# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Anabantoids >  Tank setup for Betta channoides

## Cacatuoides

Hi guys

I've just acquired a pair of B. Channoides F1
The male is slightly more than 1 inch and the female is smaller...

The tank is setup with thin thin layer of ADA Africana, some scattered Ketapang leaves, a bunch of Java ferns and 2 ceramic caves...PH is 5.5 now

Like to ask if this setup is ok? should I form a trio?

They are feeding on bbs, frozen BS & bloodworm...

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## genes

You can form a trio if your tank is not too small. My ratio is 3 males to 2 females in a 1.5ft tank with 3 logs of java fern. No fighting and they still spawned. If space permits, put more logs of java ferns. They do not like ceramic pots unlike Apistogrammas. My wild B. channoides never use the pots but rather like to stay under the foliage of the java ferns even when breeding. 

You can PM, squee, he letting go a male wild B. channoides.

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## Cacatuoides

Learnt something new today  :Razz:  
I'll probably look for either a female or another pair...

I'll take out the ceramic pots and replace with Java ferns  :Smile:

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## benny

Eman,

You should consider more plants for them. Also, broad leaf java fern will be better than narrow leaf java ferms. Perhaps some Amazon frogbits if you have enough light.

Cheers,

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## genes

Eman, here's my setup for my B. channoides.

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## Cacatuoides

Thanks a lot for the picture Eugene, its a great reference for me as I'm very new into wild bettas....I will get more broad leave java fern and nanas from c328 next week  :Wink: 

Will be looking for an additional female too  :Wink: 

I'm very curious to see these fishes mouth-brood....

Is there any easy floating plants which I can get commonly? like C328? thanks!

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## genes

But why an extra female? Its the male that mouth brood and "produce" the fries. With 2 males, you can alternate the female. With 2 females, when the male is mouth brooding, the other female can do nothing...

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## leeruisheng

I've read that _Betta channoides_ will continuously reproduce and that there's a need to separate the pair to condition them before spawing again.

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## Cacatuoides

Oh okok, do you suggest I get another male and form a reverse trio?
Sorry, I'm quite blur  :Razz: 

Wilson: Yea, I always separate my pairs and condition them before the next spawn  :Wink:

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## iwishweallcouldwin

eman if you need broad leaf java fern i can pass some to you.

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## genes

With 2 males, once the other male mouth brood, you can remove the female and place him with the other male. So in my opinion, 2 males will be better if you aim to produce more fries.

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## Cacatuoides

Thanks genes for your guidance, is a reverse trio ok in a 1.5ft tank?

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## leeruisheng

mmm.. but the female will continue to spawn with the other male without a break.

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## Cacatuoides

Like I said, I'll condition each fish before the next spawn so as not to exhaust them  :Razz: 

I'm more concern of having 2 males in the same tank, will they be as aggressive like apistos?

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## leeruisheng

Shouldn't be a problem as mention by genes in post #2.

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## Cacatuoides

Thank you so much for letting me learn so much today!! I'll go look for a pair then  :Wink:

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## Cacatuoides

I've read in some forums that high concentration of iron levels do lead to spawning of B. Channoides....how true is it?

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## Quixotic

Huh, iron? What is the basis for that?  :Huh?:

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## leeruisheng

I think your setup is good enough just have to wait from them to breed. _Betta channoides_ is easy to breed and will breed like rabbits.

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## inimicus

I see that both cacatuoides and genes set up has got air pumps for the fishes. I was thinking of setting up a tank for channoides as well and wonder if an air pump is really necessary? Will they breed in still water as well?

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## Cacatuoides

> Huh, iron? What is the basis for that?


I've really no idea about that, I read from secondary sources that channoides come from a habitat which is high in iron concentration, some of the hobbyist even add iron into their channoides' tank to induce spawning, don't know how true is that...

Since I'm using Aquasoil for my setup, I believe there should be a minimal amount of nutrients in the water column to imitate a certain percentage of its habitat? Sorry if i'm wrong, really aren't good at this  :Opps: 





> I see that both cacatuoides and genes set up has got air pumps for the fishes. I was thinking of setting up a tank for channoides as well and wonder if an air pump is really necessary? Will they breed in still water as well?


There are some hobbyist who keep them in a large surface area tank and maintaining it by a higher frequency of water change.




> I think your setup is good enough just have to wait from them to breed. _Betta channoides_ is easy to breed and will breed like rabbits.


Thanks wilson, I'll focusing on feeding them well and providing them with the best for now....will be looking out to acquire another pair to co-inhibit with the current pair in their new 2ft tank  :Razz:

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## iwishweallcouldwin

from my limited experience of keeping show bettas, i would prefer keeping them in a filterless tank, as bettas generally love still water and for my previous bettas, i always felt that they become pretty lerthargic once i introduce a sponge filter or airstone into the tank.

but for wild bettas, with all the plants and soil substrate, i suppose it would be better to include a filter? show betta tanks can afford to be filterless as it is mostly bare? the plants may develop fungus in a filterless tank. correct me if i'm wrong.

