# Fry Foods and Feeding



## 1fish2fish

I saw this questioned asked and thought it deserved its own thread.

Fry need live foods, at least at first because live foods help the fry learn to eat. They will instinctively grab and gulp moving food whereas dried foods will be left untouched. It is best to have your foods cultured and ready to harvest before even putting your breeders in the tank.

*Baby Brine Shrimp* (aka BBS)

This is by far the most popular fry food among breeders. It is easy to cultivate, easy to harvest, and doesn't have odor issues as some other cultures will. This can be fed from the free swimming stage up to 1-2 months of age.

To culture brine shrimp you must order BBS eggs online. It is vary rare to be able to find them locally. It is best to order eggs that have a 85% or above hatch rate but other hatch rates work just as well, although you may have smaller numbers of BBS. Once you receive your eggs make sure to put them in the refridgerator. 

When your ready to culture you will need to set up a hatchery. Most people make DIY hatcheries but you can also buy them offline. To create your own hatchery 



It is fairly cheap and simple to create your own. BBS take 18-24 hours to hatch so most breeders set up two hatcheries 12 hours apart from each other so there is always a fresh batch of BBS ready to feed.

To harvest your BBS simply turn off the air pump and allow the BBS to settle, then use a turkey baster or a straw and suck up the BBS from the bottom of the hatchery. Rinse them with fresh de-chlorinated water and feed them to your fry. They will last about 12 hours from hatching if you keep the air pump running but most people throw them out.



*Microworms* (aka Micros or MW)

Microworms are a small nematode often fed before BBS because they are smaller than BBS. They are easy to feed and culture. Simply purchase a culture and follow the instructions given to you buy the seller. Basically you will take a plastic carton, fill it with a medium (usually oatmeal), and add your culture. Usually you need to give your culture 1-2 weeks to grow before harvesting so it is best to get the culture before hand. Store it in a room temp. dark cabinet.

To harvest simply take a q-tip (or your finger) and swipe some worms from the side of the container and dip it in the tank. Do not dip from the medium. Re-culture the worms every 2-3 weeks and your culture will last forever. You can feed micros solely for the first 1-2 weeks and it can also be feed in conjunction with larger foods for up to a month.

*There is some speculation that feeding MW can cause missing ventrals but this is strictly anecdotal and many breeders feed MW and produce fish with perfectly fine ventrals.

*Infusoria*

Infusoria is basically bacteria. It is many tiny organisms that grow in plants, etc. You can culture it or you can just add live plants to your spawning tank. To culture infusoria fill a jar with water and add live plants or even hay. Set it in front of a sunny window or a light for a few days and watch as the water begins to get cloudy. *It can take up to a month to get a good culture growing* Re-culture every 2 weeks.

To harvest simply suck some out and add it to the tank. Infusoria is really only good to feed for the first 1-2 weeks.

Additional information provided by pdxBetta..


> Infusoria is protists, which can feed on bacteria. Bacteria are typically ~1µm (0.001mm), and have no nucleus, while protists are much larger and nucleated. Probably the most relevant protist in "infusoria" is paramecium, which is typically ~200µm (0.2mm), about twice the thickness of an average human hair. You can see paramecium (barely) with a magnifying glass, while bacteria require a high powered microscope.
> 
> The relationship between snails and protists is that snails digest bio waste, and protists can eat snail waste as well as bacteria and algae.
> 
> My fry live on "infusoria" from elodea and water sprite in the spawning tank for the first few days of free swimming, at which time I begin bbs, vinegar eels, and micro/banana/walter worms... whatever I have going. To see if you have protists, take a drop of water and put it on a piece of glass. Shine a bright light on it and look through a magnifying glass. You should see very tiny white dots zooming around.


 
*Banana Worms* (aka BW)

Banana worms are similar to micro worms. They are roughly the same size and are cultured and harvested the same way. They don't have the problem with missing ventrals that MW is known for.

*Walter Worms* (aka WW)

Just like BW, Walter worms are cultured and harvested just like MW. They are slightly larger but can still be fed as a first food. (They are a personal favorite of mine).

** I feed all three (MM, BW, and WW) at once because these worms have different nutritional values and some take longer to sink then others which gives optimum chances of the fry eating them**

*Vinegar eels* (aka VE)

Vinegar eels are nematodes found naturally in unpasturized vinegar. They are slightly smaller than MW and make an awesome first food because they swim in the water column rather than sinking. They can live in the tank for a few days before dying which helps with water quality (although that is not a reason to neglect water changes). They can be fed for the first two weeks and as long as the fry can see them you can continue feeding them long after 2 weeks.

To culture VE simply get a jar, fill it with water and vinegar and add some apple slices. Order a culture of VE and add them to the jar. It takes VE about a month to really get going unless you order a large culture. Keep in a dark cabinet at room temps.

