My most recent obsession: Betta mahachaiensis

[Matth05]

This is gonna be a long one! Sorry to whoever decides to actually read my rambling. I’ve got the bug. Yup, I’m afraid I have full blown MTS (multiple tank syndrome). I’ve been wanting to try out a betta since I fell in love with that little paradise gourami. So back in late June, when I saw Petco was having their dollar per gallon sale, I picked up this 10 gallon. Built my own stand out of 2x4s, something I’ve never done before and really enjoyed doing. Did I mention It cost me LESS THAN HALF as much as a particle board stand from one of the big box stores.
I scaped the tank to best of my ability and after about a month and a half of cycling, I was ready to get a betta. At first I was considering a domestic, specifically the shorter fin Plakat variety. Then a friend introduced me to wild type bettas. I discovered the splendens complex and immediately fell in love. After researching each and every species in the complex I came across mahachaiensis. A species that can tolerate the higher ph, and harder water in my area. Doesn’t get better than that. Here’s the tank:
Don’t mind the towel on the light, that’s just to minimize glare when I was taking the photo lol. Let’s start with the tank itself, before I get into the betta. My choice of plants - a mix of different anubias species: nana petite, barteri, and hastifolia. I decided to try Java moss, not expecting it to really work out. Little did I know is was going to thrive, now it’s slowly covering the large driftwood piece. My favorite plant in this tank is the salvinia minima. This tank basically always has undetectable nitrates, and I suspect I have the salvinia to thank for that. At one point there was quite a bit more moneywort in back, but as the salvinia exploded it started to struggle. I’ve heard water sprite might be a better alternative?

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, there’s quite a bit of leaf litter. I know the whole tannin look isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, quite literally. I enjoy it though. No, not because it “softens your water”. I’m sure that’s not happening. I’ve found it does wonders for the betta’s colors and the extra health benefits are a massive plus.

Here’s the betta.
So far this fish has been an absolute blast. I thinks he’s stunning. Not shy whatsoever and extremely outgoing. This tank is in my bedroom so when I’m at my desk, it’s quite fun looking over to see this guy watching me like a hawk. Anyways I think I’ve rambled on enough now. If anyone’s made it down this far I’d be surprised .

 

[Matth05]

Managed to snag a few more pictures. He’s quite difficult to photograph, only being about 2 inches (probably even smaller) and extremely active.

 

[Matth05]

Got another round of photos to share.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Beautiful! I love how you gave the betta ten times more space than most betta keepers give. I've seen them kept in like 1-gallon bowls before...*shudders*...horrible. I also love the aquascape. Normally, I don't go for the blackwater look, but I really like your look!

 

[Tripping Willow 91]

He's a beauty and the tank looks great for him.

I've recently set up a 60litre cube, it's heavily planted and home to a load of ramshorns and 22 goldenback neocaridina shrimp. I'm going to leave the tank fishless for a while longer and let the shrimp multiply in peace. The original plan was for the tank to be home to a dozen small colorful fish, alongside the shrimp and snails. I was thinking either some kind of endler, white clouds or emerald danio, but I've since discovered B. mahachaiensis, they are stunning and should work with my hard water

Do you think a pair of mahachaiensis would decimate my goldenbacks or would they just snack on the odd juvenile?

 

[Matth05]

He's a beauty and the tank looks great for him.

I've recently set up a 60litre cube, it's heavily planted and home to a load of ramshorns and 22 goldenback neocaridina shrimp. I'm going to leave the tank fishless for a while longer and let the shrimp multiply in peace. The original plan was for the tank to be home to a dozen small colorful fish, alongside the shrimp and snails. I was thinking either some kind of endler, white clouds or emerald danio, but I've since discovered B. mahachaiensis, they are stunning and should work with my hard water

Do you think a pair of mahachaiensis would decimate my goldenbacks or would they just snack on the odd juvenile?

