TankBud

Andrei betta

Betta andrei

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature
73–81°F
23–27°C
pH
4.0–6.0
Adult size
2 in
5.1 cm
Minimum tank
24 gal
90 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Very rare
Family
Osphronemidae
Origin
Singkep Island, Riau Islands, Indonesia

Overview

The Andrei betta is a little-known wild betta of soft, acidic blackwater, and it is not in the trade. Only an experienced keeper should take it on.

Did you know

Each species in the Andrei betta's group, the waseri group, carries its own black signature on the throat. The description lines all ten of them up in one chart. The Andrei betta's mark looks like a pitcher, while its relatives carry a horseshoe, the letter pi or the letter omega.

Caring for the Andrei betta

Treat the Andrei betta like the other waseri group bettas, since nothing has been published on it in aquariums. Set up a quiet blackwater tank of at least 24 gal (90 L) for a pair or a small group. Give them cover, leaf litter, wood and dim light. Keep the lid tight and the flow gentle.

Keep the water very soft and acidic, at 73 to 81°F (23 to 27°C) and a pH of 4.0 to 6.0. Feed live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, brine shrimp and small earthworms.

Expect a calm, shy fish that still eats small fish and shrimp, so choose its tank mates with caution. Its relatives in the waseri group are mouthbrooders, but no breeding of the Andrei betta has been recorded.

Good to know

Betta andrei belongs to the Betta waseri group of large peat swamp mouthbrooders, in the family Osphronemidae. Tan described it in 2023 from one specimen of 50.7 mm standard length, and named it for the collector Andre Chandra. Its relatives in the group reach 8 to 10 cm, so the true adult size of this species remains unknown. It is told from B. spilotogena by a black lower jaw that runs into a large mark on the throat. A museum specimen collected on Singkep in 1888 and long filed as B. spilotogena is very likely this species.

In the wild

The Andrei betta is known from a single stream on Singkep Island, in the Riau Islands of Indonesia. The stream carries slow, tannin-stained water over sand, silt and mud, through partly intact lowland swamp forest. It shared the stream with Rasbora, Trigonostigma, chocolate gouramis, licorice gouramis and Betta pugnax. Cryptocoryne and Blyxa grow along the stream.

Common questions

What size tank does an Andrei betta need?

An Andrei betta needs at least 24 gal (90 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does an Andrei betta need?

An Andrei betta is comfortable at 73–81°F (23–27°C) with a pH of 4.0–6.0.

What does an Andrei betta eat?

An Andrei betta can be fed like its waseri group relatives, on live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, brine shrimp and small earthworms.

How big does an Andrei betta get?

An adult Andrei betta reaches about 2 in (5.1 cm).

Related species