B,channoides.

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Just been to lfs to pick up new air stone for a protein skimmer and see they have a couple of b.channoides pairs. Now I have always liked the look of these fish and am thinking about giving house room to a pair. Thing is I know nothing about looking after them. What do I need to know about there care? Is 40£ a fair price? I have kept b.splendens successfully for a while now but not "wild" bettas. These are local fish and I was told they come from a breeder down the road in Ivybridge, who breeds all kind of bettas (pugnax,imbellis etc.)
 
You will need a tank of at least 40L (10 gallons) and you want it planted.  They really appreciate tannin rich water and floating plants to diffuse the light.  They are a really easy wild betta to keep.  Temperatures of around 23-25C (75-78F) with a light water flow is perfect.  They prefer live or frozen foods but if they are breeder raised then they might accept dry foods.  I personally keep the "sister" member of the complex, Betta Albimarginata so if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask. :)
 
I have all this, not the plants but thats no problem. I have a large piece of bog wood which I give up on because it was still turning the water brown after months of immersion. Would this do? I feed my bettas frozen food as part of there normal diet anyway.
My only real concerns are to do with breeding. I really dont want to end up with lots of fry will a pair just breed automatically or do you need to get conditions right? I imagine it would be harder to convince lfs to take the fry than from my b.splendens. And is 40£ (approx 48USD) a fair price?
 
i woudlnt know about the breeding but ive seen them for a pair around 80$ USD so i think thats pretty good.
 
The price is good for a pair.  Your wood would work great for them especially if it leaks tannins. They will breed if they are happy.  With them being mouthbrooding bettas, you will not end up with anywhere near the amount of fry as with a bubblenester.  I normally end up with 40 fry max with my Betta Albimarginatas.  If you leave the brooding male in the tank when he releases fry, you will not end up with anywhere near 1/2 that many surviving to be big enough to sell so I wouldn't worry to much about them overrunning you.  Your LFS might not want to buy them as much as your splendens but there is a nice market for wild bettas in your area of the country, you would just have to locate the interest.
 
Thanks guys all positive stuff.
I wasnt thinking of selling the fry ,giving them away more like.
I was under the impression that a pair would live togeather quite happily. But if they breed do you have to seperate both parents from the fry?
Any ideas what floating cover they may like as I am guessing by the tannin rich water and low light levels below water there wont be to much to grow down there.
 
They live together very comfortably.  I separate my brooding males about 5 days before they are due to release fry that way I know I get all the fry then I return the male back to the tank after a couple of days of heavy feeding (since he doesn't eat while brooding).  This is only because I breed mine and want to raise the fry to sell/give to other people.  I use all sorts of different floating plants in my tanks.  Duckweed, salvinia, frogbit, redroot floaters, asian water grass, and riccia are all stuff I use in my wild betta tanks.  Lower light plants like anubias and bolbitus ferns are good for lower levels since they do not require much light.
 
Cool. Doesnt the duckweed overrun the tank a bit? I have considered this for my splendens.
Is it best to just have the pair or could I have a few ottos to control any algae.
I am liking this idea more and more. What lighting are you using Wildbetta?
 

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