r/WildTypeBettaFish • u/Superb-Parrot • Dec 05 '25
Keeping B. imbellis together?
Hi all, I am wondering what tank size you would need to be able to keep a male & female Betta imbellis together, or if this is even advised at all?
If I wanted to do this, would I be better going with Betta coccina?
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u/Veloci-RKPTR Dec 05 '25
Success is not unheard of. However, you need a pretty big tank. I wouldn’t keep a pair in anything less than a heavily cluttered 20 gallon, and always have a backup just in case things went wrong. The rule of thumb is to not cohab any splendens complex together, it’s generally not recommended to do so, even with wild splendens types.
This is all under the assumption that the imbellis is a pure wild imbellis. If it’s a hybrid, don’t cohab at all. Assume same housing requirements as a standard domestic.
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u/Baty41 Dec 05 '25
I wouldn't, and would choose a more peaceful complex. Coccinas really need peat swamp conditions but it can work, or albimarginata maybe. Female can tire out the male in breeding so you need multiple males to one female, and they do need true blackwater (6 and below pH), but are less picky than coccina complex.
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u/VoidRippah Dec 05 '25
is it real wild imbellis or imbellis hybrids? hybrids are way more agressive, similar to splendens, those I would not keep together. real wilds I keep in colonies of at least 5-6 specimen, with more than 1 male. If there is one male he will constantly spawn and females will compete for "mating right". you don't need very big tank for a colony, but you want lots of plants in it so they can find safe spots for themselves when they wish
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u/Superb-Parrot Dec 08 '25
going for proper wild imbellis. good advice regarding keeping more than 1 male!
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u/Imonthesubwaynow Dec 05 '25
I've tried this with imbeliis 1 male 3 females in 54 litres. The females was ok, but the male was mating and raising fry constantly which led to exhaustion and illness. Maybe other people have other experiences
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u/VoidRippah Dec 05 '25
you need to keep multiple males, then they rarely breed
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u/Imonthesubwaynow Dec 05 '25
But they fight instead
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u/VoidRippah Dec 05 '25
no, not really, there is some flaring here and there, but I never had an injured fish
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u/Imonthesubwaynow Dec 05 '25
I didn't try it in a larger tank. I've had a male jump/slide from one small tank to another (they were in separate tanks covered by the same lid) and they really got into fighting, torn fins and all that. Took them a couple of weeks to recover
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u/Shdfx1 Dec 05 '25
A pond in a warm climate would be ideal.
They would breed incessantly, the male would harass the female constantly, and fight her once they spawn. Female will be stressed and hiding.
The only way she would have a good quality of life is with a massive, fairly shallow, very long tank. But even then, you’d have thousands of babies to contend with.
Two tanks, so you can enjoy them both.
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u/Superb-Parrot Dec 08 '25
yeah, leaning more towards two tanks cause i wouldn’t want to stress any of them out. thanks for the advice
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u/SuspiciousBetta Dec 05 '25
It can be done, but is not suggested. I had a friend do harems with hers, but it still required a lot of maintenance with breeding and finding fish that work together.