# Betta.macrostoma, Brunei Mouth Brooder



## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

Waited and search for almost 2 years, but I finally got my hands on a juvenile pair of betta.macrostoma/peacock mouth brooders. Picked them up yesterday from the Pearson Vista cargo bay, shipping went smooth and the bettas arrived safe and sound.
The male's fins were ripped up slightly, by the female, before they were shipped to me. Good news is; he's already healing back to normal.
They're still adjusting, but so for so good, their colours have also came back and they're quite active. Pretty brave fish, not bothered by my presence in front their tank at all  Best of all, they're starting to court eachother.
I have them in a 46 gallon lightly planted tank, with anubias, java moss, weeping moss, java fern, hornwort, some salvina and giant duck weed. Have two Oto cats, to help with tank maintenance as well as to help diffuse any aggression between the pair. Male measures 2" 1/2, while female is slightly larger, at 2" 3/4.
I'll update and post pics as soon as possible, if anyone else has kept Macs/Macros, let me know.


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## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

Wow, congrats! That's a more rare fish out these parts. Would love to see photos.


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## TonyT (Apr 13, 2012)

Did you get them from Below Water? Love to see some pics...envious


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

TonyT said:


> Did you get them from Below Water? Love to see some pics...envious


Yeah, once I saw them on Oliver's stock list, I messaged him right away and place an order. I took a few pics earlier tonight, not the best pics since I used my cellphone, but I'll post them as soon as possible.


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

Just a few quick shots of the Mac pair, not the best quality, taken with my cellphone.
The fin damage inflicted by the female, prior to shipping was pretty bad. if you look carefully though, you can see the fins already starting to heal back.

Male Mac, 2" 1/2


















Female Mac, 2" 3/4


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

Pics fixed, they were GIGANTIC before lol.


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

Quick update, 

My male mac's fins have been healing back quite well, the anal and dorsal fins are almost fully healed back to normal. The tail, right pectoral fin, and ventral fins may need another month or so.

I'll also be adding to my wild mouth brooder betta collection, getting my new Betta.channoides group next month. 3 males and 2 females. Going be fun keeping "miniature macrostomas" again, as well as my current real macrostoma pair 
Going to house the channoides group a 40 gallon long.


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

Got some exciting news regarding my Mac pair. The male's fins have healed back, but more importantly, they've started breeding. They've wrapped numerous times at the surface and the the male is now holding! Female has been moved to a holding tank, to allow her to recover and to prevent her from coaxing the male to breed again (which might make him swallow their current brood).
Hopefully he doesn't swallow the eggs, but then again this is their first breeding attempt so maybe I shouldn't have high hopes, fingers crossed.


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## Tahuboy (Sep 20, 2013)

Awesome! Please keep up posted. I may buy some fry from you one day if your willing. I just recently started wanting to get a pair myself after watching this video panta rhei aquatics -


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

Yeah, will do. I'm planning to grow them out a bit until I can tell the genders, before I sell them. All depends on my male holding the eggs until they hatch though. I'm going to head out this weekend to grab a small egg tumbler, incase the male doesn't learn how to hold.
I was captivated by Macs, after watching these vids:

Males establishing domanacy





Spawning - Part 1 & 2





Seeing this in person, was really amazing


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## Tahuboy (Sep 20, 2013)

Nice vids. Please do tell when you are ready to sell some.


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

Day 2, male Mac still holding. Female is feeding well, she'll probably develop more eggs in a 2 weeks or so. I'll keep you guys updated.


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

Unfortunately, the male swallowed today 

Went to turn on the tank lights this morning and noticed the male was swimming at the surface of the front of my tank. Once the lights were on I saw that he had swallowed the eggs. Really sucks, but I guess it's like the saying goes "If at first you don't succeed, try try again." 

I'm going to introduce the female to the tank again on Wednesday, and we'll see what happens. I'm going to add a few more hiding places in the tank (ie: clay pots, pipes, and caves) as well. Hopefully he'll feel more comfortable the next time he holds. Even with the female gone, the main tank is in my living room, so maybe he got spooked from seeing people walk in and out. 

I was advised by another macrostoma keeper/breeder on another forum, to leave the tank blacked out the next time the male is holding. I will try that method when the male is holding again.


