Does tetra brand fish food make good fry food?

Question

Well my bettas spawned, which was not intentional by me. I only placed the male in my ladies tank for about an hour while I cleaned his out. I didn't have the heart to destroy the nest. I could never, ever do something so cruel. But now he has passed on, (death by jumping) and I'm left with parentless fry. How well do infursia(sp?) and tetra brand fry food work? I have limited funds but don't want to see them die. I already miss my male terribly and really want one of his babies. BBS and micro worms are out, as it would be considered to late to start a culture. Any ideas?

Sorry, forgot to add that the fry hatched just last night. I know for at least three days they will be feeding off of their yoke. When I did intentionally spawn, I used boiled egg yolk as a food. It didn't work for me at all and I ended up with a tank of 300 dead fry. I assume a bacterial infection struck. I don't want to risk this spawn to infection.

Answer 1

It's nearly impossible to crush Tetra foods fine enough for Betta fry. The best first food for these little guys is "infusoria", that is microscopic plants and animals that occur in "green water". Culturing infusoria is a knack to be learned. BBS and micro worms are too large for brand new fry(Bettas,that is) and are really a second food. It's possible that your first bad experience with egg yolk was due to not getting the yolk crushed fine enough. The way to do this is to get a GOOD QUALITY linen hanky(they sell them at fabric stores for people to crochet or embroider) These are fairly substantial pieces of cloth,and using one as a sieve will seem impossible,but it will work.
The other possible problem could have been a failure to keep the water clean. The fry should have a well seasoned sponge filter in the tank. It should be powered by a very slow bubbling air source. Frequent small water changes(just enough to siphon out the left over egg) should be done daily.
Also if you can get some sort of first food to the fry,and start a BBS culture the shrimp will be ready by the time the fry are large enough to eat them. Micro worms would take a little longer,but would enhance the growth rate considerably.

Answer 2

I used to use some crappy flake stuff but tetramin pro has ones with like pellets and they don't make the water cloudy as the flakes do. And my fish loves it!!!!!!