# Baby Betta Journey



## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

So, I got a baby betta yesterday. I know, I know not smart, but they were going to "get rid" of 'him' if someone didn't buy him that day, and it was around 3:30-4 on a Sunday, so doing the sensible thing I bought 'him'. Okay, perhaps not the most sensible, but whatever. I've been looking around for information on baby bettas and I still haven't had a good journey kind of thread to read, which I've really wanted to, so I'm making my own

So here is what I have 'him' in:
2.5g
heater at 82F
no filter-yet
a few live plants-need more
water

This is what I've gathered about baby bettas, correct me if I'm wrong:
Tank Size: 2.5-3 is good for beginning, it is easier to do PWCs on.
Temperature: 80-85F is good for growth and the creation of a good immune system
Water: Keep it clean, do frequent PWCs, but not too much at a time it stresses them out.
Food: Live and frozen are always better, small bites are good once they get around 1" or so long, but live or frozen is healthier and should be given over pellets.

Um, I think that's about it. Their also harder to keep and extremely small!

Anything else to add?

Here are some pictures; I'll add as the days go by and I learn new things!
Tank:








Richard:

















I also want to say that I think my betta is a boy because it was flaring at it's reflection, but I'm not sure about that! Thanks!


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Well, time will tell whether the gender is male or female. Looks to be between 3 and 5 months, but who knows anymore with store fish??

Anyways, good job on the fishy. Looks like you have everything handled. I would recommend buying -or having on hand- aquarium salt and epsom salt as a just in case. And you are right, they are harder to care for!! But well worth it in the end.


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

I know I had something like this with my baby, she's a grown little female now. I wish you all the luck with your baby, so far it looks like you did a lot of the stuff I did only I started her in a smaller hospital tank with no gravel and only plants so she could get a daily water change and medication as needed.


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

Sena Hansler said:


> Well, time will tell whether the gender is male or female. Looks to be between 3 and 5 months, but who knows anymore with store fish??
> 
> Anyways, good job on the fishy. Looks like you have everything handled. I would recommend buying -or having on hand- aquarium salt and epsom salt as a just in case. And you are right, they are harder to care for!! But well worth it in the end.


Yeah, 'he' looks a little older but I'm still not sure, I'm just waiting until some fins grow in or they don't. That's how I'm currently going to go. I will make sure to get some Epsom salt, I don't think that I have any right now. Thanks!



LadyVictorian said:


> I know I had something like this with my baby, she's a grown little female now. I wish you all the luck with your baby, so far it looks like you did a lot of the stuff I did only I started her in a smaller hospital tank with no gravel and only plants so she could get a daily water change and medication as needed.


I guess that I didn't see that! Hm, I'll go look for that thread. I'm glad to be doing this correctly. I would be extremely sad if 'he' dies. I'm glad to see that your baby betta survived, I've read too many things where the betta ends up dying. I'm hoping not to have that happen because its hard to read those journals that just stop because of a death. I'll make sure to keep up on water changes, thank you for your input


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

Day 3:
So within the past 24 hours I have found out that the little dude loves blood worms and brine shrimp. He seems to love the frozen stuff and tears it apart quickly! He likes the plants that I put in there, but I still think that some work needs to be done.

Just an update on everything today:
Fish size: 1" fro head to end of tail, around 3/4" body size.
Food fed: Frozen Brine Shrimp and Frozen Blood Worms
Temp: 82F
He's been very active, swimming around the tank and having a fun time swimming around the rocks!

