Naturally, like many others, I stepped into the hobby keeping domestics because they are easy beginner fish to keep. Did my thorough homework and knew exactly what kind of setup and stocking to go for. A betta and shrimp living in a 15g jungle was my dream, and that's exactky what I did. In the end I didn't have much luck with domestics even though every other fish (across several tanks, not all in one) and the shrimp colonies we have are thriving.
But unlike my domestic bettas and in spite of being somewhat of an impulse purchase, the a lot more sensitive wilds have been problem free too! They have outlived them all without as much as a "sneeze". Two of them have also paired up and have been breeding on and off since. No fry as of yet, but I'm also not doing anything to help their survival rate at all. But it just blows my mind. Surely it should be the other way around, right? I mean, I'm glad it isn't, and it pains me that we lost our bestest boys and girls at all, but….right?? Would have spared myself a lot of heartbreak if I took the extra steps to learn more and plunged into wilds straight away. But oh well.
Right now I've got these guys and our angry boy Dante who is very likely one of – if not *the* last domestic betta we will have (unless a hellboy or another pretty red plakat catches my eye again lol). Placed another order for more coccinas, but it will be a while before I get those.
Here's some pictures of the coccinas, and our forever angry puppy Dante as fish tax for this random rambling. Eventually I'd love to expand the "collection" and keep some other wilds too in the future, but for now I'm more than happy and just sooo in love with the fish I have! ❤️
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1rfogrk
Posted by CalmLaugh5253
5 Comments
side note, how do you take these pictures? i want better pictures of my betta but my phone doesn’t focus well with close ups on the glass
Curious if you keep them in the same tank since you said the two have paired up?
This seems to be the case for a lot of people. It’s why I’m going to get a wild betta this time instead of the pretty domestic boys I was buying as a teenager
It’s often stated here that domestic bettas are overbred to the point of having many health issues. It’s sort of akin to purebred dogs, yeah you get the aesthetic result but a lot of breeds are prone to specific issues like dysplasia or heart problems. Lots of tumors, swim bladder issues, and honestly the poor care and stress a lot of those fish go through means they’re more likely to keel over. People really weren’t thinking about health when mass breeding bettas for the pet trade
Wild bettas are generally caught, bred, then released and the fry are sold. So you’re getting generally healthier fish from wild populations that grow up in tanks, and then they’re treated much better than their pet store counterparts. You won’t see wild betta species kept in bulk on shelves in room temp cups of fish piss at least.
I also love my wilds – I’ve had a male and a female smaragdina (is that spelled right) for almost 2 years now, with absolutely no health problems at all. I love how sleek and slinky they look, and though they were incredibly shy the first few months, they’ve grown used to me now and beg for food at every opportunity. I have a pair of Betta Rubra on order from LFS, they may take a few months to arrive but I’m excited! I also have a new tank on order which I should be picking up soon – it’s arrived at Gibraltar’s border with Spain, but Spanish Customs Officers always make importation of anything unusual into a very lengthy process!
Very beautiful! I haven’t had a betta since the 90’s and I ended up with a spare 29 gallon and decided on a betta. He’s a Samurai plakat and he’s beautiful, but he’s already developing diamond eye and feeding him is becoming increasingly difficult, and I’m definitely concerned about future health issues. I’ll give him a great life for as long as he lives, but I’d love to go with wild next time, if I do a betta again.
https://preview.redd.it/qtgtop5k8xlg1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6480771cc90d898477e613848e1436ba2bd8e178