What is the Difference Between “Wild” and non-“Wild” Bettas?

My galaxy koi Betta named Patches, which has been dealing with cancer for a few months now, is sadly finally losing his battle it seems. I’ve treated him with all kinds of medications to try and eliminate the growth in hopes it was not cancer but caused by a treatable disease. But unfortunately nothing worked.
sadly I’ll have to soon chose a spot in the garden for poor Patches, he lived a happy life though, playing and swimming strong till the end.

But I suppose with the death of one betta, brings the opportunity to adopt another and try again with hopefully better success. Looking through the various species. I came across Ocean Gem USA selling what they call “wild” bettas. Beautiful fish, but with the continues term of “wild” being used. I wondered if there was a difference between the wild variety and the store brand variety of betta in regards to care. I love to adopt one if they can survive living in a 10-USgallon tank with artificial plants and sharing space with Corydoras.

To simplify: What is the difference between “wild” and non-“wild” bettas and their care?


Here is a image of a younger, healthier Patches if anyone is curious about his appearance. I chose Patches because his right eye is solid black, making it look like he had an eye patch.

 

Wild bettas are wild type versions of bettas. Care is the same, but Captive bred wild types are better because they will accept dry food more than wild caught ones. There is no difference to care accept that wild caught ones need a blackwater tank.

 

All domestic Betta are of the species Betta splendens. Getting wild Betta splendens is almost impossible nowerdays except if you go to Thailand and catch them yourself.

"Wild Bettas" denotes the other species of the genus. B. imbellis, B. channaoides, B. macrostoma and so forth. There are dozens of species recognized by science. Care requirements can vary by species. Most require very soft and acidic water.

Betta - Wikipedia

 

Wild bettas are wild type versions of bettas. Care is the same, but Captive bred wild types are better because they will accept dry food more than wild caught ones. There is no difference to care accept that wild caught ones need a blackwater tank.

What is a blackwater tank?

 

What is a blackwater tank?

Blackwater: Basics and FAQ - Aquarium Article

Read my article.

 

Just a warning, but Coast Gem is a pretty bad seller. Just look at some reviews of them and rethink if you want to purchase from them

 

Just a warning, but Coast Gem is a pretty bad seller. Just look at some reviews of them and rethink if you want to purchase from them

Thank-you for the warning. I’ll look around and see what else people say about them.

 

So very sorry about Patches!!! He is quite beautiful!

I think that bw aquatics specialize in wild species of bettas. They have a web site. I think they are out of California. I have contacted them a couple of times, and they were good about getting back to me and answering my questions.

If you just want to look at some of the species that they breed, they do have a web site. It might help you get aquainted with some of the non-splendens types, and their required water parameters and they type of care that they need.