Article of the Month MARCH 2015 : Betta mahachaiensis

Mahachaiensis is one of the fish that I brought back from Thailand. It is endemic to Thailand and until now only found south-west of Bangkok and in a province north east, close to the border with Laos.

I definitively have the variety (recognisable by the form of the tail) from the area close to Bangkok. The seller even showed me on Google maps where he had the fish from. I am not sure whether these are all wild caught or F1.

This fish was until 2012 listed as Betta sp. 'mahachaiensis' but after that it became apparent that it was a separate species. I read that this fish is responsible for the so-called 'dragon' variety of the splendens and I can imagine that when you see the scale pattern on mahachaiensis.

This fish makes even the nicest fancy betta look like a sinco (sin color) and I can't get enough of watching this fish; they are gorgeous!

I got 2 males, and 3 females. Two females are still juveniles and are in not too good condition, already when I got them. The seller gave them for free, when I asked for females. The third female is mature. One of the males is around 3 months old (suspected F1), and the other male mature.

I have put the mature male and female in a 10 gallon tank in the hope to breed them. The male already produced a small bubble nest, but I think it is still incomplete and that no fertile eggs are in the nest at the moment.

Enough talk; some pictures now:

female (hardest to photograph as she is often in hiding):

DSC02247 by Biulu, on Flickr

male:

DSC02269 by Biulu, on Flickr

It was recommended to include caves as hiding spots in the tank and they are actually using them:
DSC02244 by Biulu, on Flickr

The nest: I think it is still too small, but for 2 days in this tank, not bad
DSC02243 by Biulu, on Flickr

The male guarding the nest:
DSC02252 by Biulu, on Flickr

Some more pictures of the male so you can see the scale pattern and irridiscent colours under different lights (as I said, I can't get enough of this fish!)

DSC02264 by Biulu, on Flickr

DSC02250 by Biulu, on Flickr

DSC02266 by Biulu, on Flickr

Here are some of the juvenile male and in the last picture you can see clearly why they call it a dragon type scale:

DSC02241 by Biulu, on Flickr

DSC02238 by Biulu, on Flickr

DSC02256 by Biulu, on Flickr

Stunning !! Builu you have great taste ! These are exceptional

Absolutely beautiful!!! I notice the first photo female's tail almost comes to a central point. Some of the others also seem to do the same. Is that a character of them in particular or do others such as the plakats do that?
I absolutely LOVE the dragon scales, several of mine have that, but your guys have the most amazing patterns on their heads and "faces". LOVE them!!!!
Glad you could introduce us to them!!!!

I want one. Seriously. Absolutely gorgeous fish. I love the colouration. Any behavioural differences with these ones?

CAAIndie, stand in line BEHIND me!!!! I will drive to Montreal and put one in my thermos to get it across the border!!!!

nyleveiam wrote:CAAIndie, stand in line BEHIND me!!!!  I will drive to Montreal and put one in my thermos to get it across the border!!!!

haha. I feel like that would not fly. I can only imagine the trouble that would cause.

I guess you'll just need to move to Canada. You might as well.

Wow that is a stunning fish. Incredibly beautiful and I love the color. Don't blame you for picking up these beauties

Thanks for the kind comments everybody!
@CAAIndie: yes, there are some differences. The main difference is that you can leave the female in the tank, even after spawning. And when your tank is big enough, you can even keep several males. It is important though to ensure there are hiding places and decor to ensure each male can have their own territory.

@nyleveiam: that is exactly the difference in variety; good observation! The tail ends in a point (I think they call it a spade tail, but not sure) whereas in the other variety the tail is round, like from a normal plakat betta.

The male in the mean time has made a proper (multilayer) nest. If I am successful in breeding them then of course I will make them available to you guys.

@nyleveiam: you are more than welcome to visit in Montreal! We will prepare you a warm welcome (weather permitting!). At the US customs you simply say that you came to Quebec to try and see for yourself that our wines are better than the ones from California... That will distract them

Biulu, for a graduation present way back when, well, the World Fair was there that year, I was given a weeks stay in Montreal. I remember much of it quite clearly! My Aunt, who took me, MADE me speak French... my French teachers always joked that I spoke Franglais.
I have been in Canada fairly often since then for dog stuff, but never that far from the border.

nyleveiam wrote:
I have been in Canada fairly often since then for dog stuff, but never that far from the border.

