TankBud

Midas betta

Betta midas

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–82°F
22–28°C
pH
3.5–6.5
Adult size
2.6 in
6.6 cm
Minimum tank
20 gal
75 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Own kind
One male per tank
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Very rare
Family
Osphronemidae
Origin
Lower Kapuas basin near Anjungan, West Kalimantan, Borneo

Overview

Calm in a pair or a group in a large tank with cover, one male per tank at this size. It keeps to the middle of the water in very soft acidic water, pH 3.5 to 6.5, at 22 to 28 C, and it does not do well in hard or neutral water. It takes dried food but should get live or frozen Daphnia, brine shrimp and bloodworm regularly. Breeding reports are scarce, so expect the usual mouthbrooder pattern with the male holding the eggs for about two weeks. Small peaceful fish from similar water can share the tank; dwarf shrimp will be eaten.

In the wild

The Midas betta lives in blackwater streams running through peat swamp forest in the lower Kapuas basin near Anjungan in West Kalimantan, with more records from the Sambas drainage and heath forest streams near Lundu in far western Sarawak, in water around pH 4.1 and from 20 cm to more than 2 metres deep. Set it up as a blackwater tank: very soft water, pH 3.5 to 6.5, dark with leaf litter and botanicals, dim light and dense cover. A pair or small group needs about 75 liters and a tight lid.

Good to know

Betta midas is a paternal mouthbrooder in the family Osphronemidae and the second member of the Betta anabatoides group, slimmer than Betta anabatoides and with more gold scales. It reaches 6.6 cm standard length, with a black stripe from the lower lip through the eye to the edge of the gill cover. Heok Hui Tan described it in 2009 and named it for King Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold, after the iridescent gold scales on the gill cover and body. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable.

Did you know

It was described in the same 2009 paper that finally pinned down the identity of Betta anabatoides, a species named in 1851 without a picture. In its home streams it lives with a crowd of small cyprinids, loaches and other labyrinth fish, which suggests that small peaceful fish from the same kind of water make sensible tank mates.

Common questions

What size tank does a Midas betta need?

A Midas betta needs at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a Midas betta need?

A Midas betta is comfortable at 72–82°F (22–28°C) with a pH of 3.5–6.5.

How big does a Midas betta get?

An adult Midas betta reaches about 2.6 in (6.6 cm).

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