Back With Macs!

[Dominus_XVIII]

Hey everyone,
 
It's been a very long time, since I last posted anything or even been on the forum. I've been just really busy with college and work related stuff, but I just wanted to pop my head back in and say hello

What's even better is; I have finally had the pleasure of acquiring a young pair of wild Betta.macrostoma, here in Canada! Here's some pics I took of them, when I first received them earlier this month (May. 1st, to be exact). The fin damage inflicted by the female, prior to shipping was pretty bad, as you can see from these old pics.
 
Male Mac, 2" 1/2

 

 
Female Mac, 2" 3/4

 

 

 

 
It's May. 24th today and the males fins have healed back, almost 100%. Just the tips of his ventral fins, the tips of his right pectoral and the blue edging around his caudal are still healing back. I'll post updated pics as soon as possible, so you can see my male in all his glory haha!

 

[attibones]

They look lovely. Are you planning to breed them?

 

[DrRob]

He's healing up nicely isn't he. Lovely fish.

 

[GuppyGirl20]

so these types of bettas can be kept together???

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

They look lovely. Are you planning to breed them?

Thanks, also yes. They've actually already bred for me 2 week ago, but the male didn't hold the eggs for the full incubation period. They're starting to court again, hopefully the male doesn't swallow this time

He's healing up nicely isn't he. Lovely fish.

Thanks, also yes, his fins have healed back. The male's colours have also gotten brighter, his body is more orange now, with a bit of blue tint (when reflecting light). I'll post updated pics when I get the chance.

 

[attibones]

Oh that's exciting! I hope they get it right this time, now they have had some experience. You should totally keep us updated on the breeding attempts.

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

so these types of bettas can be kept together???

Yes, as with the majority of wild bettas. Betta.macrostoma are a wild mouth brooding betta species. Females of the species are usually dominant and are the ones which initiate breeding, which is why the male is so tattered up in those pics. 
Since introducing them to my tank,it seems the roles have flipped, me male has become dominant now. He chased the female around during the first week and sized her up, and she longer hassles him now haha. Good news is; they've have been getting along "swimmingly" since they bred, two weeks ago. The male's fins have healed back since.

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

Oh that's exciting! I hope they get it right this time, now they have had some experience. You should totally keep us updated on the breeding attempts.

Will do, I'm going try a different method this time, if that doesn't work I have a couple of small egg tumblers on hand (they're the last resort though). The first time around, I moved the female to a separate tank and stopped feeding the male (for obvious reasons haha), as to the breeding reports for the species. I've been advised by a fellow B.macrostoma keeper, who has already successfully bred his mac pair, to blackout the tank during the holding period. This should help the male feel more at ease, which will hopefully encourage him to hold to the end.

 

[GuppyGirl20]

That's super great! I thought all bettas had to be separate so that's really cool. I hope you get lots of fry from these two  

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

That's super great! I thought all bettas had to be separate so that's really cool. I hope you get lots of fry from these two

 
Just splendens including wild splendens need to be separated, but tolerance of tank cohabitants does vary between wild bettas as well. The majority of the time, wilds are quite docile towards each other, but I have noticed B.mahachaiensis tend to be slightly more aggressive (compared to B.imbellis, B.smaragdina, and B.stiktos).
This is just from my experience of caring for these species. One needs to also remember; each fish has it's own personality so some will be more docile while others may be more territorial/defensive.
 
I also hope my male holds for the full incubation period this time, I'll keep everyone updated

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

Good news everyone, I woke up this morning to quite a surprise, my male mac is holding again! Guess they must have bred sometime last night and the brood looks bigger than last time. The male's head is starting to point downwards slightly, from the weight if the eggs haha!
I relocated the female to a separate tank again and I've blacked out the male's tank this time around.
I'll check on him in 5 days, if he's still holding then, it's possible he'll hold for the remainder of the incubation period. I'll keep everyone updated

 

[majerah1]

Congrats, and good luck! 

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

Bad news again, my male ended up swallowing again. Going to give him one more shot, but if he swallows again, I'll start using egg tumblers.

 

[majerah1]

be careful with the tumblers, the eggs are super sensitive. 
 
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPI_HZBRF0g
 
I am not sure what he has used, looks to be a glass of water sitting in a tank. Probably some fungucide to prevent the eggs from going bad. I have thought of doing the same thing and am very close to stripping my male. 

 

[DerpPH]

Hm... wild type bettas have their own right to be called gorgeous
 
Nice macs you got there.
 
good luck on breeding them. hope the mouthbrooding goes well