Betta Fry Death Rate?

[ireland]

What is the death rate of fry? Last night the population was good, well over 50 and impossible to count, i woke up today and half the population was at the bottom of the tank. I used the turkey baster and sucked them out and checked, they're all dead. Is this normal or should i worry?

Though I have done my research before I plunge into attempting to breed my betta, this is my first time breeding so I'm a bit lost. To rule out water quality, my ammonia and Nitrite are zero, and the Nitrate is at 10. I feed them Vinegar Eel and Infusoria 3 times a day. To rule out that the apple cider vinegar killed them, i rinse the VE thoroughly. The fry are at the age of 6 days.

Could it be the water changes? The bottom of the tank is a bare bottom which makes the muck (not really sure what it is, maybe excrete from the breeding male and female) extremely visible, being the neat freak I am I thought it would benefit them if I vacuum it up with a turkey baster. I started taking out half a quart and then refilling it back with a whole quart. Yes I conditioned the water and allowed it to age as well, the water is of the same 6.5 pH. If water changes was the problem, then I'm a bit puzzled because I started doing water changes 3 days ago and had no ill effect on the fry, until this morning.

Please, this is my first time breeding/raising fry and I do not wish for anymore loss than what I already have, thank you

[Oldfishlady]

Sorry about your loss...it can be frustrating.....what is the water temp....sometimes they are just weak fry and not anything you did or could do to prevent deaths....if the outside air is cool....I would cover the top with something to maintain warm humid air above the water......how much and how often are you feeding

[ireland]

The temperature of the water is around 80-81F and the room where the tank is stationed is usually warm keeping the water within 80F, but as of this morning the weather decided to take a drastic turn dipping down to 40F. I do have a lid on the tank and it does a good job trapping the heat in and keeping the climate of the air in the tank warm and humid. I feed 3 times a day, once at 9am, 1pm and 5pm with either two full turkey baster with Vinegar Eel or one full turkey baster VE and one full turkey baster Infusoria. It seems a bit much, but I had a pretty big batch, well over 100.

[Oldfishlady]

How do their tummies look after feeding....full? and if so...lots of left over food....you may need to cut back a little on the amount of food and make and remove any uneaten right after feeding...cold snaps can get babies sometimes.

[ireland]

They do look full and I do see the VE swimming around from time to time, I will definitely cut back on there diet. Could have been the cold snap too because when i checked the tank this morning, the air inside wasn't as humid and warm as usual.

Thank you

[MrVampire181]

A high heath rate from day 5-10 should be expected. At this stage the fry absorb the last of their yolk and either hunt or die.

[ireland]

Today the numbers have went down from +50 to somewhere in the 30s. I have very little faith in their survival now.

[vilmarisv]

It's easy to get discouraged when you see your fry dying in bulks.
To avoid starving fry the first few days I always keep my spawning tanks with infusoria rather than adding it from a culture. Some fish will die during the first two weeks but it shouldn't bee too many. I'm feeding microworms, banana worms and walterworms. I tried VE for a few days and gave up because the harvesting process was very frustrating to me, I got more vinegar/apple particles than VE.
I've also removed all my floating plants and IAL from the tanks as I noticed that when there's something the fry can use to hang out at the surface they will not come down to the bottom to feed making those fry smaller than the ones on the bottom feeding off worms.
I wouldn't blame you if you rather discard of these fry and start over again, have considered that myself in a previous spawn.
Best of luck!

[indjo]

If they're dieing at that rate, there's something wrong. Since you've done all you can, they might be weak to begin with. Do you know the approx age of the parents? Sometimes young females may lay poor eggs. But don't give up on them. After all, you do want the strongest ones only.

Good luck on the remaining fry.

[ireland]

Thank you both for the kind blessing. Yes the harvesting of VE is a pain, I didnt realize this until it came time to feed the fry their first meal. I went this route due to the fact that it was easy to start a culture and require little attention. Next time I will most definitely go with microworms.

I seriously have consider discarding this patch and trying again, but I couldn't bring myself to taking a few lives that might possible have a fighting chance at survival. The female I believe it was 3.5 months old when I first got her she was pure white, after a month or so she starting showing a pattern that resembles a Salamander, red at the beginning of the the fins and then depending on the angle the tip is either white or a light blue. The male I have no clue of his age, but during the mating session, the bubble nest he formed was... "pathetic" compared to what i have seen on here. Maybe that could somehow resemble his age? or that hes just a horrible bubble builder.