# Betta Fry Food...& velvet prevention



## XenBetta (Jul 26, 2014)

Okay so my first successful spawn with over 200+ bettas just died today. 

It was a Royal blue CT x Metallic royal blue with black fins HMPK.

I did tons of research before breeding but I totally forgot to research about diseases and how to prevent them.


Also I can't purchase any microworms ATM because I'm broke. 

I do have bbs culture that I could start. But the problem is idk if new born free swimming betta frys could eat that right away.


Some say bbs are best because it cuts your spawn in half and some say that their betta frys don't eat it until 2 days after free swimming stage.


SO IM HERE FOR ADVICE! 


Can I feed them bbs on first day free swimming stage?

And How do I prevent Velvet and other possible diseases or parasites?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

They are right, fry won't eat until two days after free swimming because they are still absorbing their egg sack so they are getting the nutrients they need there. Also BBS can't be fed until 2 weeks I believe it was, before then you need to look into a worm culture like Microworms, banana worms, or vinegar eels. Most fry won't eat anything that isn't moving and so you can end up fouling the water if you try to feed something they won't eat.

Most likely it wasn't velvet that killed your spawn. But you can use a few drops of Methlyene Blue in the spawn tank to help prevent fungus from the eggs, though I don't know the exact ratio for what you'd want. The biggest thing is just to make sure the tank is clean, has a small sponge filter gently running from an established tank and not to overfeed your fish. Your fish will die more from overfeed than underfeeding.


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## XenBetta (Jul 26, 2014)

Thank you so much!

I figured it was velvet because they had spots on them like sparkle spots when there's light shining at them.


Also I'm looking into vinegar eels now. But the thing is DO THEY STINK?...I can't really buy anything ATM....

Is there a way I can start the vinegar eel culture without a starting culture?...

I want to know if there is anything quick and simple without an existing culture.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I don't know how old they were so I can't say if it was just iridescence or not but velvet doesn't sparkle, it's more of a straight yellow like pollen almost.

They smell a bit like vinegar but not really anything bad. Microworms and banana worms only a smell like yeast when you open the container, otherwise mine don't smell.

The only thing you can culture without having to buy a culture is Infusoria. You can google that for more info on them but they'll live on live plants so you can take live plants from your other tanks and put them in the fry tank and let them feast on the microorganisms there. That will get them through maybe the first week.


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## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

You can actually feed nhbbs from the start. Newbie fish will eat them. Get them in as soon as they hatch. I prefer to have infusoria in the tank when starting this way. If you have some floating type plants around they often carry micro critters to munch on and can improve water quality. You may want to get the bbs hatchery running asap. Without an existing mw or vinegar eel culture going already it is likely too late. Be careful not to overfeed in the 1st 2 weeks as problems can occur from big tummy crushing the little developing bladder. Quick and simple would be the hatched bbs.


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## XenBetta (Jul 26, 2014)

Thank you so much you two. I will probably start breeding 2 weeks to a month from now. (Hopefully I can order vinegar eels soon!)


If I can I will most likely start a culture of my own of vinegar eels.

I used boil eggs to feed them then I started feeding them bbs.

I tried feeding them bbs when they were one week....only some of the frys are them but I wasn't very sure.

They died the day after.(which was this morning)

First attempt failed but it's alright.


Also I'm researching right now ATM on how to start a vinegar eel culture.
Should I use two jars? One for main culture and one for feeding?...


I'm lost in how to start a culture exactly?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Ah! Thanks for dropping in CJ!

Yeah, you'll want two jars for the eels, one is the "Mother" culture and the other should be a narrow neck bottle for harvesting. It takes around a month to get a good culture going and ideally even more than just two bottles if you can handle it; a few regular cultures and one for harvesting should be good depending on how many bottles of culture you have going.

I'm not too experienced with actually culturing the eels, I'm doing Banana worms and Microworms for starters with APR if I feel like they need it and then on to decap BS and whatever else they'll eat ^_^


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## XenBetta (Jul 26, 2014)

Thanks again! Big help!


