WT-71: The Wild Bettas – Part 1 - International Betta Congress

March/April 1994
WT-71
The Wild Bettas – Part 1
By Sue Liebetrau, Ph.D.
Introduction
“What is a Betta?” Obvious, you answer, it’s a lovely red, green, or purple creature sailing
majestically across its bowl or aquarium.
“Ah, but a Betta is more than that.” Okay, you say, it’s a labyrinth fish; it doesn’t need aerated
water; and it spawns under a bubble nest.
tails.
“More than that.” Well, Bettas come in almost every color of the rainbow, and some have two
“Even more.” Hmmm. Oh — you guess, that there are more than one species of Betta.
“More.” Some are mouthbrooders.
“And…?”
If you have run out of responses by now, you are not unlike the majority or hobbyists. Even
those for whom the study or Bettas is a profession confess to much ignorance about this interesting
genus of labyrinth fishes. Over the past century and a half, knowledge has accumulated slowly. There
have been small steps, false steps, and some giant steps. Many of the largest have been taken in very
recent times. Most of the published information is already obsolete.
This article represents the first in a series. Based on information currently available, five are
planned. A sixth will be added if circumstances warrant it. In the series, I will attempt to summarize
and correlate for you the current information from the study of wild Bettas. I will describe the kinds of
Bettas currently available to aquarists and also a few which have been or will be obtainable. Tricks of
keeping these fish, as well as spawning techniques, will be included. Various hypotheses as to the
number of species will be advised of the Progress of the International Betta Congress Species
Maintenance Program (SMP), now in the planning stages. Through that program, you should be able
to obtain most of the wild Bettas currently spawned.
Before delving into the study of wild Bettas, we should briefly examine the basic Betta. Bettas
belong to the labyrinth fishes. The suborder is Anabantoidei, and the family is Belontiidae. A
subfamily, Belontinnae, includes the Belontia genus. A second subfamily, Trichogasterinae, includes
many of the gouramis. The genus Betta is in a third subfamily, the Macropodinae, along with the
paradise fishes, croaking gouramis, and Ctenops, Malpulutta, and Parosphromenus genuses. The
term Betta was coined by Bleeker in 1850, when the first Bettas were originally described.
Bettas are small fishes; the largest known individuals (mouthbrooders) do not exceed 6”. They
are slender, with tapering bodies. They posses three unpaired fins (dorsal, caudal, and anal) and two
pairs of fins, pectoral and pelvic (ventral). They have small teeth and are carnivores.
The internal organ of major interest is the labyrinth. Two passages lead from the mouth up
behind the eyes, over the gills, possibly eventually to the swim bladder. As a Betta gulps air at the
surface of the water, oxygen is transmitted through these passages to the blood vessels. The labyrinth
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Original document date ~ March/April 1994
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is basic to the Betta’s ecological position. Because the fish is not dependent upon oxygen-rich water, it
can thrive in slow or stagnant, shallow ponds or puddles.
Those species which live in still, swampy waters–even in the shallow footprints of water buffalo–
build a nest of sticky bubbles at the surface of the water. This nest is usually constructed under some
protective cover like a floating leaf (or, in domestic situations, a plastic lid). It may be skimpy or
luxurious; it is home for the tiny fry. These hatch from eggs placed in the nest by the male Betta, who
then cares for them.
The spawning sequence of all Bettas consists of a series of embraces, during which the male
wraps himself around the female. The eggs are released from her abdominal area and fertilized. Betta
eggs sink (those of some labyrinth fishes float to the surface), and the male bubblenester must pick
them up, place them in the nest, and care for them. The tiny fry, hatching about thirty-six hours after
the spawning process, are mostly yolk sac, tail, and eyes. They are quite helpless for another thirty-six
to forty-eight hours. Once the yolk sac is gone (it is food for the quasi-embryonic fry), the young Bettas
are able to swim horizontally. They then leave the nest permanently and are abandoned or eaten by
the male. They survive on tiny crustaceans, worms, and microscopic animalcules until they grow
enough to eat larger creatures. A favorite food of bubblenesting Bettas is mosquito larvae. Like their
food, these Bettas are warm weather creatures, preferring soft, slightly acid water of 75-80º Fahrenheit.
The ecology of mouthbrooding Bettas varies from that of the bubblenesters. They mostly
inhabit small streams and rivers, where they keep to the protectively planted edges. They tend to be
larger and stronger than the bubblenesters and prodigious leapers.
Since bubblenests would disintegrate in moving water, these Bettas spawn without them. After
the embrace, the eggs are taken by the female. In the course of the spawning ritual, the male retrieves
them. He then holds them in his mouth, brooding them through the hatching time, until they are free
swimming and he feels that it is safe to release them. The brooding period may last several weeks.
