Betta fry feeding help?

Question

Okay I have spawned my two bettas in a ten gallon tank. It's day five. I can see the fry and I am feeding them Atison's Betta fry Starter, and some of wardleys liqiufry for egglayers and live bearers. ((It helps infursia in the tank)). I see them sinking to the bottom though, the fry aren't moving much and have to keep swimming up as they sink back towards the bottom of the tank. Is there something wrong i'm doing with feeding them? How much should i feed at what time a day? Please help, this is my first time...

P.S. Please tell me how often and how much they're supposed to be moving. And where they normally hang out....also of course, how much to fed them.

Answer 1

Betta fry are very small at this stage as you can tell. Most likely they haven't absorbed their yolk sacs. The way you explained about them sinking I think that they aren't free swimming yet. Betta fry growth can be affected if even the slightest temperature change occurs. I would quit feeding them and wait until they are swimming from side to side. When you see that most of the fry free swimming then I would start to feed. Only a very small amount at each feeding so you won't foul up the tank with left over food. Don't be alarmed if you spot a few dead fry during the next week or two. Some fry will be too weak or deformed and will not survive. Congrats on your first successful spawn! If you need any other help please feel free to contact me.

Follow up:
The fry will be scattered around the tank. Most of my spawns split up, some will be up top while others stay at the bottom. They don't move too much the first week or so.

Answer 2

If it is day 5 since you spawned your pair then it is unlikely that your fry are free swimming yet. For the first couple of days after betta fry hatch they can only swim vertically back to the surface, not horizontally (which is what is classified as free swimming). At this point in their lives they are not overly active, some of the stronger ones will attempt to swim back up to the nest, but the majority will just lay on the bottom and wait for dad to pick them up (if you have already removed the male DO NOT put him back in). They also do not need food at this stage as they are living off their yolk sacs for the first few days. Once they are free swimming is when you need to feed them, small amount 3-4 times a day. I always avoid liquid fry foods as most of the fry will not eat anything that isn't moving, it is just how they are instinctually programmed, and liquid food sour the water fast. If you can get a hold of a culture of microworms or vinegar eels use those instead, even if you can not get them for this spawn I would highly recommend getting them for any future spawns you may have. If all you have to go on for this spawn is the commercial foods I would consider feeding it to them in very very small amounts and hatch some baby brine shrimp. Most of the fry will be too small for the BBS, but the larger ones will be able to pick at them as long as the BBS are no more than 24hrs old. Good luck with your fry, and don't worry; the first spawn is the best learning experience you will have.

Answer 3

It sounds as though your babies have a swim bladder problem. For adult fish this is usually the result of overfeeding and use of too much dry foods. I know for adults it helps to feed them a small portion of a cooked green pea with the skin removed for added fiber in their diet. You could try this, but I don't know if the fry would eat it. They might still get some into their systems if the microorganisms eat it and the fry eat them.

It's possible that you're overfeeding your fry if you see their abdomens very swollen. You might try cutting back on the amount and adding an additional feeding so they don't become so "full" at any single meal.

I've never fed my fry the products you've mentioned other than infusoria, so I'm not sure if it may be the actual products that are the cause. Betta fry seem to prefer the "live" foods, at least to me. They're getting about to the age where they should be getting newly hatched brine shrimp as well.

You can find information about raising your fry in this link: http://www.bettatalk.com/rearing_the_fry.htm I'm going to forward your question to another user as well for her to answer.


NOTE: Do you mean day 5 from when the eggs were laid, hatched, or the fry are free swimming? This will help determine the problem (and if there is one).

Answer 4

One of the best foods for small fry like these is hard-boiled egg yolk strained through a handkerchief in the aquarium. Just a tiny pinch will do, 4-6 times a day. syphon leftovers and waste after about 5 minutes.
by the way, for greater success tightly cover their container with clear wrap to keep the air at the surface the same temp as the water. This is very important while the fry's labyrinth system is developing.

Answer 5

Well, from the research about breeding & taking care of betta fish i have learned that to feed betta fry you can crunch regular betta fish food into powder or you can get a jar full of water, put some plants in, it( such as leaves,stems,flower petals, etc.) and leave it under the light of the sun or a lamp for one or two days and get a mini syringe and squirt the water into the tank of the betta fry. Hope this helps!

Answer 6

They have to be freeswimming before you start feeding them, after hatching the fry will hang vertically in the nest for a few days (4 days) and from time to time they will fall to the bottom and try to swim up if the males did not pick them up and spit them back into the nest. During this time they get their nutrition from the egg sac attached to their bellies, once absorbed they will assume a horizontal stance and are able to swim around like normal fish/fry, this is when u need to have food available for them, the best food during this time is infusoria, then after a few days (4-5), they should be able to take newly hatched BBS or microworms.

Answer 7

frys mouths are so tiny, the have to wait for the food to break apart compositionally so they can eat the tiny tiny microscopic pieces.