Considering Imbellis Or Smaragdina For Next Tank.

[attibones]

Hey all. I have just purchased for one hell of a deal a 6 gallon pillar aquarium. It was originally 90 dollars, but I caught it for 50 percent off listed price. Listed price had since gone down to 70 dollars, and I had a five dollar coupon. I walked out of the store after paying 30 dollars for a 90 dollar aquarium. Anyway, I'm in the process of setting it up now and will begin cycling tomorrow afternoon. I would love to get a Non-Splendens betta for this tank, but I was hoping some of you guys could provide me with some vital information about them.
 
Is their basic care any different from non-splendens betta?
 
If yes, would a 6 gallon work well for one male of these species (or even one female)?
 
How planted do they like the tanks? I was considering a few pieces of bamboo for the only live plants with some plastic grass sort of stuff for the bottom.
 
Any sort of information like this would be helpful while I do further research.

 

[TallTree01]

I'd always assumed that wild bettas were much more active than splendens and needed bigger tanks. May be wrong, don't get around wild bettas much.

 

[attibones]

I'd always assumed that wild bettas were much more active than splendens and needed bigger tanks. May be wrong, don't get around wild bettas much.

If they require larger tanks, then I'll just get a betta splendens, but I've been wanting one of these for a while now. One forum I found said that a ten gallon was good enough for one male and one or two females, but I think that may be a little cramped. I'll just be getting one for this tank (non-splendens or splendens).

 

[Wildbetta]

If I was going with a tank of that size -- a pair of one of the smaller wild types would be fine.  I would only do a pair though and not any more so as not to crowd.  My choices would be:  Betta Albimarginata, Betta Channoides, Betta Simplex, Betta Picta, Betta Coccina, Betta Falx, Betta Brownorum, or Betta Rutilans.  Now not all of these are easy to find especially within in the US.  Most of these types are paternal mouthbrooders(male holds the eggs/fry until they are big enough to survive) and I think a couple are bubblenesters, some even having the possibility to decide which way they brood the fry.  Personally I love Betta Albimarginata.  They have the most beautiful color especially when in spawning mode.  They are easy to care for and most of the time easy to breed.  I currently have 2 breeding pairs with around 21 fry from my bigger male that are a month old, that same male just spawned again last night, and my smaller male is releasing fry for me today -- so when they are happy they spawn.  LOL 
Imbellis or Smargidina -- If you get them, I would just go with one preferably male since they are more colorful than the females on a normal basis.

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

Long tanks are generally better for wild non-splendens. Wild bettas come from shallow blackwater ponds and river systems with gentle current. As for decor, heavily planted with some floating plants and driftwood. Wild bettas are also more comfortable in dimmer lit aquariums.
With wilds, you'll need to keep their water params at pristine conditions, unlike splendens wilds are more prone to sicknesses during shipping or being introduced into a new tank.
Yes it is true that wilds are more active than selective bred splendens, but this varies with each individual. Some may be very active, some may be skiddish while others can be very territorial. By having a tall tank, your forcing your betta to swim up more often and with their habit of jumping, this can cause a few issues.

 

[attibones]

Well it appears my pillar tank is not well suited for a wild type mostly based in its size and height. It does, however, come with two light options (standard white light and a cool blue light), and it is covered. I also believe that because I do not plan to plant this tank beyond a few stalks of bamboo, it would probably be best for me to get a betta splendens. Oh well. My next large tank shall be a wild type betta tank.

Thanks for all the information! I'll definitely be keeping this in mind for my next tank, whenever that project comes up.

 

[Wildbetta]

Well it appears my pillar tank is not well suited for a wild type mostly based in its size and height. It does, however, come with two light options (standard white light and a cool blue light), and it is covered. I also believe that because I do not plan to plant this tank beyond a few stalks of bamboo, it would probably be best for me to get a betta splendens. Oh well. My next large tank shall be a wild type betta tank.

Thanks for all the information! I'll definitely be keeping this in mind for my next tank, whenever that project comes up.

This is not necessarily all true.  Your tank would be fine for a pair of one of the smaller species.  I have a friend who is keeping some of the juvies from my betta albimarginata in a 15 gallon column and they are doing excellent.  As for the planting -- I do not keep some of my wild's tanks planted heavily.  They have lots of driftwood, slate, rocks, and hardwood leaves and maybe a java fern/anubias in the tank.  Some wild species do not have a bunch of plants in there natural habitats so I believe your bamboo(dried I hope because "lucky bamboo is not aquatic") would work out good -- just add a rock here or there.  Floating plants will dim lights so lighting is really not a hindrance either.  Don't give up on your want of wild bettas, your tank will work but you might have to adjust your decor just a tad to make it work.

 

[attibones]

Well it appears my pillar tank is not well suited for a wild type mostly based in its size and height. It does, however, come with two light options (standard white light and a cool blue light), and it is covered. I also believe that because I do not plan to plant this tank beyond a few stalks of bamboo, it would probably be best for me to get a betta splendens. Oh well. My next large tank shall be a wild type betta tank.
Thanks for all the information! I'll definitely be keeping this in mind for my next tank, whenever that project comes up.

This is not necessarily all true.  Your tank would be fine for a pair of one of the smaller species.  I have a friend who is keeping some of the juvies from my betta albimarginata in a 15 gallon column and they are doing excellent.  As for the planting -- I do not keep some of my wild's tanks planted heavily.  They have lots of driftwood, slate, rocks, and hardwood leaves and maybe a java fern/anubias in the tank.  Some wild species do not have a bunch of plants in there natural habitats so I believe your bamboo(dried I hope because "lucky bamboo is not aquatic") would work out good -- just add a rock here or there.  Floating plants will dim lights so lighting is really not a hindrance either.  Don't give up on your want of wild bettas, your tank will work but you might have to adjust your decor just a tad to make it work.

Now that I think about it, I've never seen bamboo fully submersed. It's always in a vase of some sort. Why I never pieced that together, I have no idea.

I've been looking into the smaller species but they don't seem to appeal to me. I like species such as imbellis because of their bold colors and strong body shape. The tank is to have mostly muted colors, so the fish needs to be vibrant. I'll keep looking into the smaller species, just to see if I haven't found particularly had photographs. Can you post images of your tanks? I'm interested in different planting ideas.

 

[Wildbetta]

I do have some plants in my betta albimarginata tank but they are low light plants and very sparse since I have a decent amount of surface covering plants.
Here is a couple of pics of the tank as it is now (please disregard the second strip light stacked on top of the first -- the extra light is going somewhere else) Also it does have a "background" on there that makes it look more planted than it really is.
 

 

 
Female Betta Albimarginata in dominant/breeding colors

 
Male Betta Albimarginata in breeding colors

 
Pic of the bottom of my 35 gallon hex that was my betta macrostoma tank

 
FTS of the 35 gallon hex

 

[attibones]

Thanks. Your tanks are really interesting to look at, though I'm not sure how fond of the PVC I am. I like the wood in there. I'm going to keep looking into the wild types until I find something suitable for my tank, and in the meantime I will also research plants for the tank. Thanks again.

 

[attibones]

I found an absolutely beautiful betta smaragdina for sale. I really think I want it. I have a ten gallon with just one betta splendens in it. I could move that betta into the six gallon without any issue, once it's cycled of course. The ten gallon should be appropriate for the smaragdina, yeah? Although, the six gallon is fairly tall... I don't know if it would be appropriate for my veil tail because of his heavy fins.

 

[Wildbetta]

I would leave the VT in the 10 gallon and put the smaragdina in the 6 gallon.  It will be fine in there by itself.