Baby Betta

[FireKidomaru]

Ok, Im sure there is a thread out there somewhere..but I was wondering if the baby bettas from Petco could be easily taken care of (within reason because I know baby bettas take ALOT more care than one of the older bettas)..could someone give me the run down of how to insure my baby betta grows up to be the colorful adult we all know and love :) Any suggestion is welcome (even if you want to tell me the babies are a waste of time) I would also like to add that I want to not spend a whole lot of money..my parents dont see the point in spending money on fish (I on the other hand do), but seeing how I am still under their roof, they have a say in what goes on. Anyway, anything is welcome, I am only doing this so that I am a responsible mommy for my future (possibly) baby betta :) thanks guys!

[LebronTheBetta]

You are right... Babies are a LOT harder to keep than adults. It varies on the Betta. If it HAS colors or developing, you should feed it small pellet foods. Like Hikari Little Bites? I think that's what they're called... The temperature should be 80F-82F. Keep the baby in a tank no less than 1 gallon.
For babies WITHOUT color, they need live foods. Such as mosquito larvae or brine shrimp. That's the only difference in care needs. IMO, babies without colors should NOT be in stores at all. They're still not old enough for shipping, and they get more stressed easily than the older Bettas.
Good luck with your new baby! And I hope you find the Betta that's "The One". ^^

[FireKidomaru]

Ok :) I will proabably get one with some color due to the fact my mother will HATE me to have live food..is there anyway to tell between a male or a female or tail types??

[Sena Hansler]

Depends on the age and the betta as well. My bred baby is 3 months as of the 10th of august, he is a shaggy veil tail male. Ventral fins are longer on males, plus I found here most female bettas lack color on their body (or very little color) if from petsmart. Egg spot will be seen in male or female however males will be a bit more streamlined than most females. Flaring is not a sign to go by either as both genders can flare.

Plakat females are harder to tell from shorter finned veiltail females.. However anal fin should not swoop under the caudal if she is PK. Ct is easy, not to be mistakened however with a shaggy veil.

[JackisLost]

i read somewhere, forgot where i stole it from. i myself bought a baby betta, thinking it would grow into a pk female. i have to wait and find out what it will turn into :D

Here are the only positive points for buying a baby betta, if your looking for a healthy betta.

1- If the betta survives shipping and is healthy, your betta will never experience the stress and poor living conditions most adults bettas go through when being shipped and kept on shelves for long periods of time. This includes male bettas stressing seeing other males, and females stressing being surrounded by males. Most baby bettas sold arent yet at the stage where they stress if they see other bettas nearby.
2- Baby bettas have room to swim in the cups sold, unlike most mature male bettas who have little room to move.
3- If healthy, they will live longer than most bettas sold which are already mature or expired breeders.
4- With such short fins, most wont have any fin damage, unlike many mature male bettas with torn and shredded fins.
5- You'll have the chance to raise the betta giving it a better immune system and healthier life than older bettas sold which endure stress,starvation, and body damage for long periods of time. You can give your betta the best foods to grow up on and give him/her the best coloration, plenty of room so it gets enough exercise and room to grow those fins out.
6- The surprise you may end up with a gem of a betta since you dont know how he/she will grow up and turn out to look like.

[gossipgirl1031]

I have had pretty good success with my babies. I found my first last November & decided to give it a go, not realizing just how much work they are. That's actually how I found this site & I owe a lot of awesome people on this site credit for their survival :) There are some good pics of them developing on my page, feel free to check them out. Most have been given to new (responsible) homes after they got big enough & have done well. I had actually put away the "baby gear" & found my newest & smallest, Auggie. He's so tiny (barely the size of a nickel) and really has very little, if any color.

My tips (not that they work for everyone, just my own experiences):

1. Keep the water temp slightly higher-definitely over 80 degrees. But not too high either.

2. Feed frequent, but small meals. More often in the beginning & as it matures, decrease the frequency. Auggie just now is graduating from Hikari First Bites to NLS Growth (still crushed).

3. I've found that most filters are too strong for little babies. So, I make sure & do frequent water changes on unfiltered, smaller tanks. As the baby grows, so does the tank size. Too small & they won't grow properly.

4. Tank lids on all the time. I had one baby jump out when I turned my back for a second. Scared the living daylights out of me, but he survived the 3+ foot fall & turned out to be a beautiful red male VT.

5. Patience-kinda goes without saying with almost anything, but esp babies.

Even though they were a lot of work, it paid off & these bettas were spared from growing up & ending up in tiny cups as adults. Happy fish in happy homes!

@ LebronTheBetta-I was shocked to see a fish as tiny as Auggie being sold. I have no idea how he survived shipping. Hopefully, he keeps doing well.

Good luck with your future baby!

[Sena Hansler]

I understand about adults in cups... So many females I rescued who were not bigger (some were SMALLER) than my 3 month old one I bred. And they were "full grown"

[gossipgirl1031]

Sena-it's been a while! How have you been? Are you breeding some now?

It is sad about the adults in cups.

Auggie is now eating the small pellets whole! I no longer have to crush them. He's getting bigger & stronger everyday :)

[teeneythebetta]

i always reccomend adults heres some info on baby betta/fry care: http://bettacarecentral.weebly.com/baby-betta-care.html

[gossipgirl1031]

teeneythebetta-love your your quote at the end about pit bulls! They're wonderful dogs :)

Thanks for the baby betta info link :)