How to Take Care of Your Baby Betta Fish
- 1). Remove the mother fish immediately after she lays the eggs. The female of the species does not care for the young. Once she has laid the eggs, the male fish will gather them from the bottom of the tank and place them in the nest. The female, on the other hand, is very likely to eat the eggs as soon as they are laid.
- 2
During the first month of life the young fish are too small to see with the naked eye.Clean water and water bubbles in blue image by Suto Norbert from Fotolia.com
Allow the father to care for the young fish for the first week after they hatch. You should proceed to treat the tank as if there are fish in it, even though you will be unable to see them. Do not change the water during this time. The young fish are very small and very delicate. A water change at this time could result in the loss of an entire batch of fish. - 3). Remove the male after the first week. At this point, the new fish should be able to eat a high protein egg yolk diet. Removing the male now lessens the chance that he will eat the young fish.
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Feed the young fish a high protein egg yolk diet.egg half-egg easter image by Pali A from Fotolia.com
Feed the babies a high protein egg yolk diet for about a month. Boil an egg, then separate the yolk from the white. Grind the yolk very fine until it is the consistency of a fine powder. Add about one cup of water to the ground yolk, and mix until the egg is completely dissolved in the water. Feed the fish twice a day, but very sparingly---a few drops from an eye dropper is sufficient during this stage of growth. Keep the egg diet in the refrigerator between uses, and make a fresh batch every three days, - 5
Brine shrimp are the best choice for feeding your young bettas.Shrimp image by NataV from Fotolia.com
Switch from egg yolk to brine shrimp when the young fish are visible to the naked eye. You can choose to feed the young fish very finely crushed, flake fish food, but this is not the best option for raising healthy fish. - 6). Separate the males from one another when they are old enough to sex. Place male fish in individual containers---glass jars, small bowls, or any other clean container. Males and females can usually coexist without problems, and females can coexist with one another. At about 3 to 4 months of age, males will begin to become aggressive toward other males. If you notice fighting amongst the baby fish, remove the aggressive fish to another vessel.
- 7). Continue to feed the fish brine shrimp until about 6 months of age. Many breeders continue with brine shrimp for the lifespan of the fish. If you prefer to switch to fish flakes, your fish should be able to handle the change at this time. At 6 months of age the bettas are considered to be fully mature. You can safely sell or breed the fish.
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