Betta Channoids

[akababy]

Hi Guys,

After reading about wild betta decided to give it a try and got myself 1 pair of betta channoids from C328 today.

But after coming back and soak the bag in the tank i realise between the two i cannot tell which one is male or female... The uncle say one is male the other female. I can only tell one is bigger than the other.

Is it they are stress so colour never come out? Or is it i got 2 female instead?

Both appear dull and with only slight hint of red. =(

[johannes]

they should be a pair. the one with bigger head profile is the male. you will notice the difference in coloration as well when they have settled down.

[akababy]

ah yes Johannes, i went to check on them again and i think one of them display a white rim around the tail fin liao.

So should be the male right?

The thing is my channoide doesnt look anything like the bright red one i googled. haha

[Mudskipper]

Hehehe. Not all of them turn bright red. I have a pair in which the male is deep maroon all the time and they seldom lose their colour.

My other pair, must be younger cause they are smaller, weren't as brightly coloured as the larger pair...and for some reason, didn't really like each other. So, I bought another male from a bro and put him in the tank with them. Suddenly both males turned dark, almost as maroon as the large pair. The new male was smaller than the other one but the female just fell in love with him. I put them together in a tank by themselves and now they are both brightly coloured.

I think the moral of the story is, your fish will colour up when they are happy.

Fortune cookie: Confusious says a happy fish is a pretty fish

[akababy]

thanks fellow brothers for the info!

By the way is it a must to feed live food? Like baby brine shrimp?

[johannes]

they accept frozen bloodworm/baby brine shrimp/brine shrimp/tubifex readily.

[akababy]

ah.. this is so cool~ hope my betta makes it... love to see them hiding together in the space i made for them. Like so loving and cozy. haha

[Mudskipper]

I may not be quite accurate because I have only been keeping these little suckers for a few months. However, I don't think that most bettas have the long-term, deep-love relationship that our white-clad leaders have been encouraging our fellow citizens to commit to. I think the closeness only precedes boinking. After the deed, the female tries to hide or avoid the male. At least it's true in both my pairs. If she bugs him, he swallows the eggs...which is true in both my pairs...hence still no babies.

What I have realized is that if we expect them to like what we have carefully created or purchased for them, we will be sorely disappointed. However, if we do something and don't expect anything in return, we will be pleasantly surprised.

As I keep telling folks, I don't care if my fish don't breed. Not that I don't want them to breed, but my main goal is to keep them happy, healthy and loving life. If they do breed, that would be a major bonus but I certainly won't be disappointed if they just lived out their lives looking pretty.

[akababy]

Hi mud,

Yah, i dont mind if they not breeding but as long as they are loving its enough. But it seems like today morning the female hide one side the male hide one corner =( maybe like what you say they are only loving during the deed haha.

Anyway today i tried feeding them frozen brine and they never come out to eat... Is there anything i need to worry? Or should i buy live brine for them since they are fed live brine at c328?

[Mudskipper]

Like Bro Johannes says, they love frozen bloodworms and live brine shrimp. Mine won't touch frozen brine shrimp either. I normally feed frozen bloodworms but when I can (maybe once or twice a week) I get live brine and it drives them crazy.

Slow and steady, bro. Give them time to get used to their new home before they can do anything. 8-)

[akababy]

Fellow brothers... my female B.Channoides just died... When i came back from work today.. I don't know whats wrong aren't channiodes suppose to be a hardy fish like normal betta?

Came back and saw her floating lifelessly at the surface =( Super depress now.

Check my water parameter looks ok and ph seems to be on the low side due to CO2 injection. Now i am only left with the male.

My harlequin and cardinal tetras are as usual doing well but the female B.Channoides died =(

Any bro can help me out? My most expensive fish so far and i am only left with the male now...

[Mudskipper]

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your female channoides. I have no answers for you, unfortunately, except my condolences. I know how difficult it can be to lose a fish, I have lost a few to date. It's never easy but we must learn from these experiences.

Maybe if your post the water parameters, some of the more advanced bros can help with an answer.

Be strong.

[akababy]

i measure with 5in1 test strip nitrate and ammonia is in manageable zone and water is soft and ph is 6 or below 6...

Is it they cannot live with my tetra and harlequin? If i only have 1 male will it die of boredom? Or do i need to buy another female to keep him company?

[johannes]

wild bettas are generally shy fishes, they are better kept in species tank, although certain species sometimes/after a long time they can be kept in a community tank. having said that, boisterous, fast swimming and fierce tank mates are not recommended.

[Jitticus]

Harlequin rasboras don't sound like suitable tankmates for channoides, although they seem to be peaceful enough. Also, wild bettas love to suddenly die on you, its one of their "traits".

[akababy]

So Johannes do you think its my harlequin and tetras that cause my channoides to die? So is there any betta that can fit in my tank?

[akababy]

Harlequin rasboras don't sound like suitable tankmates for channoides, although they seem to be peaceful enough. Also, wild bettas love to suddenly die on you, its one of their "traits".

wow! Its a trait that will cost me dearly!

[Mudskipper]

So Johannes do you think its my harlequin and tetras that cause my channoides to die? So is there any betta that can fit in my tank?

Bro, you should also let us know what your setup is like. What filter do you use? Maybe the filter is too strong? Water moving too fast, stressing them out and making it difficult to eat. I'm not sure, could be any number of factors.

But like the Bros said, wild bettas are more species tank fishes. Give you an example. I recently put in some angel fish with my pair of betta mandors and before the angels went in, they were both always in the main area of the tank, swimming, fighting, etc. When the angels went in, they both hid for 2 days. After I took the angels out, they both came out and were skinny. So the angels are going to go bye bye. I can't imagine how they must feel with tetras because tetras swim around so fast.

Also, was your water aged? Chlorine will kill the fish very fast.

Could be any number of things. I would suggest you put the male in a tank by himself for now, used well aged water and place some ketapang leaves to help condition the water and for him to hide. He should be fine...but no promises.

Good luck!!

[akababy]

Hi thanks bro mudskipper,

I am using eheim liberty hob filter adjusted the flow to minimal Liao. Water I always decholrine with sea chem prime b4 I change..

Will try to take it out and put seperately now

[johannes]

Hi akababy, i am not sure, there could be other factors.
bigger mouthbrooders tend to do better in community tank, those that can reach 3-4 inches type.