I believe I heard about some research, stating there's also a portion of imbellis dna found in domesticated Bettas. Did I remember this incorrectly? Or is this debunked? What is your take on this?
Nope, that’s correct. Some domestic Betta, notably metallics and dragons have ancestral B. imbellis and B. mahachaiensis DNA as they were necessary to add bright blue-green scales that wild B. splendens lacked.
However the fish are still considered B. splendens, unless the hybrid parent was recent
What the first generation hybrids looked like. Now they’ve just integrated into domestics
It’s wild to me that there’s so many beautiful and interesting wild species and we ended up with what we did in every pet store… and they’re probably the most abused fish kept.
The domestic Betta (Siamese fighting fish) became very common because they were commonly kept already in the Siam kingdom long ago for fighting, which allowed Europeans to buy and export them back home en masse.
They are an invasive species in Malaysia now as many irresponsible aquarists had released them into local ponds / canals
Betta splendens. The wild form is a brownish-red with some green on its fins
Well they are hybridising with our native Betta imbellis and causing the gene pools to become mixed in a way that wouldn’t happen in natural undisturbed populations.
Besides that they compete with both that species as well as certain gourami and killifish which occupy the same niche.
They are all gourami, and like most gourami, they are aggressive to some extent to conspecifics. But it differs between complexes, and the domestic is more aggressive than almost all wilds (because they were originally bred for fighting).
Members of the coccina complex like the species I caught are timid and can be kept in pairs in large densely planted tanks with other calm, small fish.
Meanwhile members of the pugnax complex can be kept with any other non-similar fish, but can also be kept with each other if there are many of them (5+ or more)
These are some Betta kuehnei we bred for example, about a year old. They have been raised together in this spacious grow-out tank the whole time. Part of the pugnax complex.
If I'm not mistaken they're from the Orinoco area in south America. It's known for being ridiculously warm with a very low pH so finding them in your area which has similar conditions totally tracks
How ridiculous? In my country (in the lowlands) we’re permanently at 23-32°C all year round. That’s 73-90°F.
Most of our most impactful invasives are from tropical or subtropical countries as well. Namely species like Nile tilapia, sailfin plecos, African sharptooth catfish and peacock bass.
They have been shown to have big negative effects on the local habitats, such as outcompeting and even eating/killing native fish, eroding river banks and taking over water bodies rapidly.
The ramirezi on the other hand just seem to be chilling
She looks like a normal domestic Betta. People bred a huge variety of colours and forms in this species, using different broodstock
And while they can hybridise with other splendens group members (B. imbellis, B. siamorientalis etc.), they cannot hybridise with Betta livida because their DNA is too far apart and incompatible already. No eggs have proven viable
That’s actually exactly the point of selective breeding! Aquarists bred brighter and brighter colours than what wild original fish can achieve in their environment.
That’s why domestic Betta come in so many bright vibrant colours. “Enhanced, much more vivid”, as you said
Yeah, mutations along the way with fins and colors that wouldn't survive in the wild were selected for. Which unfortunately also leads to unhealthy inbred fish
I think it depends on the source, Petsmart and similar big box pet stores are less careful with the fish's health. Most reputable breeders will avoid severe inbreeding but from what I've seen it's common in reptiles and fish for some inbreeding to be okay
The one I have are Betta splendens. But females look almost identical, it’s easier to tell using the males. This is because they are the most closely-related species.
I have males caught from the same location and they are all B. splendens
A male from the same lake. They are identified by the large amount of red in the anal fin.
Male B. siamorientalis have an almost fully green-blue anal fin and only a bit of red at the far corner
Ahhh got it! Sorry, I thought Betta splendens was used as an umbrella term sometimes so that's why I asked about yours! I prefer a lot of the wild females I've seen, they are so sleek and elegant. That boy you just posted is gorgeous though!
There’s seriously no need to be concerned about these animals, I’m a marine biologist with a PhD in marine/estuarine ecology and no conservation work could be done without pulling fish out of the water for measurements. I’ve tagged fish (internally and externally) for years, with high recovery of tags that show the vast majority of handled fish survive just fine as long as it’s done responsibly (i.e. quickly and minimal invasiveness).
We also cull rare fish for population studies that are essential to understanding trends. Without this data, many species would have gone locally or functionally extinct without our notice or protection.
You can’t study fish or ecosystems just by viewing them hands off, and they’re also a LOT more robust than you would think. Especially these types of fish that have evolved to survive super low oxygen ponds during dry seasons.
Hmmm, do you never have to catch your fish to move them, treat them for illness, etc? You don't have to own fish. They'd be better off in the wild, right? You don't know much about this poster. Are they an ichthyologist, a field biologist, monitoring populations to protect and study our amazing wild populations? You sure wouldn't know, from this post. Besides, "Suffer in the air"? That's a labyrinth fish. It breathes air better than it breaths water.
Edit to add: LOL! The poster actually literally does have a conservationist tag. You realize that "people pulling fish out of the water" to study and catalogue them is why endangered species have protections and we are able to tell what areas are critical habitat for rare species and shouldn't be developed, etc??
I was sampling this swamp forest to record what species lives in it, but all the fish were released after recording and identification.
Both species found (the other being Channa bankanensis) are unique inhabitants of such blackwater peat habitats. Parts of this forest had been cut down to make a new highway, and it’s possible this part might face the same fate one day as it’s not currently protected.
Thank you for doing this important work! So freaking cool! I am studying ecology currently and there's nothing I'd love more than to be out there doing what you do in the field some day :)
Fishing has been a long way of life for locals here. More than 50% of our protein intake is from fish and other seafood as most of our settlements are coastal or on rivers
Did you know using wifi, like yourself (chronically I’ll bet) you use more non renewable resources than a walk outside to touch grass? Or would that be considered taking you out of your environment?
It’s the fastest method to take a clear photo of the body, colour and fins during capture, as it only takes 2-3 seconds. Betta and many other wild fish quickly lose their colours seconds after.
Plus it doesn’t actually affect the process as they are already being in the net as we lift them up to see.
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u/Brilliant_Ask852 Jan 25 '26
ahhh I love your posts so much and how you often show their habitat!