Photo: BS Thurner Hof, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Slender betta
Betta bellica
10 cm
Adult size
50 L
Minimum volume
2
Minimum group
3 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Betta
- Diet
- carnivore
- Social life
- pair
In the wild
Overview
Described in 1884 by the French zoologist Henri Émile Sauvage, the warlike fighter (bellica, “warlike” in Latin) is one of the largest Betta, up to 10 cm. Long lost from view, it was found again in 1996; a neotype was then designated in a swamp forest in northern Selangor.
It gives its name to the “bellica group”, fighters with long, slender bodies, dark brown with an iridescent green spot on each scale.
- Scientific name
- Betta bellica Sauvage, 1884
- Classification
- Anabantiformes › Osphronemidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
Peninsular Malaysia (Perak, Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu, Johor) and northeastern Sumatra
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It lives mainly in peat swamp forests and the blackwater streams flowing out of them, sometimes in freshwater swamp forest. Under the dense canopy very little light reaches the brown, acidic water (pH sometimes 3 to 4), which is almost free of minerals.
The bottom is covered with leaves, branches and roots. At some seasons, with no open water left, the fish survive for several weeks in the damp leaf litter. It lives alongside other fighters, such as B. livida, B. tussyae or B. waseri.
Behaviour
Discreet, it is intimidated by larger or lively fish: it does better alone or with very peaceful species. Opinions differ on keeping it in groups; most breeders recommend one pair per tank, as dominant fish can harass the others.
In the wild it feeds almost exclusively on insects, especially damselfly larvae, which it hunts at the surface; an excellent jumper, it even leaps to catch prey above the water. The male builds a bubble nest.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth