Dominance display between two female Betta albimarginata.
The larger female with the white is the daughter of the smaller one. She’s much more robust than her mother. I guess it has to do with how she was raised with me compared to how her mother was initially raised elsewhere.
The mother is approximately 20 months old and the daughter is around 9-10 months old.
As someone who’s only ever kept B. splendens, i would have never caught on that the daughter was female if you hadn’t mentioned it; I would have assumed my go-to (males-have-shorter-dorsal-fins) ID would just be different in this species.
These are a variety of wild betta. B. splendens are aggressive because they were originally bred to fight, B. albimarginata are largely nonaggressive. This is the closest thing to aggression you’ll see- brief bouts of intimidation to establish dominance. You can see that the aggressor is satisfied at the end of the video, and likely turned away to go about her business afterward.
They’re best kept in groups, with more males than females, as they’re mouth-brooders. It’s best to have more males so that the males aren’t always brooding eggs if they decide to breed. A 20 gallon or larger tank should have enough room for at least 4.
They’re hard to get ahold of and can be slightly picky eaters, but will take frozen foods and aren’t hard to keep. They do best in water with tannins in it, and with floating plants to dim the light. Driftwood and plants are 100% needed to keep them happy. Plenty of cover is needed, but they’re bold if they have lots of places to hide. Leaf litter is excellent, and will help the survival of fry by growing plenty of microorganisms for fry to eat. Oak leaves serve as leaf litter and also release tannins into the water.
Males look like the white-edged female above, but with brighter red colors and thicker white stripes. Females can be slightly smaller than males, but by and large the colors are the only major indicator of sex.
Pencilfish, small rasboras, and marbled hatchetfish are good tankmates. Any small, unaggressive fish that appreciate dimly lit tanks will work, though fish that stay high in the tank are best to avoid the betta fry being eaten.
I love ‘em. They’re easy to care for, fairly easy to breed, can happily be kept in groups (unlike B. splendens), and come in beautiful colors. Even the females have cute little head-freckles, despite not being colorful. They’re aso very inquisitive and intelligent.
BettSplendens Tumblr Evac 