TankBud

Tomi betta

Betta tomi

Also known as Tomi mouthbrooder

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–81°F
22–27°C
pH
4.5–6.5
Adult size
2.8 in
7 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
Medium
Breeding
Medium
Rarity
Very rare
Family
Osphronemidae
Origin
Eastern Johor, Peninsular Malaysia

Overview

Calm for a betta and fine as a pair or a group in a large planted tank with caves and cover, one male per tank at this size. It holds the middle of the water in soft acidic water, pH 4.5 to 6.5, at 22 to 27 C. Feed live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, brine shrimp and Daphnia, with dried food as a supplement. Keep it alone or with calm fish it cannot swallow; dwarf shrimp will be eaten.

In the wild

The Tomi betta comes from eastern Johor at the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia, where the type series was netted in well shaded, shallow freshwater swamp forest streams over very soft mud, deep leaf litter and detritus, in clear, faintly tea coloured water at about pH 5.5. It once lived in Singapore too, but that swamp forest is gone. Set it up with soft acidic water, pH 4.5 to 6.5, dim light, a fine substrate, leaf litter and dense cover. A pair or small group needs about 75 liters with a tight lid.

Good to know

Betta tomi is a paternal mouthbrooder in the Betta waseri group of the family Osphronemidae, a short, stout fish that reaches about 7 cm standard length. Ng and Kottelat described it in 1994 and named it for Professor 'Tom' Lam Toong Jin, then head of zoology at the National University of Singapore. Males have the strongest colour in the group, with a broad dark green band along the anal fin edge and bluish scales on the gill cover. The IUCN lists it as Endangered.

Did you know

Singapore's only specimens were collected at Mandai Road in 1937, by Albert Herre and by M. W. F. Tweedie, and the swamp forest there has since been lost to development and reservoir expansion. Surveys of the island's last freshwater swamp forest have never turned up another fish of the group, so the species is treated as extinct in Singapore.

Common questions

What size tank does a Tomi betta need?

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

What temperature and pH does a Tomi betta need?

A Tomi betta is comfortable at 72–81°F (22–27°C) with a pH of 4.5–6.5.

How big does a Tomi betta get?

An adult Tomi betta reaches about 2.8 in (7 cm).

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