ladyred Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 These wild caught fish came to me in August last year. I had been told that macs were very difficult to keep alive, and the chances of spawning them was minimal. Well, this pair proved all the experts wrong, with the male releasing 12 fry within a month of being in my tank. To date, the total fry count is 93 with the largest at just over 6 months, and the youngest 4 weeks. Photos courtesy of my good friend Taksan, who always makes my fish look wonderful. Thanks Taksan. and the fry Sorry about the background no, they aren't in a marine tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 very nice. Congrats on the spawning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormboy Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Congrats Ms Red, nice fish I love the mouthbrooder bettas. Ive got a colony of B. picta living and breeding happily in my sump at the mo' (only because the little blighters refuse to stay in the main tank). -Mat- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Awesome mate, any word on when Sydney will get some? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Great work mate! Can you give us some info on watrer parametres etc? Also whats the price range on these things? cheers; Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyred Posted March 29, 2006 Author Share Posted March 29, 2006 Great work mate! Can you give us some info on watrer parametres etc? Also whats the price range on these things? cheers; Richard ← Very interesting little fish, well not so little, males reach 4 inches, but they have very stringent water requirements. High temperatures and alkaline water will kill them. I have these guys in a heavily planted standard 3 foot tank with lots of driftwood. I run their tank at a pH of 4.5 ......... yep, that's not a typo, the pH is 4.5 and the temperature is no higher than 24 degrees. Water must be very soft, and crystal clear. I change 10% of the tank water daily Good mechanical filtration is required ( I use an eheim cannister) and a UV unit is ,in my opinion, essential. These are very rare, and expensive fish, so I don't take any risks with them. And of course, like any wild fish, they jump, so close fitting lids are necessary. Once you get over those initial problems, the fish are amazingly hardy. I don't think I've lost any fry. The male holds for about 2 weeks and releases fry about the size of guppy fry. They can safely be left in the tank with parents, and juveniles can be raised in one tank without the need to separate the males. For breeding, one pair to a tank is the rule, and males are gentle with females. Parents and fry eat just about anything. Love mossie wrigglers and live brine shrimp, but happily accept ground beef heart and good quality flake foods. They feed from the surface (note the upturned mouth), and ignore food that has fallen to the bottom of the tank. I have a small fleet of golden apple snails in the tank to take care of any uneaten food. In all, a very beautiful and interesting fish, almost extinct in the wild, due to habitat loss. They mature at around 12 months, and live for 10 years. I will be releasing pairs as they mature, so you might see some in Sydney soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Wow! Cool pics, though I'll confess for 0.6 seconds I couldnt work out how you were keeping those marines with your Bettas. Lovely looking fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saudukar Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Well you just peaked my interest in getting some type of mouth brooding betta for when I get my shed up and running. I never knew Beta species where so varied. I knew splendens came in heaps of colours and "styles" but never knew about all the subspecies and their breeding behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevkoi Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 For a look at all the different available wild betta species, look no further than the IBC wild betta maintenance program. There are just as many wild betta species as probably Malawi cichlids, with just as many location variants. http://ibc-smp.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------- Ladyred IMO is a legend... I've tried and tried and tried keeping these fish alive long term, but.... I've seen countless hobbyist try this fish with limited to no success and this lady makes it seem way too easy - 93fry!!! For a while after LR got her pair, Bayfish were bringing in B.macrostoma, but I believe from speaking with some hobbyist, they had problems keeping this fish alive too. At $250/pr it gets quite painful after a few disasters... So HATS OFF TO YOU LR. U're a LEGEND! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyred Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 Awwww Kev, now you're gonna make me blush. Thanks to YOU mate for sending me such a lovely healthy pair . I've just provided the tank, and these guys have done their own thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SydneyMike Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 There are some fascinating fish on the IBC site. What is available in Australia? It sounds like at least some mouth brooding betts are on the import list. Congrats ladyred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevkoi Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 ALL betta species are on the import list. I've sent in: B.macrostoma B.albimarginata B.channoides B.occelata B.falx B.edithae B.simplex B.pugnax "Raja" bubblenesters B.simorum B.bellica B.coccina B.brownorum B.rutilans B.livida B. sp"pangkalanbun" B.samaragdina B.sp "Mahachai" B.splendens (Wild) I'm sure there are still others that have slipped my mind. Bayfish also occasionally have quite an interesting list of wild bettas your LFS can order in. kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blake17 Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Thats awesome! I am looking after a mates Bettas while he is overseas, there are 5 of them and i keep them in a 15 litre tank with a air powered sponge filter and a ceramic castle till he gets back and sets them up properly. There are a blue/green colour and have 2 red stripes on the cheeks, i think forsceri (sp?). They have breed 3 times and i have raised 47 babies so far. Blake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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