# Sticky  PetCo Baby Betta Care



## lilnaugrim

So most of us have come across the Baby Betta's at PetCo or perhaps you've just stumbled across one on your travels! You pick it up and don't see anything in those cups until you turn it and there's a tiny Betta! You marvel at the size and perhaps it breaks your heart because the poor baby is laying on its side, looking so hungry. So you decide to pay the 1.99 and bring this cute little fish home.

So you get home and suddenly wonder, do I treat this baby like a normal Betta? Do I just give him pellets and do a weekly water change? The store worker gave me what seems like good advice; maybe I should double check it! If you are wondering how to care for them, then step no further! You've found the right place!

Let me start off by saying that these are baby fish, think of them as you would a baby human or a baby kitten or puppy. When you think baby human you think a lot of work right? Lots of screaming and kicking and changing diaper's three times a day. Well don't worry; it will be easier than raising a baby human I can promise! But all the same, these are baby creatures that require special care as opposed to their adult counterparts.

So let's start with:

*Water Changes*​Growth Stunting Hormone: Baby Betta's excrete something called a Growth Stunting Hormone (GSH). This generally is more of an issue when other babies are divided in the same tank or growing up together in a spawn. The hormone is a signal sent out as an appetite-suppressant for younger, weaker fry which in the end stunts their growth and they don't grow as quickly or stay as healthy as the older, stronger fry. Here's one of my favorite quotes about the GSH:
"Well, we have a scary message...they grab a bite to eat but are totally stress that Bubba is going to whack them ALL THE TIME. In the wild, urine messages left by big cats are designed to stress other big cats into leaving an area. Could we have the same thing with no place to go? Although they eat some, our babies may not be able to utilize all the food they consume because they are so stressed. It would be like trying to work with someone yelling at you all the time!"

There are a few ways to combat the GSH when keeping multiple babies or even just one (sometimes they can see their reflection, think it is another fish and excrete the hormone which backfires in the closed eco-system [your tank] and can stunt the baby itself). One of the more popular ways and easiest ways to get rid of the hormone is to do daily water changes. You see breeders do this all the time, not only does it help water quality but it helps decrease the amount of hormone that is in the water. 
*How much is enough?* The smaller the tank the more you should change, especially if it is a 1 gallon. It is not recommend keeping babies in anything smaller than 3 gallons because of the sheer simplicity of not having to do water changes as much; that helps your back doesn't it? Regardless of tank size I generally recommend doing around a 50% water change daily for multiple babies, every other day for single babies with nothing else in the tank. 

There are two other ways to help reduce the hormones effect which are as follows; have a heavily and active growing planted tank and allow the Betta to grow up with other fish such as livebearers (guppies, platies, endler's). Both of these will reduce the effects generally and help aid the fish in their growth. Of course the best way is to combine all three of these methods but for the average Betta fish keeper, it's easy enough just to do the water changes! This all being said, don't go running out to buy a baby platy unless you know you can care for it the same as it gets older.

*How Often Do I Feed?*​ Thinking about a baby human, kitten or puppy; they drink pretty often from their mother's milk, correct? The same goes for baby fish, generally they will eat every 3 to 4 hours on a high protein diet. 3 times a day is fantastic but twice a day is the normal for the babies. You want to feed them small but frequent meals through the day. Once in the morning and once at afternoon/evening time is a great schedule to get on!
Feed until the baby has a nice rounded tummy, yes their stomachs are the size of their eye but same as in humans; their stomach are meant to expand which is what you want to see. 
This is a healthy expanded stomach for a baby, even a little bit more but around this is what you want to see for a single feeding and then the stomach should reduce before the next feeding:









