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
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Very rare
Family
Osphronemidae
Origin
Crocker Range, western Sabah, Borneo

Overview

Nobody has published aquarium experience with this fish, and it has never been exported, so the advice here is drawn from its habitat and its relatives. Expect a calm but predatory mouthbrooder that can be kept as a pair or a small group with cover, at 22 to 26 C in clean, neutral water of pH 6 to 7.5 with real flow and oxygen. Feed live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, daphnia and brine shrimp. Small peaceful hillstream fish are the only sensible tank mates.

In the wild

The Nuluhon betta lives in shallow, clear, fast hill streams in the Crocker Range Forest Reserve of western Sabah, where 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 with a pH of 6.57 and well oxygenated water over pebbles, sand and silt, alongside eels, mahseer and hillstream loaches. That is the opposite of the peat swamps most bettas come from, so give it a tank of 60 liters or more with a current, plenty of oxygen, cooler water and a tight lid.

Good to know

Betta nuluhon is a paternal mouthbrooder of the Betta akarensis group in the family Osphronemidae, described by Kamal, Tan and Ng in 2020 and closest to B. chini and B. balunga. The holotype measured 62.6 mm standard length. It has a yellow iris, scales rimmed with bright blue and 12 to 16 dark bars across the tail, and mature males show a greenish blue sheen on the gill cover. The name is the Kadazandusun word for hill, and the villagers who have always known the fish call it dindilik.

Did you know

The describers withheld the exact coordinates of the stream from the paper on purpose, to discourage illegal collecting of a fish that the hillside villages have known for generations. Interviews with village elders ruled out any chance that it had been introduced to the streams by people.

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.

How big does a Nuluhon betta get?

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

Related species