# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Anabantoids >  Betta channoides and their breeding

## ouuuigh

Hello 
I would like to ask if I can keep a pair of channoides in a 15(l)x6(b)x6(h) tank? It is in inches . Can I use Ada II as soil? Can it be planted ? Must it have brownish water ? Do I need to have a filter ? Thank you for your time

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## Mudskipper

I have my pair of channoides in a 1 x 1 x 1 foot cube...I hardly get to see them. They hide a lot in the leaf litter and plants...cause they are SOOOO small and cute. I've been told you don't need filter, but I can't bear the thought of it. It would be like asking me not to bathe. Yuck. I use a very small hand on back filter that they seem to like, actually. They love swimming through the water current. 

Unfortunately, I'm not an expert and am just sharing my experience (all three days worth) of owning a pair of these fantastic fishes. Read what you can, is what I will advise you and you'll enjoy them.

As for tank size, I tink 15 inches x 6 width is ok...not sure about 6 high, should be ok but make sure you cover the tank cause they can jump. When they were catching the fish for me at the store, the female showed her true jumping abilities. Surprised the heck out of me.

Good luck!

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## ouuuigh

Thanks ! You answered most of my question even those haven't ask but still I have a few more questions 
can they live in 3-4 inches or water ?? I don't plan to fill it to the max like you said , it will JUMP . They need alot hiding places ?? I have 3 drift wood with look like a tree and together it will make alot of holes and gap to swim by . What do you feed them with .

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## kenny

If you are planning to keep them in 4 inches water, leaving 2 inches between the tank edge and the water surface, I think they should be able to jump out. Like mudskipper already said, bettas can really jump! 

They seem to like to hide, the male more than the female. I do enjoy peeking at them when they are hiding. If they are always out there for u to see, it leaves no room for imagination and fantasy, and gets boring soon enough.... Haha  :Grin:  

Mine only eats frozen bloodworms. 

Anyone feed theirs with dry food?

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## ouuuigh

You mean those cube bloodworms ? Can they finish it ?

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## kenny

Yup, those frozen cubes. They can only eat a few worms each. Can feed the leftovers to other fish loh...

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## ouuuigh

What if my fishes don't eat bloodworms can I cut the cubes into pieces and feed them piece by piece . How many times do you feed them a day

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## Lucrado

hey,you can try dried bloodworms.. mine took dried ones readily.

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## Mudskipper

I tell you, overfeeding is horrifying. I didn't know until recently...I fed my Mandor until his belly was as big as mine! Then he just lay at the bottom of the tank for a whole day as if in pain. 

There are also two different sizes of bloodworms...and I don't mean cube sizes but worm sizes. For channoides, best to have the small size. The other day, I dropped a large bloodworm in the tank and my poor tiny female took forever to finish it. I thought she was going to choke. 

Also, if you read up, you will discover that they love hiding in leaf litter. Mine swim through the different layers of ketapang leaves that I have torn apart for them. I also have small ceramic tube thing that they just love. 

I ask a lot of questions too, that's the best way to learn. The guys here are very ready to share their knowledge and experiences, thank goodness for us newbies. Learn as much as you can before getting the fishes because you want them to do well...$50 is a bit of money for two little tiny fishes but I guarantee that they will give you more than 1000 times that much enjoyment in return.

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## ouuuigh

> hey,you can try dried bloodworms.. mine took dried ones readily.


Thanks . I will try it out when I get them

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## ouuuigh

Thanks for your reply mudskipper
I will buy some ketapang for my tank
my tank will be mostly drift wood , rocks and ketapang leaves
I don't think plant will suit the brownish water . Onces my tank is setup , I will post picture of it
one more question . What temperature is the best for them??

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## kenny

Errr... Don't get what you mean by cutting the cubes...

Tens of worms (maybe 50?) are frozen into a cube, so when the cube melt you will get whole individual strands of worms.

You could dump a few pieces of worms and leavethem to eat by themselves, or feed them with a tweezer and see them snatch and run! Haha fun!

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## ouuuigh

Thanks . I will most probably feed them with a tweezer
after Reading you guys post . I have confident in keeping care of them thanks all

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## spirit

i have answer some of your question at AF.. but, i guess you will get more info here... 

enjoy breeding betta channoides ya..

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## johannes

some fishes are too shy to swim up to the surface to eat dried blood worms and hence starve themselves while others do not like the taste. the recommended food is still frozen bloodworms, live brine shrimp, daphnia and tubifex (rather dirty though).

