B. Simplex..

[Inchworm]

Last Friday night we had a silent auction at our aquarium society meeting and I was lucky to get two pairs of bettas for just $10 each. This is the first pair when I brought them home:

Here they are settled into a 10 gallon tank which may or may not be their permanant home:

The male is the brighter one of the two and has the blue stripe on his anal fin. They are young fish and one of the mouthbrooding species of betta. They originate in streams in Thailand.

 

[Haych]

ooh pretty!

 

[finalfantay85]

Very pretty. Do you have any plans to try and breed them? Also i thought the female was a puffer for 2 seconds there lol

 

[-Rob-]

Very nice.

you have any plans to breed them?

i wish to breed mine but it can take a while for these to be mature enough, or so i have read.

 

[Inchworm]

I'd like to breed them when they are ready. In the meanwhile I have a lot to learn about them. I understand that they should have soft acidic water so I've ordered some Indian Almond leaves from a seller on AquaBid. This is supposed to help.

Any information you can give me about the way you care for yours, -Rob-, would be very helpful too. I'm glad to know someone else who has them.

 

[Lacuna]

Congratulations, very nice fish

 

[-Rob-]

I'd like to breed them when they are ready. In the meanwhile I have a lot to learn about them. I understand that they should have soft acidic water so I've ordered some Indian Almond leaves from a seller on AquaBid. This is supposed to help.

Any information you can give me about the way you care for yours, -Rob-, would be very helpful too. I'm glad to know someone else who has them.

what is your ph at the mo? these prefer harder water, from around 6.8 to 7.2 most have found, mine sits at around 7.0 , although i live in a hard water area so its easy for me to maintain it at that

i will gather you some info and send it to you

 

[aly_starh]

Oh wow!

They look lovely Inchworm!

 

[kingofbettas]

Use blackwater. result same good with almond leaf

 

[BettasFanG]

that is a Nice fish for both of them.

 

[lljdma06]

Neato! Any updates Inchy? Are they settling well?

llj

 

[Inchworm]

Thank you all for the comments.

Neato! Any updates Inchy? Are they settling well?

Yes and no, lljdma06. They are still in the 10 gallon tank and look healthy enough but they're incredibly timid. I have a big piece of java moss in there and they are hiding behind or under it most of the time. It might just be that I am used to seeing much more active fish, but I worry about this.

what is your ph at the mo? these prefer harder water, from around 6.8 to 7.2 most have found, mine sits at around 7.0 , although i live in a hard water area so its easy for me to maintain it at that

Hi -Rob-

Thanks for the information you sent me. My water is around 7.0 as well and I believe somewhat hard although I have never had that tested.

I've had a supply of blackworms which they eat readily but was wondering what else I could give them. Since they are so shy I've been cautious about giving them anything that might spoil in the water. They are not a complete form of nutrition anyway. Now that I've seen that you have been giving yours flake and pellet food, I'll give them a try too.

I was thinking of adding some young corys to the tank too. Do you think this will be OK or might it make them even more timid?

 

[Haych]

I would think it could be ok, but if you see an issue put the cories in a different tank, and maybe try some shrimp?

 

[lljdma06]

I would think it could be ok, but if you see an issue put the cories in a different tank, and maybe try some shrimp?

Yes, I am thinking that they perhaps need a dither fish as well. Something a little on the dumb side and willing to go anywhere. Oh, wait, yeah, cories would be perfect. They fit all the criteria.

I play with you.

But you don't have anymore pictures. More pictures would be nice.

 

[-Rob-]

mine were very timid for the first few weeks, they still are in a way, although now they are alot better at feeding time, these get really over excited about feeding, and my god they can jump.

what i have noticed with mine is, they dont like limited space, as a betta splenden will 9 times out of ten just chill out or sulk, these guys really stress out in small spaces, i have 6 in a 80l though i would rather i put them in somthing bigger.