My Betta macrostoma Project Options

[Haji Badaruddin]

Day 1 (24.09.08)

The idea is to:

share and gather info/problems from aquarists that have successfully kept and bred this beautiful fish

Number of wild caught fishes: 21 pairs and 8 males and 3 young females

Location:18 pairs collected "not from Marudi".
3 pairs and the 8 males and 3 females collected from Marudi

Tank size: 18"x18"x18"

Water source:Rainwater pH6.4 - 6.8

Tank pH :3.8-4.5:now maintain at 4.2 (lowered by using SERA pH Down)

Temperature:25C

Decor:Java Moss and driftwood
Leaf litter from Marudi

Aeration:airstone connected to air pump

Filtration:None

Tank setup:21.09.08

Water into tanks:22.09.08 (rain water collected from a heavy downpour on that day was used;5% of aged water was added)

Fish transfered into tanks:22.09.08 (late evening)

Here's some pics:

Betta macrostoma collected "not from Marudi"









Betta macrostoma collected from Marudi





Some of the frequently asked questions(and my opinion that follows)

How to keep them alive???
This is a good question as how many of us managed to keep them alive for more than 6 months.I believe the reason why many of us cant keep them alive for long period is partly due to the poor collection and handling during transportation.In general,SOME of the collectors use oil drums to store the macs.Collection can take a few days before the right number is achieved for the order by customers.And earlier most of these collectors who comprises from the kampong folks lack the understanding to maintain the fish.

These macs come from cool running water habitat,any sudden drastic change of temperature/pH may be harmful for them.I also suspect the wild caught macs are sensitive to even treated tap water.

On the outbreak of diseases,can macs be cured using the many types of medication in the market?
This relates back to the handling and transportation,if the fish arrived to you in a bad condition,there is no medication in the world that can cure them.Most of these i suspected are internal diseases.Recently a pair of my mac developed what look like fungal infection on the tail area with white films engulfing the tail.I thought that would be it.The fish would be a gonna soon.It was also swimming funny.I dose methylene blue with salt to the tank.In about 3 hours the film was almost gone and the fish was healthy by the 3rd day.

It has also been suggested that since macs are prone to diseases,it would be wise not to overstock the tank with more than a pair.During spawning season,the males or females will fight and nibble at each other.The resulting wounds will usually lead to an infection.So the rule of the thumb is to house each pair separately.However,males or females also fight especially when the other partner is "not ready yet".So other than to provide plenty of hiding place,separating them would be a good solution.

Do they need chiller to keep and breed?
I have kept my macs for about 7 mths now outdoor.So there is no problem with temperature to maintain them.By the way my outdoor temperature is 27 - 28C.On the breeding aspect,i have setup a few tanks outdoor to which i hope to answer you soon.

Whats the difference between the Brunei and Marudi macs?
I say no difference.Marudi is a district in Sarawak located near Brunei.And Marudi is a town that is regularly flooded.So it is logical to assume that some of these fishes could be moving from Brunei to Marudi and vice versa.However if you ask me which mac is beautiful,Marudi or Brunei,i say Brunei.The reason is because collection and trading of macs from/in Brunei is illegal.That means you get to see the nice adult colorful macs from Brunei than from Marudi.In certain parts of Brunei,the macs can be found by small streams near the roadside.In short,the macs from Marudi has been overfished due to demand.Recently there was a group of japanese people who in Marudi.They spend the whole day and managed to catch only 6 tails of juvenile macs.

Day 4 (25.09.08)

- Three pairs shows sign of courting.

- Out of the whole lot,two pairs has females that is aggressive.No attempt is made to separate them for the time being.

- Three females and one male(from a pair housed indoor and the rest from outdoor tanks) has developed fungus on their fins,the respective tanks has been treated with methylene blue and salt solution.

Previous day observation:
# The pair seems to be twitching regularly.(indoor tanks)
# Color is off and fins clamped.
# They do eat but less than normal.
# Females hiding most of the time (outdoor tanks only)


Mostly females are severely infected.Swimming is erratic


Cotton like fungus



Day 5 (26.09.08)

Outdoor tank
One of the female has died this afternoon.The remaining female is recovering.The weather has been very hot yesterday.

Indoor tank
Recover fully today

Another two tanks ie two pairs suspected of having fungal infection.Their tanks have been dosed with methylene blue and salt solution (31 ppt solution made from rock salt).

Five tanks shows pairs courting

Using air condition unit to cool the tanks can be tricky,i have set the unit to operate at 26C but temperature reading of these indoor tanks indicate 23C.Trying tonight to set the tank temperature to 26C.

Day 10 (30.09.08)

All of the macs are in tip top condition.No sign of any diseases so far.It seems that they are mostly affected by fungal infection to the fins which later progress to cover the mouth part and other parts of the body.

Early signs of the disease:

# occasional "twitching" by the fish
# clamp fins
# eating less than normal
# less active;either usually hover at the corner of the tank or at the bottom
# erractic swimming sort of like side to side (this usually indicate the seriousness of the disease)

The moment you spot any of these signs,you can use Japanese Yellow Powder,dose till the tank water about to turn yellow.Followed by salt solution and methylene blue.Try to maintain the tank temperature at 26 to 27C which is usually room temperature here in East Malaysia (i have opt out of using the air conditioning unit now).Early treatment of the infected fish will almost in my case be a total cure.

In one of my pairs which was placed outside,the pair was infected earlier and was cured in about a day.When they were moved inside the room,they got infected again.I dose the medication as stated above,and the fish recovered fully two days later.

Here s some more updated pics of the macs:


One of the stud.Awesome,right??? .........



Not all males are strikingly colored ... this large male is one of them.



A smaller female



Another male ........



A female with a split caudal fin ........ damaged earlier during collection.