To harvest simply suck some VE out and filter it through a coffee filter. Rinse with tank water and then dump the eels in the tank. Re-culture once a month.

*Grindal Worms* (aka Grindals or GW)

Grindal worms are related to the earth worm. They make great foods for fry 1 month and older. They can even be fed to adult fish.

To culture select a medium (mine are being cultured using green scrubber sponge), wet it and add your culture to the top. Take a piece of rigid plastic and add some fish food (flakes work well). Wet them and put the plastic fish food side down on top of the culture. Feed daily

To harvest simply lift the plastic and rinse the worms/food off into a container, rinse again until all the dirt/food is gone and all you have left is worms.


*Dried Foods/Frozen Foods*

You can begin incorporating dried foods into your feeding regime as early as 2 weeks. Do not expect them to be well received but keep at it and eventually the fry will begin to look at it as food.

Great dried foods are:
Hikari First Bites- can be fed as a first food but are usually not eaten
Golden pearls- BBS eggs that are unhatched
De-caps- BBS eggs that have had the shells removed (these may be the same as golden pearls.. I'm not entirely sure).
Chopped frozen blood worms
Frozen mysis shrimp
Frozen Daphnia
Frozen brine shrimp
dried brine shrimp
HBH betta bites
NLS Grow
Attinson's Betta Pro


Food is only secondary to water quality when it comes to raising fry but it is still important. Feeding lots of food and feeding high quality food will only improve the quality of your fry. Remember.. just as feeding a variety to your adult fish is the best way to ensure health, feeding a variety to your fry will give you nice healthy fry.


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## MrVampire181

I've fed BBS the entire time. Never had a problem.


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## weluvbettas

do infusoria need a air pump to survive? I have a planted tank on my windowledge (no fish , dont panic lol) will it be full of infusoria? Its been there for a week?


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## 1fish2fish

Some people think that feeding BBS too early or over feeding it can lead to swim bladder problems. Personally I just find it to be messy, expensive, and a hassle so I stick to cultured worms. Its all a matter of preference.

Infusoria do not need an air pump. If you have live plants you already have infusoria because organisms will naturally grow on the plants. Putting snails into the spawning tank also helps to create infusoria.


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## weluvbettas

So can i just take water from the planted tank on the windowledge and put it in the fry tank and it will act as food???


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## 1fish2fish

In theory yes but I only use infusoria from plants as food for a day or two after the fry are free swimming. Then I start using cultured foods like VE or MW


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## Learn To Fly

How long can you feed infusoria for? Is there a certain size where they stop eating it or can't see it any more? Or can you feed it till they don't need live food any more?


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## 1fish2fish

Infusoria is very small and can only be feed for a week.. maybe two.


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## MrVampire181

My infusoria culture has live plants so I made a homemade sponge filter to grow the bacteria and give the plants oxygen


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## 1fish2fish

I'm resurrecting this because I wanted to share some good experiences with my current spawn.

From the beginning I've fed almost solely frozen BBS (baby brine shrimp). For the first two weeks I did incorporate live micro worms and infusoria but not to the extent I had in my previous spawns. I found that the fry took very well to the frozen BBS. Of course I do keep snails in my tank so they have a constant supply of infusoria for the ones that didn't take as well to the frozen.

I've found that starting with the frozen foods early has made the fry more accepting of dried foods (starting with NLS grow in week 5). There are still some that won't take the dried foods but that's to be expected.

These fry are 6 weeks old and being fed frozen daphnia, frozen BBS (because there are still a few small fry), and NLS grow. They are growing extremely well on this.

Frozen foods might be a great alternative for those that don't want to or have the room to culture many live foods. I still recommend having at least one culture of micro food available for the first week or so.


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## MrVampire181

I'll also be posting my experiences with frozen foods because I'll be using frozen BBS with my next spawn.


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## PeggyJ

How do I keep my infusoria from smelling? I am also not sure when it goes bad. I have tried several things. First I used fresh water only to realize I should have used tank water. I used tank water in a glass jar, with a lid, lettuce and an algae tab or two. I have tried aerating, leaving the lid off.. adding a pond snail..it still smells bad after a day or two. I tried using a different plant....still smells terrible. What am I doing wrong? Does it always smell that bad? I read somewhere that if it smells it isn't good to feed the fry. So far I am fryless so I have time to try again.


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## 1fish2fish

My cultures rarely ever smell bad unless they are past due for re-culturing.

I've never cultured infusoria because IMO it's only good for a day or two so I don't know what it is supposed to smell like.

VE are by far the least smelly since the culture is mainly vinegar. My microworms usually don't start to smell for at least a month.

My grindal and white worms are smelly because they have to be kept in dirt and I think the dirt that they came in had a high manure content.