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## Quixotic

> I've really no idea about that, I read from secondary sources that channoides come from a habitat which is high in iron concentration, some of the hobbyist even add iron into their channoides' tank to induce spawning, don't know how true is that...
> 
> Since I'm using Aquasoil for my setup, I believe there should be a minimal amount of nutrients in the water column to imitate a certain percentage of its habitat? Sorry if i'm wrong, really aren't good at this


No worries, all of us have much to learn. I think the high iron habitat applies to _B. channoides_ collected from that particular locality. However, _B. channoides_ is not just found in that locality alone, is it? So what about these other localities, do they have high iron concentration as well?

Well, this was being mentioned (in petfrd.com) by ZaZ (who is in our forum too). The high iron reference is to the so-called _B._ cf. _channoides_ "Pampang", where it is said that pH is 6.0, GH< 1.0, KH 2.0, temperature 26C, with a mould skin of iron oxide, and manganese can be found as well.

So is yours from Pampang or else where? Regardless, other hobbyist have been able to breed them without dosing, so I would say that it isn't a criteria as thought, and my advise is not to bother.

For what it's worth, here is an account of _B. channoides_ spawning series by our own MrTree (I don't see any mention of dosing iron  :Wink: )

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## Cacatuoides

Oh okok, I get it now....thank you for clearing my cloud of doubts and thoughts....
Learnt something new today!!  :Wink: 

Like to ask if you guys check on your males first before feeding?
Was afraid of feeding when the male might be mouthbrooding, which will probably cause the male to eat the food and swallow the eggs.

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## Cacatuoides

Super crappy pictures of the tank....too much reflection in the toilet  :Crying: 




Can you spot the pair?  :Razz:

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## leeruisheng

Male on the right hand side of the left pot and female on the right hand side of right pot.
Any news of spawning?

A question to ask. I've never used a bubble filter before so does it run on it's own or did you connect to an air pump? Going to setup a fries tank and looking for cheaper filtering means. Thanks.

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## Cacatuoides

Good eye-sight, Wilson  :Wink: 
No signs of spawning activity, male is starting to chase the female a little....
Feeding them well everyday, female's stomach is a little bigger, don't know if its filled with food or eggs.....
Anyway, one wild pair will arrive on wednesday, hope they'll do some pairing up and start something  :Wink: 
Will be very interesting to observe mouthbrooders spawning process

I assume you're referring to sponge filter? You'll need an airpump to drive air into the sponge filter in order to operate it....its easy to use and less hassle

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## inimicus

You haven't got a cover for your tank? Will they jump?

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## Cacatuoides

So far so good, they haven't jump yet....but I'm not taking any chance since my wild pair will be coming in on wednesday.....going to get arcylic sheet tomorrow

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## wks

Eman, the Betta channoides are cave spawner?

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## Cacatuoides

Nope, thy are mouthbrooders...caves are included for them to use as hiding space only...  :Wink:

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## Cacatuoides

Just went to buy to Dama to get acrylic and hinge....

The result:

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## iwishweallcouldwin

haha this is what i call hardcore fish keeper... keeping tanks in the toilet... interesting setup! do keep us updated on any spawning activities and your wild pair arriving on wednesday!

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## illumnae

are there any other tankmates in the channoides tank? how's aggression towards each other and towards any tankmates?

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## Cacatuoides

Only one oto in the tank, the pair doesn't seem to disturb it...
No signs of aggression between the pair too

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## illumnae

ok. hope the channoides pair i liked hasn't been snapped up when i next find time to go LFS visting then  :Grin:

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## wks

Eman, its such a waste to keep 2 pairs of B channoides in such big tank, buy more fish leh. That a 2ft x 1ft tank right?

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## Cacatuoides

Hmm, how many do you suggest I keep in my 24" x 10" tank?  :Wink: 

Actually 2 pairs is enough...just to enjoy their beauty

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## pepe2403

Cool looking setup! Makes me want to start a wild betta tank. Gosh this forum is so 'poisonous' to the fish keepers mind.

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## Cacatuoides

Everthing is 'poisonous' here, you'll need to figure out which poison you like best if not you'll end up with a poison shop (a fish shop)  :Razz: 

Wild bettas are fun, not so agressive and peaceful fellows, easy to keep too....
They exhibit different behaviour from apistos...

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## inimicus

So does it mean that two male Betta Channoides or Macrastoma can co- exist in one tank without either getting hurt?

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## Cacatuoides

I have no prior experience to that yet...

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## illumnae

> Wild bettas are fun, not so agressive and peaceful fellows, easy to keep too....
> They exhibit different behaviour from apistos...


haha i beg to differ! my brief foray into wild bettas has shown me that wild bettas are even more aggressive than apistos! :Crying:

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## wks

Yixiang, generally the bigger bettas are more aggressive. You got to try the smaller species then you will know what Eman means. :Wink:

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## illumnae

B. falx is supposed to be small! according to ibc-smp.org they grow to 3.5cm SL, which is smaller than the 5cm of B. channoides and B. albimarginata

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## pepe2403

The channoides looks so cool with their small size and striking colours on the tail. Wonder where can i see them on sale? Never seen them in LFS before.