We are not far from the border.... Just a bit more than an hour....

Here is a better pic of the female:

DSC02274 by Biulu, on Flickr

@nyleveiam: you can also clearly see the spade shaped tail here.

Absolutely stunning fish. Wow!

That is a real beauty.

Any time I have kept wild-type Bettas, I have been impressed by their speed. They can move like rockets. Plus we forget sometimes that people have linebred Betta splendens for centuries, and not just for fancy fins. They have also been bred for fighting as part of the gambling tradition, and selection has made the males more aggressive than nature probably did.

I have had Betta species where the males just swam by each other, unconcerned. Then again, with some other wild-type Bettas, you'd need a 4 foot tank to have that happen. They are are a wonderful Genus of fish and it's a shame so many aquarists think there is only the one species.

Biulu very nice fish love the dragon scale need a few more tanks when I see fish like these.

Biulu wrote:Here is a better pic of the female:

DSC02274 by Biulu, on Flickr

@nyleveiam: you can also clearly see the spade shaped tail here.

Wow fantastic looking fish good-luck breeding them!

Thanks Jordan! I am working on it....

Biulu wrote:Thanks Jordan! I am working on it....

I would be interested in seeing this breed with your yellow plakkat...

l_l_l wrote:I would be interested in seeing this breed with your yellow plakkat...

This will not happen as this is another species and I want to keep it pure.

Maybe you can give me the fry and I raise them?

I have a much better idea: when I have mahachai fry I give you some and then you can do with them whatever you want!

Btw, the yellow female is already in a breeding tank and will be released to spawn today or tomorrow.

Oh, that's a good idea

Biulu wrote:Mahachaiensis is one of the fish that I brought back from Thailand. It is endemic to Thailand and until now only found south-west of Bangkok and in a province north east, close to the border with Laos.

I definitively have the variety (recognisable by the form of the tail) from the area close to Bangkok. The seller even showed me on Google maps where he had the fish from. I am not sure whether these are all wild caught or F1.

This fish was until 2012 listed as Betta sp. 'mahachaiensis' but after that it became apparent that it was a separate species. I read that this fish is responsible for the so-called 'dragon' variety of the splendens and I can imagine that when you see the scale pattern on mahachaiensis.

This fish makes even the nicest fancy betta look like a sinco (sin color) and I can't get enough of watching this fish; they are gorgeous!

I got 2 males, and 3 females. Two females are still juveniles and are in not too good condition, already when I got them. The seller gave them for free, when I asked for females. The third female is mature. One of the males is around 3 months old (suspected F1), and the other male mature.

I have put the mature male and female in a 10 gallon tank in the hope to breed them. The male already produced a small bubble nest, but I think it is still incomplete and that no fertile eggs are in the nest at the moment.

Enough talk; some pictures now:

female (hardest to photograph as she is often in hiding):

DSC02247 by Biulu, on Flickr

male:

DSC02269 by Biulu, on Flickr

It was recommended to include caves as hiding spots in the tank and they are actually using them:
DSC02244 by Biulu, on Flickr

The nest: I think it is still too small, but for 2 days in this tank, not bad
DSC02243 by Biulu, on Flickr

The male guarding the nest:
DSC02252 by Biulu, on Flickr

Some more pictures of the male so you can see the scale pattern and irridiscent colours under different lights (as I said, I can't get enough of this fish!)

DSC02264 by Biulu, on Flickr

DSC02250 by Biulu, on Flickr

DSC02266 by Biulu, on Flickr

Here are some of the juvenile male and in the last picture you can see clearly why they call it a dragon type scale:

DSC02241 by Biulu, on Flickr

DSC02238 by Biulu, on Flickr

DSC02256 by Biulu, on Flickr

How are they doing E?

I will be another person waiting in line for some fry from these guys. They are so easy to look at and would be interesting to see how much more gentle as well.

The fish are doing very well, thank you! However, I am not trying to breed them actively anymore now since I know I will be travelling again in about 3 weeks' time.

The person taking care of my fish in that time will have enough on their hands with the betta plakat fry and maybe the peackock gudgeons. I have a tube of eggs bubbling of these at the moment.