*What Do I Feed?*​ Let's talk a little bit about food quality and how we know what is a good food and what is a bad food. For those who keep dogs and cats, the same applies for fish food and fillers. Fillers are ingredients that do just that; they fill the food cheaply which allows the company to sell the food for cheaper but that means the quality has gone down too. Fillers are generally very indigestible for most fish which means it's easier for our fish to become constipated or backed up. Fillers consist of Corn, Soybean and most Wheat content.
Ingredients are generally listed by weight, so the closer to the top of the list; the more the food is used. However, animal foods are not required to be listed by weight however I do know the New Life International (New Life Spectrum) IS listed by weight of the food. So in most cases the top three ingredients are the more important ones to look at, you don't want to see those nasty fillers in the first two ingredients for sure, in the third ingredient is okay but not fantastic. If you see Whole Wheat in the third slot that is okay! Wheat is often used as a binder to hold the food together. So in the first ingredients you want to see things such as Whole Fish (whatever it may be, be it Halibut, Salmon, Krill).
New Life Spectrum is highly praised around here with Omega One coming in very close second. One of the main differences in the two is that NLS also contains garlic in their formulas, garlic is not only palatable (fish love the taste!) but it also helps ward of parasites as it is a natural anti-parasitic food! Omega is also great, it doesn't have garlic but its ingredient list is still pretty darn good! My only qualm is that they split up their wheat content to make it look better when their wheat content should really be around 2nd or 3rd on the list, otherwise it's a great food.
For your fry you want a high protein based food, NLS does have Grow Formula which is formulated specifically for your fry but it can be expensive, especially if you are not raising fry all the time, so instead you can get the Small Fish Formula or the Betta Formula. Main differences between those are; protein and fat content in Small Fish are higher than in Betta Formula, Small Fish is also a .5 millimeter pellet where the Betta is a 1 millimeter pellet. You would have to crush the Betta pellet but that's not so bad, you would have to do it for the Omega One as well.
If you cannot find these foods, next best in the pellet world is the Aqueon pellet; again you would have to crush it for your baby. Flake foods are generally not so great, especially in lower quality foods because they can cause issues such as constipation and swim bladder issues later in life. NLS and Omega are the only flakes I would ever use on a baby.

*Frozen foods* are a fantastic choice for your baby. You can get anything from bloodworms (the more blood in them the healthier they are so steer clear from freeze-dried BW's), daphnia, brine shrimp, and more! Daphnia are great natural laxative for our Betta's, they are great to use for constipated Bettas and for Double Tails who tend to be more prone to constipation and bloat. Brine Shrimp and Bloodworms are also a fantastic source of nutrition, for most adults once or twice a week is fine to feed but for babies you can feed daily/every other day if you see fit but do not over feed! Remember, small but frequent meals! Frozen thawed foods can be stored in the fridge for a few days but no more than 3-5 days otherwise they spoil! You can also chop up your frozen blocks into tiny pieces and wrap up the blocks you don't use so they don't get freezer burn, wrap them in aluminum foil and store in freezer. Never thaw and re-freeze!
Live foods can also be feed daily if you happen to have them; Grindal Worms, Micro Worms, Vinegar Eels are all pretty easy to culture if you know how. If you don't, no worries, just stick to pellets and the frozen food.

*How Can I Tell the Gender of My Baby?*​ This one takes a good eye to really see the differences. Many believe that the Egg Spot or Ovipositer is a sure sign of a female, this is not the case. Betta's seem to only exist to throw us off our game! Many young males will frequently have fake egg spots which can be very confusing! Many will even keep them after they hit maturity! So the only real way to tell if it is a male or female is to find the ovaries! The ovaries are located behind the bundle of intestines and stomach area. If you see the egg spot, right above it is the tangle of intestines and stomach area, it should be nice and round. Behind the stomach should be a cone shaped organ on the females which is the ovaries. Each female may have different sized and shaped ovaries, some are larger than others and some will carry them high while others will carry them very low. When I say "high" I mean close to the swim bladder and then "low" is closer to the anal fin. Males will obviously not have ovaries.

Now that you know about the ovaries, there are some other small differences that can help you determine sex. Not all of these ring true all the time but I always look for the ovaries first and then confirm it with the traits that I see.

Females:
Small eyes
Smaller ventral's
More pointed shape of the body <--this one is more often not useful in sexing.
Shorter Fins, more distance between the dorsal and caudal
A photo example of a female, do you see the yellow cone shaped ovaries behind the stomach?


Males:
Larger eyes
Longer fins all around with shorter distance between the dorsal and caudal.
A smoother topline <--again, not useful for first line of sexing as often these babies are not Show worthy specimens so therefore the breeder doesn't follow guidelines about form or sometimes these fish are culls from a spawn and so they can have deformities.
A photo example of a male, do you see there is a space behind the stomach, no ovaries.


Another note: All males and females can flare and be aggressive. Half the time my females are way more aggressive than my males so that is also NOT an indicator of sex. Both sexes have beards however males beards are larger and stick out more where female beards tend to not stick out so much.


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## lilnaugrim

*Why Does My Baby Have Stripes?*​ There are a few reasons for this. Juvenile fish need to hide in the wild so they don't get eaten! Horizontal stripes or Stress Stripes are not always an indicator of stress for baby fish, especially when growing up. These fish use horizontal stripes as a camouflage system and as they increase in age, their colors come in.


Vertical stripes are also known as Breeding Stripes and Submission Stripes. In babies the "alpha" fish will display these stripes, letting everyone else know to back off and that they are the alpha fish here. They do not mean that the fish wants to breed and nor can you breed them until they are sexually mature.


Both sexes can have both sets of stripes. Bettas can also switch very quickly between these stripes and their solid colors, they are nothing more than a visual indicator for other fish and sometimes helpful for you as well! That is usually more for adult Bettas though so I won't talk more about it since this is about baby fish!

