Wild Green Mahachaiensis betta tank set up

Hi All!
I’ve been in the betta keeping hobby for about two years now. This may be a bit long, sorry. I have to say I’m much better than I was when I started but no where near a pro, yet. I have 5 bettas and 4 ADF. All the guys are in 6 or 6+ gallon tanks, except Machi my wild betta. He loves jumping, which research before I got him said to expect. He originally had a 9 gallon fluval flex (I think it was the flex) but he jumped into the filter compartment nonstop and despite making many adjustments and trying multiple different ways to make him stop he never did. So he got switched to a 5 gallon
he can’t jump out of or get himself stuck in. (which I have a picture of so you can see him, he’s a beauty. He is flaring at his snail tank mate in one picture). But I want to get others advice on the new tank set up. It’s a Aqueon 10 gallon rimless. I haven’t got the sponge filter I’m using in mail so the picture doesn’t have that but he will have a filter, obviously. I’ll let it cycle for a week or two with new filter then transfer his current filter and some water to speed the cycle up. It’s heated (80-81 degrees ish) and all live plants. What are peoples thoughts on this tank set up? Is it too many plants? I also have more floating plants coming to disperse throughout all my tanks. Any recommendations or tips? I don’t have the tank water parameters yet since there’s no filter for the first two days after setting it up over weekend should be arriving today though. I love him and want him to have the best tank possible so any help is greatly appreciated. There is a moss/java fern hide for him in the back right side but I may add another rock type hide so he can have a dark space but he can also disappear into the plants if he wants. I make sure that my bettas can be hidden if they want in all tanks. Thanks for reading i know this Is long and rambling!

 

Noticed you haven't had any response yet --
To answer your question, I think the amount of plants you have currently is great. Especially with wild types, the more plants the better IMO since it mimic the betta's natural habitat, which includes slow-moving or stagnant water in shallow rice paddies, swamps, and marshes. Not sure if I see any in the photos, but I would also add in tannins like IAL. It's greatly beneficial and boosts the natural effect of their natural environment.

The temps you have are good. Trim the plants to however you desire when overgrown. Floating plants are great too, just ensure your Betta has a surface to gasp for air.

Other tips: I only feed my wild types live or frozen live foods. This is optional, but I think it contributes more to their overall health.

Beautiful Mahachaiensis ! I love the green

 

This is a species which is found in brackish waters, though it can live in fresh water provided it’s hard enough. Unlike so many other wild species of bettas, it will not be happy in very soft water or classic blackwater conditions but the swamps it comes from offer lots of protection and hiding places and are well shaded, so some floating plants are probably a good idea.

I’d definitely feed live or frozen foods as much as possible. Do you intend to get a female at some point?

According to Seriouslyfish.com;
Quote”
Inhabits brackish, frequently tidal, coastal swamps and is often associated with the mangrove palm Nypa fruticans, commonly-known as the nipa palm, the only species of palm specifically adapted to estuarine environments.

Males build their bubble nests between the palm branches or within the bracts at the base of the trees, these providing protection and shelter. Although brackish populations of both B. imbellis and B. splendenshave been discovered t’s the only member of the genus to occur exclusively under such conditions.

PH at habitats in Samut Sakhon province varied between 6.87-7.80 with salinity ranging from 1.1-10.6 ppt. Sympatric fish species include Trichopsis vittata, Trichopodus trichopterus, Anabas testudineus, Aplocheilus panchax, Oryzias javanicus, Dermogenys siamensis, Channa striata, and Boraras uropthalmoides.”Unquote

He is a truly gorgeous fish and I think the tank you have set up for him is great.

 

Noticed you haven't had any response yet --
To answer your question, I think the amount of plants you have currently is great. Especially with wild types, the more plants the better IMO since it mimic the betta's natural habitat, which includes slow-moving or stagnant water in shallow rice paddies, swamps, and marshes. Not sure if I see any in the photos, but I would also add in tannins like IAL. It's greatly beneficial and boosts the natural effect of their natural environment.

The temps you have are good. Trim the plants to however you desire when overgrown. Floating plants are great too, just ensure your Betta has a surface to gasp for air.

Other tips: I only feed my wild types live or frozen live foods. This is optional, but I think it contributes more to their overall health.