Once the fry are released, they are abandoned like the bubblenesters. Mouthbrooders exist at higher
elevations than bubblenesters and are used to cooler water. Seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit seems
an optimal spawning temperature, compared to 80ºF for bubblenesters.
The Bettas genus has a limited geographical range. They are found only in Southeast Asia.
Bubblenesters have been collected on the mainland for the most part, in Thailand, Cambodia,
Vietnam, and Malaysia (the peninsula). One recent discovery, coccina, comes from Sumatra. Most of
the mouthbrooders are found in Sumatra, Borneo, and Java, all islands off the continent. Although I
know of no Bettas from the Philippines, they may exist there also.
The map included with this article represents a rough attempt to clarify the geography of most
known Betta species. In future articles of this series, particular areas be highlighted and detailed.
Keeping wild Bettas is no difficult matter. Because they are air breathers, Bettas do not need
aeration. A simple one-quart bowl will suffice for all but the largest species, if clean water is
maintained. Most Bettas breeders change the water in their ‘jars’ about once a week. With addition of
the new resins like C-100, this process can be extended to once a month if leftover food is not allowed
to accumulate.
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Unlike their domestic cousins, however, wild Bettas are relatively peaceful, so they need not be
jarred. Many males and females can be kept together. A well-planted aquarium with a simple filtration
system is ideal. The plants help maintain healthy water quality, and the shyer Bettas have hiding
places.
Most Bettas are not choosy about food. The wild bubblenesters do not eat so heavily as
domestic Fighting Fish, so care must be taken not to foul their water with excess food. The
mouthbrooders, on the other hand, are gluttons. They all will take flake food, frozen or live brine
shrimp, various worms, or aquarists’ pet mixtures. With these, as with other fishes, variety is probably
the best.
Bettas are happy at water temperatures from 70-8ºF. At higher or lower temperatures, they
may become lethargic or even ill. Sudden changes of temperature lower their resistance to disease.
Although the wild Bettas tend to live slightly longer than domestic splendens, and are quite hardy, they
do suffer from the common diseases like velvet and fin rot. Their apparent hardiness may be due to
aquarium freedom as opposed to the stress from a restrictive fish bowl. Nevertheless, aquarium
“commonsense” will keep most of them healthy.
One prerequisite to keeping the wild Bettas is covered containers. Whether jar, bowl, or 10
gallon aquarium — keep it tightly covered! All the Bettas are good jumpers, and the short finned,
streamlined types seem especially well-built to leap high and far. They have unerring aim, and can
escape through the tiniest opening. The large mouthbrooders have been known to go right through
coverings of plastic wrap, and to knock off jar lids which are not screwed down or weighted. If you want
to keep wild Bettas, cover them.
A noted aquarist friend once told me, “I can’t imagine why anyone would want to keep such ugly
fish.” An otherwise friendly “Betta friend” has threatened more than once to flush my large
mouthbrooders. Why do so many hobbyists thrill, then, at the mention of a new Betta species? Why
do so many want to keep them?
No doubt, there are several reasons. Beauty exists in the eye of the beholder. I love emerald
green scales and large golden eyes!
Another appeal of wild Bettas no jars to scrub! Of course a rare or unspawned fish is always a
challenge. Whatever the reasons, the genus Betta seems to be rapidly growing in popularity among
the world’s aquariums.
One of the real challenges facing the wild Betta hobbyist is the taxonomy of the genus. Original
descriptions date back to 1850, with Bleeker’s use of “Betta” and T.E. Cantor’s description of Betta
pugnax. Several Betta species were then described; a few are listed below.
picta (Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1846)
anabatoides (Bleeker, 1850)
trifasciata (Bleeker, 1861)
bellica (Sauvage, 1884)
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rubra (Perugia, 1893)
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unimaculata (Popta, 1905)
In 1910, C. Tate Regan renamed Cantor’s pugnax, and declared it to be B. splendens, from
which comes our long finned domestic variety. Thus, after the official name, we see (Regan), as he is
given credit for naming the species at that time. Regan also named and described several other Betta
species: akarensis, bleekeri, fasciata, fusca, macrostoma, and taeniata.
Other discovery/descriptions followed Regan’s: ocellata (Beaufort, 1933), brederi (Myers, 1935),
balunga (Herre,1940), smaragdina (Ladiges, 1975), imbellis (Ladiges, 1975), and also coccina (?).