*How Do I Know When My Baby is Mature?*​ Males are easy to spot generally; they will start to build actual bubble nests of decent size. That is the general sign of sexual maturity in males, in females they can become eggy at this time but it's difficult to really tell when they are matured other than that. Roughly 3 months of age is normal for Bettas to become sexually mature however since PetCo babies have gone through so much stress and possible trauma, they may and will take longer to grow and become mature. Some are lucky to not be so stressed and grow as they should and hit maturity right around 3-3.5 months of age.
Also a note on bubble nests, males will never build them right next to the filter unless the filter is extremely baffled. If you see bubbles forming around your filter then most likely it is from the filter. The filter also tends to produce smaller bubbles where males will produce larger bubbles for their nests.

*How Long Will My Baby Live?*​This is a difficult question. Because of the care they previously had it all depends on many things; how stressed out the fish was during shipping, if they were mishandled, how long they sat on the shelf, how long they went without food and more. The average life span of a PetCo Baby is around a year to a year and a half. Clearly, this is shortened to the normal two to two and a half years for the regular adults that we buy, the more stress the baby has gone through generally the shorter their life span.
We, as fish keepers, have to strive for basically one arching goal in the fish world; to keep our fish as stress-free as possible. Most of the time stressors can be avoided if you pay attention but sometimes it's unintentional and that's alright, it's a whole learning process and one day you might get lucky with a PetCo baby that lives 3 years! So it all comes down to care and sheer luck.

*Please do not post pictures of your babies here, go to the Official "PetCo Baby Betta" Thread to show off your babies. You can, however, post questions here about baby care if something is not clear.*​


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## SuperStork

Here's a picture of my baby, Tuna, I bought in May. He's doing super.


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## SuperStork

SuperStork said:


> Here's a picture of my baby, Tuna, I bought in May. He's doing super.


Sorry. Tried to delete post but only picture was deleted. Put pic on the Official Petco Baby page.


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## VivianKJean

this isn't a questions but thank you so much Lil for making this! Its nice to have all of this information in one place for people who look at


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## Rana

I feel like this should be a sticky, since the baby betta fad is still going strong and this is great info! :3

I am curious about where you got the one year lifespan estimate though; through personal experience or was there a survey or something?


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## lilnaugrim

Thanks guys, glad it finally got some attention. I'd linked it on the PetCo Baby page but it can't be a sticky since we're still trying to clean up all the stickies so just feel free to post this whenever someone has a question that I've answered here. I've got it bookmarked for fast access ^_^

@Rana, the life expectancy is from my own experience and from those on the Official PetCo Baby Thread, one year is on average but just like those who are not stunted, this can vary greatly. Some have had great luck with their babies and they live the normal 2-3 years while others have not been so lucky. My oldest living baby was 2 months over a year.


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## Rana

lilnaugrim said:


> Thanks guys, glad it finally got some attention. I'd linked it on the PetCo Baby page but it can't be a sticky since we're still trying to clean up all the stickies so just feel free to post this whenever someone has a question that I've answered here. I've got it bookmarked for fast access ^_^
> 
> @Rana, the life expectancy is from my own experience and from those on the Official PetCo Baby Thread, one year is on average but just like those who are not stunted, this can vary greatly. Some have had great luck with their babies and they live the normal 2-3 years while others have not been so lucky. My oldest living baby was 2 months over a year.


Ah, I didn't even think about referencing the thread but that makes sense. My first baby is about a year and a half and still chugging, but my other two died young (Birth defect & illness respectively).

I wonder how much has to do with the breeders they came from, whether they were runts or not, etc. If my family wouldn't kill me I'd be tempted to buy a bunch from different stores and make an informal study of it, since they'd have the same care...


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## lilnaugrim

I'm not sure, I would like to know what is stunting, what is born illnesses, what is birth defects and how all of this plays in with the breeders and their ages. My oldest baby at the moment was much older when he came in from the breeder and so he's doing amazing right now so to me it seemed like the breeder cared a little more for that spawn. Could just be luck but it would be interesting to really know.


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## BlueLacee

Thank you for making this for others. If only you had made this before I got my baby


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## Lilypad

This is a great thread. You basically put together the several hours of research I did when I first got my baby. Wish I had found this forum and this post first!


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## lilnaugrim

Thanks Lily! You can share it where you want to on this forum (if it goes on a different forum I'd like to be quoted at least) to help people out with their baby-endeavors ^_^


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## SmallFry23

First off, this was so helpful! I am feeling very confident after reading this in raising my baby. Could you take a look at the pics i posted in my profile and give me a sort of assessment on how old it might be and m/f if old enough and if it looks healthy enough to survive?


