Baby betas

[JennybugJennifer]

I just got two double tailed betta babies because I just couldn't pick.
One is in a 2.5 heated unfiltered critter keeper and one is in a 3 gallon heated unfiltered kritter keeper. I am wondering how many water changes are nessecary since they're babies and put out the toxin that stunts them

[JennybugJennifer]

Also can I feed them frozen misis shrimp? They're too tiny for my smallest pellet food. Which is the betta buffet pellets

[babystarz]

I would say 50% at least every other day, with one weekly big (80%) change. Once they color up and put on some weight you can reduce that, but babies need very clean water and pet store babies are especially fragile. You may want to keep the tanks bare bottomed to make it easier to do the frequent water changes.

Originally Posted by JennybugJennifer

Also can I feed them frozen misis shrimp? They're too tiny for my smallest pellet food. Which is the betta buffet pellets

I think so, and if they're big enough you could try New Life Spectrum .5mm small fish pellets, or Hikari First Bites (which is less nutritious than NLS).

Petsmart also does have frozen baby brine shrimp (which is different from their regular frozen brine shrimp) too.

[sandybottom]

new life spectrum makes .... nevermind babystars beat me to it.

[JennybugJennifer]

Okay so I just ran out and got these

What's the water change protocol for babies?

[JennybugJennifer]

Okay I'll do those water changes. I did put a very small amount of sand on the bottoms. Ill do pictures of the babies soon

[JennybugJennifer]

I can pick up the nls micro pellets next week so I will have three different foods to feed for a little variety

[ChoclateBetta]

Hikari Quality really has decreased. SFB Brine Shrimp is a good snack and so is FFF.

[JennybugJennifer]

Ill get a different brand next week :)
I found out the hard way that a little bit of powder is ALOT of food!!
I had to do an emergency water change.
So I cupped them to feed them but how long do I let them eat ?

[aemaki09]

I bought the hikari first bites for mine and it doesnt seem to pay much attention to it, frozen foods are much better to feed at such a young age so the mysis shrimp are good. you can also try cut up blood worms or brine shrimp, some stores even sell frozen baby brine shrimp. Also, you can buy regular sized pellets and just crush them up in the mean time.
At the moment I'm feeding mine microworms, frozen cut up bloodworms, crushed pellets, and some crushed flakes for variety. In a tank that size I'd suggest 3x/week water changes of about 50%. Not because the tank will be that dirty from ammonia or anything, but because of their growth inhibiting hormone.
Not sure how much research you have done but a few other tips are:: keep water at between 82-84*, get some live plants,if possible to help with water quality and give places to hide (java moss is really good for this), and give them plenty of hiding spaces. Also if possible keep them in a low traffic area because they get stressed easier than adults do.
Goodluck with them!! Babies are so hard to resist!!!