What Fish Might A Wild Betta Come Across?

[leddy]

Hullo!

I'm wondering what fish a wild betta might come across naturally?
I'm thinking about setting up a community tank that mocks the rice paddies/streams/pools a betta might live in in the wild, and was just pondering what other fish/invertebrates might be found in the same, or similar locations to the betta.
I've tried researching the subject, but pretty much drawn a blank.
I was wondering if the wonderfully knowledgeable people here might be able to inform me? Please?

 

[zoekin8yg]

good question id like to know that too

 

[_cRaCkEr_]

Smaragdina

 

[sylvia]

Well first it has to be appreciated that just because certain species live together in the wild, doesn't mean they'll be nice to each other in captivity (Take angels and neons for example.)

Bettas (by which I assume you specificaly mean betta splendens) are found wild in South East Asia. Obviously, these are not the fish with long, flowing fins we are familiar with so this has to be taken into acount. There are also non-native populations in other parts of the world - Colombia springs to mind. These places obviously won't have the same species.

Sticking with the betta's traditional distribution, many rasboras, barbs and danios live with/near them. For example Kerr's/blue danio (B. kerri), spotted rasbora, elegant rasbora, harlequin rasbora, pearl danio, spanner barb, tinfoil barb, clown barb etc. There are many others as well. Obviously, rasboras are probably the safest fish to keep with bettas. Many barbs are nippy or too active, and the latter is also true of danios which, also, compete with gouramies, like bettas, for space in the upper water layers.

Many loaches also live in the same places as bettas - for example the orange-finned loach, the banded loach, horse-faced laoch, dojo, kuhli and the dwarf chain loach (of which only realy the kuhli and dwarf chain loach would work well with bettas).

Even chinese algae eaters (which are not chinese! and don't eat algae...) live in the same areas as bettas (though probably in faster-flowing waters than would be expected of bettas).

What you'll never get is tetras, plecs, cory catfish or the common livebearers - many of these are often kept with bettas.

edit: Obviously, use your judgement when picking tankmates and research them.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Wild which betta? True wild betta splendens (not fancy morphs of hybrids thereof) are pretty rare in the wild. Other species of betta- well, the statement is probably not much. Most species would be unwilling to let any other fish into their territory.

 

[liz2]

I have often thought about bettas in the wilds...and if they are in small puddles are the girls in there already and then what happens to them afterwards...I will research it some day when I get a spare 10 minutes.

 

[DarkEntity]

I have often thought about bettas in the wilds...and if they are in small puddles are the girls in there already and then what happens to them afterwards...I will research it some day when I get a spare 10 minutes.

There are 60 species of Betta worldwide from Malasia, Thailand to Cambodia and other locations.

They dont live in puddles, they live in shallow wide rivers, paddy fields etc.

All these idiots with Betta in jam jar shaped tanks are mis informed. By all means have a Betta in a 5 Gall tank, but make it wider than taller its a much better tank for the fish.

Also they are tropical fish so, DO need a heater and DO need a filter to thrive.

just my 2 pence

 

[OohFeeshy]

...But on that note, unless your betta is non-splendens (and sometimes even if it isn't) it will most likely have come from something cup-esque in size.

 

[PaPeRo]

I know in the wild guppies share waters with bettas.

 

[dwarfgourami]

a quick flick through the Baensch vols 2-4 (can't find the first) gives the following habitats for various species of non-splendens bettas:

weedy shores
edge of jungle creek in river system
puddles and mountain streams
rivers: headwaters and small pools, also in drainage ditches
ditches and inundated grasslands
small shaded creeks
small shallow bodies of water- swampy grasslands
small flowing waterssaturatec forests
springs in humid meadows under shore vegetation

As for the rice paddies usually mentioned as habitats of the splendens, this seems to suggest to me a rather larger volume of water than that of a cup. Can you grow rice in a cup?

I know in the wild guppies share waters with bettas.

Really? How do they manage that? All the way from Central America? Are you talking about escaped populations of captive guppies?

 

[PaPeRo]

Really? How do they manage that? All the way from Central America? Are you talking about escaped populations of captive guppies?

I really don't know. All I know is that when my parents were kids they caught guppies in SE Asia from the shallow ponds.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

guppies or something very similar? it's not uncommon for non-fishy people to confuse similar-looking fish; just ask any LFS worker who's had grown adults ask for a "Nemo" and point at a clown loach.

 

[lljdma06]

guppies or something very similar? it's not uncommon for non-fishy people to confuse similar-looking fish; just ask any LFS worker who's had grown adults ask for a "Nemo" and point at a clown loach.

This is true. However, guppies have actually been introduced throughout the world as mosquito control. Not kidding. Just one of those brilliant plans people come up with to get rid of a pest. It's like egeria densa, guppies may pretty soon reach global status. And I'm not confusing guppies with mosquito fish, both have been introduced to various parts of the world to control mosquitos infested with Malaria. It's entirely possible that PaPeRo's parents actually caught guppies. The time frame seems about right for guppy introduction.

In response to the original thread. Your best bet as mentioned before would be a rasbora species. Something small and relatively drab. I have put bettas successfully with espei, hengel, harlequin rasboras, and even bridget rasboras (a micro rasbora). I have never tried kuhlie loaches, but those might work in a tank with a betta. Dwarf chain loaches would work too (Botia sidthimuki or something like that, but they've recently changed the name to something completely ridiculous). To create a more "natural" look, I'd suggest a plakat betta. Their shorter fins make them more manuverable (sp), and the look will be closer to that of a "wild betta" which is quite rare. I'd also make sure that your tank is at least 20g or larger to make this work. Would be a pretty tank, especially if planted with SE Asian plants (crypts, java fern, java moss, Asian ambulia, etc). Of course, now it becomes a biotope.

llj

 

[pica_nuttalli]

behold! http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1163739611

(1) adorable raspboras with (2) what looks like a female betta to me in the pic

these are pretty. wish i was in a buying stage of life

 

[wuvmybetta]

here are some of my favorite articles on the subject..
http/www.siamensis.org/survey/default.asp
...scroll down to the English versions.
my favorite
http/www.siamensis.org/survey/s026e.asp

"Please take care of the fighting fish. Please don't let people catch them all.
I must leave now. Sawaddee."

"Please take care of the fighting fish..."