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## lilnaugrim

I did comment on the Official PetCo Baby Thread as well and showed you pics of my fish as well. Yours looks older than my boy Pierce but I can't say exactly how old your fish is, it's older than the month old fry that is normally there though. I'd say around 1.5-2 months of age roughly.

It's definitely old enough to sex but I'd need a more accurate picture, preferably one where you shine a flashlight behind the tank so it's pointing at your camera and then when the fish swims in front of the light, take a picture. This will allow me to see if there is the shape of the ovaries or not but judging by your pictures, I'm leaning towards not which means boy. And s/he looks incredibly healthy, you should be just fine!


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## SmallFry23

Thank you so much! Sorry i didnt recognize that it was you that posted lol. Hard to see on my cell phone screen. It is hard to get a good picture of him because he moves so much and doesn't seem to like his picture taken. I dont use a flash and the light in the tank comes from the top so I guess for now I'll go with it being a boy unless I get a better picture to show you


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## lilnaugrim

That's fine, you don't need to use flash, just use some sort of light behind the tank so it can show through him. With all fish, you'll take many pictures but maybe only get one good one out of it lol, it's the nature of fish in general or rather anything with a lot of energy and the smaller they are, the harder they are to photograph ^_^ Try cupping him in his PetCo cup (if you didn't throw it out) or feed him to get him to stay still a little while.


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## SmallFry23

Thanks for the advice. It is good to have some reassurance. Im glad i did good picking him out. I saw some other nice babies at my local petco but when i saw him i had to have him because i have been wanting a DT and couldn't pass him up. Luckily my petco has a fish expert working there and he takes really great care of all the fish. They clean out the betta cups daily and feed them. Very few that were dead. Only one or two. All their babies were alive and swimming. I just hope they find homes soon!


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## lilnaugrim

That's great! It's always nice to have a really good store ^_^ we have a few around here too that are really good :-D


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## dobedobedooo

Lil, I wonder if you can help me with this:
I noticed this morning that one of my babies (2 months and 1 week old) is swimming only at the surface and on one side. It seems like he can't stand straight. He also seeks plants to stand on. All the others with which he shared the BIG tank are fine. I've put him in a suspended plastic pet bottom, in the same tank, to give him time to rest. What can I do to help him?
I do 30% water changes every other day. Temp:27Celsius. I alternate feeding them frozen cyclops, blood worms and pellets. 
Yesterday I did something extra: I added some solution for black water from Tetra. A lot less than it was prescribed on the label. 
I have no idea what happened only to him and to none of the others. 
Other details: 
- this is the biggest of the babies (I used to call him Sumo, until his colors showed)
- at first I thought he was going to be marbled something, as he was pinkish with black dots, but now he is pink (like fish flesh) with black and transparent fins. I guess something like a butterfly, but I'm not sure if I'm correct.
- he has black eyes and also his lips are black as if wearing lipstick. He is so cute!
I'm telling you this because it might point to some genetically related disease... He's not albino or something, but still... that fleshy color seems unnatural. Nevertheless he is absolutely cute and very dear to me, as he was always the first to check the food and to welcome me every time I went to look at them.


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## lilnaugrim

Sounds like he's a Cellophane, that's a flesh tone with clear fins.

It sounds like he could have swim bladder problems, he could also just be too traumatized from his ship to the store. Either or, there isn't much you can do about him. You can post a picture here or a few to see if I can see any deformities on him or anything.


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## dobedobedooo

Oh Lil, thank you for answering, but... he died last night. I don't understand why. He was not shipped. He was born here, from my Azuric and Blue, on 17-th september. Spawned in a smaller tank (about 30 l, that's 8 gallons) and I moved the fry to a bigger tank (120 l, or aprox30 gallons) when they were 6 weeks old. Now they all are 10 weeks old and they are all doing great, growing, developing colors, although there are big size differences between them. When I moved them I counted 62. Maybe meanwhile some of the tiniest were eaten. I can't count them now, because the tank is planted, but I'll count again when I'll jar them one by one, as they mature.
I would like to know why little Sumo died just to be able to avoid this situation, if it is something I can do if the situation repeats or if there's something I did wrong, it's good to know. I imagine it's almost impossible for anyone to explain this since the others are fine. He was the biggest. One would expect smaller babies to dye if something is wrong with the water. I have no clue. The only thing new I did a day before was adding 10 ml of Blackwater extract from Tetra in that tank, when I did the regular water change. That's an extremely small amount.
Well, that's it. It happens. Thank you for taking the time to reply.


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## lilnaugrim

Oh, I'm sorry. This is a thread about PetCo babies so I assumed you'd gotten one from there. Sorry about the baby though.

