A few months ago I was fortunate to get my hands on a pair of young adult betta macrostoma. They are known around as the holy grail of wild bettas. Knowing their high demand for care and living conditions I prepared myself for a challenge (and also accepting the challenge from another SCAPE member here to breed them).
Unlike betta splenden speices which spawn with a bubble nest and the eggs hatch in a couple of days, betta macrostomas are mouth brooders. After the spawning ritual which usually takes half a day, the male will hold all the eggs in his mouth for 17-23 days until they are fully develop and he will release them. This, is what makes them super hard to breed since the male usually swallows the eggs way before the due day.
After living in their tank for 3 months, my pair mature and had their first spawn. The male held the eggs for 3 days. Then he ate them.
The second spawn took place 3 weeks later. This time he held for 5 days, then ate them.
Before their 3rd spawn, I did a massive change in their tank size, inside tank settings and outside tank setting to give them what they like. Imagine the fish species living in a pond in the calm and quiet forest floor. Yup! That's what they need.
In the 3rd spawn, the male held his eggs for exactly 21 days. The female was besides him all the time without causing any distraction. I collected the total of 30 fry on the first day and 14 more in the week after. The fry are completely ignored by the parents.
Here are some photos of the parents:
1 week old fry
Project completed.
Will update this thread as the fry grow.
Enjoy!
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Originally Posted by chris.rivera3
