Let's Talk About the Marine Betta.

[ThRoewer]

Interesting. Always thought it was just a color mutation. I'm glad they're widely captive bred because they're so rare in the wild. Gonna grab myself a pair.

When Allen did his revision of the anemonefish species he chalked it off as melanism and lumped them together with ocellaris.
He did the same with most species of the clarkii complex which could likely have up to 16 distinct species instead of just A. clarkii and A. tricinctus.
Genetic research into the anemonefish has shown that there are a number of cryptic species hiding in plain sight. It has also shown that the genus Premnas is nothing but a synonym and that all the maroon species (there are at least 2, possibly 4) are monophyletic with Amphiprion and actually form a subclade with the percula and ocellaris complex. See here for more: Anemonefish Evolution "” What Does The DNA Say?

 

[Zionas]

I’ll have a look at the study sometime. Other than that, thanks for sharing. It’s really interesting.

 

[rhdoug]

I bought a captive bred one from Biota in 2013 and he is one of my favorite fish. He was less than an inch long when he arrived and he somehow survived- despite my doubts. Possibly my favorite fish and is now around 4 -5 inches long. Peaceful, deliberate, slow, and graceful, I have never seen him show any real interest in other fish, even though he is considerably larger than most of them. He does have a love-hate relationship with the Scopas Tang (a resident since 2010). My reef is not large, but the fish appears to be totally comfortable, and I doubt would one have any problems in a tank the size you are planning. There is a large overhang area that he spends a lot of time in, so that may be something to consider for your tank. Even though he can hide, the betta is visible most of the time and always draws comments from visitors. The fish is not overly shy and will often come check me out. He eats frozen foods (mysis, brine shrimp, etc.) and vigorously grazes algae sheets with the tang. Great fish.

 

[Zionas]

Awesome. How many of you have gotten your Betta to eat pellets and flakes other than ThRoewer? Have you found them easy to wean into flakes and pellets once they take frozen?

Mine is definitely part of “Ohase One” of my stocking plan, right after the OSFF and my pair of Darwin Clowns.