How often do you do water changes and feedings?


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## dobedobedooo

Sorry for posting here. Wasn't intentional. I guess I got lost reading threads after threads hoping to find an answer quickly. 
I change 30% of the water every other day and use matured water (2 days) from the faucet and I feed them 2 times a day: mini pellets from Tetra in the morning and frozen blood worms alternating with frozen cyclops in the evening. And they're doing great!


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## lilnaugrim

That's okay! I don't mind, I was just confused was all haha.

It sounds like it might have just been one of those random things then. Test the tank water for ammonia just in case and see what that gives you. I'd say do a larger water change as well today or tomorrow around 70% and then drip in your matured water from there as you'd normally do and see if that helps any.

I was reading that one of the better breeders; Basement_bettas, she does almost 90% water changes each day on her fry and then lets the water drip in all day and night and then repeats it the next day. So to me, doing only 30% is a little on the low side, you can change up the percentages too like most of the week you could do 30% and then twice a week you can do a 70% just to keep things moving along 

But yeah, I'm sorry I don't know what might have happened to your fry other than just a crazy fluke.


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## dobedobedooo

Lil, thanks for the advice. I'll definitely change a higher percent of water from now on.Also thank you for directing me to Basement _bettas. I googled it and found lots of information.


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, Sharon is a great well of information ^_^ she pops in on the Show Betta's section time to time and sells her stock on AquaBid too.


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## dobedobedooo

Wow thx! I found her here! I intend to buy a HM female, but now that winter is here I think it would be wise to wait until spring. Must be awful to wait a gorgeous Betta and find a DOA. So, thx again!


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## lilnaugrim

Nah, they're sent with heat packs so they're totally fine for shipping in winter. I ship quite frequently and never had a DOA in the winter because of coldness, so as long as you take care to get the fish in when it arrives then there shouldn't be any problem  But it's all up to you of course.


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## dobedobedooo

I'm in Europe, Lil...


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## lilnaugrim

Sorry, I don't think your location was shown before. Either way though, you could buy from AquaBid and get the fish shipped. But this is getting off topic now.


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## HapaMama

Hi Lil -- I'm sorry if you already answered this question somewhere else in this thread, but I was wondering what the best temperature is to keep the baby betta water at? I also tried searching for the answer to this question online, but haven't really found any good definite answers. Thanks!


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## Bettalovinmomma

HapaMama said:


> Hi Lil -- I'm sorry if you already answered this question somewhere else in this thread, but I was wondering what the best temperature is to keep the baby betta water at? I also tried searching for the answer to this question online, but haven't really found any good definite answers. Thanks!


 
80 degrees is a good temp. 

Have you seen the Petco Baby Care thread? It's a great post. Here's a link 

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## lilnaugrim

Lol, this is the PetCo Baby Care Thread XD Funny how that happens.

Huh, I guess I didn't go over temperature in the original post. Thought I did...huh.

But yes, 78-82 is good for babies growing ^_^


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## HapaMama

Thanks, Lil! The small heater I bought is not adjustable and seems to be keeping my water at 86 - is this too hot? Should I put the heater on a timer to keep it cooler? I don't have a baby fish yet, just testing my setup for now, and want to make sure I get it right!


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## lilnaugrim

86 is a bit high for them but they should be okay if you were to get one now. But if possible, definitely get an adjustable one. Hydor Theos are nice and cheap from drs. foster and smith online


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## Bettalovinmomma

Bettalovinmomma said:


> 80 degrees is a good temp.
> 
> Have you seen the Petco Baby Care thread? It's a great post. Here's a link
> 
> http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330





lilnaugrim said:


> Lol, this is the PetCo Baby Care Thread XD Funny how that happens.
> 
> Huh, I guess I didn't go over temperature in the original post. Thought I did...huh.
> 
> But yes, 78-82 is good for babies growing ^_^


Wow! Crap! What the??? I could have sworn I was on the other Petco baby thread. Geez. Sorry. Chalk it up to a long rough day. 

Least I had a laugh for the day. And maybe made someone else laugh. ^_^


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## lilnaugrim

Bettalovinmomma said:


> Wow! Crap! What the??? I could have sworn I was on the other Petco baby thread. Geez. Sorry. Chalk it up to a long rough day.
> 
> Least I had a laugh for the day. And maybe made someone else laugh. ^_^


Haha no worries! I often confuse them too since it's practically the same name anyway, just missing a word lol.


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## Elleth

I've got a question. I've had my two baby girls for right about three months. One of them, who I am pretty sure is older than the other, has been a bit eggy for awhile. According to this thread, I am assuming that means she's pretty much fully grown and I can now cut back to the amount of water changes I would do for an adult, for her. Is that right? How long should I wait to do the same for the other, or can I cut back on hers now, too? 