First off thank you so much for the kind words. To be completely honest, I still have a lot to learn myself about this fish. I’ve only had him for 2 months at this point. I’d hate to point you in the wrong direction or give advice with minimal experience backing that. I’m actually not sure how shrimp would fair. I will say that he does not hesitate at all when it comes to snacking on ramshorns. He rummages through the leaf litter trying to find them, they seem to congregate more on the botanicals.

 

[Caveden]

He's a beauty and the tank looks great for him.

I've recently set up a 60litre cube, it's heavily planted and home to a load of ramshorns and 22 goldenback neocaridina shrimp. I'm going to leave the tank fishless for a while longer and let the shrimp multiply in peace. The original plan was for the tank to be home to a dozen small colorful fish, alongside the shrimp and snails. I was thinking either some kind of endler, white clouds or emerald danio, but I've since discovered B. mahachaiensis, they are stunning and should work with my hard water

Do you think a pair of mahachaiensis would decimate my goldenbacks or would they just snack on the odd juvenile?

I think they would do fine given the tank is heavily planted for the shrimp to hide. depends on the bettas personality as well however, I had a halfmoon betta in a 4gallon which terrorised and killed all my cherry shrimp, while i had another that befriended the shrimp. that was however, a much smaller tank than yours with little decor.

 

[Tripping Willow 91]

First off thank you so much for the kind words. To be completely honest, I still have a lot to learn myself about this fish. I’ve only had him for 2 months at this point. I’d hate to point you in the wrong direction or give advice with minimal experience backing that. I’m actually not sure how shrimp would fair. I will say that he does not hesitate at all when it comes to snacking on ramshorns. He rummages through the leaf litter trying to find them, they seem to congregate more on the botanicals.

Thank you for your knowledge, sounds like he's a bit of a hunter. Is it just the baby rams he predates on or goes for the big guys as well? The ram hunting sounds pretty cool, a bit of in house ram control is fine with me, I bet he's very interesting to watch. Do you plan on introducing a female with him or any other livestock, also is he captive bred or wild caught?

 

[Tripping Willow 91]

I think they would do fine given the tank is heavily planted for the shrimp to hide. depends on the bettas personality as well however, I had a halfmoon betta in a 4gallon which terrorised and killed all my cherry shrimp, while i had another that befriended the shrimp. that was however, a much smaller tank than yours with little decor.

Thanks, appreciate the reply. I've previously kept cherry shrimp with cherry barbs, honey gourami and dwarf neon rainbows, without issue, the odd one got picked off but nothing more. I've never kept bettas so it's great to hear some 1st hand experience, I guess as you say it comes down to the individual fish. I think if I leave the tank fishless for a few more months, let their numbers increase into the hundreds and let the plants get super dense, then I could stand a good chance of maintaining a decent colony, unless I get a pair of cold blooded killers.

The tank is not the typical style I would have gone with for a wild type betta, I already have a low light, natural, botanical filled aquarium and wanted something completely opposite. It's fairly bright and open but also with a large area of cover and lots of surface cover, I think once the plants have really filled in, it could make a great home for a pair of these and they'd fit the tanks theme very well

 

[Matth05]

Thank you for your knowledge, sounds like he's a bit of a hunter. Is it just the baby rams he predates on or goes for the big guys as well? The ram hunting sounds pretty cool, a bit of in house ram control is fine with me, I bet he's very interesting to watch. Do you plan on introducing a female with him or any other livestock, also is he captive bred or wild caught?

I’ve actually never seen any decent sized ramshorns in here. All of these ramshorns were hitchhikers on the plants lol. I think he takes them out once they reach a size that he would consider worth eating. I’d be curious how larger ones would hold up.

So this guy I ordered from Blackwater Aquatics. If I’m not mistaken, their mahachaiensis are all captive bred from a Vietnamese breeder. I’m somewhat interested in getting a female at some point. It’d be a first for me with breeding bettas, and really breeding fish in general lol. The whole bubble nesting process has fascinated me since I’ve discovered some of these gourami and betta species.