Betta Fish

[syhko]

Hello!

What kinds of female bettas are non-aggressive? I was told that Betta Imbellis is the least aggressive species in the betta fish family compared to others. I know that female bettas can get territorial, so any idea what kinds I can keep together to create a sorority?

I am aware that sororities can sometimes cause stress if they do not have necessities in their tank like hiding spots and enough room in general. It takes one aggressive female betta to bully the submissive ones.

It's a 10-gallon tank. I was going to put 3 bettas in the tank with some pygmy corydoras and my clown pleco. I heard that creating a sorority is sometimes better in a 20-gallon+, any thoughts?

 

[Andy Sager]

Hello!

What kinds of female bettas are non-aggressive? I was told that Betta Imbellis is the least aggressive species in the betta fish family compared to others. I know that female bettas can get territorial, so any idea what kinds I can keep together to create a sorority?

I am aware that sororities can sometimes cause stress if they do not have necessities in their tank like hiding spots and enough room in general. It takes one aggressive female betta to bully the submissive ones.

It's a 10-gallon tank. I was going to put 3 bettas in the tank with some pygmy corydoras and my clown pleco. I heard that creating a sorority is sometimes better in a 20-gallon+, any thoughts?

From what I have been told in a specialty Betta group, the B albi, B. ocellata and B.mahachaiensis are pretty calm. ( No guarantees of course.) If you want something in the splendens complex, B.mahachai seem to be the most docile but you have to remember that the splendens are fighters by nature so "calm" is relative.

Hope this helps.

 

[syhko]

From what I have been told in a specialty Betta group, the B albi, B. ocellata and B.mahachaiensis are pretty calm. ( No guarantees of course.) If you want something in the splendens complex, B.mahachai seem to be the most docile but you have to remember that the splendens are fighters by nature so "calm" is relative.

Hope this helps.

Thanks!

 

[Colin_T]

All Bettas come from soft acidic water (pH below 7.0 and GH below 100ppm). Make sure you have the correct water for them. You can contact your water supply company by phone or website and look for a water analysis report. It will tell you the pH, GH (general hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness) of the water, plus anything else that is in it (that they tested for at the time).

There are two main groups of Bettas, the splendens group and the pugnax group. The splendens group contains most of the smaller bettas and they build bubblenests. The bubblenest builders are more aggressive than the pugnax group, which grow bigger and are mouth brooders. The splendens group are generally more colourful than the pugnax group. The pugnax group get a bit big (4 inches) to be kept with pygmy Corydoras and might eat them. The pugnax group need tanks that are at least 30 inches long.

Betta imbellis are quite nice but most of the Bettas are hard to get and many are wild caught. Most won't take dry food either and prefer live or frozen (but defrosted) foods.

Bigger tanks are always better especially if they are long and wide. That gives the fish more surface area, which is what they need. A 20 gallon long tank would let you keep a group of Bettas and some pygmy Corydoras without any issues.

A standard 10 gallon tank is bordering on the too small size for the fish you want. I knew a few people that kept pairs or trios of B. imbellis in 18 inch tanks but they didn't have catfish with them. The Bettas were fine in the 18 inch tank but a standard 10 gallon US tank is 16 inches (if I recall correctly) and you want catfish too. It may not work out well.

 

[Andy Sager]

A standard 10 gal in the US is 20" L x 10" W x 12" H

As for types/ complexes, there are now many compared to when we were in it. Here's a good update for you Colin. https://wildaquarist.com/types-species-wild-bettas/

 

[syhko]

All Bettas come from soft acidic water (pH below 7.0 and GH below 100ppm). Make sure you have the correct water for them. You can contact your water supply company by phone or website and look for a water analysis report. It will tell you the pH, GH (general hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness) of the water, plus anything else that is in it (that they tested for at the time).

There are two main groups of Bettas, the splendens group and the pugnax group. The splendens group contains most of the smaller bettas and they build bubblenests. The bubblenest builders are more aggressive than the pugnax group, which grow bigger and are mouth brooders. The splendens group are generally more colourful than the pugnax group. The pugnax group get a bit big (4 inches) to be kept with pygmy Corydoras and might eat them. The pugnax group need tanks that are at least 30 inches long.

Betta imbellis are quite nice but most of the Bettas are hard to get and many are wild caught. Most won't take dry food either and prefer live or frozen (but defrosted) foods.

