Wild betta care help

[Aquarium guy person]

Hi all, I am recently interested in wild bettas. I am debating if I should get albimarginata or Channoides they bothe look quite similar but I kind of like the albimarginata more. What are the care requirements for them like ph and diet. Also what color gravel would make their colors stand out most. I will have some moss balls Amazon frogbit(or water lettuce) And maybe java moss.

 

[CassCats]

@Crispii

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Check out this link: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/betta-splendens-caresheet.423362/

Other than that, I can't help you. I have no experience with wild bettas.

 

[JuiceBox52]

@Sylvan is great with wild bettas

 

[Crispii]

Betta albimarginata / channoides prefer soft and acidic water. A pH of 4-6 is ideal, but they can tolerate a pH of around 7. Like many wild Betta species, they prefer to eat live or frozen foods, but they can accept prepared foods overtime. As for coloration, a black substrate and tannins would make their colors stand out.

 

[Sylvan]

I don't have much more to add than what @Crispii has already said. I haven't seen albimarginata in the flesh but I was very taken with Channoides when they had a pair in a LFS. They are mouth brooders and I'm sure I read somewhere they're best kept in reverse harems so more males to females so one male doesn't become exhausted from caring for the young. Plenty of cover so plants, driftwood etc. I have some artificial logs that are hollow and have holes in for cover and a cave which my Betta Coccina love. Check what they're eating before you buy them, it's much easier if they'll already accept dry food.

 

[Aquarium guy person]

I will have them in a 40 gallon so how many can I keep? Has anyone had success with amazon ordered cattappa leaves? I will have driftwood in there too, because my water is somewhat hard, I don’t know why but my tap water is harder. Any other ideas to lower ph?

 

[Crispii]

I will have them in a 40 gallon so how many can I keep? Has anyone had success with amazon ordered cattappa leaves? I will have driftwood in there too, because my water is somewhat hard, I don’t know why but my tap water is harder. Any other ideas to lower ph?

If I were you, I would not keep them in a 40 gallon mainly because you might have a difficult time trying to feed them. Not only that, but they might be prone to hiding depending on the scape and stocking. RO water and tannins, as well as peat moss, will lower the pH.

 

[Aquarium guy person]

I heard distilled water is the same as RO water, is that true? I know that’s expensive but so is an RO system. Why would it be hard to feed them? I’ve done feedings on super shy and picky dwarf cichlids in forties.

 

[Crispii]

I heard distilled water is the same as RO water, is that true? I know that’s expensive but so is an RO system. Why would it be hard to feed them? I’ve done feedings on super shy and picky dwarf cichlids in forties.

Smaller size fish will have a difficult time finding food in a larger size aquarium, especially the fish that you are keeping are shy. RO and distilled water are similar but have the main differences in terms of the methods.

 

[Sylvan]

I think you'd lose the albimarginata in a 40 gallon unless you had a decent sized group as they're smaller of the two, seriously fish has albimarginata at a maximum size of 2.5 to 3 cm whereas Channoides is 3.5-4cm. I have 5 Coccina in a 29 gallon and I regularly look at the tank and can't see a single one, my Coccina aren't particularly shy either. I was worrying yesterday I'd lost the smallest female as I couldn't find her all day but she turned up at feeding time.
If your water is hard then you'll need RO water as has already been said.

 

[Aquarium guy person]

What about a bigger betta species (mouthbrooding if possible, I love the way their big mouths look)

 

[Crispii]

Larger mouthbrooding species will do fine in a 40.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

What about a bigger betta species (mouthbrooding if possible, I love the way their big mouths look)

Yes, they will do fine a 40g. As you could have seen in the link I provided, the OP of that thread covered this subject in depth.

 

[Aquarium guy person]

Can you suggest any of the bigger species For me?