How Common are Betta imbellius

[Butterfly Betta]

I was just wondering how common are these fish in your location

Also, what is the difference between Betta imbellius and Betta splendus

 

[Gunnie]

I was also looking for betta imbellis and had a hard time finding any. What I have read about them is that males can be kept together because they don't fight like the splendens do. They just flare at each other. Their finnage is a lot more like a female too - not nearly as fancy.

 

[White Whale]

Betta imbellis is actually becoming a scarcer species due to all the crossbreeding with splendens. You can say Betta imbellis is an old-world fish. Maybe shorter in fins, but not as short as the females. Oh sure, imbellis do not have fins that look like flags during a threat display, their fins look more like metal blades - and with the dorsal looking like a buzzsaw! They seldom fight, but when they do they are faster and more unpredictable than its cousins from the splendens group. However, I would still recommend against it if the imbellis have been raised separately. The red cresent on the caudal fin used to be the only way to tell if it were imbellis, but that identification part no longer holds water. Double red bars on the gill plates indicate it is Betta splendens (or a splendens crossbreed) - a dominant trait passed on no matter what the crossing. Imbellis will have iridescent green gills. And imbellis will never have any black/dark color on any part of its gill plate.

I'm hoping a few experienced breeders might want to take on the task of keeping a pure imbellis species. It would be a shame for them to 'die out' due to all the crossbreeding.

I hope this helps and at least gets a few to appreciate betta imbellis as it was originally created through evolution.