Bigger tanks are always better especially if they are long and wide. That gives the fish more surface area, which is what they need. A 20 gallon long tank would let you keep a group of Bettas and some pygmy Corydoras without any issues.

A standard 10 gallon tank is bordering on the too small size for the fish you want. I knew a few people that kept pairs or trios of B. imbellis in 18 inch tanks but they didn't have catfish with them. The Bettas were fine in the 18 inch tank but a standard 10 gallon US tank is 16 inches (if I recall correctly) and you want catfish too. It may not work out well.

I might end up just keeping one to add with the Pygmy and Pleco. I don’t want them to be stressed out. Thank you so much!

 

[syhko]

A standard 10 gal in the US is 20" L x 10" W x 12" H

As for types/ complexes, there are now many compared to when we were in it. Here's a good update for you Colin. https://wildaquarist.com/types-species-wild-bettas/

I just read this link that you listed to Colin. I saw that Betta Akarensis Complex tend to be rather peaceful. Are you aware of their standard name and not scientific names? For example, “Koi Betta” or “Elephant Ear Betta” This will help me look easier and also be able to talk to whoever I need to about them. Not many people are educated about the complexes and scientific names, they just sell them. Plan to go to a few breeders near me to see if they have anything good.

 

[Andy Sager]

I just read this link that you listed to Colin. I saw that Betta Akarensis Complex tend to be rather peaceful. Are you aware of their standard name and not scientific names? For example, “Koi Betta” or “Elephant Ear Betta” This will help me look easier and also be able to talk to whoever I need to about them. Not many people are educated about the complexes and scientific names, they just sell them. Plan to go to a few breeders near me to see if they have anything good.

Sadly names like Elephant ear or Koi Betta are generic and sometimes regional names that could apply to any of the fish. ( I had 1 fish that had 3 different "common" names all depending on where you were talking to. ) You are better off giving the Latin names which is how they are categorized scientifically. The Latin names are universal. Anyone anywhere in the world would be able to identify what you are talking about with Latin names.

 

[Colin_T]

I just read this link that you listed to Colin. I saw that Betta Akarensis Complex tend to be rather peaceful. Are you aware of their standard name and not scientific names? For example, “Koi Betta” or “Elephant Ear Betta” This will help me look easier and also be able to talk to whoever I need to about them. Not many people are educated about the complexes and scientific names, they just sell them. Plan to go to a few breeders near me to see if they have anything good.

Most Bettas sold in pet shops are Betta splendens (Siamese fighting fish) or B. splendens that was crossed with something else like B. imbellis years ago, but they are all considered B. splendens now. Koi Bettas and elephant ear Bettas are simply Betta splendens with different fins or colours. The koi Bettas change colour as they grow. Elephant ear Bettas have big round tails, etc. Plakat Bettas are short finned Betta splendens.

The other species of Bettas will only turn up occasionally in pet shops (if at all) and will be labelled with their scientific name and maybe a river system that they came from (eg: Betta imbellis from the Koowee River). Betta imbellis being the scientific name and the Koowee River being the river system it came from. The Koowee River isn't a real river, I simply used it as an example of how wild fish are sometimes sold. Sometimes they won't have a river system with their name and it will simply be Betta smaragdina or Betta pugnax.

If you are interested in Bettas, maybe look for a Betta or Labyrinth forum or club and check that out. A lot of people that specialise in Labyrinth fishes (Bettas & gouramis) keep their species in individual tanks and only use Latin/ scientific names for the fish so they don't have to deal with common names that can vary from country to country and even state to state. A Latin or scientific name (they are the same thing) will tell you exactly what species it is.

If you ask your local pet shop to check with their suppliers, they might be able to order you in unusual/ different species of Bettas. Most pet shops have a list of fishes that are available but they don't order the unusual things because they don't sell. The following link is for one of the major aquarium fish importers/ suppliers in Australia and they have a list of their current fish stocks. You can click the download button to view it. Under the section Bettas, they have a few unusual species but virtually everything else is Betta splendens. Crowntails, halfmoon, delta, gold dragon, etc, are all Betta splendens. If you do order fish in, get a group of 6-10 fish just in case some die, and try to order pairs (male & female).
https://www.aquariumindustries.com.au/current-stock/

As a general rule, if it's in a small container of water at a local pet shop and doesn't have a scientific name, it will be a Betta splendens.