Beautiful Mahachaiensis ! I love the green

Thank you for the reply! I read that wild betta really love tannin so I got a big kit for him when I first ordered him a few months ago. I do the big leaves all my tanks but got him a kit that has more than just leaves. I have tannin in there now which is new since the post like cones and bark. I’ll add the leaves when he’s in so they last longer and he’ll get the benefits. I changed my mind and am letting the tank fully cycle first without transferring old tank media and him to be safe. For now I added some of his water from water changes and am letting it cycle with that and time. Thank you for the advice. I’m working on feeding more frozen food. Right now I do once a week to ten days. I can’t find any live food sold near me though unfortunately. I only have Petco and petsmart near me and they have nothing live. Sometimes they have ghost shrimp - woukd you recommend those are live treats/food? I have tried to keep them with some of my betta and they all became a snack at some point. This guy I know would hung shrimp but I worry about what the shrimp might carry coming from these chain stores. Any advice on that or how you get live food? Thanks again

This is a species which is found in brackish waters, though it can live in fresh water provided it’s hard enough. Unlike so many other wild species of bettas, it will not be happy in very soft water or classic blackwater conditions but the swamps it comes from offer lots of protection and hiding places and are well shaded, so some floating plants are probably a good idea.

I’d definitely feed live or frozen foods as much as possible. Do you intend to get a female at some point?

According to Seriouslyfish.com;
Quote”
Inhabits brackish, frequently tidal, coastal swamps and is often associated with the mangrove palm Nypa fruticans, commonly-known as the nipa palm, the only species of palm specifically adapted to estuarine environments.

Males build their bubble nests between the palm branches or within the bracts at the base of the trees, these providing protection and shelter. Although brackish populations of both B. imbellis and B. splendenshave been discovered t’s the only member of the genus to occur exclusively under such conditions.

PH at habitats in Samut Sakhon province varied between 6.87-7.80 with salinity ranging from 1.1-10.6 ppt. Sympatric fish species include Trichopsis vittata, Trichopodus trichopterus, Anabas testudineus, Aplocheilus panchax, Oryzias javanicus, Dermogenys siamensis, Channa striata, and Boraras uropthalmoides.”Unquote

He is a truly gorgeous fish and I think the tank you have set up for him is great.

Thank you for the response and thanks he really is beautiful! I love him so i want to give him the best tank. I made a few tweaks to offer more hiding spots and shade and the floating plants I ordered arrive a few days ago. It’s coming together great. I’ll have to start feeding him frozen Food more. I do it as a treat once a week or so. I don’t intend on getting a female - I don’t think I’m experienced enough on that area of betta care to start that just yet or anytime soon .

 

Thank you for the reply! I read that wild betta really love tannin so I got a big kit for him when I first ordered him a few months ago. I do the big leaves all my tanks but got him a kit that has more than just leaves. I have tannin in there now which is new since the post like cones and bark. I’ll add the leaves when he’s in so they last longer and he’ll get the benefits. I changed my mind and am letting the tank fully cycle first without transferring old tank media and him to be safe. For now I added some of his water from water changes and am letting it cycle with that and time. Thank you for the advice. I’m working on feeding more frozen food. Right now I do once a week to ten days. I can’t find any live food sold near me though unfortunately. I only have Petco and petsmart near me and they have nothing live. Sometimes they have ghost shrimp - woukd you recommend those are live treats/food? I have tried to keep them with some of my betta and they all became a snack at some point. This guy I know would hung shrimp but I worry about what the shrimp might carry coming from these chain stores. Any advice on that or how you get live food? Thanks again

Thank you for the response and thanks he really is beautiful! I love him so i want to give him the best tank. I made a few tweaks to offer more hiding spots and shade and the floating plants I ordered arrive a few days ago. It’s coming together great. I’ll have to start feeding him frozen Food more. I do it as a treat once a week or so. I don’t intend on getting a female - I don’t think I’m experienced enough on that area of betta care to start that just yet or anytime soon .

No worries. He is lovely all on his own.

