Baby betta fish | Breeding and care guide
Baby Betta fish can only mature appropriately if they are well taken care of and that’s why learning how to care for baby betta fish is important.
This involves regular and quality feeding in an ideal environment. As soon as the baby betta fish, also known as fries are hatched, they spend a few days in nests which are guarded by the male betta.
The best time to commence feeding the betta fry is once they start swimming. The type of feed you give your fry will have an impact on their growth rate.
In the early days of the betta fry you can feed them infusoria (the microscopic aquatic organism) after they’ve consumed their yolk sacs. The water in the betta fry tank must be maintained at an optimal temperature of between 85-80 degrees Fahrenheit by the use of an aquarium heater.
It should be noted that drastic change of Temperature in the tank interferes with the baby betta fish growth and may also lead to their death.
How to care for baby betta fish
Feeding the baby betta fish and caring for them
First put an infusoria culture in a large plastic or glass jar filled with water. Boil a few pieces of lettuce approximately for one or two minutes and pour it in the glass jar as an infusoria food. To heat the lettuce, you need to have an aquarium heater.
Before feeding the betta fry, after they are hatched, wait for a few minutes until they consume their yolk sacs. This is the stage at which the male betta looks after the betta fry. At this stage the fries do not need food at all.
Do not feed any food so as to allow their bodies to remain attached to the yolk sac after they are hatched.
Once the betta fry start swimming, you can now remove the male betta from the tank. Removal of male betta from the tank makes it easier to look after the baby betta fish while reared in a separate tank.
Baby betta fish feeding technique
An eye dropper is needed for siphoning infusoria water from the jar and squeezing it directly into the baby betta fish tank. Caution must be taken not to siphon any vegetable matter. This is because the infusoria are so tiny for the under age betta to consume as soon as they are hatched. The movement of these vegetables in the tank matter also attracts their attention.
Feed your betta fry an eye dropper full of infusoria consistently in a day within 2 to 3 days. After the fourth day, the betta fry is now ready for large meals.
Brine shrimps are also salient food for the betta fry. The procedure used to feed the fry with infusoria is the same procedure for feeding with brine shrimps.
For the betta fry to acquire optimal growth, feed them with small amounts of brine shrimps severally. The brine Shrimps can be purchased online or from a local store just like the infusoria. Alternatively you can culture the meal yourself.
Do baby betta fish need special food ?
At the early age of betta fry, feed them with infusoria. Then later, the fish must be able to eat slightly larger foods. The brine shrimp nauplii is the best meal for the betta fry as they are rich in proteins and easily edible.
The other meal you can feed your betta fry is the microworms. You can feed them to your baby betta fish by use of the pippete or the dropper. Suck the microworms laying at the bottom of the cup and feed your fry. Feed them at a location visible and easily accessed to them. After the 2 to 3 days of the microworms in water, you can then remove them.
Maintenance of the fry tank is also another way to take care of Bettas are usually prone to unstable tank conditions, water quality and temperature. There ought to be good quality water for successful spawn,Fry’s health and for stimulation of quick growth. Water and temperature changes must be adhered to on a daily basis. A pH of 7-7.2 is ideal for the tank. It should neither be lower nor higher but optimal.
Water temperature must be kept at a range of between 85-88 degrees Fahrenheit,for best and optimal growth. Check the aquarium heater consistently to ensure you aremaintaining optimal temerature of the water.
Regular change of water keeps the water quality commendable. Change the first water as soon as the fries attain the age of 2 weeks old. Thereafter, you can change it regularly as needed.
There are different classes of thoughts. Some breeders advocate for a 25% change of water twice a week while others suggest that you do smaller daily water change.
Apart from just providing optimal water quality,regular change of water has the highest chance of reducing the amount of exhibiting hormones which may be released into the tank.S iphoning is the best way to change water, removing dead fry and dead foods. You ought to be cautious on doing a gravel siphoning. This is because at the betta fry’s 2 weeks old , they are usually very small,6 cm in height.The gravel siphons will automatically pull Much water quickly at a time , sucking the fry up and even killing them.
Alternatively,you can use turkey baster or flexible tubing for siphoning and refilling the tank. You can also use an airline horse. Put a slender stick ,a chopstick at the end to control the water flow.
Baby betta fish food
Any tiny and movable food is edible by the betta fry.They do not eat dry foods like the flakes and powders.Live foods are much valuable. Infusoria is the known food for the fries.Other tiny foods includes;Vinegar Eels, Microworms, Banana worms,Walter worms,baby brine Shrimps,Daphnia , Fairly shrimp and Grinds worms. These foods can be supplemented by cultures which are purchased online since they are not available in pet stores.
Aquarists are advised to obtain cultures before the commencement of breeding.As soon as your betta splendens spawns,then you need to begin growing cultures targeted to be available by the time the baby betta fish starts swimming.
Can baby betta fish live together?
Yes,they can live together more so the female betta fish. They are contented in staying in the same tank unlike the male betta fish.Automatically,male betta can not live together because they are usually extra aggressive and may end up fighting,the reason they are called,”Siamese fighting fish. “The male fight is horrible which leads to their death as well and should be separated. Though female bettas are active too ,they rarely fight and will look beautiful when together.
How to breed baby betta fish
For you breed your betta fish,you need to deeply understand more about the species ,do extensive research on their care and maintanance. This can be done through website studies and books including the Wikipedia.
Before breeding, ask yourself,Are you are interested with the genetics, breeding for show or supplying local pet store? Do you only have an interest in bettas and want to get to your destination?
A large investment of time, space and money are needed if you want to breed for show or supply. One main challenge of starting up breeding is that, it’s costs are higher which discourages you to expect profits for the first trial.
After learning more on betta fish breeding,you can then set up your permanent tanks.Set up two of them and always be prepared to cycle the water in both tanks before bringing home any of the species. After setting up the tanks,find a breeding pair. Bettas are able to breed in a better way when young. This done by purchasing a breeding pair. The male and female bettas should almost be of the same size. If the first pairs doesn’t work,then go for two pairs.
Although the majority of pet store bettas are too old to breed and their genetic background unknown,they are the cheapest bettas to get started with for breeding and are readily available than breeder fish.
You should get notified that on choosing to breed pet store fish,you may not have customers and homes for your fries .The reason is because,they can’t determine the type of genetic traits you’ve mixed which may end up producing unwanted fries.