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

## stormhawk

Thought I'd share some pics of my latest additions to my fishy family. Here's some pics of a pair of bettas which are supposedly wild-caught juvenile _Betta imbellis_. Got this recently a few days ago at Choong Sua Aquarium. Managed to pick out a proper pair.  :Very Happy:  Anyway, guess what, they spawned yesterday while I was out plant-shopping with Ronnie and Kenny. Found the male guarding a small bubblenest full of eggs early this morning.  :Very Happy:  

Daddy Betta


The female wasn't too co-operative for a proper shot. Pardon the quality because they're being housed in a flat-bed plastic tank made for reptiles and amphibians.  :Very Happy:  

Bubblenest and Eggs. The male is directly beneath the bubblenest, look for the tail. :wink:

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## zmzfam

Now ain't that lucky  :Very Happy:  

Nice male you got there.

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## stormhawk

Thanks Zul. Yes it was lucky. Must have been the excessive tubifex and the cold weather these few days. The male isn't that beautiful. In fact they were all pretty ragged. Most have fins that had chunks bitten off. The male in the picture has had part of its dorsal fin bitten off.  :Smile:

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## Slaigar

Jianyang
Where did the fin damage come from? I read that they are supposed to be the "peaceful betta". Otherwise, that common name can be quite misleading!

Even with the fin damage, it is still a beautiful fish. Do bettas heal fully from fin damage? I remember reading something about that their fins may not fully recover from damage, but my memory is fading from me.

Congrats on the new fry! That is quite a surprise.

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## stormhawk

Hi Mark,

They're not that peaceful in true life..  :Laughing:  :wink: Their other common name is crescent betta from the shape of the dorsal fin. Anyway, the fin damage came from incessant fin-nipping from the other young bettas. All were kept in the same tank so fin-nipping chunks were common place. 

Their fins can heal fully but on occasions, never to the previous state it was. I think their diet plays a role in this. Less stress = More happy fish.  :Very Happy:  

Fry? No not so soon. At least a day more before the eggs will hatch :wink: . Just removed the female from the tank. If not the male may harass her to death if she comes too near.

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## Nonn

Peaceful betta or ever Betta imbellis name is quite mis-leading. I think when the guy describe this species, what they have in German was fighting strain of Betta splendens. Compare to the monster that will fight 'till dead, wild caught B. imbellis is very PEACEFUL indeed. Hence the name, but compare to other fishes, they are not that peacful and will fight to a certain extend. 

Nice spawn you have there!

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## Slaigar

Hehe, the "Peaceful betta" common name makes more sense now. That is a shame that a pair cannot be kept in the same tank. However, would it be possible in a heavily planted tank? Hopefully the male does not constantly seek to harass conspecific species... like my loaches do  :Shocked: .

Wait until you see the fry, Jianyang. They are absolutely tiny!

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## stormhawk

Yippee! Saw the wriggling newborn fry. Haven't consumed their yolk sac yet but I can see them alright. I thought the eggs were missing. Sure was a relief when I saw the wrigglers.  :Laughing:  

They should be in the hanging phase tomorrow afternoon. The father's still taking care of the nest. Just one point of observation, they do seem to make a smaller bubblenest in comparison to their close relative, the splendens.

Nonn, thanks :wink:. This is the first time I've spawned _Betta imbellis_. Never owned these before. Kept coccina, persephone and the simplex pair from you but all died soon after in captivity. I hope to try them again some day but I'm happy the imbellis have spawned. Quite happy since the first time is always the best time  :Smile: 

Mark, oh yes they're tiny alright. I didn't notice them at first until my torchlight hit them and they started wriggling.  :Very Happy:

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## stormhawk

Oh yes, they're quite peaceful compared to their cousins the splendens. There were actually at least 20 of them in the tank at the shop. All were pretty small sized and all had at least some torn fins. But they didn't fight much and were content to share their meal of tubifex worms at the shop. My pair isn't very aggressive, with the male on some occasions, chasing the female before they spawned. In fact the female's fins weren't damaged by the male.  :Smile:

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## stormhawk

Alright update on the imbellis spawn. The fry have started to develop their eyes and are starting to move more. Here's a picture of the Daddy and the fries in the bubblenest above him.

He's a Daddy now!  :Very Happy:  


Fry Hanging Out :wink:

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## zmzfam

Wow, so many of them!!

When will you move the father away from the fries or vice-versa? Are they any harder to keep than killies frys?

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## stormhawk

Zul, I was surprised myself. Didn't expect such a large brood. I'll be removing the father once the fries are free-swimming. He's proven to be a good daddy. Always picking up the fry that drop and blowing them back into the bubblenest. He's even made the bubblenest bigger than the last time I saw it.

Fry-wise, they're pretty small compared to killies. Some of my friends keep splendens fry in containers with green algae and loads of daphnia. The fry seem to thrive in such conditions. Should be the same for imbellis fry too. Just had a hatch of 19 _Simpsonichthys costai_ fry and they're about the same size as the imbellis fry. Pretty small too. Just as small as the _Aphyosemion striatum_ fry I collected the other day.

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## Nonn

For killi person, seeing Betta male taking care of their brood is heart melting. The killi parents never take care of their young, die before they see the faces of their child even!  :Very Happy:  

Next you have to see how Loh Han take care of their brood!

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## stormhawk

Nonn, yes its heart melting alright. Real nice to see a good dad tend to his nest full of fries. I've seen this many times when I previously had splendens. Always a nice sight, especially if the dad doesn't eat the eggs or fry..  :Very Happy:  

Maybe I should try a mouthbrooder next. At least that's something to look forward to. :wink:

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