I just got a baby Betta from Petco, named Voldemort (thanks to my boyfriend), and I have a few questions:
First, when are you able to tell with baby Bettas what their gender is? Right now Voldemort looks like a female Betta, but does it take a bit for them to start looking like a specific gender?
Second, right now Voldemort has dark stripes across his body (i'm assuming from stress; we had quite a bumpy ride home, and then he has to adjust to his new tank). When should this start to go away? How long should I wait to check the water more if the stripes don't go away?
Thanks so much :) I'm a new Betta owner and new to this site
You can Figure out his Official Gender when the Baby Betta starts to Mature.
Male Betta: Big Fins, Big Ventral, Huge Beard compared to Females, More Color
Female Betta : Small Fins. Not Big Ventral, Small Beard, Not Showy Color, Ovisitor, etc.
The Stripes would probably Go away when she Gets used to her Home. Stripes could be Caused by A lot of things. Cold Temperature, Bad Perimeters, etc.
Good Luck with New Betta!!! :)
I got 2 from PetCo (:
It took about a month for them to start shoeing their genders, I'm 100% positive that I have a male... about 85% positive the other is a female. these last 2 weeks the Male (JailBreak) has grown out his fins A LOT. (I might have even scored a HM) ((:
OH! and make sure to get ur baby a heater!! No one told me that I had to have a heater for each of them. their water was about 68 degrees F o.O Stupid PetsCo people! ):
Thank you both so much :) My boyfriend told me that Voldemort's stripes are beginning to fade a bit, and I'm hoping he'll (that's what i'm saying he is right now) have a bit of an appetite in a couple hours. I will look into getting a heater :) It might take me a bit, but right now in New York it's about 90 degrees.. yuck. So I'm looking for ways to make sure Voldemort doesn't get too hot, but keeping a heater at the front of my mind so i can make sure i get it before the temperature changes again
Ooh another new yorker :D you wouldnt happen to be in NYC? I got my pair from petco too. tey are really enjoying the heat. and don't forget to do plenty of water changes for optimal growth !
I've actually never been to the city! I'm more in the Rochester area :) and Voldemort's stripes are still there this morning. I'm trying to think that they're a bit less than earlier =P But he/she was definitely comfy enough in his new tank to rest last night. I'm just trying to watch the food intake today to see if he likes the food I have D:
Babies sometimes will have stripes for a while. The thing with stripes is their always there, just new color develops above then and covers them up. Unless we stress them out and their colors dim enough to see the stripes. Depending how young he/she is it may just have them for a while because that outer layer of color hasn't developed yet. Gender will take about a month or two to figure out, along with tail type. Watch for branching and rays. For babies to grow quick you might want to pick up some frozen bloodworms or mosquito larva to go with pellets. The more variety you have the more nutrients.
Be sure to check the board's "STICKEE" topics... they are full of information that a new betta parent needs (like you)!
I have a couple of tips for you:
1) Your new betta sounds super tiny. Regular betta food might be too big for her to eat comfortably. To make betta food small enough for a fry, put some food in a plastic baggie and crush it smaller. Then take the crushed up goodies and soak for a minute before feeding, to make it easy to swallow. Remember, a betta has a stomach only as big as their eye. Overfeeding can cause bloat, because their tiny fry digestive systems are so small. So tiny amounts of tiny soaked food will help your fry a lot!
2) Water changes, more than anything else you can do, will help keep your fry healthy. The water you put in should be the same temperature as the old water, and it should be treated with a declorinator to remove chlorine from the water. The higher the temperature the water is at, the faster bacteria breeds in the bowl, so frequent changes (one a day, in fact) would be recommended. The smaller the bowl, the more frequent the water changes should be. In less than a gallon of 90F water, once a day 100% changes with declorinated water are essential.
Tanks that are filtered and/or larger need less water changes. The stickees will explain more on this.
Good luck with Voldemort! Enjoy your watching your fry grow and grow. With proper care, bettas can live up to 5 years! :)
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
Similar Threads