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## PeggyJ

I have micro worms.. but I was under the impression that the fry couldnt eat them the first week or so... The micro worms are really easy.


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## 1fish2fish

Fry can eat micro worms as soon as they are free swimming. The same goes for Vinegar eels and Walter worms.

I prefer to start with vinegar eels for the first few days because they're a little bit smaller and are better swimmers so they're great for fry who hang out near the top.


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## bettabreeder123

*brine shrimp choice*

well brine shrimp can actually be fed when born. some breeders (like me) feed them once they're born because my fry's gorge on them. they eat and eat till they're really plumpy. i think different size strains of betta have different strains of fry's so some will eat it once born


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## beat2020

I just thought I would post my successful feeding schedule with one of my spawns. 

Day 3-1 week- Vinegar eels

1 week-4 weeks- BBS

At week 4, I started feeding decaps. 

The fry took the switch from live to dry foods very well. I'm so glad they did, because decaps are actually more nutritious than live BBS. I plan to eventually introduce frozen BBS,frozen daphnia, and NLS Grow to their diet.


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## PeggyJ

what are decaps? All my eggs died again....I am thinking my male is infertile. I am going to try with a different pair next week while I am off for the holidays


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## baylee767

Sorry to ask a question in a thread but this seemed like a good place to ask. At some point in time (probably 1-2 years from now lol) I'll be breeding. I don't want to bother with BBS because they sound messy and difficult. How does this scedule sound?

1. Start feeding vinegar eels on day 3.

2. Feed vinegar eels until week 2.

3. Slowely start introducing chopped up frozen blood worms, along with vinegar eels throughout week 3.

3. week 4 stop feeding vinegar eels and feed frozen BS and chopped blood worms. Introduce golden pearls during week 4.

4. start feeding small pellets and more frozen foods and maybe still feed golden pearls during week 5 or 6 (which one?)

5. feed regular feeding around week 7 with full blood worms and pellets and more frozen BS!

I think I'm a bit late with some, but how does this sound?


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## 1fish2fish

baylee767 said:


> Sorry to ask a question in a thread but this seemed like a good place to ask. At some point in time (probably 1-2 years from now lol) I'll be breeding. I don't want to bother with BBS because they sound messy and difficult. How does this scedule sound?
> 
> 1. Start feeding vinegar eels on day 3.
> 
> 2. Feed vinegar eels until week 2.
> 
> 3. Slowely start introducing chopped up frozen blood worms, along with vinegar eels throughout week 3.
> 
> 3. week 4 stop feeding vinegar eels and feed frozen BS and chopped blood worms. Introduce golden pearls during week 4.
> 
> 4. start feeding small pellets and more frozen foods and maybe still feed golden pearls during week 5 or 6 (which one?)
> 
> 5. feed regular feeding around week 7 with full blood worms and pellets and more frozen BS!
> 
> I think I'm a bit late with some, but how does this sound?


I think you'll find that you won't be able to feed chopped blood worms at 3 weeks.. blood worms are very hard to chop and even harder to chop fine. I would advise feeding frozen BBS (you can get these at petsmart) if you don't want to do live BBS.

The golden pearls are small enough that you could incorporate them into your feeding schedule early but I would still try to stick with something like BBS.


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## Keyoda

*Egg Brine Spray*

Has anyone tried this? Do you guys think it would even work for days 3-14?

1 part Hard boiled egg yolk
1 part frozen brine shrimp 
2 parts tank water 

Blend in a food processor (or grind with a motor & pestle)
Place slurry in a spray bottle, dilute with an extra 2 parts tank water

Feed 2 sprays, 2 times daily with a 75% WC after the final spray
(shake well, refrigerate, and discard mixture after 24 hours)


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## 1fish2fish

I don't think two sprays of that mixture would be adequate for a normal sized spawn but overall it could work. I don't like using egg yolk mixture since micro critters are what I'm more comfortable with them but I'd be interested to hear how that works for you.


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## BettaHeart

question: can bbs be cleaned and then placed in the freezer for later feeding? or will it lose even more nutrients that way? im asking because i think i had made alittle too much yesterday.


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## indjo

IMO freshly frozen live food (except tubefix) won't loose much nutrients. The problem I often face is that my bettas won't eat non live if they are used to live food.


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## PeggyJ

I have found if you feed live and dry together.. eventually weaning off the live.. they will accept it easier.


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## Frigid

1 question:
When to feed the fry?


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## MrVampire181

As soon as they are free swimming.


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## monroe0704

Is anyone familiar with the nutritional content of newly hatched fairy shrimp for fry food?


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## MrVampire181

I believe fairy shrimp are the freshwater version of BBS so I think they would be similar and probably live longer in your fry tank.


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## Oldfishlady

MrVampire181 said:


> I believe fairy shrimp are the freshwater version of BBS so I think they would be similar and probably live longer in your fry tank.


