TankBud

Breviobesa betta

Betta breviobesa

Also known as Betta breviobesus

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature
73–82°F
23–28°C
pH
6.0–7.0
Adult size
2.6 in
6.5 cm
Minimum tank
16 gal
60 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Medium
Rarity
Very rare
Family
Osphronemidae
Origin
Kapuas basin, West Kalimantan, Borneo

Overview

Fairly peaceful and content in a group with cover: males flare at each other but rarely do damage, so a pair or a small group suits a tank of 60 liters or more. It uses the middle of the water. Keep it at 23 to 28 C and pH 6 to 7 in soft water, though it is tolerant so long as the tank is clean and well filtered. Feed live and frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp, and daphnia, with dried food once accepted. The male broods for around 14 days, and calm small tank mates are fine, but shrimp are food.

In the wild

The breviobesa betta comes from the Kapuas basin of West Kalimantan, Borneo, with the holotype from a stream near Tajan east of Pontianak and most other specimens taken within 50 km of Putussibau in the upper basin. Tan and Kottelat found it mainly in small forest streams with slightly acidic water of pH 6 to 7, and part of the type series came from the murky mouth of a stream 2 to 3 m deep after heavy rain. Give it a planted tank with sand, driftwood, leaf litter, dim light, gentle filtration, and a tight lid.

Good to know

Betta breviobesa is a mouthbrooder in the Betta pugnax group of the family Osphronemidae, described by Tan and Kottelat in 1998 as Betta breviobesus; the current spelling follows Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes, which corrected the ending to agree with the feminine genus. The name joins the Latin brevis and obesus, short and fat, for its stocky, thick set body. It reaches 6.5 cm standard length, has a deep body, a smallish head, long pelvic fins, no bars across the tail, and dark edges to the anal and caudal fins. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable.

Did you know

Part of the type series was never netted by scientists at all. Villagers had caught the fish in a trap after heavy rains and were about to use them as bait when Maurice Kottelat obtained them, and those bait fish became paratypes when the species was described in 1998.

Common questions

What size tank does a Breviobesa betta need?

A Breviobesa betta needs at least 16 gal (60 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a Breviobesa betta need?

A Breviobesa betta is comfortable at 73–82°F (23–28°C) with a pH of 6.0–7.0.

How big does a Breviobesa betta get?

An adult Breviobesa betta reaches about 2.6 in (6.5 cm).

Related species