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## ouuuigh

okay thanks , i will try blood worms , can i ask what is the best temp for them?

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## Mudskipper

Keep them frozen in your freezer or they will go bad.

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## ouuuigh

what i mean was the temp for the channoides , not bloodworm , of course you have to frozen it , thats why it is call frozen bloodworms  :Grin:  :Grin:  :Grin:

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## johannes

Normal room temperature of 28-30 degrees is accepted.

By the way please refrain from using sms lingo when replying or postiing new thread, thanks. :Smile:

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## ouuuigh

Hello . Today I went to midori and get my channoides and my tank is setup 5days ago and using 1 year old driftwood and 2 week old water and 2 months old soil gex . Will upload pictures tml
cheers

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## ouuuigh

New Tank with no Channoides


Full tank shot

Mycro my male channoides




Milly my female channoides(always hiding hard to find)

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## Mudskipper

They are so cute! I would suggest that you darken some of the sides and leave one side for viewing. But most of all, cover your tank! They can jump. Boy CAN THEY JUMP! I was very fortunate to have so many of the wild betta gurus help me with answers, etc. Bro Johannes advised me to use black oyama paper on the sides and back but I didn't have any so I used black trash bags instead and it worked. The channoides began swimming around more. They rush to the front of the tank whenever I'm about to feed them and guess what? I caught them doing the nasty today. We'll see what happens.

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## kenny

Ouuuuigh... No filter? And yeah please add a cover just in case..

Mudskipper: that's fast! Congrats!

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## spirit

> They are so cute! I would suggest that you darken some of the sides and leave one side for viewing. But most of all, cover your tank! They can jump. Boy CAN THEY JUMP! I was very fortunate to have so many of the wild betta gurus help me with answers, etc. Bro Johannes advised me to use black oyama paper on the sides and back but I didn't have any so I used black trash bags instead and it worked. The channoides began swimming around more. They rush to the front of the tank whenever I'm about to feed them and guess what? I caught them doing the nasty today. We'll see what happens.


congrats.. i guess we can exchange the broodstock soon..haha

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## Mudskipper

Thanks, but I am not holding my breadth. My pair are quite odd. At times, they are very sweet and are swimming all over side by side or with her looking like she's following him. Then suddenly he will just swim off and she will be floating there at a 60 degree position looking as if she's saying "WHAT THE F!" 

Then later they are together again...when I caught them, they were in this ceramic tube thing I bought for them. At first I thought they were fighting cos they looked like they were rolling around each other. But then they went too far back and I couldn't see anymore. 

I bought a bunch of these ceramic tube thingies in different sizes. Placed one in the tank with the foerschis yesterday and for the first time since I bought them, the pair are not fighting and the female looks like she is trying to entice him into the tube with her. Usually, he chases her away like he's a mad man. Today he just stares at her as if she has some sort of black magic spell cast on him. 

Sorry no pics from me. I only have a camera on my iPhone and am not a good photographer. Will keep everyone posted.

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## ouuuigh

> Ouuuuigh... No filter? And yeah please add a cover just in case..
> 
> Mudskipper: that's fast! Congrats!


no filter , i cant find a HOF that is small enough to fit in the 6inch height , i have a wiremesh cover which allow air to pass through



> They are so cute! I would suggest that you darken some of the sides and leave one side for viewing. But most of all, cover your tank! They can jump. Boy CAN THEY JUMP! I was very fortunate to have so many of the wild betta gurus help me with answers, etc. Bro Johannes advised me to use black oyama paper on the sides and back but I didn't have any so I used black trash bags instead and it worked. The channoides began swimming around more. They rush to the front of the tank whenever I'm about to feed them and guess what? I caught them doing the nasty today. We'll see what happens.


yeah , when i buy from midori , the uncle allow me to catch myself as he is busy with shipment items , when the net goes in , they are like birds , jumping in the water and out of the water but not that high , where to get the oyama paper? can i paste it while the tank with livestock?
will update soon , i make a 10-20 mini moss ball from my moss ball and spread them all over the tank , they seem to love it , they were playing hide and seek , chasing each other and hiding in the moss ball

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## ouuuigh

Update (08052010)
Full tank shot with cover


New tank scape with Mini Mossball all over



thats all for now , will add ketapang leaves tonight to make the water more Brownish which suit the Driftwoods and rocks more than plain cloudy water

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## Mudskipper

hehehe. are you doing this all for the driftwoods and rocks or your pair of channoides? hehehe

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## ouuuigh

actually , i am doing all this for myself hehe
the moss ball is actually extra and i just pluck some and throw it in , and continue since it is fun till the tank is full of it , now i get some ketapang leaves and added 2 piece in, how long will it take for it to turn brown?