They both have very visible ovaries and have probably just about doubled in size since I got them. Still a little smaller than my adult female, but not by a whole lot. 

Thanks!


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## lilnaugrim

Females tend to mature quicker than males *generally* so it can sometimes depend on their size. What's their rough body size not including tail? If they're at least over an inch or inch and a half, you're in the safe zone then.


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## Elleth

lilnaugrim said:


> Females tend to mature quicker than males *generally* so it can sometimes depend on their size. What's their rough body size not including tail? If they're at least over an inch or inch and a half, you're in the safe zone then.


Size including tail is an inch and a quarter for one of them, and an inch and a half for the other (roughly). They're each in their own tank now, too. Thank you for the reply!


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## Isabella15

Subbing this will be super useful


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## AngesRadieux

Alright, this may be a stupid question, but here it goes! I have a baby betta in a 2.5 gallon tank, and I've been doing roughly 50% water changes every other day because of the growth hormone.

If I were to put a baby betta in a 10 gallon tank, would 50% water changes every other day still be necessary? If yes, would such frequent large water changes mean the tank wouldn't cycle until the fish matured? Cycling wasn't an issue with the 2.5 gallon, because I was afraid a filter in such a small tank would be too much for a baby betta. I know some people do it, but it would stress me out immensely. But I figure in a larger tank, a current would be more manageable?

Is that a reasonable assumption, or am I completely wrong on that?


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## lilnaugrim

AngesRadieux said:


> Alright, this may be a stupid question, but here it goes! I have a baby betta in a 2.5 gallon tank, and I've been doing roughly 50% water changes every other day because of the growth hormone.
> 
> If I were to put a baby betta in a 10 gallon tank, would 50% water changes every other day still be necessary? If yes, would such frequent large water changes mean the tank wouldn't cycle until the fish matured? Cycling wasn't an issue with the 2.5 gallon, because I was afraid a filter in such a small tank would be too much for a baby betta. I know some people do it, but it would stress me out immensely. But I figure in a larger tank, a current would be more manageable?
> 
> Is that a reasonable assumption, or am I completely wrong on that?


The cycle will happen regardless of if you do water changes or not, the bacteria you want aren't in the water but ON things like the filter and such. 

As I mention in the first post, there are ways to reduce the GSH, one way is to get other little fish like Guppy fry or Platy fry, you could even stock with Ember Tetras or Neon's if you like, as long as they're betta friendly and will fit comfortably in the tank. The other way is to have lots of plants. This doesn't mean you need to go full out and have a hugely decorated planted soil based tank, you can grow Java Fern, Anubias, Anacharis, Water Wisteria or Water Sprite; any of the easy plants and that will help negate the hormone. If you do both of those, you'll only need about 10-15% every other day (unless ammonia get's too high because of tank trying to cycle, then you'll want to do more to keep the ammonia down and safe until it's fully cycled). If you don't want to do these things then you can do a 10% change daily or 15-20% every other day.


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## Kaysims

If I have a 2.5 gallon for my baby betta, what type of tank mates would be best?


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## VivianKJean

none! you cannot have any tank mates in a 2.5 gallon tank. It is too small.


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## lilnaugrim

None. 2.5g is only big enough for a Betta. If you want tank mates, you need a 10 gallon minimum, no exceptions. It's not that the Betta won't get along in a small space, it's just that the other fishes need more space especially since most are schooling or territorial. Make sure you look at the requirements for the other fish as well, not just if they're compatable. Schooling fish like corydoras, tetras, and rasboras all need at least 5-6 fish minimum for a school, that's all you can do in a 10 gallon with a Betta. 

You can do two African Dwarf Frogs (NOT African Clawed Frogs!!) in a 5.5 with a Betta, but the Betta will likely not allow them to eat unless you separate them at feeding time by cupping your Betta to allow the frogs to eat. They can be difficult as they are almost blind. I do not recommend them for a tank that is not Cycled. Make sure to also read up on the Nitrogen Cycle as well ;-)


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## Kaysims

lilnaugrim said:


> None. 2.5g is only big enough for a Betta. If you want tank mates, you need a 10 gallon minimum, no exceptions. It's not that the Betta won't get along in a small space, it's just that the other fishes need more space especially since most are schooling or territorial. Make sure you look at the requirements for the other fish as well, not just if they're compatable. Schooling fish like corydoras, tetras, and rasboras all need at least 5-6 fish minimum for a school, that's all you can do in a 10 gallon with a Betta.
> 
> You can do two African Dwarf Frogs (NOT African Clawed Frogs!!) in a 5.5 with a Betta, but the Betta will likely not allow them to eat unless you separate them at feeding time by cupping your Betta to allow the frogs to eat. They can be difficult as they are almost blind. I do not recommend them for a tank that is not Cycled. Make sure to also read up on the Nitrogen Cycle as well ;-)


If I do get a bigger tank size, how will the African dwarf frog help with the nitrogen cycle? Sorry for so many questions I just want to get it all right for my Bettas and to make sure they live a healthy life


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## VivianKJean

ADF do not help the nitrogen cycle. You must cycle the tank fully before you get them because they are very sensitive to water perimeters and are not as hardy as bettas. 

