# Blufish425's Baby Betta Journal



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

Yesterday my boyfriend and I took a trip to his hometown, and I wanted to run in Petco to buy some NLS fish food since I can't get it at Petsmart here. Unfortunately they didn't have the right kind, but I did come home with a new addition. My boyfriend was blindsided by the cuteness, and let me bring home yet another fish. Perhaps not realizing that someday it will mean 6 full grown bettas in the house lol  

The boyfriend also deemed the baby Zeus, totally killing my A's theme, but ah well. If Zeus turns out to be a girl we'll have to rethink the name. Zeus spent the night floating in Miss Audrey's tank, I'm going to try to do the betta shuffle later today, but Zeus may be floating in there until next week. 

Here is his first picture, I will get a few more today in the daylight


----------



## PetMania (Mar 28, 2013)

So cute! If it does turn out to be a girl, you can name her Aphrodite....
I have a trend of Greek god names (Apollo, Athena, Zues) and my sister ruined it by calling her fish Glo before she gave him to me. I re-named him Hercules.


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

Oh I like Aphrodite! I have Apollo and Athena  (my A's theme took a greek turn lol)


----------



## PetMania (Mar 28, 2013)

Hehe. Yeah, my tanks are also Greek themed. I am adopting Jarvis from lilnaugrim, and he's a Marvel themed betta (all of her's are Marvel character names). So I might have an Iron Man tank for him. lol.


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

More pictures of Zeus, I was changing his water at the time, hence why there is so little. He's quite spunky already. He acts just like my adults do.


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

Zeus is definitely getting bigger, and showing off his betta attitude. He has realized he is in a cup in the tank, and he wants out! Unfortunately I think he could still fit through the holes in the mesh if he really tried so he gets to stay put for now. Here's a couple photos from today:


----------



## Fishie The Betta (Oct 17, 2013)

I would be too scared to raise such a small betta fish! I dont know how you do it


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

Fishie The Betta said:


> I would be too scared to raise such a small betta fish! I dont know how you do it


I am scared! I'm at work and constantly texting my boyfriend asking "how's my baby?!" Lol. But he is getting bigger every day and hopefully soon will be large enough that I don't have to worry as much.


----------



## TiffanyP (Jun 29, 2013)

It's not so bad raising such a tiny fish - it's actually pretty fun! I have one that I've had for 4 months now and he's so big and still growing and I look at him and say... hey I grew that! It makes me feel all fuzzy in side haha

I have 2 more babies now and they're in a split tank and I absolutely just love their little personalities <3 Your lil Zeus looks healthy and happy and I bet he just can't wait to get out of that little cup and be able to dart all around  If I could fit another 5 gallon tank in my room I'd probably get 2 more babies haha

Best of luck with Zeus - can't wait to watch him grow!


----------



## Fishie The Betta (Oct 17, 2013)

when they are small like that do you have to put them in a cup? i am guessing its so that they can get to the surface quicker?


----------



## TiffanyP (Jun 29, 2013)

No they can be in a full size tank just like any other betta  I think in her situation she doesn't have a place for him right now, so a cup works temporarily.


----------



## Fishie The Betta (Oct 17, 2013)

TiffanyP said:


> No they can be in a full size tank just like any other betta  I think in her situation she doesn't have a place for him right now, so a cup works temporarily.


oh! so they wont have an issue going up for air? they are so tiny it must be tiring! OR you dont fill up the water all the way up?


----------



## Fishie The Betta (Oct 17, 2013)

how do you feed them?


----------



## TiffanyP (Jun 29, 2013)

I have my 2 babies in a 5 gallon tank (it's split) and it's filled to the top and they have no issues  I'm pretty sure when breeders have their fry they usually put them in a pretty large grow out tank, maybe 36 gallons?, which is deeper than a 5 gallon. You just have to be sure the filter isn't too overpowering for them 

I feed them New Life Spectrum small fish formula pellets, and they get the tiniest bloodworms as a treat when they're big enough to eat them.


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

He did get an upgrade to a tupperware container floating in the tank today  At least it gives him more swimming room  

To answer your questions Fishie, I believe most breeders use a large tank to let their fry grow out in, like 20+ gallons, and only remove them to small cups or jars once they start noticing aggressive individuals.

