# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Anabantoids >  Wild Betta imbellis

## griffinkid

Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to chance upon a tank of wild betta selling at C328. The uncle was unable to tell me what species it was but I thought that their colors were awesome despite having so many of them cramping in a small tank near the CRS tanks. I suppose they are Wild Betta Splendens after doing some readings over the internet. So I tried my best to identify a pair, and I think I've got it! When I reached home just now, I saw a huge bubblenest suspended on the surface of the pet container. I was in awe! This is the first time I've seen a bubblenest! And both my betta were colored up. So i took this chance to take some photos to share with you guys, and hopefully the knowledgeable ones can help me identify exactly what kind of wild betta this is!  :Smile:  Hopefully they'll breed soon but it seems that the female is not looking very interested although the male is continuously flaring!  :Sad: 

Enjoy the pictures  :Smile:  

Betta Male 1.jpg
Wild Betta Splendens Male, flaring.

BEtta Female.jpg
Wild Betta Splendens Female in her striped suit!

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## Shi Xuan

Hi,

I doubt it's B.splendens, likely B.imbellis, given the greenish shine on the operculum (gill cover) and scales of the male. B.splendens has a more subdued greenish shine and not as obvious as B.smaragdina, B.sp Mahachai and B.imbellis. Nice fish though, I got B.imbellis from C328 many moons ago but turned out to be all males, as usual. 

The female looks ready from the vertical barring, if not condition with some live food.

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## TanCH

looks like B.imbellis to me too..

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## Trichopsis

Awesome! I was wondering if it was ever possible to find _Betta imbellis_ in the local aquarium trade.

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## stormhawk

It is indeed B. imbellis. I saw the tank at C328 too but did not buy any.

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## Emokidz

That's a very nice pair you have there. I hope they'll spawn for you when they're ready.  :Smile:

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## stormhawk

I think conditioning the female separately might be a good idea. She looks a little skinny, plus it gives time for the male to build a more impressive bubblenest. My pair from the old Choong Sua LFS spawned within a week in my care, fed on tubifex and FBW. They are super easy to keep, but the fry are kind of tiny. If you have green water it'll be easier to raise the fry.

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## griffinkid

hi guys! Okay, I wish i could still change the title to B.Imbellis instead. But i think this function is lost over a period after the post is made! I will continue to condition this pair as suggested by you guys and hopefully they will spawn soon... Currently, the male is still blowing bubblenest though.  :Smile:

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## stormhawk

Just place the female in a tank next to the male so he can constantly see her. I didn't do anything to my pair because they are not as aggressive as typical splendens are, but they spawned on surprise.

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## griffinkid

Hi! Thanks for helping me change the title.  :Smile:  i was thinking of setting up a Nisso betta tank for them and put some windelov and hideouts probably this week. I'll probably try to spawn them this summer when i'm more free. So far other than flaring and occassional chasing, the male hasn't shown any extreme aggresion to the female as her fins are all still looking fine. So i think i'll keep them together until i have the time to deal with their spawns as raising frys is a very tedious and time consuming task haha. Will keep some updates whenever i can  :Smile:

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## Shi Xuan

It's good if you can spawn them. I only bred B.smaragdina so far. Keep them going anyway, I'm very interested to try them again in the future. We can even exchange some wild Bettas in the future. :Wink: 

BTW, I have B.channoides and B.persephone "Muar" currently. Only the B.channoides bred. Not much going for the B.persephone on the other hand.

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## Trichopsis

Just a heads-up, I was at Hiap Khoon Aquarium along Pasir Ris Farmway 2 earlier on in the afternoon, when I saw a tank with many apparently wild-looking bettas, both males and females. Not sure if they're _B. imbellis_ (since multiple males were inside there), or a "wild-type" _B. splendens_. Bottom row, nearer to the end with all the aquarium equipment & accessories. Look out for the tank full of cabomba.

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## griffinkid

Hi Shi Xuan, yes! I will definitely try my best to spawn them soon, and I'll gladly trade some wild betta with you! Oh yes, those B. Channoides and B. Persephone are from Bernard right? haha I saw them before, they are very beautiful specimens! 

Hi Pseudogobiopsis, I think they should be the same batch as the one C328 was selling.. Maybe you can try getting a pair too! They look stunning together and makes an excellent workstation tank  :Smile:

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## exotic_idiot

Wow... Your male looks stunning....
Could you share how much you got it? How come I was there last week didn't saw any..
Still available? Would love to get hold of a few pairs...

