Betta Bio Tope Tank

[penguinpimp1990]

does anyone here have one? pics? i was thinking of making one with either a 29 gallon or 55 gallon tank. (well it wont be a "true" bio tope but close) It would be fully planted with lots of female and one big pimping male..... do you think the tank should be filled fully or have it like 2/3 full with overhanging plants and stuff? any suggestions or comments?


ooops forgot to add that do you think full grown bettas with eat live daphnia? (yes theyre cultured not wild)

edit: do you think i could somehow get some live plants that overhang in this tank without taking off the top?

 

[bshockstubb]

the male and female arent a good idea.
but its questionable in such a huge aquarium.

why not set up a female community biotope tank and a seperate tank for breeding?

 

[penguinpimp1990]

lol i meant with a divider for the male

 

[Synirr]

Um... biotopes are supposed to mimick the natural habitat for a fish, so setting up a biotope for domestic bettas is quite impossible, since they do not exist naturally in the wild
You could, however, do quite well setting up such a tank for a wild species, such as Betta imbellis. These fish are much less aggressive and you could probably have two or three pairs in a 29 gallon, or a couple of males and a group of females

 

[soba3d]

Yes my adult bettas love live daphnias. A half filled blackwater tank with plants overhanging looks more 'realistic'.

Some links below of other bettas in the wild to serve as inspiration...

Betta brownorum
terengganu

 

[penguinpimp1990]

Um... biotopes are supposed to mimick the natural habitat for a fish, so setting up a biotope for domestic bettas is quite impossible, since they do not exist naturally in the wild

how many people do you actually think have wild fish in their bio tope tanks?

 

[lozzles]

most biotope fish still look like the wild kind and behave like them unlike domestic bettas

 

[OohFeeshy]

Um... biotopes are supposed to mimick the natural habitat for a fish, so setting up a biotope for domestic bettas is quite impossible, since they do not exist naturally in the wild

how many people do you actually think have wild fish in their bio tope tanks?

It's like trying to do a flowerhorn or blood parrot biotype... A bright red/blue/mutt VT is absolutely nothing like, say, B. Machai (are they actually a species yet ).

lol i meant with a divider for the male

LOL, very un-biotypish. If you went for the nearest you can get to true wild splendens, you'd probably either wany imbellis or machai, and then (with imbellis at least) you can keep male and female together with no divider and they won't kill each other.

 

[penguinpimp1990]

most biotope fish still look like the wild kind and behave like them unlike domestic bettas

oh i thought that domestic bettas acted somewhat similar to their wild relatives...... yeah i really dont want to put a divider into it but if it means i can keep my male in the i guess ill put the divider in........ so i guess this wont be a true bio tope tank (as i said in my first post) but ill try to make it seem as natural and comfortable for them as possible. too bad my lfs's cant get any wild's though.... i shouldnt complain though as they have been exceptionally good with special orders and things of the like.

 

[Synirr]

B. Machai (are they actually a species yet )

Nope, I'm afraid not

I'm not sure how dedicated you are to the idea of making a biotope tank, but wild betta species are becoming more readily available. Aquabid has a section specifically for wild species (about 5 different kinds available at the moment) if you'd be interested in getting some online, and you can check here to see if there are any IBC chapters in your area... you might be able to purchase wild species from betta club members.
Here's the IBC's list of betta species complete with pics