Honestly, I would just keep your baby betta in the 2.5 gallon tank you have. Follow the care instructions that lil has provided in this thread. Make sure they have a heater. Cycle your 2.5 gallon tank. Get them the best food you can. etc.


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## lilnaugrim

+1

What I was saying is that ADF are sensitive and so they will not be able to live in a tank that is cycling (ammonia and nitrite spikes can kill them). So they have to be introduced AFTER the tank is done cycling after the month. Do you know how the Cycle all works? We can point you to threads if you need it, it is essential to know about as a fish keeper.


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## Kaysims

VivianKJean said:


> ADF do not help the nitrogen cycle. You must cycle the tank fully before you get them because they are very sensitive to water perimeters and are not as hardy as bettas.
> 
> Honestly, I would just keep your baby betta in the 2.5 gallon tank you have. Follow the care instructions that lil has provided in this thread. Make sure they have a heater. Cycle your 2.5 gallon tank. Get them the best food you can. etc.


Okay, thanks so much! Tuna (my baby betta) as a heater, the water stays at 78. For food I feed omega one betta flakes to my baby and my adults I feed cobalt aquatics betta minis (at my local pet store they said that is a nice quality food), your thoughts?


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## Kaysims

lilnaugrim said:


> +1
> 
> What I was saying is that ADF are sensitive and so they will not be able to live in a tank that is cycling (ammonia and nitrite spikes can kill them). So they have to be introduced AFTER the tank is done cycling after the month. Do you know how the Cycle all works? We can point you to threads if you need it, it is essential to know about as a fish keeper.


Thank you so very much! All of your information is very helpful!:-D


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## VivianKJean

i would not feed flakes. They can cause bloating and constipation, not to mention they fowl the water really quickly. 

I would switch to Omega One Marine Micro Pellets.


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## Kaysims

VivianKJean said:


> i would not feed flakes. They can cause bloating and constipation, not to mention they fowl the water really quickly.
> 
> I would switch to Omega One Marine Micro Pellets.


Thanks so much! The person at Petco told me flakes would be the best, but clearly she didn't actually know. I will pick up some of those micro pellets today, I have to get more water conditioner, any suggestions on what brand to use??


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## lilnaugrim

We usually use SeaChem's Prime. It helps to lock ammonia so it doesn't hurt your baby for about 24 hours. This doesn't negate water changes, just keeps the fish a little safer is all.


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## Kaysims

lilnaugrim said:


> We usually use SeaChem's Prime. It helps to lock ammonia so it doesn't hurt your baby for about 24 hours. This doesn't negate water changes, just keeps the fish a little safer is all.


Okay, again thanks so much for all your help


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## mingking

You mentioned mature/grown bettas start to make decent sized bubble nests. My betta was not sold as a baby betta but is just a little bit bigger than a baby. He's about 1.5 inches. 

He makes small bubble nests about a quarter size. What is considered a decent sized bubble nest?

Is there also a way to tell if a baby male betta will have a long tail or is a plakat?

And thank you so much for this thread!! It was so helpful! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MysticSky22301

Some how I think I bought both of my babies Just after they were shipped in! Because Oscar is HUGE for about 4 months old he's bigger than my EE boy Mort! ( Mort and Ruby are for some unknown reason REALLY small) these two are so active and healthy and I fed them tiny mealworms ( usually broken into pieces) for the first few weeks I had them I'm very proud of how they turned out


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## JawsandChess

The part about the babies sporting horizontal lines made things fall into place because Luna had them and turns out she's younger than I thought XD


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## astrummortis

Feeling kind of paranoid about our baby. We're getting to the 1/2 way mark at the point where we lost the first one so I'm worried. He seems kind of see-through, as did the last, which I'ma ssuming is because he's so damn small. But I feel like I can see a red area right behind his stomach; I'm so paranoid it's a problem but it may just be his see-throughness showing off his insides. Has anyone else had this concern?


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## MysticSky22301

astrummortis said:


> Feeling kind of paranoid about our baby. We're getting to the 1/2 way mark at the point where we lost the first one so I'm worried. He seems kind of see-through, as did the last, which I'ma ssuming is because he's so damn small. But I feel like I can see a red area right behind his stomach; I'm so paranoid it's a problem but it may just be his see-throughness showing off his insides. Has anyone else had this concern?