Pictures from today:


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Cute! And great pictures I must say. My fish rarely stay still hehe


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

Thanks! I finally got out the big camera and actually took pictures of 'him'. I think that it's much easier with him with the big camera, plus you can actually see 'him' with the use of the big camera! I was shocked that I could actually get pictures of 'him', he usually is swimming around, barely staying still for a second. However with treating him with a part of a blood worm whenever 'he' was still for a minute for a picture may have worked... or not, who knows


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## angelus2402004 (Jan 5, 2010)

looks female to me


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

It could be, but you would be surprised xD Sometimes they decide to confuse you  I will say looks like my female baby betta (5 months old, May 10 spawn)


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

Wow my little betta looks a lot like your little girl! I don't want to decide what it is yet, because I know once I name it it'll stick and if I pick a masculine name when it's a girl I'll feel bad. Thanks though for the help, it really does look like a girl, but I'll wait


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Haha mine does not even have a name >< she is Baby Betta hahaha


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## jsgossamer (Oct 11, 2012)

My baby looked like a girl for four or five months. No color and had the stripes forever. Turns our to be a boy, now grown.


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

Oh wow jsgossamer! That's insane! I guess he was a late bloomer (I'd go all Mulan on you all right now, but I won't). So an update on today:
Fish size: 1" fro head to end of tail, around 3/4" body size still.
Food fed: Frozen Brine Shrimp, 'he' seems to like the shrimp more than the worms. I think that I'll need to get some more of them!
Temp: 82F
Activity: 'He' likes hiding in the plants and peeking out when 'he' senses something outside of the tank! It's really cute actually.

So no pictures today, 'he' wasn't feeling it or something. 'He' wasn't staying put very long for me to take a good picture, though 'he' is coloring in more. 'He' has some orange and blue on 'his' bottom fin, there's an orange stripe near the body and the rest is a faint blue. I'm hoping to get a good picture of it tomorrow! *crosses fingers*

That's it for this update today!


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Awe congrats! He is adorable! ♥
Heres a good link: http://bettacarecentral.weebly.com/baby-betta-care.html


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Teeney, just an off topic thing... LOVE your picture :lol: I agree.


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## bettasareawesome (Jul 9, 2012)

I love my little boy. He's about 5 months old but he's still only like an inch and a half long, he's tiny. Why do all baby bettas from petco I've seen on this website look the same? By the way he's so cute and small!


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Because they are from a pet store?  I have NO idea! Mine looks like... Well... a mud puddle brown :lol: She was bred by me though. (Red and Red/Blue made that?)


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## bettasareawesome (Jul 9, 2012)

It really is confusing me becuase they are all petco but from stores in diffrent places all of the country and sometimes other countries. The only thing I can think of his all there parents looked the same but... Still, does anyone know?


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

bettasareawesome said:


> It really is confusing me becuase they are all petco but from stores in diffrent places all of the country and sometimes other countries. The only thing I can think of his all there parents looked the same but... Still, does anyone know?


Maybe the poor care from such a young age affects the way they turn out
Like when you see bettas that are sick/dying typically they're not bright and vibrant

PS thanks sena


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## bettasareawesome (Jul 9, 2012)

Yeah, but what about the color they all seem to be blue or bluish purple why no reds or yellows or oranges?


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I find blue to be the most common and most dominant. I find many baby enttas will pick up on the blues more. Taking that from red CT and blue/red VT :lol: still have blue.


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

My betta isn't all blue, but 'he' does have a lot of blue on him. The tail is mostly orange with streaks of blue following the lines in it, 'his' ventral tail is turning more orangish redish as the days go by. I really hope that 'he' turns out to be blue and orange (it's my FAVORITE color combination on bettas!). I cannot wait until 'he' shows 'his' colors more!

Update for today:
Fish size: 1 1/8" from head to end of tail, around 7/8" body size. He Grew!!!
Food fed: Frozen Blood Worms and a crunched up Hiakari Pellet. 'He's' a little piggie! He still begging for more even with all of that!
Temp: 82F
Activity: Today 'he' is investigating more of the front of the tank, away from the plants. 'He' is becoming much more aware of the world outside of his tank and as a result more bold in his swimming. He really likes 'looking' outside of the tank.

I do have some pictures today!
















