wild betta tank??

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ssuchem13

Tower Tank Master
Oct 4, 2011
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chicagoland
Real Name
Eric
so i was on a trip into the city last week and i stumbled across a fish store by japan town. they had lots of cool plants, but what caught my eye were wild bettas, i dont remember the species but i kinda would like to try my hand at this. does anyone know what kind of care they require?
id like to do a 10g tank and go kinda natural with it, a mix of river gravel and sand, lots of plants etc some drift wood maybe
can you do more than one in a tank? idk if the fightingspirit was just breed into them by picking more aggressive bettas or if they are just as aggressive in the wild. the store had 2-3 in a small tank and they didnt appear to fight. what other fish could i get that would blend with a natural tank like this?
 

SubRosa

AC Members
Jul 3, 2009
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Most Betta species aren't hyper-aggressive with their own kind. The fighting spirit in commonly available Bettas is definitely enhanced by selective breeding. There are so many different species of Betta out there with different requirements. Some build bubblenests, some are mouthbrooders. VERY generally speaking if you give them a well planted 10 gal tank where they're either the only species or definitely the focus of the tank with no annoying tankmates you can keep a pair or trio no problem. With more specific info about exactly what species you're interested in you can get more specific info on how to keep them. Suitable tankmates would vary with the species of Betta, but generally as long as it can't be swallowed, isn't a hyperactive chaser or just downright aggressive it could work. But some Betta species would be more shy with other fish swimming around. Think about Microrasboras, small Tetras like Neons or Cardinals, Corys, and Otos for a start.
 

aussie pride

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Jun 21, 2010
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I have a 15g that I originally had set up as a SE Asian Biotope for a pair of B. pugnax and a group of 7 harlequin rasboras. I didn't get to see the interaction between the pair of pugnax because my male died after he contracted a bacterial infection that killed off everying in that tank except for 1 harly, so I can't give you too much info about it.
 

ssuchem13

Tower Tank Master
Oct 4, 2011
595
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chicagoland
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Eric
well i was kind of hoping for recomendation on wild bettas that are easy to get, these were the 1st wild ones ive seen in a store but if the shop in sanfran can get them im likely able to get them through my lfs because the distributors my lfs use are based in the city.
 

Death Pony

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Feb 7, 2009
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Fredericksburg and Newport News, VA
Betta smaragdina are easy to find, but probably need a 20 gallon tank. Appropriate bubblenesters include Betta coccina, channoides, albimarginata, brownorum, livida, imbellis, miniopinna, and persephone.

Mouthbrooders suitable for a 10 gallon would be Betta picta, fusca, dimidiata, pallida, pinguis, prima, pugnax, pulchra, raja, and rubra.

Mouthbrooders will be much harder to find.
 
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