Mandor betta

Care at a glance

Overview

The Mandor betta is a slim foerschi-group mouthbrooder for a covered species tank of about 54 liters, kept as a single pair or a small group among heavy cover. It holds in the middle water near wood and shade and is mostly peaceful, though males posture at one another. Keep company small and calm, or none at all, since it is a hunter that will take fish or shrimp small enough to fit its mouth. Feed meaty live and frozen foods, bloodworm, brine shrimp, and small insect larvae. This species wants notably acidic water and absolute discipline with the lid, as it jumps.

In the wild

Betta mandor is named for the Mandor reserve in West Kalimantan, Borneo, where it lives in deep peat blackwater that is very soft and strongly acidic. Recreate it with driftwood, thick leaf litter, dim light, and slow flow. Hold the pH low, from 4.0 to 6.0, and the temperature from 22 to 27 degrees Celsius. Reverse osmosis water and a bed of botanicals help reach and hold that acidity.

Good to know

Betta mandor is a labyrinth fish in the family Osphronemidae, described by Tan and Ng in 2006, and reaches about 6.5 centimeters. It is a paternal mouthbrooder of the foerschi group, recognized by twin red bars on the gill cover and a slender body. The male broods eggs in his mouth for roughly two weeks, and breeding is hard in the very soft, acidic water it demands.

Did you know

It takes its name from the Mandor Nature Reserve in West Kalimantan, a patch of protected peat swamp, so the fish effectively carries the name of the small refuge that shelters it.

Common questions

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