Betta Miniopinna

29/1/2014

Yesterday my pair of Betta miniopinna arrived safely on my doorstep after making the journey all the way from Indonesia. The tank was ready for them to go straight into, and they spent the remainder of yesterday hunting mosquito larvae and chasing each other around.

B. miniopinna male settling in

This is the first time I have owned this species, and there really doesn't seem to be much information available online. All I know is that they are critically endangered and come from the Riau Archipelago in Indonesia. If you have anything further to add, please do post it in the comment section of this entry.

I'm hoping that I am able to get this pair spawning once they are more comfortable with their new environment. Due to their status in the wild and relative scarcity in the hobby, I want to make Betta miniopinna part of my 'species focus'. Unfortunately, newly arrived fish make for poor photo subjects, so there probably won't be too many photos of this pair just yet.

Movin

29/1/2014 11:14:10 am

Hey! Just wanted to say I'm a big fan love the coccina complex too!

B. miniopinna is restricted to one island in the Riau archipelago specifically Bintan Island. Unfortunately, the Indonesian governemnt is making it a development priority.

There's some disagreement whether or not it constitutes a separate species from B. persephone. But we're trying to eventually work that out.

Ashlea

29/1/2014 11:38:41 am

Hi Movin, sounds like the usual story with the development and subsequent habitat loss.

I have seen it mentioned that perhaps Betta miniopinna is one and the same as Betta persephone. Perhaps in the near future there will be some consensus on that although it does seem to take a while for species to be officially described. I am very interested to see what happens with Betta sp. wajok and Betta sp. apiapi as I believe at least the latter could potentially be an entirely new species.

I have seen some promising signs already from my pair so hopefully I can keep them healthy and get them spawning.

29/1/2014 12:06:07 pm

Hey Ashlea,

COuld you keep me informed of the breeding behaviour you observe in apiapi and wajok. The following year I'm thinking of using molecular methods to unravel the relationships between the coccina complex species. It'd be helpful to know if there are any unique behavioural adaptations possessed by any of the potentially new species that might differentiate them from those that are currently described.

29/1/2014 12:18:28 pm

I will keep you updated on the sp. wajok if I can get them to spawn, but so far my sp. apiapi have shown themselves to be submerged bubblenesters like the rest of the complex. Nearly 100% of the time the male uses the film canister I have in there for his spawning site.

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