Spilotogena betta

Care at a glance

Overview

Calm in a pair or a group in a large tank with cover, one male per tank at this size. It uses the middle of the water in soft acidic water, pH 4 to 6.5, at 22 to 27 C. It takes dried foods but should get live or frozen Daphnia, brine shrimp and bloodworm regularly. Some small peaceful cyprinids and loaches from similar water can share the tank; dwarf shrimp will be eaten.

In the wild

The Spilotogena betta lives in freshwater swamps and the streams that drain them on Bintan and Singkep in Indonesia's Riau Archipelago, in shallow water about a metre deep or less, shaded by dense bank vegetation, clear or tea coloured at pH 4.9 to 5.5. It shares those swamps with Betta edithae and Betta miniopinna. Give it soft acidic water, pH 4 to 6.5, dim light, leaf litter and dense planting. A pair or small group needs about 75 liters with a tight lid.

Good to know

Betta spilotogena is a paternal mouthbrooder in the Betta waseri group of the family Osphronemidae, reaching 7 cm standard length. Ng and Kottelat described it in 1994, and the name means spotted cheeks, after the large black spots that cover the gill cover in both sexes. Its throat carries two black spots so broad they look like one. The IUCN lists it as Endangered.

Common questions

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