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## Cacatuoides

> B. falx is supposed to be small! according to ibc-smp.org they grow to 3.5cm SL, which is smaller than the 5cm of B. channoides and B. albimarginata


Maybe your pair is on the aggessive side, mine has no aggression till now, both are eating happily side by side  :Wink: 




> The channoides looks so cool with their small size and striking colours on the tail. Wonder where can i see them on sale? Never seen them in LFS before.


The contrast between the red and the black markings plus the striking white lining on its tail makes it a very attractive fish, its a small fish too! no need for big tanks  :Jump for joy:

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## wks

> The channoides looks so cool with their small size and striking colours on the tail. Wonder where can i see them on sale? Never seen them in LFS before.


Biotope has a pair on sale, you can go there to take a look.

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## Cacatuoides

Good News!! The package with my wild Channoides has arrived this morning.....as I was rushing to school, I did not have time to open it yet. 

Will update when I get home tonight  :Wink:

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## johannes

hey bro a trio is ok, but i think the leaf litter thingy is 'irrelevant' haha... will dirty your tank only... and also the clay thingy, its mouth is too small la, they will appreciate L shaped or short 1.5 inch diameter pvc tube... better :Smile:

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## Cacatuoides

Thanks for your advice Johannes  :Wink: 

the opening of the clay cave is 2inch....I thought wild bettas like low ph so I added the leaves to give the water a yellowish tone and a very slight ph drop

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## iwishweallcouldwin

the leaves causes your tank to have a very natural look and feel to it as well in my humble opinion, although it does trap and create lots of dirt in the long run. but with faithful water changes i don't think it should be a problem.

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## Cacatuoides

Yea, I've taken out the leaves and will add home-made ketapang extract with each water change  :Wink: 

So far the pair is doing well and it seems that one pair is constantly having very vibrant breeding color and moving around....can't stop admiring its beauty  :Razz:

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## wks

Thats good news, soon you may be rewarded with some wrigglers. But you need to watch out for the other pair as betta's parenting skills are not as good as apistos.

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## johannes

> Thanks for your advice Johannes 
> 
> the opening of the clay cave is 2inch....I thought wild bettas like low ph so I added the leaves to give the water a yellowish tone and a very slight ph drop


channoides require pH 6.5, just a slight tinge is alright however, after a while they dont really care about the water parameter anymore in terms of pH etc... as long as the water is clean and they feel secure, they will do fine... :Smile:  in terms of breeding etc.




> I see that both cacatuoides and genes set up has got air pumps for the fishes. I was thinking of setting up a tank for channoides as well and wonder if an air pump is really necessary? Will they breed in still water as well?


they will breed in still water and air pump is not important, btw the iron thingy is also not significant, they can even breed in neutral pH.. :Smile: 




> B. falx is supposed to be small! according to ibc-smp.org they grow to 3.5cm SL, which is smaller than the 5cm of B. channoides and B. albimarginata


btw betta falx can grow up to 6 cm, that measurement was recorded when the fish was caught i think...  :Smile:

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## Cacatuoides

I've taken out all the clay pots and replace with driftwood....

The next idea I have is to setup a betta tank with fine sand.....I always have a liking to fine sand which mimics the natural river...

So far one pair is in breeding dress and doing the mating dance....don't want to stare too much at them doing their thing  :Laughing: 

Hi Johanes, thanks for your advises, I've learnt a lot from you....you keep a lot of wild bettas?

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## johannes

can say a lot la... i only keep wild bettas in fact :Smile:

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## Cacatuoides

Any pictures of your tank setups? Interested to see how other wild betta hobbyist's tanks alooks like....

all your tanks doesn't have air pump?

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## johannes

actually i use hang on filter for all my tank and their outflow at the minimal as to reduce the turbulent...
as for pics... nowadays seldom take alot of their set up pics... hehe... kinda lazy... but will try to post once in a while when there are nice shots... :Smile: 

you can visit my place if you are keen...many wilds to see.. :Smile:

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## Cacatuoides

You've mentioned about wild betta tanks without any air pump, is it really possible? I'm pretty curious about that.... would love to visit your place one day....thats the other end of the island where I'm staying  :Razz: 

Can I setup a wild betta tank with fine river sand and ketapang extract? 

Do we necessarily need to lower the ph of the water? i hear that some are keeping it simply with our tap water  :Confused:

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## johannes

> You've mentioned about wild betta tanks without any air pump, is it really possible? 
>  yes definitely, esp for those small bubblenesters..they hate filters for spawning..I'm pretty curious about that.... would love to visit your place one day....thats the other end of the island where I'm staying 
> 
> Can I setup a wild betta tank with fine river sand and ketapang extract? 
> ya sure, as long as the fish does not require low pH
> 
> Do we necessarily need to lower the ph of the water? i hear that some are keeping it simply with our tap water 
> not necessarily, only for those that live in pH 4-5 in the wild then i lower the pH to around 5, thus those in pH 6-7 just require tap water and some ketapang leaves


hope to meet up one day bro...

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