TankBud

Api api betta

Betta mulyadii

Also known as Betta sp. Api Api, Betta api api, Betta sp. Riau red, Mulyadii betta

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–84°F
24–29°C
pH
4.5–6.0
Adult size
1.1 in
2.8 cm
Minimum tank
8 gal
30 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Bubble nester · Medium
Rarity
Rare
Family
Osphronemidae
Origin
Duri, Riau, Sumatra

Overview

The api api betta is a tiny wild betta for a quiet blackwater tank. It needs an experienced keeper.

Did you know

The api api betta was a hobby regular for more than a decade under the name api-api, before it had a scientific name. The 2025 description finally tied the trade fish to a species.

Caring for the api api betta

Set up a small blackwater tank of at least 8 gal (30 L), with leaf litter, floating plants and still water. Keep a pair of api api bettas in a quiet species setup, or with very small, peaceful soft-water fish.

It needs very soft, acidic, peat-stained water at 75 to 84°F (24 to 29°C) and a pH of 4.5 to 6.0. It reacts badly to hard water or sudden changes. Feed live and frozen foods small enough for this tiny fish, such as baby brine shrimp and daphnia.

The male builds a bubble nest under floating leaves, and the eggs hatch in a day or two. Breeding it is moderately difficult.

Good to know

Betta mulyadii belongs to the Betta coccina group of the family Osphronemidae. Ding and colleagues described it in 2025 and named it for Mulyadi Tjoa Hong Tjai, who found it in 2012. He introduced it to the hobby as api-api, Indonesian for flame, after its red body and lance-shaped tail. The type series measured 18.5 to 28.4 mm standard length. Males are uniformly red with faint blue scale flecks and blue-edged fins, which separates them from the blackish B. iaspis, their sister species. The describers propose listing it as Critically Endangered, because the whole known population sits in a swamp of under 5 square kilometers.

In the wild

The api api betta is known only from one tiny swamp inside an oil palm plantation near Duri in Riau, Sumatra. The swamp sits beside working oil wells, where the original forest is gone and secondary scrub shades the water. It lived there with Betta cf. pugnax and Rasbora einthovenii.

Common questions

What size tank does an api api betta need?

An api api betta needs at least 8 gal (30 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does an api api betta need?

An api api betta is comfortable at 75–84°F (24–29°C) with a pH of 4.5–6.0.

What does an api api betta eat?

An api api betta eats small live and frozen foods, such as baby brine shrimp and daphnia.

How big does an api api betta get?

An adult api api betta reaches about 1.1 in (2.8 cm).

How does an api api betta breed?

Api api bettas are bubble nesters. The male builds a bubble nest under floating leaves, and the eggs hatch in a day or two. Breeding them is moderately difficult.

Related species