Eastern siam betta

Betta siamorientalis

Also known as Vietnamese smaragdina, Kabinburi betta

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–82°F (22–28°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 1.8 in (4.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Eastern Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam lowlands
Family: Osphronemidae

Overview

The eastern siam betta is a wild relative of the domestic Siamese fighter and is kept much the same way: a single fish in a planted tank of about 40 liters, or a male and female together only for breeding. It holds in the middle and upper water near floating cover. Two males will fight, so never house them together, and pick calm tankmates or keep it alone, since fin-nippers and boisterous fish stress it. Feed small live and frozen foods, insect larvae, brine shrimp, and daphnia, with the occasional micro pellet. Floating plants give a male an anchor for his bubble nest.

In the wild

Betta siamorientalis lives in still and slow lowland waters, paddies, ditches, and marsh pools, across eastern Thailand and neighboring Cambodia and Vietnam. The water is warm and near neutral rather than the acid blackwater many wild bettas need. Give it a planted, gently filtered tank with floating cover and dried leaves, a pH from 6.0 to 7.5, and a temperature from 22 to 28 degrees Celsius.

Good to know

Betta siamorientalis belongs to the family Osphronemidae and was described in 2012 as part of the emerald, or smaragdina, complex of wild fighters. It reaches about 4.5 centimeters. Unlike the mouthbrooding wild bettas, it is a bubble-nest builder: the male tends a raft of bubbles at the surface and guards the eggs and fry. Breeding is of medium difficulty. The name means eastern Siam, for its range east of the old heart of Thailand.

Did you know

It is the wild emerald fighter of the lower Mekong region, long known to local people but only separated from the closely similar Betta smaragdina and named by science in 2012.