(With flash):









I had some more pictures but they won't load right now. Perhaps in a bit I'll post the other ones!


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## sandrac8388 (Sep 4, 2012)

This is a stupid question, but oh well, I have a baby betta too. She suffered from ammonia poisoning. Her cup was at 8.0ppm. Anywho. She has been hospitalized for a week! and i'm buying her a new home this weekend. I have been feeding her crushed pellets and she loves them. What frozen foods do you recommend? special brands? also, how do you feed them and how much? Sorry for so many questions. I have never done frozen foods for the bettas.


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

sandrac8388 said:


> This is a stupid question, but oh well, I have a baby betta too. She suffered from ammonia poisoning. Her cup was at 8.0ppm. Anywho. She has been hospitalized for a week! and i'm buying her a new home this weekend. I have been feeding her crushed pellets and she loves them. What frozen foods do you recommend? special brands? also, how do you feed them and how much? Sorry for so many questions. I have never done frozen foods for the bettas.


Oh wow! That's horrible! I'm so glad that you got her out of those conditions, 8.0ppm is just awful.

From what I've learned from my little betta is that 'he' likes frozen blood worms more than frozen brine shrimp. Personally I like the blood worms more for feeding as they have more nutritional value. At my big aquarium store near-ish my house they only have their kind of frozen food; however, I do believe that they do sell both frozen brine shrimp and blood worms at PetCo and PetSmart (or at least around me they do). I really haven't done much research behind the different brands, but I do not believe that they would much different from each other but I may just be naive thinking that. When you have your frozen food it'll either be in one big sheet or in little cubes. You're either going to 1) cut off a TINY part of the sheet, I mean it's going to be small! or 2) pop out a cube from the container, cut it down into fourths or so, put 3 of the 4 in a baggie and stick all that in the freezer. For thawing them out I put mine in a small cup filled with COLD water, hot water will start to cook the frozen food which is not good. Once the food is thawed (the worms or shrimp will be visible and not some clump) grab a few of either of them with tweezers or a q-tip or something like that and stick them in the tank. I feed about 2-3 medium sized worms (cut in half) or 6-7 medium brine shrimp per feeding. It may be a little too much but I only feed twice a day, and only frozen once a day. Hopefully that helps! 

Ask any more questions, it'll help lots of people with any questions that they may have about baby bettas in the future!


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## sandrac8388 (Sep 4, 2012)

Ok thank you aqua! I will try that this weekend and see how it all works out!!


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

No problem! Glad I could help


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## Alcemistnv (Jan 29, 2012)

I love the pictures so far! 
I almost felt myself getting a baby, and I think that with due time, I will try and get one. The one that caught my eye was ALL blue, had no stress stripes visible to me. But the color and the fins were gorgeous. I would've guessed easily a crowntail, but alas, I am not prepared for a baby xD


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

:lol: babies ARE hard to care for! Sometimes easier then others, but some of us on here seem to get the bad luck with the toughest little fights for lives.


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## Alcemistnv (Jan 29, 2012)

I know, it's always so sad when things don't end up well :/

I'm hoping all my boys last to the point where they can all upgrade once I move out. And this time I'm really hoping for it, although Pudge and Squirt haven't been looking so happy :/

I wish you luck!


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

Babies can be a challenge but they are so rewarding when they survive. Phoenix my little girl was a wonder and a half. I am still so proud of her for making it to 3 months old. Well not three months yet but about 10 weeks.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Wow! Very nice! That is a good age to get them to  I hope to have luck with all my babies from this spawn - they are strong! That is definitely one thing I give bettas credit for... strength. Well, and stubborness.


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## Rockandrollgirl09 (Oct 22, 2012)

I havent had much luck with baby bettas. I have tried and tried to keep one because I think that it would be awesome to see what they look like when they are older and what they turn out to be. But everyone I have had only lasted 3 months after I got it.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Well, that isn't much luck at all :/ were they all from the same store?


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