He will only eat daphnia right now, so I am thawing a little square of it, and putting in tiny bits at a time with a pipette. Daphnia gets really messy so I didn't want to put too much in. 

By the way, if anyone has an opinion on if he is actually a boy, or if you think he's a girl instead please let me know lol


----------



## TiffanyP (Jun 29, 2013)

I don't see any ovaries in the pics you have up so I think he's a Zeus


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

! I thought I saw a tiny ovipositor today and was a tiny bit disappointed. I know that's not a completely reliable way of sexing them though. I love my girls, they are very cool, and it would be ok if Zeus turns out to be a girl, but I really favor the boys. 

Also, just a side note to a previous post, he is actually in the tank he will permanently live in, but I have it divided with mesh and I think he could fit through the holes if he tried. Tiffany how big are your babies in the divided tank?


----------



## TiffanyP (Jun 29, 2013)

They're oh gosh lol I don't know really - maybe 3/4 of an inch long?

This is a close up picture of them in their tank if that helps 
http://i.imgur.com/7y1XIJh.jpg


----------



## Fishie The Betta (Oct 17, 2013)

after seeing those pictures i would really like a baby betta! i will have to wait until my betta passes before i get a new one. I dont think i have the skill to handle multiple


----------



## Fishie The Betta (Oct 17, 2013)

TiffanyP said:


> They're oh gosh lol I don't know really - maybe 3/4 of an inch long?
> 
> This is a close up picture of them in their tank if that helps
> http://i.imgur.com/7y1XIJh.jpg


the yellow one camouflaged into the background and it took me a bit to find it lol


----------



## TiffanyP (Jun 29, 2013)

Hah yeah he blends in well with his cave doesn't he? The divider between them is probably 1/4 inch thick if that helps give you a size ratio


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

Love the yellow! I think yours are the same size-ish as Zeus, but I'm still scared to let him roam his section of the tank because his neighbors are big and aggressive lol. I have a divided 20 long


----------



## TiffanyP (Jun 29, 2013)

What I did was get a sheet of plastic canvas and I cut out little squares for the cords to go through and then placed that over the divider so there's about 3-4 inches on each side so they can't jump over  So far it's working - this is my first go with a split tank so I wanted to be extra cautious


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

I did almost the same with mine, and its been all good for several months now. I'm paranoid about them jumping, I could NOT handle one killing the other, even though its just instinct for them.


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

A couple pics from today. I swear he has to be at least 1/4 inch longer than when I bought him 5 days ago!


----------



## TiffanyP (Jun 29, 2013)

They grow SO fast sometimes


----------



## Fishie The Betta (Oct 17, 2013)

How long do they stay that tiny?


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

His color seems to be coming in a bit more. He got a little housing upgrade today, its a little "kritter tote" I found at petsmart. Not sure exactly the size, but its about the size of a large breeder box. Probably about 1/4 gallon. Small enough to float in his section of the tank, but offers him a lot more swimming room  I think he is probably big enough that I could put him in the tank, but Im currently doing a fish-in cycle, so I wont subject the baby to any potential spikes. Any guess on color/pattern/tail type yet?


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

*Update*

Baby Zeus is doing great, definitely getting bigger every day. He never stops moving around now so its really hard to get a decent picture. He has already learned that I am the one that brings the food so he really gets excited when I walk up, and makes picture taking even harder :lol:

I found a really great thread on here that described how to look for ovaries is female bettas, and be able to for sure tell the gender, even when they are small babies. Here is the link 

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=213858

Based on this I definitely think Zeus is a boy, he doesn't have the triangle shape that distinguishes ovaries behind his belly. Fortunately for me his body is see through still or I never would have been able to tell.

Here are a couple new pictures, not as high of quality as when he was a good baby and sat still for the camera ;-)


----------



## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Zeus is adorable!


----------



## BlueLacee (Dec 8, 2013)

So cute


----------



## blufish425 (Jul 29, 2013)

*Update*

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. This guy seems to be growing rather slowly. I would guess he was stunted from the beginning because I have kept up on water changes to make sure he wasn't affected by the growth stunting hormone the babies release. He is in his own 5 gallon portion of a divided tank now but he slipped through the divider the other day and got his tail bitten off! I was super upset, but glad he was still alive since his neighbor is a large adult male. Here is a picture from today, his tail is coming back nicely so far.


----------

