# Fry not moving??



## December (Jan 29, 2012)

So this morning i woke up and did a quick round of the fry (1 week old now). I notice lately (2 days ago) that more and more frys are at the bottom of the tank with their heads down and tails up like they are eatting the microworms from the bottom of the tank. I used a magnifying glass to take a closer look and they are not moving or eating.

What could be going wrong? I turkey baster a few of them out to see if they were dead. As my turkey baster got closer to them they move.... but not really far. 

It scares me a little because more and more are starting to display this behavior. Possible cold/virus/disease going on ? 

I am feeding them microworms and BBS. Water change; i have only been adding 3x16oz pre-age water (24 hours) and let the 3x160z cups sit in the tank for 24 hours before i put in the water.(Read that water change should slow be done at the end of the 1st week.) 10gallon tank.

Any suggestion or ideas as to what is happening... thanks.


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

I often have fry at the bottom of the tank. So far nothing bad has happened to them. Maybe someone else will have more to offer.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

What is the water temp...do you have any water prams for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH-have you seen them eat anything-what does their tummies look like....are you remove any uneaten food...Since they are a week old-when did you first feed them or on what day.....any water movement in the tank, snails or live plants....and to understand-this is a 10gal-half full or full to the top with water and you have not made any water changes-but added some water....correct.....


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## December (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks for the comments and questions. This is my first spawn so i hope my research has prepare me well but who knows....... you guys have been a great help.

Water Temp: Consistance 82 degree F
10g tank, half full
Some of the fry have orange tummy, some have white tummy, some have both.
I started feeding them when i moved the father out of the tank and when they started free swimming mainly microworms for the first 2 days after free swim.
I have plants (pothos and anacharis).
There is currently no water movements until this morning when i turn on the sponge filter at low setting.

Regarding ammonia, nitrite, nirtrate and ph levels, i have not done a test on these prameters yet, think i am going to go get a test kit and test these tonight. Regarding water changes or cleaning up. I do a food clean up once a day (fed them in the morning - work - fed again at night and clean up) Tried not to generate to much water movement. Should i be doing it after everyone meal. Thats probably where i went wrong. 

Let me know.. if you have more questions. I am documenting all this as well so if i fail this time... hopefully i will do better next time.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

First congrats....it can be so much fun and rewarding rearing your own Bettas from spawn to adults......spawning is the easy part....but rearing the fry can get tricky even for the most experienced......and these guys love to keep us on our toes with something new and different all the time......anyway.....

Fry staying inactive and close to the bottom can mean a few things and since they are still pretty young and you have proper foods/feeding- at this point I don't think its going to be nutrition related and if its not genetic related then it is most likely water quality or water temp....your temp looks to be fine.....so water quality may be your issue......

I would start by removing half gallon of water and added back 1 gallon daily-making sure its dechlorinated and like temp-(_which I am sure you already know this_).....since they are so young-I would use the drip method the first 2-3 weeks to add the water-
Be sure and remove any uneaten food and/or add some common snails to help prevent any food from rotting in the tank-the decaying food can be really hard on young fry-snail poop is better and easier to clean up-the bacteria decaying food-especially MW can cause some issues.

If this is a really big spawn-you may need to make twice daily water changes-remove half gallon then replace with 1gallon to get it full to the top with water and if you have more live plants to add....add them-they will help too- provided that you have proper lights to promote active growth so they don't become part of the problem..... 

BBS-be sure you are rinsing them really good in fresh water and limit the number of shells-it is best to feed newly hatched BBS with their yolk sac intact for best nutrition-but since you are also feeding MW you shouldn't have any nutrition problems like you can with just feeding BBS alone.

You also may want to cover the top of the tank with plastic veggie wrap to help retain heat/humidity for when the labyrinth organ start to develop at about 2 weeks-that first breath of air if too cool and dry and cause mass loss of fry....