In my opinion,this fish is definitely not for beginner.Please don't buy the fish if you are not sure how to keep them.They are not cheap either.However once you manage to solve the first part ie diseases,it will be a fun and enjoying experience in breeding them.



Day 22 (13.10.08)

I did 30 -60% water change yesterday(Heavy rain here in Kuching ).And yes ... Mass spawning today ......... :geek:

Here's some photos to share:


One of the pairs that spawn this morning



Perfect embrace



Horizontal bar present on the body of the female through out the spawning.I have noticed that the marking present on the other females that spawn a few days ago.



Beautiful pair



Notice the eggs skillfully balanced on the fins of the male.Some eggs do drop to the bottom of the tank.



The female scooping up some of the eggs at the bottom of the tank.



Egg tossing



The color of the male changes to strikingly red during the spawn whereas the overall finnage appears dull in color.



Day 31 (22.10.08)

A lot of thing happening ...... i was not able to update this project as pretty tie up with my other commitments and also expecting my 5th child anytime soon.I have also lost my camera sometime ago.Its a long story ........ I have booked for a new one.I should have it soon.Along the way,i have managed to grab a few nice lens and accessories at discount prices (thanks to the Raymond of Keat Camera KL).I would be using these soon on some of my work.

Its been pretty quiet on the wild betta scene here in Malaysia ......... I think the interesting one to watch out would be the pugnax sp that was acquired by our friend Jitsin.That would be fun to keep .

Out of the 75 pairs of the wild caught Brunei Beauty i've collected,i can say that at least 3/4 of them have brooded.Most of the brooding lasted between 1 - 3 days.BUT i do have a few pairs ....... 9 pairs to be exact that is still holding to the eggs more than a week now.I was fortunate that a friend from Brunei (David Chin ... thank you sir) is offering some help on this project.Most of the pairs that ... most of the successful spawns we hear and read on the net comes indirectly from him.I started this project based on the assumption ... that the more pair i have ....... means that the more likely i can get a successful spawn.It a number game.

Some of the issues:

Each Betta macrostoma has their own character .......
We often hear from aquarists that when a mac is brooding,all sides of the tank must be covered.There must be less disturbance to the pair.I think this is partly incorrect.I took a lot of photos/with flash of my brooding macs,heck,i even do water change to some the tanks,feed the female and knock on the glass tanks.BTW in some spawning pairs,i did not remove the female.So far the males are still holding the eggs .Each of the macs has their own character,only the sensitive ones swallow the eggs if they feels stress out or frighten ........

Brooding period
Brooding period for a male ranges from 14 days to 40 days.Correct me if i am wrong,so far nobody has achieve the 14 days brooding period by an aquarist nick named Ladyred.The nearest to that is by a male mac from Mr David Chin himself ... ie 16 days.

Temperature
My tank temperature is 24C.I switch off the air conditioning unit at night.For a successful spawn(90% - 100% fry survival rate),i was informed that 24C is the ideal temperature.I believe that this is correct.Do not let the temperature exceed 28C.

PH
I set most of my tanks from 3.8 - 4.5.This is the pH that they thrive in their habitat.

Water Source
I use collected rainwater for all my wild betta tanks.The pH of my rainwater is 6.8 which i lowered using SERA pH Down to 3.8 and 4.5.I have heard that some of the successful breeders use tap water.This is too risky.In one recent incident,someone told me that he lost a few thousands of his juv macs as a result of water change with tap water.Throughout his many years of experience,it never happen before ...... Now he has doubts on using tap water.Moral of the story,avoid using tap water.

Read somewhere in another forum,some of the aquarist are using "Reverse Osmosis" water for their macs.I have use these water for my reef tanks and i know they are good.But you need to add supplements to these water as they are devoid of any minerals which are helpful for the well being of the fishes.

Leaf Litters
I collected many of the leaf litters and some mini bog wood from their habitat.I believe that the 'taste and smell' from the leaf litters has some effect on the macs.They seem more lively and healthy.

As of today,i have achieved a zero mortality rate for any of the macs i keep or collect.

Please leave a comment or critique.

Thanks.

[Niko]

Thanks for the information...is there a variation of wild BM's from one region to another?

[Haji Badaruddin]

Hi Niko,

Personally i dont see much difference except the Marudi ones has slightly whittish ventrals whereas the other ones is darker.The real Brunei Beauty is more colorful than the marudi macs.I believe this has something to do with the shrimps that co exist with them in their habitat.The shrimps is reddish in color.Efforts to collect the shrimps alive so far failed.I will try again to get these shrimps later.The Marudi macs are less colorful and smaller in size.I think this is because of overfishing and habitat destruction.Overfishing has often been blamed on the aquarium trade ... You must also understand that the locals catch the macs for food.Was told that the macs taste nice if deep fried with chili !!! Other than that ... part of Marudi is ... i believe ... being developed for palm oil plantation.Sad case really ...

[Haji Badaruddin]

Day 63

Some fry updates:

These are the first batch that were released between the 11th - 15th November,2008



About 4mm (TL) ... Noticed the egg capsules of the artemia in the fry's tummy.I read somewhere that the unhatched egg capsules of the artemia is no good for the fry as it can block the intestines/passages of the fry,resulting in death.



A fry feeding on the artemia.I left my fishes including the fry with no food for the last 4 days as i was in KL for the Aquafair 2008 ....... I lost only 1 fry from the 2nd batch.I was also worried that the male in one of the fry tank would gulp down his fry while i was away.A quick check and body count reveal that the male macs are the best parents around



Just like the other wild betta ..... the young fry display the same habit just like their parents ie flaring and occasional "nipping".



About 50 plus of these fry were released within a period of 5 days.



Compare to the other unimac group,the macs fry are slightly larger.

[Charles]

looking very good keep the good work up!