# Sticky  Wild betta profile:Albimarginata



## majerah1

Everyone,give a warm welcome to the next fish on the wild profile list:

Betta Albimarginata
Common names:White seam fighter.

complex:
Albimarginata

Location:
Borneo

Status:
They were added to the IUCN red list in 2018  

Apparance:
Albimarginata are a small mouthbrooding betta,reaching just over one and three quarters of an inch from nose to tip of tail.The males are the more brightly colored of the sexes as is common in most of the betta species.The males are a brownish rust color with striking red and black coloration on the dorsal,caudal,anal and ventral fins,with the caudal and anal edges and tips of the ventrals haveing white edging,giving this betta his common name.Females are a more tannish color.








Male









Female

Housing:
Betta Albimarginata is an avid and extremely accurate jumper as are most bettas.A tight fitting lid is highly suggested to keep these treasures in the tank,and off the floor.

A single pair can be comfortably housed in a ten gallon,groups I suggest a 20 long.They are a shy little fish so live plants are a plus and will help them come out of hiding more.The lower height of a 20 long helps to light the plants in this tank and the length gives them lots of swimming room.Driftwood and caves are helpful.

They are a blackwater fish and though not a necessity,tannins added will also make the albis feel much more comfortable.Good filtration and a routine water change schedule will help these fish thrive.









Here is a shot of my old 20 long.

Feeding:
Wild caught and some captive bred Albis will accept live and frozen,but pellets can be difficult to get them to accept.In my experience,some will and some will not.

Breedig:
Albimargiata is a pateral mouthbrooder.The male will show off for the female,eticnig her to spawn.The female will show her readiness by turning almost black with light colored bars throughout her body,a very striking change from the drab ta color she normally sports.The pair spawn at the bottom usually hidden away from sight.They will embrace like many betta species.The female picks the eggs up and passes them to the male,in the same fashion that macrostoma does.









You can see the female barred up and the male staring me down.Its very hard to get good shots of them while they are spawning.









They have been discovered!

The male will hold for about 10 to fifteen days,with 12 being the most common.The male will release the fry at the top of the water.It may be a good idea to pull the female so she doesnt decide to respawn with the male.They do not eat while holding and they can very easily starve to death.









Male releasing.Note the swollen cheeks.

The fry are tiny,around 1/4th of an inch.They will be almost solid black.








Fry just after release.They hang around the surface for awhile,before going into hiding.

















Albi fry

The fry need to be fed newly hatched BBS(the adults will also eat this)and move up onto larger foods,weaning them once they get large enough to eat crushed pellets.

Albimarginata is a very docile wild fish and are very clown like in personality.They will come to know their owners,and although shy at first,are very inquisitive once they become accustomed to you and their home.These are one of my personal favorites,and a very easy fish to house and breed.

If you want to delve into mouthbrooding bettas,I highly suggest this fish as a starting point!


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## jrman83

You need camera help!!!! They aren't much in the looks department.


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## majerah1

Hahaha,yes I do.But in my defense,they moved.Alot.And the fry were sooooo tiny.


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## kalyke

It is hard to see, but I love that picture of the two looking out from the cleft in the rocks. Their little faces look like turtles!


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## majerah1

Haha, they are hard to see. Very small fish, crappy camera. I do however have a few new shots of some. 


Here is a male showing off. I believe he was flaring or possibly brooding. I cannot remember. 


Two males, establishing dominancy.


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## junebug

LOL photographing wild bettas of any species seems nearly impossible. I can never seem to get decent shots of mine. I take 50 pictures and I get two where you can actually see the fish.


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## MustangTess

nice but I will stick to splendens and plakats for now


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## Betta4ever!

Nice profile. You've got some gorgeous fish there. Just a note, they were added in the IUCN Red list as Endangered at 2018, so you might want to update that part The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species


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## majerah1

Thanks for that! Will edit that in.


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## susankat

Hi Bev.


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## majerah1

susankat said:


> Hi Bev.


Hi Susan! ❤


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