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## Mudskipper

give it a while, it has to start to sink first. Usually takes me over night before that happens. My tanks are filled with driftwood that leech tannins so they are really dark. But the fish really love it. 

BTW...like your answer VERY much! I'm doing this for me too! hahaha

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## ouuuigh

wont the ph drop till around 4-5? do betta love tannins? why dont you post a picture of your tank? love to see your channoides=D

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## ouuuigh

UPDATE 11-05-10
hello , my betta tank is stable and i used ktp leave to make the tank brownish color and my channoides show it true colors , they accept dry blood worms and frozen , they recognize the tweezers that feed them bloodworms and will follow it even when there is no food , will upload photo of my tank soon , cam not with me

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## ouuuigh

UPDATE 120510
when to buy a Dasz filter , flow rate is very slow and my betta love it , after working on the wiremesh covering , hand got cut a few times but worth it , it fits perfectly , finally found a socket for my filter as my 4ft light gone crazy and spoiled so got extra spaces , my betta is moving around and i added 1 piece of Ketapang leave in the tank and it is so DARK and Black even with my light on , i cant see the bottom , maybe i getting a bigger and better light
PICTURE AS PROMISE




Sorry poor phototaking skill :Sad:

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## johannes

becareful of the openings near the filter intake/output, certain wild bettas know where to jump... :Grin:

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## ouuuigh

i planned that if they jump they will still be somewhere around or inside the filter , i blocked those holes that between the filter and the glass , incase they do jump , they will land on the sponge and will jump there way back in to the water

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## Mudskipper

Looks like the perfect obstacle course for wild salmon going upstream to spawn. hahahah. I think Bro Jo means the gap where the intake and outflow areas are is rather big. But if you are willing to take the chance...

Just to give you an idea...my water level is about 4 inches below the top of the tank. Today when I was feeding them with the pipette, my male channoides jumped and grabbed the bloodworm before I could even get my pipette through the wire making me realise that I need wire that's finer. Right now, I'm using 1/2 inch hardware cloth that is coated in plastic.

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## ouuuigh

okay thanks i will keep a look out if any do really jump out , but from the look from day 1 , they dont like to move about , like to stay at one point

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## spirit

my macrostoma can jump out even there is only 1.5inches diameter hole...
but, channoides, i dont think they will be so jumpy.. lower down your water level might help.. and they will normally jumo out because of a few reason

1)water parameter changes
2)attack by other fish, not enough hiding place(male too eager to spawn, but female not ready)
3)mosquito "passby", jump for foods..

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## rebellious

care to share your PH? how long you keep the water running before you introduce the channoides in the tank? Thanks in advance..  :Smile: 
wild betta newbie here..

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## ouuuigh

better to cycle the tank for 30days before putting fish in , my ph is 6.5 - 7

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## johannes

hey Fahmi, welcome to AQ!
channoides do well in pH ranging from 5-7, so not too worry... :Smile:

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## rebellious

> better to cycle the tank for 30days before putting fish in , my ph is 6.5 - 7


thanks for the info, bro..  :Smile: 
anyway, water been cycled for nearly a week.. searching for driftwood now to put in the tank.. 




> hey Fahmi, welcome to AQ!
> channoides do well in pH ranging from 5-7, so not too worry...


Thanks for the warm welcome, Bro Johannes..  :Smile: 
By cycling water, can the pH drop or i need to use peat, driftwood or pH minus/down to bring the pH down? after nearly a year out of "Show Betta Scene", i lose touch on all this basic things..  :Surprised:  
Thanks in advance..  :Smile:

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## johannes

actually it's up to you, if you decide to go for low pH, the u add more KTP leaves and driftwood when you cycle the tank and vice versa.

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## rebellious

Thanks Bro Johannes..

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## ouuuigh

UPDATE 190510
i lowered the water level and add a waterfall using my driftwood and HOF , add Ketapang leaves but still the water is like no differents , i try boiling it and pour it in to the tank when cooled but the next day , water back to normal , i found a few albino insects , that is small , golden color , pink eyes , able to jump and love my driftwood that is out of the water and the waterfall , pictures....

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## Mudskipper

Hey it looks very nice. I think one thing that may be causing the water to be cloudy is the soil. I had the same soil in my office tank and every time I change anything or add water, etc., the water became very cloudy from the sediments in the soil. It's Gex soil right? actually, any soil will probably do it if you disturb it. 

