> Hey Tnvol, there is a big thread here on wild species bettas.
> 
> http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=116188
> 
> Having kept and bred albis in the past, they are one of the easiest and most peaceful wild species to keep. Mine were like guppies. So much so I got rid of them as I couldn't be bothered growing out so many fry haha.


Thanks so much!


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