Betta babies...no hurdles!

[knifegill]

I found a nesting male and an egged up female. Conditioned them overnight for insurance and let them go at it. Within two days, eggs. Two more days and I saw a fry shoot out, then dart back into the nest, so out came the male. He's blown another nest, but I'm ignoring him for now. I would have gotten more shots of mama but she always stares the camera down and all I get is mouth shots.


Big papa, young and sparkly with a defective outline. Hard to get a shot of the 180º open fin, but he has it. Otherwise a stunning HM. See the nest? Silly boy is already ready again.

Mama

Babies

Feeding them frozen rotifer, First Bites, finely powdered NutraFin Max (the wafer made almost entirely of bloodworm, shrimp and other actual food) and green water. Their bellies are always full, even between feedings.

 

[BODYDUB]

That's a nice looking male............

 

[knifegill]

Thanks! What's confusing is, the fry never look hungry. I'm feeding them green water, frozen rotifers and powdered foods about four times a day with occasional water changes. Perhaps the little white worms on the walls are something they are eating. Anybody else have fry that seem to feed themselves?

 

[knifegill]

I find myself in the basement just staring at them. Little lives, smaller than a drop of water. Their eyes and organ sacs contrast so starkly against their cellophane bodies. Differences in posture are already noticeable, but I don't see any chronic sinkers or cull-worthy specimens yet. They all seem healthy and strong. One has lighter gray eye tissue and I wonder if it will prove to be blind eventually.

 

[HotFuzz]

Make sure that yolk sac is completely gone before you feed them. this take about 4 to 5 days.

 

[HotFuzz]

The bubble-nest attracts Infusoria so they may be feeding themself

 

[knifegill]

This sustained micro-growth would be optimal for sure. I do leave the plants alone when I clean the tank. There are bladder snails that went in with the plants. Do they produce infusoria the way apple snails are known to? And I see many miniscule white worms crawling on the sides. I assume the fry will eat them, but haven't observed it directly yet. Something to watch for.

I didn't wait more than two days. I saw their yolk sacs deplete pretty rapidly and began feeding when the fry were just pairs of eyeballs. The temp is around 84ºF in there, so that might be part of why their yolk ran out so soon.

I haven't done this in awhile but I know that dumb luck is always on my side for some reason. Not that I haven't taken every step I can possibly take to ensure the tank is cycled, alive and clean as can be within reason, but I think a lot of people get it wrong in trying to keep the fry-rearing area sterile. I feel it should be alive as heck as long as parameters are in check.

 

[knifegill]

They are eating powdered foods. I have read time and time again that this is terrible. But the food I'm using is not the usual filler flake, it's nutrafin's amazing carnivore wafer made of actual worms and things like krill. So shouldn't that make up the difference? They sure look healthy now, but I wonder if they are eating infusoria and the food is just rotting invisibly, or they are actually eating the pulverized offerings. Thoughts? Their stomachs always look light orange. It's weird.

 

[Tien]

Any progress? My betta fry are close to 2 months old now. This was my first run at breeding them and I only have 7 living fry, but they are healthy and growing.

 

[knifegill]

Oh, yeah! I can see little ventrals now! They are bigger, too. Still see-through.