 

Thank you for the reply! I read that wild betta really love tannin so I got a big kit for him when I first ordered him a few months ago. I do the big leaves all my tanks but got him a kit that has more than just leaves. I have tannin in there now which is new since the post like cones and bark. I’ll add the leaves when he’s in so they last longer and he’ll get the benefits. I changed my mind and am letting the tank fully cycle first without transferring old tank media and him to be safe. For now I added some of his water from water changes and am letting it cycle with that and time. Thank you for the advice. I’m working on feeding more frozen food. Right now I do once a week to ten days. I can’t find any live food sold near me though unfortunately. I only have Petco and petsmart near me and they have nothing live. Sometimes they have ghost shrimp - woukd you recommend those are live treats/food? I have tried to keep them with some of my betta and they all became a snack at some point. This guy I know would hung shrimp but I worry about what the shrimp might carry coming from these chain stores. Any advice on that or how you get live food? Thanks again

Thank you for the response and thanks he really is beautiful! I love him so i want to give him the best tank. I made a few tweaks to offer more hiding spots and shade and the floating plants I ordered arrive a few days ago. It’s coming together great. I’ll have to start feeding him frozen Food more. I do it as a treat once a week or so. I don’t intend on getting a female - I don’t think I’m experienced enough on that area of betta care to start that just yet or anytime soon .

No worries! I Petco & PetSmart sometimes carry those live bug bites (I think that's what they're called?). Those are good too. I usually just do Frozen food like Brine Shrimp / Blood worms from Petco/PetSmart. Frozen is good enough, just let it sit in water before you add it in.

If you really want live food, I suggest ordering daphnia or actual live black worms. There's a ton of tutorial for culturing them online! I'm not sure about shrimps, I've never kept them with my bettas. Goodluck!

 

No worries! I Petco & PetSmart sometimes carry those live bug bites (I think that's what they're called?). Those are good too. I usually just do Frozen food like Brine Shrimp / Blood worms from Petco/PetSmart. Frozen is good enough, just let it sit in water before you add it in.

If you really want live food, I suggest ordering daphnia or actual live black worms. There's a ton of tutorial for culturing them online! I'm not sure about shrimps, I've never kept them with my bettas. Goodluck!

Another very easy live food to culture is the amphipod or gammaru, colloquially they’re known as scuds. There isn’t an easier freshwater critter to culture than these guys and unlike live daphnia or brine shrimp, they take much more work to catch for the fish, which means the fish will be spending more time hunting food, which is an excellent enrichment for them, providing exercise, food and fun all together.

 

No worries! I Petco & PetSmart sometimes carry those live bug bites (I think that's what they're called?). Those are good too. I usually just do Frozen food like Brine Shrimp / Blood worms from Petco/PetSmart. Frozen is good enough, just let it sit in water before you add it in.

If you really want live food, I suggest ordering daphnia or actual live black worms. There's a ton of tutorial for culturing them online! I'm not sure about shrimps, I've never kept them with my bettas. Goodluck!

Thank you for response! I have tried the live Petco/petsmart bug bites with the fly less fruit fly type things. Unfortunately only one of 5 betta liked them and the rest caused a mess with jumping out of tank - some could fly! I’ll be looking into ordering live food. I would love to get that for him. Any recommendations or ideas when you can get good quality live prey? I’ll do some research as well! Thanks again

Another very easy live food to culture is the amphipod or gammaru, colloquially they’re known as scuds. There isn’t an easier freshwater critter to culture than these guys and unlike live daphnia or brine shrimp, they take much more work to catch for the fish, which means the fish will be spending more time hunting food, which is an excellent enrichment for them, providing exercise, food and fun all together.

Awesome! Thanks. Do you have Any recommendations on where I may buy these? I just worry about buying bad quality food for my guys!

 

Thank you for response! I have tried the live Petco/petsmart bug bites with the fly less fruit fly type things. Unfortunately only one of 5 betta liked them and the rest caused a mess with jumping out of tank - some could fly! I’ll be looking into ordering live food. I would love to get that for him. Any recommendations or ideas when you can get good quality live prey? I’ll do some research as well! Thanks again

There are two worms you can easily culture - no odours, they live in earth, so their cultures smell only of damp earth unless the culture dies of course. You can’t feed worms only, they are quite fatty but they’re a good part of the diet. White worms are the larger of the two, Grindal worms are small and thread like but again, easy and good food.

There are also springtails, dead simple to culture and can’t fly though they jump like fleas. Harmless - they’re detritivores and float on the water tension.

All they need is a plastic box with a quarter or half inch of tank water in the bottom, orchid moss ( it can be used moss from repotting) and some leaf litter, all nicely moist but not sopping wet. Feed with fish food or small veggie scraps and if mould grows, no worries, they eat mould happily.