Alien Betta Fish: Overall Care Guide & Breeding Tips

Last Updated: February 27, 2023 by Flora Gibbins

Do you know what makes the alien Betta special? Apart from the mesmerizing iridescent colors and the striking appearance, the alien Betta is, in fact, a mix of two species.

But the thing is…

You’ll never find an alien Betta fish wandering in the sea naturally. Instead, people breed it in captivity from two wild Betta fish. Not only that, but you’ll also be amazed at the fish’s dietary habits, tank conditions, lifespan, tank requirements, etc.

Luckily, we’ll take you on a fascinating journey today through the life of an alien Betta fish. So bear with us!

Alien Betta Species Overview

We’ll begin our journey with an overview of the alien Betta fish. Here are the points you should know about if you plan on keeping an alien Betta as a pet:

• Scientific Name: Betta splendens complex
• Diet: Carnivorous
• Fish Type: Freshwater fish
• Adult Size: Two to three inches
• Origin: Bred in captivity

Now that we’ve given you a broad idea about the alien Betta fish, it’s time to dive into more details.

Appearance

Identifying alien Bettas isn’t that easy, mainly because many confuse them with wild species. However, they have some distinctive features that you’ll notice once you see them.

If you look at them from a distance, you’ll notice they have fascinating iridescent patterns on their surfaces, and this is the feature you can use to identify them.

While the alien Betta fish come in many colors, the iridescent patterns are similar in all varieties.

If you want to differentiate between female alien Bettas and male ones, you should look at their colors and body shapes.

Varieties

There are a few varieties of alien Bettas, and they’re often named after their colors. For instance, there’s a green alien Betta fish that sports a vibrant and beautiful shade of green. Also, there’s a copper Betta fish with a dark body and a coppery luster on its surface.

But the color naming isn’t a rule. Take the Plakat alien Betta, for example. It’s a Betta fish with shorter fins and a larger body than both alien Bettas and Betta splendens.

You can’t find any of those fish in the wild because they’ve all been captive-bred and are pricey to buy.

Behavior

You’ll be surprised to know that alien Betta fish are sometimes more peaceful than domesticated Betta fish. But this fact doesn’t mean that their temperament is to kid with; they’re still more aggressive than most freshwater community fish.

If you want to build a community aquarium, you may put a few placid tank mates with your alien Betta and make sure they’re the same size or smaller. This way, your fish won’t feel threatened by the new addition, and they’ll remain the dominant fish in the tank.

Alien Bettas usually inhabit the entire aquarium instead of sticking to a specific level. Because of that, you should constantly monitor your aquarium to make sure everything is running smoothly.

If you notice a fish acting aggressively toward another fish or fighting with it over food, you should separate them. Those issues are more likely to happen if you keep your fish in a small tank.

To know whether your alien Betta is in a good mood, you should check its swimming pattern. If it swims calmly with soft movements, then it’s happy. But if it swims frantically with fast moves, it feels stressed or threatened by something.

Breeding

Breeding alien Bettas is a bit challenging. First, if you have a specific color in your mind that you want to get, you should look for a male and female with the exact shade.

For instance, if you want a blue alien Betta, you’ll have to look for blue parents. If one has a different color, you won’t get the desired look. Also, alien bettas aren’t highly fertile, so they might take time to breed.

If you want to get an alien Betta, your best chance is breeding a Betta splendens with a wild Betta fish. However, you should know that the success rate isn’t that high.

To breed a male and female alien Betta, you should put one male and many females in the breeding tank. Luckily, females aren’t as aggressive, so they can stay in one place without fighting each other.

You’re using many females because if a male alien Betta is ready to breed, but the female isn’t, he’ll chase her and fight her. Not only will this lead to failure of the breeding process, but your female might be prone to injuries.

On the other hand, when you have many females, the chances that one of them will want to breed at the same time as the male will increase.

You’ll know it when you see many tiny bubbles gathered together at the water’s surface.

After the male and female do their courtship dance and breed, the female fish will release the tiny eggs, and the male will take them to the bubble nest to care for them.

You should expect the eggs to hatch after two or three days.

However, beware that the male might eat the tiny fish that’ll come out of the eggs, also known as Betta fry, so you should remove it from the tank once the eggs are about to hatch.

How to Care for Alien Betta Fish

Caring for alien Betta fish isn’t that challenging; they require moderate water parameters, then they’re good to go. That said, there are essential details that you should know. Here’s a brief roundup of them.

Diet

You’ll notice that they have a similar diet to all the other Betta fish, even the wild Bettas. That said, wild Betta fish mainly feed on insect larvae. Generally, Betta fish should have a high-protein diet.

Alternatively, alien Bettas can also eat flake food and frozen foods. It’s recommended that you shift to frozen foods if you plan on breeding your fish, but why? Such meals provide your fish with essential nutrients and help them get ready for breeding.

It’ll be best to feed your alien Bettas once or twice a day. Of course, you can begin with the latter, but if you notice that they’re overeating, you can lessen the number of meals to one per day.

Tank Size

If you place them in a smaller tank, avoid putting too many plants and decorations inside.

Since those fish have large fins, they like to swim freely in the water. So, if they do that in a confined area, their fins might get stuck in a plant, leading to various health issues.

Water Conditions

Like all the other fish in this species, alien Bettas like to live in still water with no waves or movements. But since still water can lead to bacterial infections and diseases, you should ideally reduce the current to a minimum in your aquarium, but make sure it’s there.

More so, alien Bettas should live in waters with low dissolved oxygen.

An essential point you should look out for is the degree of cloudiness of the water in the tank. If you notice it getting cloudy, then the water is dirty, and you need to change it or clean the filter. You should also remove a small amount of the water every week and add new clean water.

As for the pH, it’ll be best for your alien Bettas if you keep it between five and seven.

Finally, it’s essential to mimic the alien Bettas’ natural habitat in the tank. A great way to do this is by putting driftwood in the aquarium. It’ll provide the tank with tannins, which can help the fish adapt as well as they would in the wild.

Tank Mates

While alien Bettas aren’t commonly known as peaceful fish, only the male Betta wreaks havoc in aquariums. So, if you have multiple females, you can place them with tank mates in the aquarium without an issue. However, not all fish are suitable for such aquariums.

For instance, you should avoid putting fish with tall tails in the tank; those can aggravate your Betta fish.

FAQs

How long do alien Betta fish live?

If in good health and living in optimum conditions, alien Betta fish can live up to five years. However, the standard range is from two to five years.

Do alien Betta fish need light in the tank?

Like all Betta wild species, alien Betta fish love to spend half their day in the light and the other half in the dark. So ideally, you should put your tank in a place where it gets natural light. But if you don’t have enough space for this, it’s okay to provide the tank with artificial light for half of the day.

What is a blue alien Betta hybrid?

Blue alien Betta hybrid fish is a rare variety of alien Bettas. It only appears on rare occasions when breeders have a homozygous metallic gene instead of a heterozygous iridescence gene. The result is often a fascinating fish with a royal blue-colored body and webbing on the caudal fins.

Is the alien Betta fish expensive?

Yes. Since people mainly breed alien Betta fish in captivity and rarely get the color they desire, it’s an expensive fish for sure.

Conclusion

Alien Bettas are fascinating fish, and they add to the aesthetic of many aquariums with their vibrant colors and glossy bodies.

Their temperament ranges from peaceful to semi-aggressive. Accordingly, you can keep your Bettas with other calm fish in the tank without an issue. However, don’t forget to give them their food regularly and optimize the water parameters.

And now that you know how easy alien Betta care is, you can build a thriving and colorful aquarium in your house!