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10g Biotope

4K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  Fishnerd.101 
#1 ·
I have never kept wilds before but was looking to set up a 10-gallon biotope for a male/female pair of Betta mahachaiensis. The tank would have a divider, allowing five gallons each. It would be blackwater and stocked with plants native to Asia, and I was wondering if there were any species of shrimp that could tolerate a pH potentially lower than 6.0 and the would be naturally encountered by wild bettas. I am also looking for some plant recommendations.
 
#8 ·
A pair of Betta hendra would do fine in a 10 gallon aquarium.

You can keep a group of B. hendra in a 10 gallon aquarium. But they are still an aggressive and territorial species, and depending on the fish, there may be fighting. Also, if there's any breeding activity, the breeding pair will bully the other fish and it becomes quite stressful for everyone. I only keep my wild bettas in groups out of necessity.

Dark substrate (I like to use aqua soil), dim lighting, tannin stained water, and plenty of plant cover is what I recommend for coccina complex species. A lot of breeders don't really care that their fish only look their best during courtship and spawning, or that they spend most of their time hiding.

Java moss, Java Fern,Water Sprite, Asian Wategrass, Duckweed, and various Cryptocoryne species are all plants that I've successfully grown in my very soft water.

One thing I do recommend is a very secure fitting lid. If there's even the smallest gap, a wild betta will find it an jump through it. Even if you drop the water level significantly. It's not a matter of if, but when with them. Even experienced wild betta keepers will lose fish after forgetting to replace a lid. I personally use cling wrap for my smaller wild bettas. Only time I've lost a fish while using it, is when I've forgotten to replace it after a water change or there's been a hole torn in it, and I haven't noticed.

I will say that even a species as small as B. hendra may harass or even kill your shrimp. I added shrimp to my B. livida tank once and they were dead within minutes.

I've kept essentially all members of the coccina complex at some time or another, so if you have any further questions about them, feel free to ask. I have only general knowledge regarding most of the other wild betta species.
 
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