Looking For Info

[grumpysteve]

i'm setting up a Laos stream biotope in a 4' 240L tank. i've been doing a bit of research and would quite like a pair or trio of betta's in there, basically i'm after any info about the 2 in the topic title as i've read some conflicting info about them. ideally i'd like 1 male, 2 females which i think i should be fine with, with either species

any info would be great, and thanks in advance

 

[Cossie333]

im not sure but i think male and male fight and so do male annd female but female and female shou;d be fine

 

[woodstock]

You may have trouble getting advice, are those wild betta? I would imagine them being different in some way than the betta splendens the majority here have. But it sounds reaaaally pretty

For now, I would take in some general betta splendens rule only because they're related. Did googling bomb out on you? Lol

 

[fish_tank0311]

The males are going to fight, and also fighters dont like being in large tanks, because as you know (I REALLY hope you know) they are very territorial. Because of this, them being in a big tank stresses them out lots because they are constantly patrolling their territory, especially when theres more bettas around, they are going to get stressed and die. It also limits tankmates considerably. If you would like a betta, i suggest getting a small tank, between 5-10 gallons to himself, maybe with some snails or some other creature that he wont mind. Setting up a small tank just for him is very rewarding, and looks stunning if you get a good fighter fish.

 

[woodstock]

I don't think they necessarily dislike larger tanks - the more important part is that they get their own territory. For the males at least, I'm not knowledged with females, sorry. Normally it's bad to put males/females together, but I think in a tank size that big, you could pulled it off with an ABUNDANCE of plants. Usually it's the smaller tanks (5 gals, 10 gals...) that you shouldn't put male/female together unless breeding. Even then with vigilant eyes.

 

[Tolak]

These are not splendens, rather they are wild species, which work out better than splendens when kept in groups.

I've been looking into some of the wild species of bettas for several months, hoping to come across a deal on some. I've come close at some auctions, not about to spend more than what I can get them shipped in for.

Some of this will depend on tankmates, B. prima like cooler temperatures, B. smaragdina like things a bit warmer. The tank size should be fine, especially if as you stated it is being set up as a native biotype. I was considering using a 40 gallon 3 foot tank, been keeping stock so that I can open one up at the drop of a hat should I run across a nice trio.

 

[grumpysteve]

all the info i've found convlicts about the size they get to, i'd rather keep a trio of the larger species in the hope they'll be much happier with the flow in my tank (it's not excessive, but it is there!) but i'm worried the larger might have a go at my rasboras (R. Rubrudorsalis)

in a way i'd prefer B. Prima as they're mouthbrooders and i think it would be more interesting to watch if they ever did breed. but i've found a shop that can get B. Smaragdina and they're pretty cheap, they're just having trouble getting them off the supplier at the mo'

my other stock is 9 Rasbora rubrodorsalis, 7 Puntius semifasciolatus and 4 crossocheilus siamensis. i really like the idea of getting the Bettas to add something a little less obvious to the tank, and all the others shoal nicely so it would be nice to have a centre piece sort of fish that doesn't depend on having a shoal (but having a trio would be more interesting to see how they interact).

cheers for all the suggestions so far, but as Tolak said, these aren't B. splendens, and they can happily live as a pair, trio or group

 

[OohFeeshy]

In a 4ft, I'd definitely be concerned about the smarags getting 'lost'; they were hard to spot even when I kept them in a 2ft. I wouldn't be concerned about prima attacking the rasboras. My pugnax ignores the barbs completely, and only shows any aggression to the paradise fish if they step out of line, so to speak.

 

[grumpysteve]

so you think a trio of prima's would be the way to go? just checked out fishbase and that says smaragdina get to 7cm and prima get to 5cm, i'll find out how easily i can get the prima's and i think i'd prefer them.
cheers for the help so far, i'll let you know how sourcing some goes!

 

[grumpysteve]

i've done a bit of looking around and from what i can find prima's are going to be really hard to get hold of. i've also found there's 2 types of smaragdina's, one from a blackwater type environment, and one found in clear flowing streams. chances are the shop i can get these through wont know the difference between the 2 as they basically have a list of fish they can get, but don't usually stock. so i guess i'm going to have to ask them to order them in, then go and have a look and decide for myself. all the info i've found so far suggests that smaragdinas get to around 7cm's too so i'm at a bit of a loss as to what i should do really.......
i've got a month or 2 before i'm thinking of getting either so i might try sourcing breeders in the UK.

all this is really making realise how under-rated other species of betta are compared to B. Splendens. fair enough splendens are nicely coloured with long pretty fins, but the other species seem so much easier to keep for the average aquarist, in an average tank. they're just a b*****d to get hold of!

 

[OohFeeshy]

What about other species? In theory pugnax should be easier to get than prima, for instance. According to Tropical Fish Finder, Wholesale Tropicals have a few species but they don't have them on the delivery page. Could be worth emailing them- you've got quite a big tank to fill and I'd imagine they'd do quite a few suitable fish if you wanted to do a largeish order.

 

[grumpysteve]

only smaragdina, prima and splendens are found in Laos! i have thought about re-homing the P. semifasciolatus and replacing them with P. hexazona though, which would mean i could turn it into a thai biotope. but then i'd want to re-home the SAE's too as they'd be the only fish from flowing streams.
part of me thinks i'm being too particular, but part of me wont be happy unless everything is just as i want it. i'm only allowed the one tank (blame the missus) so i want it exactly as i plan, otherwise i'd feel like i've failed

 

[Inchworm]

Hi grumpysteve

There are only a few of us on this forum who keep wild bettas right now. Here's a thread where several of us particupated.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/319297-wild-bettas/page__fromsearch__1

Thewild and -Rob- know more about the different kinds than I do since I've only recently started with them. If they don't see your thread, perhaps you might want to PM or email them. I do hope you will get some suitable to your tank and post about your experiences with them.

You might also want to check out Coryologist's interview with Mark Denaro. After some basic betta keeping information, a good part of the podcast is about wild bettas of various kinds. Perhaps you might find some useful information there.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/308000-coryolgists-interview-with-mark-denaro/

 

[grumpysteve]

thanks for that inchworm, i've started asking around to see if anyone can get hold of either for me. with any luck i'll have a nice trio of whatever seems the most suitable within the next couple of months!

 

[OohFeeshy]

only smaragdina, prima and splendens are found in Laos!

Fair dos, would have helped if I'd looked... God, how many Schisturas does one country need?

For other fish, I'd also consider a nice big group of one of the Trichospis species. They might not be that unusual, but they're very pretty and lovely little fish. In a way that would give you two 'areas' of fish- the rasboras and barbs as open water swimmers and the bettas and Trichopsis in the vegetation.