The pugnax/splendens confusion represents only the tip of the taxonomical iceberg. Few of
these Bettas are known to us today. It is possible that a single may have been described twice with
different names. Often, preserved specimens were used to make the description. Preservation can
radically alter the color and proportions of a single specimen. Because wild Bettas have, until recently,
lacked popularity as aquarium fishes, no one bothered to collect numbers of them, and there was
nothing to compare with the preserved holotypes (specimens from which the original descriptions were
made).
Those who have studied the Bettas in recent years (like Gene Lucas) generally agree that there
are probably fewer species than the descriptions would suggest. Repetition in description, poorly
preserved holotypes, and the geographical variation or single species could account for some of the
duplication. In fact, M.W.F. Tweedie has gone so far as to suggest (1952) that only two species of
Betta are found on the Malaysian peninsula: a bubblenester (represented by splendens) and a
mouthbrooder (pugnax). Whether this concept extends to all Bettas is doubtful, as; evidenced by the
recent appearance of macrostoma in Borneo. It is a mouthbrooder, but preliminary photos (TFH,
October ’81) do not suggest much resemblance to the better-known mouthbrooders.
Accurate decisions about species cannot be made until much more is known about the various
wild Bettas. In the upcoming articles, I will try to differentiate between ‘species’ and “variety,’ which
usually refers to interbreed able types like red, blue, Cambodian, singletailed and doubletailed
splendens. They have been artificially produced. The wild Bettas known to us do not interbreed with
much success, although some have been crossed with domestic splendens (more about that next
month).
As the series unfolds, much will be revealed about the methods of studying wild Bettas. There
are several, and any enthusiasts ought to try as many as possible.
One method is to examine preserved specimens. It is the only way some of us will ever see the
rarer Bettas, it helps to live near an institution like the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., or the Steinhart
Aquarium in San Francisco. Many universities and museums, however, have collections worth
checking. This is, in my view, the poorest of the methods. Unless one is trained in the professional
analysis techniques like scale, tooth, and ray counting, the specimens — often poorly preserved and
mislabeled — are of little value except for general overview and comparison.
The second method involves reading. Only now are some of the original descriptions being
ferreted out, in some case; translated, and made available to general readers. Many magazine articles
exist from FAMA, TFH, and other sources (some in German). A few books provide information about
these species. Hopefully more are in the works. The bibliographic included with each FAMA article will
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WT-71
be helpful. Some translated materials are contained in the files of the IBC Technical Assistance
Committee. The IBC address is provided elsewhere in this magazine.
To fully utilize this method, you must be capable of critical reading. Not all written words are
gospel However, comparative examination of descriptions can be very helpful. Tips on maintenance
and spawning are often provided.
The final method — and the most fun — is observation. Keeping and spawning the Bettas will
provide us with much essential physiological and ecological information. Bettas thought to be
bubblenesters may turn out to be mouthbrooders. A species described (from preserved specimens) as
brown may flash emerald and wine in breeding dress. Some like filters and aeration; some are
happiest in large quarters. Some fight, others are shy.
Remember — observations are useful only when recorded. The ideal student of Bettas will take
thorough notes of all observations and report them through IBC or other medium. Quality photographs
are invaluable.
It is the people who contribute to the body of existing knowledge who are the most valuable
resource. You will read some names many times in the upcoming series, and hopefully the list will
grow in the coming year. Perhaps you will become part of it, one of the hobbyists who knows that there
is more — much more— than “just a Betta.”
References
Axelrod, Herbert R., & Warren E. Burgess, “Betta macrostoma Regan, A New Betta Species For
The Hobby,” Tropical Fish Hobbyist (October, 1981) 47-57.
Goldstein, Robert J. Anabantoids. Jersey City, N.J., TFH Publications, 1971.
Linke, Horst. Farbe im Aquarium labyrinthfische. Germany, Tetra (No date available).
Lucas, Gene A. Know your Bettas, Harrison, NJ., The Pet Library Ltd.
Tweedie, M.W.F. “Notes on Malayan Fresh Water Fishes,” Singapore (?) Bulletin of Raffles
Museum, 22,1952,6.3-75.
Vierke, Jorg. Labyrinthfische und verwandte Arten. Wupperthal/Elberfeld: Engelbert Pfriem
Verlag, 1978.
Sue Liebetrau, Ph.D.
4001 S. Anderson St.
Kennewick, WA 99337
(Editor’s Note: This article is reprinted from the January 1982 issue of Freshwater And Marine
Aquarium Magazine.)
Retyped From Original Article on 08/12/02 By Ralph Tran
Public Relations committee ~ Technical Assistance Library ~ Retyping team
Original document date ~ March/April 1994
Illustrations ~ None
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