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

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.
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


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

It's been quite a while since I've updated this thread, so here's a quick update. I ended up selling my previous Mac pair early into 2015, as well as my other fish. The Macs bred regularly each month, but the male never held for the entire incubation period. School was taking up a lot of my time and I decided to take a break from the hobby for a little while. 

Presently - The 46 bowfront has been setup again, new substrate has been swapped in. Plants, driftwood, and 2 clay pots have also been added. Going to grow the plants out for a few months, before I add my new Mac reverse trio (2 males - 1 female) to the tank. Currently have some SAE and Amano shrimp in the tank, which have been doing an awesome job at keeping the tank clean. Got a Ziss Zet-65 tumbler on hand, in case the new males aren't experienced at holding. Hope they do hold, fingers crossed.

I will also be getting in 3 new pairs of Betta.channoides. I'll keep everyone updated.


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## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

Good luck with this. Looking forward to hearing about progress.


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

Quick update, here is the complete list of wild species bettas I'll be receiving from Malaysia and Thailand, next month:

*Mouthbrooders:*

"The crown jewel and king of all bettas" 

- 3 Betta.macrostoma (Brunei beauty/Peacock mouthbrooder), reversed trio: 2 males - 1 female

Going into my planted 46 gallon bowfront tank

"All time favorite"

- 6 Betta.channoides (Snakehead betta/Cherry mouthbrooder), 3 pairs: 3 males - 3 females

Going into my 40 gallon planted tank

*Bubblenesters:*

"Can't beat the classics"

- 2 Betta.imbellis (Crescent/Peaceful betta), 1 pair: 1 male - 1 female

Going into 10 gallon lowlight planted tank #1

"Wild Fighter"

- 2 Betta.mahachai (Mahachai/Mahachaiensis), 1 pair: 1 male - 1 female

Going into 10 gallon lowlight planted tank #2


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## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

Nice species list! I'm jealous.
I had mahachai. I loved them. 
I've always wanted to try imbellis.
Your posts with the wild bettas has got me considering them again.


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

ksimdjembe said:


> Nice species list! I'm jealous.
> I had mahachai. I loved them.
> I've always wanted to try imbellis.
> Your posts with the wild bettas has got me considering them again.


Catching betta fever again eh? 

Imbellis are a very attractive species, but I find they're rather shy compared to the other wild bubblenesters. They seem to take longer to adjust as well. My old pairs took about 4-5 months before they were confident enough to come out and eat in front of me. I would put food into the tank and they would slowly pop their heads out to check if it was safe. Once they felt comfortable, they would dart out of the plants and grab the food, and dart back into cover. 
I'm also quite picky when it comes to buying imbellis, they need to have the right ratios and characteristics.

Really like mahachai too, getting a pair of spade tail type.

Going to try breeding the bubblenesters and B.channoides first, since I have enough room to accommodate their fry. Probably will end up selling some fry if things go well.

I'll leave the macs to get acquainted and mingle. If they end up breeding and swallow their broods, no worries. It'll serve as practice for when they learn to hold for the entire incubation period. If they don't learn to hold by the time I want to breed them, I can always wait for them to drop their eggs, then place the eggs into my tumbler.


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

All wilds arrived Thursday, and are currently in QT. The macros are absolutely stunning, especially the dominant male of the trio.
The 3 channoides pairs are already off to a good start, 2 of the larger females are gravid. The imbellis are a lot smaller than I expected, but nonetheless, they are still a very beautiful pair. The mahachai are as awesome as I remember, a little feisty though.
Will post pics as soon as the fish and their colours settle in


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## Ashleyrezka (Sep 11, 2015)

That's great, glad to see another wild fan! Channoides are my favourite as well. I would love to try macs some day. There will be some Patoti available in the Betta Breeders Canada auction starting this Monday, incase you want more types lol


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic (Apr 23, 2012)

Ashleyrezka said:


> That's great, glad to see another wild fan! Channoides are my favourite as well. I would love to try macs some day. There will be some Patoti available in the Betta Breeders Canada auction starting this Monday, incase you want more types lol


Feelings are mutual 

Definitely recommend getting some macs in the future. Not only are they a very beautiful species, but their personalities are amazing too (comparable to that of an oscar).

Thanks for the heads up, but I think I'm good for now. Going to focus on caring and breeding the wilds I have now. May get a pair of B.patoti down the road, seems to be a red variant available now. I'm also looking into Betta.apiapi/api-api.


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