You might have a female, or it could be the liver I don't see anything wrong with the little guy 

I've raised 2 babies and have a third just keep the water clean and keep them well fed. I used ial as a preventative and fed them 3 times a day


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## astrummortis

He had just eaten abut 1/2 an hour ago, so it could just be the back-end gut bulge in hs tiny baby belly, you're probably right. Maybe his scales are so small they're just bending and thinner when he has a full belly. 

Sorry for the paranoia. We're doing 25% daily water changes and treating his water with prime, feeding him 3x a day with micro pellets. I didn't know to do all of that with the first baby, which that combined with a tank with bull**** instructions that I stupidly followed resulted in her death. Ugh. Won't stop me from worrying about him until he's bigger, though!

Thank you so much for your thoughts!


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## MysticSky22301

You're welcome ^^ my 3rd baby Elf looks like a little pearl and he came from KitKat not Petco <3 i got him to flare at a mirror today lol cute little puff-up-and-run 

I STILL can't get Oscar to flare he ignores any other fish and is 4months old then again he was raised with guppy fry i migh be able to get him to flare after he gets his own compartment in a 10gallon divided tank


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## JawsandChess

MysticSky22301 said:


> You're welcome ^^ my 3rd baby Elf looks like a little pearl and he came from KitKat not Petco <3 i got him to flare at a mirror today lol cute little puff-up-and-run
> 
> I STILL can't get Oscar to flare he ignores any other fish and is 4months old then again he was raised with guppy fry i migh be able to get him to flare after he gets his own compartment in a 10gallon divided tank


Some bettas just don't flare, as my brother and I found out XD We call those "Chill bettas" because they really honestly don't care. I only have one of those, and he's not really chill, he's just so much bigger than everyone else that they don't mess with him when I remove the paper from between two tanks.


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## MysticSky22301

Haha yeah I have a full grown boy that's chill even with a gourami in the community tank and he flares but doesn't fight. he didn't hurt either of my females when I first attempted to spawn, my girls seem to ADORE him too it must be all the shiny dragon scales and long fins with a sweet heart personality


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## astrummortis

MysticSky22301 said:


> You're welcome ^^ my 3rd baby Elf looks like a little pearl and he came from KitKat not Petco <3 i got him to flare at a mirror today lol cute little puff-up-and-run
> 
> I STILL can't get Oscar to flare he ignores any other fish and is 4months old then again he was raised with guppy fry i migh be able to get him to flare after he gets his own compartment in a 10gallon divided tank


I LOVE the baby flare! Guang Ci flares at me and my wife while simultaneously begging for food, as if threatening behavior will get hin anything :grin2:

I love the sound of elf! Do you have pics?


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## MysticSky22301

Not yet ^^ he's settling in I just got him Friday! He's in a mesh breeder I've got to move Oscar so Elf can grow up in the safety of the guppy fry tank


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## lilnaugrim

@astrummortis yeah those are his testes/anus/intestine endings that you're seeing. He's still definitely a boy. If it were a female, it'd be yellow not red. Nothing wrong with your fish. Baby fish are always see through until they get to be an adult and their colors stabilize.

Let's also keep this thread on track. If you want to discuss baby Bettas and their care that is fine, but no off-topic please.


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## astrummortis

I'm getting in trouble all over the place, ha! Yes, sir. Or ma'am!


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## BlackGold

Admittedly I did not read all the posts on this thread but as someone that has a thousand or so babies I'd like to offer a bit of advice to make your life easier should you choose a baby betta. If this advice has already been given please disregard my duplication.

I wouldn't keep a baby betta in anything bigger than a 32oz container. This is what the "jarred" babies go into. From there I'd change the water every other day. A super simple way to do so is have two containers. Always keep the second one filled and ready. That way you can just scoop him out and drop him in the other one and it will be a 100% water change and already the exact temperature.

I couldn't imagine changing water every day on gallon + containers.....


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## MysticSky22301

astrummortis said:


> I LOVE the baby flare! Guang Ci flares at me and my wife while simultaneously begging for food, as if threatening behavior will get hin anything :grin2:
> 
> I love the sound of elf! Do you have pics?


Here's my tiny Elf! He swam in front of a water droplet and doesn't actually have a bump on his back, he's got lovely lines ^^

He's looks like a fancy (marble) cellophane dragon


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## astrummortis

MysticSky22301 said:


> Here's my tiny Elf! He swam in front of a water droplet and doesn't actually have a bump on his back, he's got lovely lines ^^
> 
> He's looks like a fancy (marble) cellophane dragon


He's so darn cute!!!


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## PTG

Thank you!!!


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