ID: What Betta species is this? - Betta rutilans

[girlanimated]

Just got a trio of wild-type bettas.
They're not coccina, might be rutilans....
was thinking about it on the way back from the lfs, but now i cant remember what they are.
i seriously cant remember what they are!
the pictures are really bad, macro decided to screw up on me and i needed to use flash, even though its bad for the fish
they're more brown/darker in real life.
around 2-3.5 cm long each

some (bad) pictures:

[leeruisheng]

I would guessed it's Betta rutilans too.

Some pictures in this link for your reference.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...betta+rutilans

[girlanimated]

thanks! do you have any experience with them? when i first put them in the tank they were fine, but now they seem lethargic.... i left the water overnight, put antichlorine and stabilizer.... but they look unhealthy now. they shouldnt need a filter right?

[leeruisheng]

Preferably at least a bubble filter. Provide more shade and hiding places. And probably good to have some substrate. I felt your rutilans are uncomfortable with the reflective base. They might be looking at their reflection and looks quite reflective. Will do better if there's no much light.

I believe your pH should be neutral or alkaline. Can try littering the base with some ketapang leaves. This lowers the pH, partially reducing the reflective base and at the same time provide hideouts. But beware that this will tint your water.

Yeah. I'm a christian.

[girlanimated]

thanks for the tips!

just an update, 2 of them died.
the last one's doing fine, changed the water and tank, added a pinch of salt and its doing much better. added substrate too. not eating yet, trying to transfer to micropellets. looks at the food eagerly for like 10 seconds then swims away.

[Quixotic]

Sorry for the loss.

i left the water overnight, put antichlorine and stabilizer.... but they look unhealthy now. they shouldnt need a filter right?

Looking back, it sounds as though that you only set up the tank overnight? Water parameters aren't stable, so this isn't exactly the ideal settings for fishes. This could very well have contributed to the deaths.

I would suggest to try keeping them in a well established tank in future. This would greatly improve the likelihood of keeping them well, healthy and happy.

And if you wish to dose salt, you will need to understand what salt does to the fish in the first place. If there isn't anything visibly wrong with the fish, I would advise not to use them as these fish are basically freshwater fish.

[johannes]

put salt when they are sick, e.g. velvet, white spot, and of course with other medication would be better.

btw, those small wild bubblenester require similar water parameters:
pH ard 5-5.5
slightly dark environment (to show their colour), add floating plants
water height not too deep
plenty of moss, KTP leaves
prefer live food and frozen food
temp abt 28 degrees
slight or no water current at all (use sponge or tune down your whatever filter you are using

..

johannes

[girlanimated]

thanks all!

used to hardier fish like betta splendens.... and not allowed to keep bottles of aged water lying around, parents will make noise. already making noise at the amount of tanks i have. being a teenager is difficult.

[Zenislev]

Betta rutilans are really cute, but most lfs sells only males....i find it hard to obtain a female.

[girlanimated]

i see.. well im not planning on breeding so yea..
but if i could find a female i'd be quite happy.

[johannes]

Betta rutilans are really cute, but most lfs sells only males....i find it hard to obtain a female.

females are there, it's just that they are not so sexually dimorphic

[girlanimated]

females are there, it's just that they are not so sexually dimorphic

oh i see... wonder whats mine....

[Zenislev]

females are there, it's just that they are not so sexually dimorphic

So betta bro, how to actually identify the sex of rutilans? As what i've seen in various lfs, the whole tank of them are red...all looks the same to me.

[Quixotic]

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=33996

Conditions in the LFS won't always allow you that luxury of sexing them. Fins are always almost ragged and torn. You probably need to buy a group, condition them well and may then see the differences (albeit subtle ones).

[girlanimated]

i see..

and i have bad news. my last surviving one jumped out of its tank. found it dried up and crispy....

[hwchoy]

if I recall correctly the wine red group of bettas need to be identified by the pectoral fins (length and tip colours).

[ZaZ]

if I recall correctly the wine red group of bettas need to be identified by the pectoral fins (length and tip colours).

Part of it, yes.

B coccina: Black tip + a black lateral spot in male
B livida: Greenish tip + with/without lateral spot
B tussyae: White tip + no lateral spot + with/without iridescents on the unpaired fins (depends on the locality)
B rutilans: White tip + no lateral spot + plain red unpaired fins + stay small in size
B brownorum:White tip + lateral spot in both sexes and realtively large (especially those from west Sarawak)
B burdigala: body and fins with lots of iridescents + short snout + no lateral spot
B uberis : same apperance with burdigala + with/without lateral spot.
B persephone & B miniopinna: not red!!