Marine Bettas: Show Me Yours!

[ThRoewer]

I have trained my guys now to accept krill presented to them with tweezers. Some are still a little shy but the large female of the harem group and the male of the pair in my reef tank really got the hang of it and snap the shrimps right out of the tweezers.
These fish are fairly smart and trainable and it doesn't require a whole lot of effort.

 

[Hugh Mann]

I have trained my guys now to accept krill presented to them with tweezers. Some are still a little shy but the large female of the harem group and the male of the pair in my reef tank really got the hang of it and snap the shrimps right out of the tweezers.
These fish are fairly smart and trainable and it doesn't require a whole lot of effort.

Really? How did you manage that? I've tried to do that, but it runs and hides from the tongs. It would make it so much easier to feed if I could get it to accept food from tongs.

Also, as a side question, how do you tell the difference between male and female Bettas, and pair them? I would love to have a pair, but seeing mine try to murder its reflection the other day makes me wary. Not that I have seen many in stores.

 

[blasterman]

Marine Bettas are groupers. That means, just like triggers they are smart and can be trained.

I had one about 10 years ago that I trained to eat out of my hand and its favorite food was freeze dried brine shrimp. With patience they will learn to not be shy and respond to their owners.

Many reefers make the mistake of keeping them with aggressive or larger fish and this is bad. Bettas do best with passive tank mates and will do fine with smaller tank mates. Mine never bothered a watchman goby.

 

[ThRoewer]

Really? How did you manage that? I've tried to do that, but it runs and hides from the tongs. It would make it so much easier to feed if I could get it to accept food from tongs.

Also, as a side question, how do you tell the difference between male and female Bettas, and pair them? I would love to have a pair, but seeing mine try to murder its reflection the other day makes me wary. Not that I have seen many in stores.

It takes a little bit of patience and them recognizing you as the food source. My bolder guys start lining up on the glass or in their cave entries when they see me.

Yours is likely a male so adding a smaller one which is still female should work. I have not yet seen males fighting with females aside from some chasing and a few split fins as result. Two males will likely fight to the death of one (or possibly both).

 

[Hugh Mann]

Mine definitely knows I am the source of food, prior to the recent move it was always front and center at feeding times. Once it settles back down, maybe I'll give that a shot. I love tong feeding my eel, which required zero training.

Likely a male? Good to know, thanks. Is it just a size/age thing, like clownfish, or are there other differences to look for?

Speaking of size, by the sounds of it you have kept Bettas for years. Just how big to they get? Live Aquaria lists their maximum size of 10", I haven't seen pictures of one that looks near that size.

 

[ThRoewer]

Marine Bettas are groupers.

No, they are absolutely not Groupers! Not even remotely related. This is unfortunately a widespread misconception.

Calloplesiops belong to the Plesiopidae (Longfins & Roundheads) together with Assessor, Plesiops, Trachinops (Hulafish), and a few others.
They are not even on the same phylogenetic branch as the Serranidae (Groupers and Soap Fish).

The fish that are actually related to Groupers are the Anthiinae (Anthias) and some of the Odontoanthias actually live up to that relation by swallowing everything that can pass through their huge mouths.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Many reefers make the mistake of keeping them with aggressive or larger fish and this is bad. Bettas do best with passive tank mates and will do fine with smaller tank mates. Mine never bothered a watchman goby.

I've kept mine with semi aggressive species, dwarf angels, a lion, eel, hawkfish and a tang. Seemed to get along quite well with them. Well, mostly well. A little chasing here and there, though the Betta was always the aggressor, and largest fish except for the eel.
So what are good tank mates then, for a Marine Betta? It's alone is the tank now, so it's a good time to refine my stock list.

 

[ThRoewer]

Mine definitely knows I am the source of food, prior to the recent move it was always front and center at feeding times. Once it settles back down, maybe I'll give that a shot. I love tong feeding my eel, which required zero training.

Likely a male? Good to know, thanks. Is it just a size/age thing, like clownfish, or are there other differences to look for?

Speaking of size, by the sounds of it you have kept Bettas for years. Just how big to they get? Live Aquaria lists their maximum size of 10", I haven't seen pictures of one that looks near that size.

Fully grown males of Calloplesiops altivelis may reach 20 cm TL (8 inches) under ideal conditions and that is about the largest I have ever come across. I would think my largest male topped out at about 7 inches and the females stayed smaller at around 6 inches.
I would think the 10 inches come from Calloplesiops argus which indeed might get to that length.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Alright. No matter what mine has some growing to do, but not as much as I had previously thought. Still likely going to be one of the largest fish in my tank. No complaints there. Now if only I can find a healthy female. Have only seen three in stores, including mine. The other two have had swim bladder issues.

