Ecological requirements of the fighting fishes betta imbellis and betta pugnax in the malayan peninsula
Vierke, J.
Bonner Zoologische Beitraege 37(2): 131-142
1986
Accession: 005210527
The bubblenest building Betta imbellis Ladiges 1975 and the mouth-breeding Betta pugnax (Cantor 1850) are common in large parts of the Malayan Peninsula. Both live in natural habitats as well as in cultivated land. - Betta imbellis lives in very different biotopes. The species is not pretentious regarding chemical water conditions, but needs high temperatures and plant cover. It mainly occurs in the lowlands of the western coast but also in some parts of the eastern lowlands. The species profits from human culture and therefore is in no way endangered. -Betta pugnax needs clear and clean water of lower temperature. Its natural habitats are junglebrooks of the lower hill-land. The fish needs weed or leaf litter in the brook for hiding. It also accepts brooks in rubber-plantations, but straightening of the brooks and mechanical and chemical weed-killing has caused the decline of the species in greater parts of Malaysia.