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## griffinkid

Hi!, I got it from C328 a few weeks back!  :Smile:  It was priced at $2/fish but the uncle was unable to Identify it to be B. imbellis so he labeled them as wild betta... Took me quite a while to pick a pair as there were many males in the tank! Quite a rare shipment, haven't seen it since then... haha

Good News guys, the B. Imbellis spawned... WITHOUT ME KNOWING! HAHA i totally missed the fun part of it! Just when I was doing water change just now, i realized the surface near the bubblenest was covered with free swimming fries! Took some picture to share... 



Male Tending to his nest, picking up strayed frys and putting them back into the bubblenest- diligent father!  :Smile: 


Lots of Free swimming fry hovering at the surface of the water near the bubble nest

I have removed the female and dosed 1 drop of Liquid Fry No.1 ... Now, hoping for the best!  :Smile: 
Will keep the updates on this thread  :Smile:  Stay tune for more!  :Wink:

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## Trichopsis

That's awesome!  :Very Happy:

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## griffinkid

Hi Pseudogobiopsis, Thanks!!! I was still thinking it could be my summer project, but looks like its brought forward?  :Laughing:

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## Emokidz

Wow, looking good Griffin. I think Betta imbellis is indeed a beautiful and peaceful betta to have. Too bad they are getting increasingly hard to come by nowadays. Indeed a rare find!

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## stormhawk

Griffin, I told you they were easy.  :Laughing:  When I had these they spawned on random occasions like clockwork. The male is not very aggressive towards the female.

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## johannes

Yup indeed B. imbellis, the red tipped anal and crescent red on the tail is part of the key ID.
By the way, congratulations! The fries are looking good...  :Smile:

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## griffinkid

Thanks Johannes! Now i'm raising the frys... Seems like the hard part!  :Sad:

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## griffinkid

Just some updates...
The frys are still doing fine, ive been feeding first bites by hikari...
Now, something amazing happened... i went to pay their parents a visit and i realised they spawned again!  :Knockout:  Under the leaf blade of the Java Fern!!!!!! Oh gosh... they are really active! So i'm just going to leave the frys with the parents since online sources stated that the frys are safe with parents. i also want to take this chance to conduct the experiment to see if the parents raise the frys better! haha So i'm going to dose in some liquid fry later into the parents tank to kick start the infusoria growth. 



*Frys hanging under the small bubble nest below the leaf blade*

this is gonna be a busy time for me!  :Sad:

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## stormhawk

Griffin, get some microworm, Moina and green water. Very useful for these fry. You can skip BBS if you have Moina.

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## johannes

Yes Moina or "Ang Boon" will definitely boost their growth...

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## 900801

They spawn pretty regularly usually 1-2 weeks after I collect the fries from the tank. Raising isn't that difficult. It's exactly like raising show bettas. As mention by the two moderator you can feed boon till they are big enough to eat tubifex or brine shrimp if your scared of the disease the tubifex might carry.

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## Sgguppylover

I would recommend baby brine shrimp as the first fry food as they are somewhat smaller in size compared to daphnias.Feed baby brine shrimps till a bigger size then start feeding them daphnia and tubifex worms to boost size at a fast speed and to provide them with some roughage.Also , please note that you shouldn't spam too much daphnia till there are leftovers , as living daphnia deplete oxygen in the tanks at a first speed.

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## reonngcw

> Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to chance upon a tank of wild betta selling at C328. The uncle was unable to tell me what species it was but I thought that their colors were awesome despite having so many of them cramping in a small tank near the CRS tanks. I suppose they are Wild Betta Splendens after doing some readings over the internet. So I tried my best to identify a pair, and I think I've got it! When I reached home just now, I saw a huge bubblenest suspended on the surface of the pet container. I was in awe! This is the first time I've seen a bubblenest! And both my betta were colored up. So i took this chance to take some photos to share with you guys, and hopefully the knowledgeable ones can help me identify exactly what kind of wild betta this is!  Hopefully they'll breed soon but it seems that the female is not looking very interested although the male is continuously flaring! 
> 
> Enjoy the pictures  
> 
> Attachment 29206
> Wild Betta Splendens Male, flaring.
> 
> Attachment 29207
> Wild Betta Splendens Female in her striped suit!


Hi griffinkid,
Do you still breed these Betta Imbellis ? I'm newbie here, wish to get a pair of this fish for breeding at home. Thnx.

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## Rutilans

Bro occasionally C328 got sell.around 12 for a pair.but some of the bags there not matched properly

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