Betta persephone can be housed in pairs, species tanks, and community tanks.  Pairs can be housed in a 5 gallon tank, groups should be housed in a 20 gallon tank or larger.  Pairs should be given cover such as caves and plants.  In a pair or species situation it is possible that fry could be discovered in the tanks. 

Betta persephone comes from clear water environments and should have soft neutral water that is well filtered.  They should be kept at mid 70s F.  This species can also tolerate blackwater environments.

Females have an egg tube.  Females ovaries might be visible via spotlighting. Males may be more intensely colored and have pointed dorsal fins.  Females are rounder and show an egg spot.

Persephone is a submerged bubblenester so large leafed plants or black plastic film canisters are best for giving them a place to nest. 

Original Citation

Schaller, D. 1986. [91]

References

Baensch, H.A. and R. Riehl, 1991. [25]
Hilton-Taylor, C., 2000. [48]
Pinto, Tony, 2000.  [153]
Tan, H.H. and S.H. Tan, 1994. [105]

Type Locality

Asian hwy no. 2, 3 km north of Ayer Hitam, Malaysia.

Holotype

ZFMK 14226

Paratype

ZFMK 14227-38 (12), ZMB 31614 (4), ZMH or ZSM/CMK 5944 (4)

Where Found

Countries:

Malaysia

Miscellaneous Information

Max Size:

3.2 cm TL

pH range:

7.0

dH range:

10.0

General notes on water chemistry:

Soft water with pH around 5.  [153]

Etymology:

Named after the Greek goddess Persephone, from the overall blackish color of the fish.  [153]

Temperature range:

23 - 28°C

Differentiation from similar species:

The primary difference between B. persephone and B. miniopinna is the number of predorsal and lateral scales. Another difference may be the color of the pelvic fins, red in B. miniopinna and black in B. persephone, although persephone has also been known to exhibit red pelvic fins.  [153]

Reproduction:

A plastic floating tube from the local hardware store is used for the male's nest. Spawning can be very secretive with the only clue being a mass of bubbles outside the tube and the male inside. Up to 40 eggs have been observed in a single spawn and the eggs are best left with their parents to prevent fungusing. They hatch in 48-72 hours from spawning and the fry are free-swimming in a day or so. At this point, they can be fed infusoria and APR (artificial plankton rotifer) powder and in a week, may be fed baby brine shrimp and small Grindal worms. It is not unusual to find that the parents will spawn several times in the next few weeks, with young fish from different spawns living peacefully together in the same tank. Sometimes, these older fry can be seen caring for their younger siblings. Growth is not fast and it may take 9 months before the young fish can be sexed reliably. At this stage, the fish are separated as the males will fight with each other and if one male should pair with a suitable female, the pair will be very aggressive towards all other tankmates. B. persephone can be a very prolific species if given the proper conditions.  [153]

General notes:

Not a good candidate for a community tank, it is best to keep a pair by itself. A male in good condition is a deep blue-black with bright green eyes. Adult females are a little browner in color. If conditions are not to their liking, they will refuse to eat and waste away. A well-covered 5 gallon tank with soft, acidic water and a few oak leaves to help with maintaining acidity along with a good amount of Java moss is needed. Live foods are preferred although the occasional frozen bloodworm is taken. Grindal worms, chopped blackworms, Daphnia, mosquito larvae, and small bloodworms are all satisfactory live foods.  [153]

Status:

This species is on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered (B1+2c).

Sexual Dimorphism:

The way I sex B. persophone is as follows: (1) Males are darker in color; (2) Males have pointed dorsals; (3) females are rounder and show an egg spot. [16]