That is what I read as well...has anyone tried any???? I have always wanted to get some and check them out...if anything to see if they would live longer term in the tank for more of a free range feeding.....one day I will order some...lol.....anyone know of any US supply to order eggs from...if so post a link for me-I have only been able to find oversea supply.....or if anyone has ever hatched or used them....interested in personal experiences with them....


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## monroe0704

A breeder I order a lot of fish from has just offered to sell me some at $25 per package with free shipping... so I will be trying them out soon! I'm liking the easy hatching process for sure! From what I've seen you don't need to roll the eggs like BBS... but we'll see haha. I'm going to hatch some and then feed them to my adult fish and the little baby I got from beat... I'll let you know what I think


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## Oldfishlady

Awesome...I checked out a google search and found a Arizona supplier and once my e-check thing goes through paypal in 2-3 days I am going to order some and give them a try....they sound really interesting....and pretty much like BBS but freshwater....70% protein by what I read...so good...lol....


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## pdxBetta

*Infusoria*



1fish2fish said:


> *Infusoria*
> 
> Infusoria is basically bacteria. It is many tiny organisms that grow in plants, etc. You can culture it or you can just add live plants to your spawning tank. To culture infusoria fill a jar with water and add live plants or even hay. Set it in front of a sunny window or a light for a few days and watch as the water begins to get cloudy. *It can take up to a month to get a good culture growing* Re-culture every 2 weeks.
> 
> To harvest simply suck some out and add it to the tank. Infusoria is really only good to feed for the first 1-2 weeks.


Very useful article!

In the interest of further education, "infusoria" is not bacteria. Infusoria is protists, which can feed on bacteria. Bacteria are typically ~1µm (0.001mm), and have no nucleus, while protists are much larger and nucleated. Probably the most relevant protist in "infusoria" is paramecium, which is typically ~200µm (0.2mm), about twice the thickness of an average human hair. You can see paramecium (barely) with a magnifying glass, while bacteria require a high powered microscope.

The relationship between snails and protists is that snails digest bio waste, and protists can eat snail waste as well as bacteria and algae.

My fry live on "infusoria" from elodea and water sprite in the spawning tank for the first few days of free swimming, at which time I begin bbs, vinegar eels, and micro/banana/walter worms... whatever I have going. To see if you have protists, take a drop of water and put it on a piece of glass. Shine a bright light on it and look through a magnifying glass. You should see very tiny white dots zooming around.

I keep frozen bbs on hand for emergencies, and the slight current from the sponge filter keeps the frozen bbs in suspension long enough that most of the fry will eat it. I have not had terribly good luck with any dry food for the first weeks.


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## Sena Hansler

I am using micro-food and they've seem to taken to it... It's a little cloudy when put in then dissapates. 

ingredients:Whole egg solids, fish meal, wheat flour, torula dried yeast, fish oils, natural and artificial colors, sodium silico aluminate (anticaking agent). 


So am I just looking for rounded tummies with magnifying glass?


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## 1fish2fish

You should be able to see the food in their stomachs without a magnifying glass. IME not many fry take to that pre-made powdered food. 

In this picture you can see the fry has eaten.. the pinkish stuff behind it's head is vinegar eels in it's stomach. The other fry had not eaten and did not have that round pink tummy.


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## Sena Hansler

I do see most of the fry with bigger bellies than some of the more inactive ones. I also notice mine don't take to egg yolk, but go for the micro-food  figure that out... plus the plants "should" have some infusoria. I see some fry with darker bellies, some with glint like (like in the picture!!) in their bellies, and others that are thin... But all in all not many have died -crosses fingers- I also had to take out the dad since he was being mean to the clean up crew (cory cat)


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## 1fish2fish

I'm guessing the potato is to produce infusoria.. there are many ways to use infusoria but IMO it's a worthless food because you can get micro critters by using live plants and after a week you'd need to switch to more substantial food anyway.

Daphnia is a great food but even pros have issues keeping cultures alive, it is too big for small fry too, it would have to be used after they out grew BBS.


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## betta lover1507

oh... ok, i don't have live plants =[ besides one that looks dead, and i don't have money to buy one



heyy, i have a question on BBS, how do you get the BBS if you cannot buy them through the internet? howw do you get them by like spawning the brines?


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## Sena Hansler

I just use microworms... I have a huge healthy batch I now have to move since it's older, and they've swarmed the entire container x.x they are small enough for baby fry, right next to getting BBS. sometimes fish stores have BBS starters, or you'll have to get the starter kits online. That's all I know


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## tpocicat

Has anyone tried instant brine shrimp? It's by Ocean Nutrition.


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## 1fish2fish

I've read from others who have.. The downside is they're very expensive if that's your main food source for a whole spawn.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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