will be getting 6 imbellis soon... am i forgetting anything?

[monkeypie102]

Okay so i am getting 2 trios of Betta Imbellis (2 male 4 females) from a pet store in Oregan called the wet spot (I live in Illinois but a friend who lives there recommended them!) Anyways as a birthday gift to myself in february I will be ordering them officially, already had a chat with the store sales manager and they said they could swing that.

Anyways I have a cycled 10g that I turned into, what I hope, a betta biotope, minus the Ph. It has plants that are from he SE Asian region, will list below, I also have IAL for coloration, as for algae I know trapdoor snails aren't really from a betta habitat due to horrible Ph and hardness levels from rice patties I did chose a snail commonly found in the same region.

Anyways a few things I haven't looked into was breeding habits and care for the fry (I am not stupid enough to think they won't breed) also I 10g enough to support 6 adult Imbellis? I am a member of another fish site (fishlore) and I am, for lack of another word, blogging as i go along with updates and such.

Anyways currently the tank is dirted capped with white reptocalcium sand and play sand. As for plants I have Java ferns, pennywort, rotala, ludwigia, duckweed (pesky plant transferred from the tank I want it in), amazon frogbit, and is currently housing 10 red mangrove seedlings until I can move them to my 29g community.
As for the stock there is
1 CT betta, I know he will be moved to a different tank when they arrive
2 blue mystery snails (this is also temp housing)
10 Japanese trapdoor snails (all but 2 will be heading to my pond in the spring )

My tablet won't let me post pictures on this site'or else I would attach a few of the tank...

[LittleBettaFish]

Watch out for your sand that it doesn't raise the hardness or pH of your water over time. I had sand do that in my wild tanks where the pH is supposed to be around 4-5 and it wasn't until my fish started reacting poorly that I noticed anything.

10 gallons may be a tight squeeze once your two males establish themselves in the tank. Imbellis are from the splendens complex, which is one of the more aggressive complexes of wilds, so you may see some fighting depending on the temperament and age of your fish.

I've found in a group situation, you usually end up with one dominant male/female pair and that they will sometimes be the only pair to spawn. However, it is going to be tricky in a tank with so many other fish in it to get any fry safely out. I had a pair of fish spawn continually in one of my tanks where there were three pairs and out of all those fry I only found one when I tore the tank down and moved them. This was even with a species whose fry are capable of growing out alongside their parents without the threat of being eaten.

Imbellis, particularly if they are captive bred, are one of the more forgiving and easy care species of wilds. They don't require an especially large tank or particularly soft water/low pH, and can be quite prolific due to the nature of their spawning habits. As long as you provide a decent amount of cover and have water that is at either neutral or on the softer side of neutral, you shouldn't have too much difficulty in keeping them.

[ChoclateBetta]

Mangroves root fast. They will also need to remain humid. So misting is good.