It sounds like you did your research and have a pretty good handle on things-but these tiny fry can be delicate especially the first 2 weeks-its also not uncommon to have some deaths in the first 1-10 days from free swimming stage-natures way to weed out the weak...survival of the fittest....so it may not be anything you are doing wrong......

Look froward to following your spawn log and seeing pics...would love to hear more about the breeders and see pic of them and of the spawning tank.....lots and lots of different ways to spawn and rear fry successfully....its finding what works best for you and what you have on hand......


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## Fabian (Dec 16, 2011)

My two week old fry are like that now.I also feed them microworms,I had observe them staring at their food for a while then close in and eat.Maybe they were just choosing which is their favorite.


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## December (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks for all your help Oldfishlady. I took all your suggestions and did them.. will comment tomorrow when i have more time.. just spend a good 2 hours with the fry cleaning and really tired from work.


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## December (Jan 29, 2012)

Okay... finally have some time to surf the forums and post back.

Again just another thanks to all those that commented. It really helps (especially when you are a noobie).

I removed half a gallon of water mainly from the bottom of the tank (cleaning up). I removed the cup method and started performing the drip method when adding new same temp dechlorinated water. I removed the uneaten food and i did go out and buy a golden mystery snail to help as suggested (althought i dont know much about them.. will have to read up and do some research on these guys.)

BBS: I usually rinse them with fresh water before feeding them to the fry but i double check and rinse them even more just to make sure . I also placed a veggie wrap at the top to help retain heat/humidity.

So... the bad news: Most of the fry died ( a good 80+ )  

The good news: With the help of bettafish.com and especially oldfishlady i was able to save 15 of them. They seem to be larger than most that died and they are now a lot more active... swimming back and forth looking for food now.

So hopefully they all survive to adulthood.

Operation saved the "Fry not moving" successful (in my opinion). Thanks!!!

The Dad is on my screen icon... he is a solid red HM.... the Mom... i will post a photo tomorrow.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Its not uncommon to have large deaths like that and 15 is a good number to work with especially since this is your first spawn......

You had asked me in a different thread about the natural method I use to spawn and I didn't want to hijack that other members thread so I will just add it to yours........lol...

If you go to my _album _you can see pic of my spawning tanks I use in the house and some of the containers I use for my outside spawns in the warmer months.....

The more natural method-I use full to the top with water soil based mature heavy planted tanks-no filtration added-just the plants for filtration-I stock them with lots of common snails-like pond, ramshorn and trumpet snails and RCS (_Red cherry shrimp_)-
MY spawning tanks are mature and since they are NPT's (_Natural planted tanks_) they don't need water changes like standard tanks and this help create lots of microorganism and life in the system itself-the snails and shrimp help keep it tidy and help in creation of infusoria for fry food too.

I usually leave the male long term with the fry unless I need more spawns from him-I will either harvest the eggs/fry and artificial hatch/raise or move him to a different spawning tank...all depends on my goal and/or needs...

With the NPT's I will make at least weekly water changes when they have fry in them-but I have found that I don't need to make them like did with the standard method and have not had any stunting issues-I only do surface cleaning of about 10-20% with my homemade siphon....

I feed twice a day newly hatched BBS for the first 2-3 weeks-then I start adding in my homemade food, HUFA supplemented BBS and flake food-Once at the 2 months stage-they will be on 100% processed or store bought food and moved to different tanks based on their size-I don't have to cup/jar my males anymore so they all go into 1 or 2 of my larger tanks for grow out and the special ones I plan to keep go into a couple of different tanks to stay on my special food to keep them in condition for spawning

This isn't a method for everyone and I don't recommend it for first time hobbyist-but once you get a few spawns down and have the room-setup a NPT and let it start maturing and you will find that even the spawning act itself can be much easier....


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## December (Jan 29, 2012)

Your ablum is amazing... WOW is all i got to say and kind of jealous 

NPT - seems like i might have to get some more experience under my belt before attempting this method.. thanks for the info..


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm glad your fry are doing bett. I'm sorry about the ones you lost.


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