TankBud

Nuluhon betta

Betta nuluhon

Also known as Dindilik

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–79°F
22–26°C
pH
6.0–7.5
Adult size
2.5 in
6.3 cm
Minimum tank
16 gal
60 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Mouthbrooder
Rarity
Very rare
Family
Osphronemidae
Origin
Crocker Range, western Sabah, Borneo

Overview

The Nuluhon betta is a hill stream betta that has never been exported, and nobody has published aquarium experience with it. Only experienced keepers should try it.

Did you know

The describers withheld the exact coordinates of the Nuluhon betta's stream on purpose, to discourage illegal collecting. The hillside villages have known the fish for generations, and interviews with village elders ruled out any chance that people had introduced it.

Caring for the Nuluhon betta

Expect the Nuluhon betta to be calm but predatory, going by its habitat and its relatives. It can be kept as a pair or a small group with cover. Give it at least 16 gal (60 L), with a current, plenty of oxygen and a tight lid.

Keep the water cool, clean and neutral, at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) and a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Feed live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, daphnia and brine shrimp. Small peaceful hillstream fish are the only sensible tank mates.

Mature males show a greenish blue sheen on the gill cover. The Nuluhon betta is a paternal mouthbrooder, and there is no record of it breeding in an aquarium.

Good to know

Betta nuluhon belongs to the Betta akarensis group in the family Osphronemidae, and its closest relatives are B. chini and B. balunga. Kamal, Tan and Ng described it in 2020. It has a yellow iris, scales rimmed with bright blue and 12 to 16 dark bars across the tail. The name is the Kadazandusun word for hill, and local villagers call it dindilik.

In the wild

The Nuluhon betta lives in shallow, clear, fast hill streams in the Crocker Range Forest Reserve of western Sabah. The describers found it in the slack water of a knee-deep stream, with overhanging bank plants under closed forest canopy. The stream ran at 24°C and a pH of 6.57, with well-oxygenated water over pebbles, sand and silt. Eels, mahseer and hillstream loaches lived alongside it. That is the opposite of the peat swamps most bettas come from.

Common questions

What size tank does a Nuluhon betta need?

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

What temperature and pH does a Nuluhon betta need?

A Nuluhon betta is comfortable at 72–79°F (22–26°C) with a pH of 6.0–7.5.

What does a Nuluhon betta eat?

A Nuluhon betta is likely predatory. Feed it live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, daphnia and brine shrimp.

How big does a Nuluhon betta get?

An adult Nuluhon betta reaches about 2.5 in (6.3 cm).

How can you tell a male Nuluhon betta from a female?

Mature males have a greenish blue sheen on the gill cover.

How does a Nuluhon betta breed?

The Nuluhon betta is a paternal mouthbrooder, with the male brooding the eggs. There is no record of it breeding in an aquarium.

Related species