Also boiled water not so good. You should just age your water in a pail ... put some ketapang leaves in it and aerate it. 

But give it time. It looks great.

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## ouuuigh

thanks bro , my water is not cloudy is very clear but only abit brownish , i heard that boilling is better den leaving it there , from another forum . but my channoides dont have as nice color as last time , now is like grey? not red like few days ago , think due to the change of scaping , any idea how to trigger them to breeding status?

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## Mudskipper

Brownish is from the ketapang leaves. That is the kind of water they like.

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## ouuuigh

Any expert that have breed them . Can tell me your parameters and setup? Thanks

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## ouuuigh

Hello bro and sis . I keep b. Channoides and wish to know how to breed them. Anyone successfully breed them and successfully raise their fry till adult with minimum deathrates . Can share your experience here ? Thanks  :Grin:

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## rebellious

Have you try any of the national library? is there any books related to wild betta in the library? how about bookstore? 

Mod Johannes, any info? Thanks in advance..  :Smile:

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## Mudskipper

Support the economy! don't breed! BUY MORE! hahaha

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## ouuuigh

breeding is good , in case the species is endangered , we can help to revive the species , haha

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## Mudskipper

I agree, but let's face it. Hobbyist on our scale cannot save anything. I think the most important thing is to create an environment for our fishes that will ensure their comfort and happiness...then if they breed, that should be a bonus. 

Besides, most of the channoides we buy are probably captive bred. Not wild caught...because if you read up, they are supposed to be among the easiest and most willing to breed. I just love them because they are so cute...mine now even take worms out of my fingers. Next, to train them to sit, heel and speak!

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## spirit

channoides is the easiest mouthbrooder.. keep them happy, and don't keep disturb them, they will breed for you...

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## Mudskipper

Yah, Brother Spirit! Quickly go breed some more and next time, double bag hor! See you in a couple of weeks!!

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## ouuuigh

hello bro and sis , i have a pair of channoides but haven pair yet , the male is showing its breeding color and keep looking for white stones or white around things at the bottom , and i drop one of my white sand in , and it picks it up and keep it in for awhile before spiting it out , but on the other hand my female which i think is so much smaller about one head shorter and smaller den the male do not show its color and keep run away when the male chase it and the male will stop at the front of the female and curve his body to a C shape and the female just look at him and run away and hide , what should i do? is my female not old enough to breed? should i feed them tubiflex worm to increase the chances of breeding as stated in some other website , any little help will be good thanks

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## ouuuigh

UPDATE 280510
i rescape the tank into a nicer and more suitable tank , they are doing pretty well and the male is showing breeding color last night but the female is not , and everything when normal this morning , no breeding color , no chasing around , just sharing space and looking at me when i come close , will update soon when anything happens

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## MIZU

Hi Bro ouuuigh, I am keeping Betta Channoides too. Same thing happen to my pair of betta. I think we just need to wait till they are willing to spawn. Anyway i just enjoy watching them. Of couse it will be good if they were to breed.  :Grin:

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## ouuuigh

lucky that it is not just me , i think my female is abit too small to breed but hope it breed for me
during my 3day trip which is 6 hours from now ,

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## johannes

when you buy these wild bettas, you cannot force/assume that they will breed for you even though you have a male and a female inside your tank.

sometimes they need to choose their partners, some people have it easy (buy a pair and the pair spawned for them), some buy 3 pairs only 1 pair spawned.

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## johannes

a pair should do fine in 30-40 cm tank. pH and temperature wise is not critical, 5-7 and 28-30 degrees respectively.

i have bred them in pH 5 and 7, in pairs and in a group. it all depends on your fish, whether they want to spawn for you or not...  :Grin:  just keep them happy and healthy and they will do their part..

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## rebellious

> UPDATE 280510
> i rescape the tank into a nicer and more suitable tank , they are doing pretty well and the male is showing breeding color last night but the female is not , and everything when normal this morning , no breeding color , no chasing around , just sharing space and looking at me when i come close , will update soon when anything happens


any latest pics to share, ouuuigh?  :Grin: 

Fahmi

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## ouuuigh

Hey guys sorry for not updating much but something happen 2days ago , i saw my pair curling around a few times but didn't release any eggs , i think i disturbed them by watching them hehe

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## exotic_idiot

Maybe the male is mouthbrooding now?
Good luck, can see that you're making some results.

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## ouuuigh

should not be , just now i feeding them , both of them are just like any other hungry fish , male are eating too

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