Jennifer O. Reynolds, M.A. & Nora Hickey, D.V.M.
Jen was proud to win first place in the 2024 International Freshwater Fish Photography Competition (IFFPC), which focused on wild bettas of the coccina group. Enjoy Jen’s competition-winning photo, and learn more about the natural habitats and plight of some tiny labyrinth fish such as wild betta fish and licorice gouramis, endemic to Bangka Island, Indonesia.
Throughout the year prior to the competition, Jen had spent many hours photographing her group of wild coccina-complex bettas from Riau, Betta sp. ‘api api’, capturing inspiring images as the males carefully tended their bubble nests. So, when she heard about the competition, focused on wild bettas from the coccina-complex1, she knew she had the perfect photo to enter:
The photography competition (IFFPC) brought together contestants from France, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Canada, and beyond, making it a truly international event for enthusiasts of these fascinating, tiny fish. Photos were judged not only for their visual impact and technical skill but also for their emphasis on conservation. Jen’s photograph of these endangered wild bettas breeding in her aquarium— across the world from where the contest was taking place, and where these fish are found—clearly made an impression.
The IFFPC is an initiative of Universitas Bangka-Belitung and takes place during their student-led aquaculture week—”Festkua”. The University hosts a hatchery where many species, including the critically endangered Betta burdigala, are bred for reintroduction throughout their native range on Bangka island (a small island found between Sumatra and Borneo). The Betta burdigala reintroduction program is funded by SHOAL, an organization focused on the conservation of freshwater species2.
The aim of the photography competition was to raise global awareness about the diversity of these amazing fish and the threats they face in the wild. Other important and endangered freshwater species well-known to aquarists make the blackwater swamps of Bangka Island home, including the beautiful Deissner’s Liquorice Gourami, Parosphromenus deissneri.
Most fish in these areas are at serious risk of extinction in our lifetimes because they are endemic to very small, vulnerable habitats. Their habitats are disappearing rapidly, as they are damaged by palm oil plantations, tin mining, pollution, and overexploitation3,4.
Many of these fish can be maintained and spawned in fairly small aquariums and are absolutely delightful to keep. There are excellent resources available to guide aquarists wishing to keep them, such as the recently released European Association of Zoos and Aquaria Best Practice Guidelines for liquorice gouramis. The care of wild bettas from the coccina-complex is quite similar, and we will be writing more about them in the future.
We encourage you to take the time to learn about the challenges facing these remarkable labyrinth fish, such as wild bettas, licorice gouramis, and others in their natural habitats. For those interested in further exploration, we have provided a selection of resources below to support your journey.
- Betta brownorum, burdigala, coccina, hendra, livida, miniopinna, persephone, tussyae, rutilans, and some yet to be identified species such as the Betta sp. ‘api api’. ↩︎
- https://shoalconservation.org/ ↩︎
- https://parosphromenus-project.org/article-blog-english/rediscovery-of-the-sapphire-from-bangka-parosphromenus-deissneri-3/ ↩︎
- https://shoalconservation.org/betta-burdigala-project-update/ ↩︎