 

[ThRoewer]

Keep in mind that 1/4 to 1/3 of that length is tailfin. So the actual body length is somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of the total length.

 

[Hugh Mann]

So when you say grown females are 20cm give or take, that's including the tail fins if I understand you correctly?

If so, picturing my Betta, never having actually taken a tape measure to it, is a lot closer to full grown that I had thought I think. Maybe 5cm left to go, give or take. Still Yeats away I expect.

 

[ThRoewer]

So when you say grown females are 20cm give or take, that's including the tail fins if I understand you correctly?

If so, picturing my Betta, never having actually taken a tape measure to it, is a lot closer to full grown that I had thought I think. Maybe 5cm left to go, give or take. Still Yeats away I expect.

Yes, total length (TL) is measured from the snout to the end of the tail.
Standard length (SL) is measured from the snout to the end of the tail root, excluding the tail fin.

All my C. altivelis females usually toped between 16 cm and 18 cm TL and the males were just a tiny bit longer.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Yeah, definitely much smaller than I was led to believe from LA. Comparing it just now to the pvc in the tank, it looks just a bit under that size. Thank you, very helpful.

Back to pairing, assuming I can find myself a smaller female, is there any sort of acclimation that really has to be done, tank partitions or anything? Or just plop the female into the same tank?

 

[Zionas]

Following. I’d like to know as well.

 

[ThRoewer]

Yeah, definitely much smaller than I was led to believe from LA. Comparing it just now to the pvc in the tank, it looks just a bit under that size. Thank you, very helpful.

Back to pairing, assuming I can find myself a smaller female, is there any sort of acclimation that really has to be done, tank partitions or anything? Or just plop the female into the same tank?

I just throw them together. When I added the larger female to my pair #1 - now harem group #1 - I just tossed her in and minutes later she was doing the mating dance with the male. And just 1 week later they spawned for the first time.

 

[ThRoewer]

Some feeding videos (excuse the reflections and general poor quality)

Marine Betta pair/harem #1
The large female got the hang of it and now takes the krill straight from the tweezers but the male is still a little picky and so far prefers flakes and Mysis. He is getting better with krill - just not this time...




And the male of pair #2
He definitely got the hang of it!

 

[Zionas]

Wow. I might try this sometime, but currently I have other ideas for my large fish in my 183 gallon. I’d love to have a pair someday, my second tank perhaps.

 

[mort]

My C. altivelis was 7.9" when I moved it 18 months ago to a bigger tank and it does look like it has grown a little since then. I have had it about 8 years now and it was a couple of inches when I got it so it's likely reached near it's maximum length.

@ThRoewer you mention two males will fight but do you have experience with only females? Is there aggression there at all?

 

[Zionas]

They’re pretty slow growers it seems. Having such a magnificent fish like the Marine Betta will provide enjoyment not measured in years or even a decade, but decades. That’s another thing which makes me love them so much.

I’m looking forward to mine, and hopefully it will be about 3-4 inches when I get it.

How do these fish fare in tanks with more active swimmers that snatch food quickly? I’m asking because I’ll be keeping mine eventually with a Yellow Tang, Kole Tang, One Spot FF, and Longfin Heniochus, all active swimmers. If you count smaller fish, then my planned Flame Angel and a Wrasse will also be active swimmers.

 

[mort]

They’re pretty slow growers it seems. Having such a magnificent fish like the Marine Betta will provide enjoyment not measured in years or even a decade, but decades. That’s another thing which makes me love them so much.

I’m looking forward to mine, and hopefully it will be about 3-4 inches when I get it.

How do these fish fare in tanks with more active swimmers that snatch food quickly? I’m asking because I’ll be keeping mine eventually with a Yellow Tang, Kole Tang, One Spot FF, and Longfin Heniochus, all active swimmers. If you count smaller fish, then my planned Flame Angel and a Wrasse will also be active swimmers.

Mine actually grew relatively fast to begin with and then slowed as it got a decent size. This is pretty common with fish.

I do have a magnificent foxface with it but it's so docile it doesn't make much difference. I personally think a betta will display more outgoing behaviour with a quieter tank but it does come down to the individual, with some not being that outgoing. If you have a busy tank then you just need to target feed it or add plenty of food. I trained mine to come out for food when the pumps go off and it will eat out of my fingers but it is also happy chasing food in the flow.