Bettas In The Wild...

[cuticom]

So I did do some searches, but mustn't have the right keywords as nothing popped up. So anyways pretty simple question...

I'm contemplating doing a biotope kinda thing with my rather lonely looking Betta in the 20g, but I haven't the faintest idea what other fish are found in the same environment as bettas, so what else is commonly found in a bettas wild habitat?

Or am I just asking too much? LOL

Thanks
Emma

 

[spazzinout53]

well i have no clue what you mean by biotope , but if your asking what type of fish bettas live with in the wild, here is some info. bettas have been genetically alered so much (to create there buetiful fins), they have basically zero characteristics there wild brothers and sisters do lol
so if u just want fish to go with your betta, just look around the site , there are a ton of other posts asking the same question

it also all depends on ur tank size and if its filtered/heated

i hope this helps!

 

[Synirr]

Bettas are from rice paddies and shallow, slow-moving creeks in the wild. However, like spazz said, domestic splendens are... well... domesticated. It would be like asking where dogs are from in the wild; dogs aren't from anywhere, they were bred for many generations to be in the company of humans. A dog's natural environment is a home, and a betta's natural environment is a tank.
Here's a site with some more pics of where bettas are from in the wild. It's mainly about smaragdina, but splendens and smaragdina share territory
http/www.plakatthai.com/smarag.html

 

[cuticom]

I do understand that they have been domesticated, thats obvious, but it doesn't change the fact I want to make a biotope centered around a betta with species all from the same area...

A biotope is a tank set up to resemble a particular habitat in this instance a rice paddy. I'm after fish that are native to the same area as the betta, otherwise I'll just stick with him in his 20g and just modify the habitat to make it a biotope. I was given him as a gift I was planning on getting a brown plakat which I found that looked alot like a throw back to the original betta splendens, then my aunty found out and bought Ezekiel (Royal Blue and Fuschia Butterfly Veiltail)as an early christmas present. I still want to make a biotope though. If there are no fish native to the area I'll just stick with the single Betta, it just would've been cool to have some other native to the area fish.

The tanks a 20g, it's filtered and heated, and I can always switch around a bit and use a 55 instead of the 20.

Should also add the tank is part of a Science Project for which I'll get extra credit, we could've done anything but I've been looking at doing a biotope for a while, so please just fish native to the area, if their are any...

Thanks for the link Synnir

 

[OohFeeshy]

The thing is, just because the fish potentially live near where wild splendens are found, doesn't mean they make good tankmates. There often aren't that many other species around as the water isn't terribly oxygenated (hence why bettas use atmospheric air).

 

[SouthernCross]

Well you would be looking at a South Asian biotope, so other Asian species.

You can't keep other anabantoids (e.g. gouramis) with bettas.

I know some people have kept harlequin rasboras with bettas, they aren't nippers.

I would suggest doing searches for 'Asian biotope'.

Sounds like an interesting project!