Peacock Mouthbrooder, Brunei Beauty, Spotfin Betta or Orangecheek Betta

Betta Macrostoma

Betta Macrostoma is one of the most beautiful wild bettas. They come from the Island of Borneo. T Schulz collected the first MACs in 1909 from Mendarem River which flows between the countries
of Sarawak and Brunei. Unfortunately, their natural habitat is being invaded by human activities, which could lead them to become endangered, and eventually they might become extinct.

MACs are a member of the Unimaculata Complex which includes; unimaculata, patoti, pallifina, ocellata, gladiator, and macrostoma. These are large slender wild bettas not exceeding six inches in length. These slender fish have a very pronounced jumping ability. In the wild these species come from swifter moving waters that vary in pH from alkaline to blackwater environments.

You can keep MACs in pairs, species tanks, and community tanks. Pairs should have a 20L aquarium or better, groups Should be housed in a 40L or larger. They require lots of hiding places such as caves and plants.

MACs are a paternal mouthbrooder. They are not violent during spawning; there is no chasing, biting or any kind of rough contacts. You can tell when the Female is ready to mate. Her stomach will be full of eggs; she will have dark horizontal stripes, black dots under her chin, and do the snake-dance. The betta macrostoma has one of the most unique breeding rituals in the betta world. The male and female will embrace near the water surface and the female will released eggs into the male's anal fin. The male will be in a side-ways position, with his anal fin curving up like a spoon to hold the eggs. The eggs get fertilized by contact with the male's anal fin. The male will hold this position for a few seconds so the female can gather the eggs into her mouth. Then the male will find the female and she will spit the eggs into his mouth. This act is repeated many times and the process lasts 4 hours or more. The male will have a distended lower jaw and look like he has a big mouthful of mashed potatoes. In the wild, during the first few days of brooding, while the male is vulnerable, the female will protect him until he finds a safe place to hide.

The offspring will take about 12 to 20 days to hatch, and when they are ready to leave their fathers mouth, they will be about 8 mm long. Feed the fry microworms & fresh hatched baby brine shrimp at least twice a day, substituting larger foods as they grow. But do not over-feed, MAC fry have been known to eat so much food that they actually burst their gut in the first 4 days. They will reach maturity in about 6 months.

Betta macrostoma are carnivore, they eat bite-size fishes like endlers, tetras, ottos, live crickets, black worms, white worms, brine shrimps, mosquito's larvae, spiders, grasshoppers and other insects. In captivity, macrostoma also eat frozen foods like brine shrimp, bloodworms, krill, and dry commercial betta foods.

Borneo - Mendarem River which flows between the countries of Sarawak and Brunei.

12 years

Carnivore

Dimorphic

Paternal Mouthbrooder

• Peaceful
• Active
• Reclusive/Solitary
• Territorial
• Aggressive only to same species

Rarely Seen