Baby Bettas?

[Saphira101]

hi guys. I was thinking about getting a baby Betta from petco/petsmart. What should I know about their care? how are they different from adult bettas? what are their tank requirements/feeding needs and how often should I do water changes? is there anything else I should know? thank you, ~Saphira

[FishKarl]

Hmm.. Define "baby" I believe most pet stores sell them when they are about 3-ish months.

[aemaki09]

you'll definitely want to keep temp up at 82 for them, they thrive and grow better in higher temps. (not above 84 though)
for food, you're going to want to crush or halve your pellets so that she/he can fit them in its mouth properly
and you need to take immaculate care of their water so their growth inhibiting hormone doesnt stunt them.

Cant think of any other things you should know, but if you think of anything feel free to ask!

[DragonFish]

+1 to the above advice. Slightly higher temps(you could go higher then 84, I do believe I've heard of breeders cranking up fry tanks to up to 90.....but I agree that about 82-85 should be sufficient)and extra clean water is very important.

I would suggest raising them in a 2-3 gallon tank/container. Keep it bare-bottom to make the frequent water changes(I would say every other day, alternating between 50-75% and 100% in a 2-3 gallon)you'll need to do a little easier, and if you can get your hands on some Java moss, Anubias, and/or Java fern....basically some hardy non-rooted live plants....those would be very beneficial.

Its best of course if you can get your hands on some live food cultures like Microworms and/or Brine Shrimp(I do believe you can get some online, or maybe a local specialty store), but if you can't the next best thing is frozen. Frozen Baby(not adult!)Brine shrimp(I know either Petco or Petsmart or both sells them, I can't recall which for certain), and chopped bloodworms and/or Krill along with crushed/very small HIGH quality pellets(if the baby will take them)fed in small amounts 3-4 times per day is good.

Babys are definitely a lot more work then adults, and because of the terrible conditions they're kept in at Petco a lot of them are stunted/can have problems/don't survive....so just be prepared. Sometimes you can do everything right and these little guys just don't make it. Honestly, its really horrible, Petco selling such small and delicate fry. :/

Best of luck!

[aemaki09]

Originally Posted by DragonFish

Its best of course if you can get your hands on some live food cultures like Microworms and/or Brine Shrimp(I do believe you can get some online, or maybe a local specialty store), but if you can't the next best thing is frozen. Frozen Baby(not adult!)Brine shrimp(I know either Petco or Petsmart or both sells them, I can't recall which for certain), and chopped bloodworms and/or Krill along with crushed/very small HIGH quality pellets(if the baby will take them)fed in small amounts 3-4 times per day is good.

You can definitely get frozen bbs at petsmart not sure about petco. I have some cultures of microworms and brine shrimp eggs if you want them too.

Live food is very benificial to babies, forgot to add that in the original post so +1! Haha

[DragonFish]

Ah, Petsmart! There we go!
I know I was looking because I was considering picking up a baby myself, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen them or if I'd seen them at both....thank you! :)

[Surferjo]

I picked one up last month out of complete sympathy. I choose a smaller one that didn't look like it was doing so well. I did a painstakingly slow water acclimation and now its doing great. its is by far the most active of my 3 Betta's. I use Omega pellets and you can get away with just fishing around for some smaller one. He/She would just hold it in its mouth until it softens up. I kept the water at around 80 and fed it twice a day. I did 50%'s once a week and 100%'s once a week. I measured the ammonia levels just prior to my water changes and they were super low (???)

[DragonFish]

With young betta fry you're not just preforming water changes to keep ammonia down, but to remove the natural hormone fry secrete that stunts growth....which when grouped together is meant more to stunt the growth of their siblings, making them the larger, stronger one but alone can be very harmful to the fry itself. Therefore, its best to preform more water changes then you would with an adult to keep their water extra clean and ammonia/hormone free.

[babystarz]

Another issue is that even small amounts of ammonia are harmful for babies. They are affected by concentrations that wouldn't faze adults.

[laurenmekal]

i had a baby betta that was the smallest thing ive ever seen. when i first got her i kept her in a 1 gallon critter keeper type tank, fed her one crushed pellet a day, which i crushed by putting it on my desk and pressing the lid of the food bottle onto it. buy a mini heater, i got the aqueon 10 watt from petco. make sure you change the water often. and maybe consider getting some java moss to help keep the water clean in such a small tank. after i finally noticed my betta growing (her stripes went away, noticed her size change) about a month ago / a month after i got her, i upgraded her to a topfin 5.5 gallon kit tank. the filter current was too strong, and i currently have it baffled with a filter sponge and its working out great for my now 2 month old betta (: