4MO with Stunted Growth?

[aokashi]

Hi guys! not sure if you remeber Kuro, my grizzle Vt.
I got him as a baby and left him with my friend when I went on vacation for 6 weeks. Now he is approx 4 months old, have a bit of a tattered fins(which shall be promptly fixed), and his body size has remained the same in the past 6 months. His tail grew longer. I'm very happy to have him back.

My female unfortunately did not make it, succumbing to an outbreak of ich during my absence.

here is Kuro before


Here he is today (I let him explore his new 2.5g)

[LittleBettaFish]

I hate to say but Kuro does not look like he has been getting enough food in those latest shots. His body just seems much skinnier towards his caudal. This could be why he hasn't grown much.

He is so cute though in that first photo. I love big dark eyes on bettas.

[aokashi]

:O I thought he looked skinny T___T shall stuff him silly like before :) and hopefully he'll grow big and strong :D

I told his baby sitter not to feed too much :P I guess thats what happened

[LittleBettaFish]

I've found live blackworms (I know everyone gives them a bad wrap here) are great for putting condition and size on younger fish. It's what I give my wild betta juvies (in conjunction with other foods) and they love it.

You just need to make sure you rinse them well before you use them and store them correctly.

[aokashi]

oO I dont think I can stomach worms D: but I'll go mosquito larvae hunting tomorrow :) I'll also cook him a small piece of prawn and give him a sliver

[LittleBettaFish]

Haha when blackworms wriggle they feel like they are crawling into your skin. My wilds love them so I just keep a container with some old IAL in my bedroom and fish them some out whenever I need them.

I wish it was summer already so I could collect some mosquito larvae. I did get a surprise when I found some still alive in an iced over bucket the other day.

Anyway hope he regains his previous glory and grows some more. Although he is so cute at his current size.

[aokashi]

cute but pitiful, lol. he makes the 2.5 look like a 10 gal! I cant wait till he gets better, but I'll be leaving for another ten days soon :/ thinking of getting a few small ghost shrimps so he can hunt them down when he's really hungry.
Meanwhile, I'll prepare him for a second round of hibernation.

[Aus]

AWH! He's very cute!

I am sorry to hear about your little girl.. but glad Kuro's okay. You know, my little Demyx has always been fed good food, always had clean water -- but he just never grew. He's just a little bit bigger now than when we got him as a very young (very small!) betta and never really puts on body mass, the little skinnybum. Our other fish are plump as anything in the body -- I do think how they're grown out at wherever they're bred, and maybe genetics can make a difference too. If Kuro's a naturally small or stunted fish, regular food will be important as they lose weight pretty quickly.

You might find rcs easier for him to catch and nom on? Cleo tends to eat one now and then, when she can catch one (Mister Z was her latest victim..). And I notice even though they're pretty small it takes a bit for her to dismember it..

[aokashi]

i miggghtttttttt get him a few berried ghost shrimps, so that when they release the hatched eggs a few days after I leave, he'll have some nummy nutritious shrimplets to nom on. :D I also do plan on getting RCS, but since they are about $2.50ea here, I plan to get the larger ones so that kuro doesnt get his expensive lunch >.>

He's definitely been hunting down the tank critters, he just spat out his NLS pellets. hmmpf

Meanwhile, my Azoo filter's on full blast and he seems to be enjoying it :) Hopefully he'll grow some muscle soon too :)

[dramaqueen]

He's beautiful.