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## amphirion (Jan 15, 2014)

im currently looking into low maintenance cultures for the first weeks (this is where the highest mortality rate occurs). from what i am telling, rotifers are a bit too expensive and require much nutrient uptake (greenwater cultures) to be a worthwhile candidate. infusoria is a possible candidate, but with infusoria-- you're getting a mixed bag of inverts, some herbivorous, some that will devour each other--personally i didnt want to go for that. ive recently ordered some stock cultures of a certain species of paramecium that should be considered low maintenance yet provide high yield, and best of all, i dont have to worry about their water changes! wish me luck.


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## sharkettelaw1 (Mar 6, 2013)

well, you can feed them BBS 2 days after free swimming. What i did was i used a small syphon and did water changes through that small tube 3 times the same week they hatched and became free swimming. About 90% of my spawn has survived nearly 2 months later, all have their ventrals so bacteria obviously hasnt been a problem. Bacteria will eat away their ventrals and etc if the tank isnt cleaned often enough. All i give them is BBS. And about a day of fasting. Sometimes 2. Works a treat


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## XenBetta (Jul 26, 2014)

Good luck Amphirion! I'm jealous..

no need to worry about water changes?!?!...


I really need a culture like that!

@sharkettelaw1 really?..

How much bbs did you feed them a day?!

Also how much % water change and how often?

I've been really trying to find different ways of breeding in a way I feel comfortable.

This was my first and it felt Amazing until I started with the feeding and water changes.


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## amphirion (Jan 15, 2014)

keep scavengers in the tank. ramshorn, pond snails do quite well for a period--until the kids turn on them.


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## XenBetta (Jul 26, 2014)

How many ramshorn snails should I get??


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## sharkettelaw1 (Mar 6, 2013)

i feed them BBS four times a day through a syringe..i just becareful not to get any egg shells with the shrimp in the syringe. And i do water changes sometimes three times a week, and sometimes four times a week


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## sharkettelaw1 (Mar 6, 2013)

and i switch to either 30% change or 50%. At the moment, most of my fry are HUGE but some are tiny. Some look like they just hatched. I dunno why but it could be because of the size of other fry. I make sure i do water changes all the time to remove the hormones that stunt growth


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## amphirion (Jan 15, 2014)

XenBetta said:


> How many ramshorn snails should I get??


there's no real answer to this question. i would rather have more than not enough as i tend to overfeed.


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## XenBetta (Jul 26, 2014)

@Sharkettelaw ouh okay! Thanks.

I'm probably going to do water changes the way you do it too then.


Do you syringe the bbs all the way to the top of the syringe? Or do you do a certain amount of drops?...

@Amphirion ouh I'm probably going to get 3-6 then


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## sharkettelaw1 (Mar 6, 2013)

yeah, all the way to the top. Since fry are like all over the tank in their little social elite groups LOL i squirt shrimp where ever i see fry. They finish it all.


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## XenBetta (Jul 26, 2014)

LOLOLOLOL.... That's true... They have their own social elite groups....it's like high school...

The popular and Unpopular.


Umm btw how did you separate the left over eggs and the bbs?


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## sharkettelaw1 (Mar 6, 2013)

i go the route of hatching them in a soda bottle, washed and rinsed thoroughly. I grab water from the longest cycled tank, put the airstone in and lots and lots of AQ salt. As the airstone circulates the water, i start putting eggs in. After 2 days i switch the pump off and wait for all unhatched eggs to settle down to the floor and wait for the shrimp to gather to the best light source (my shrimp hatechery is sourrounded by three fish tanks all with a temp of 82F and 2 have lights one with a white light thats useful in attracting shrimp. The radiating warmth from the tanks keep the shrimp warm) once they are gathered, i stick the nozel of the syringe in where the thickest orange is at the surface. There usually wont be eggs where they are


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## XenBetta (Jul 26, 2014)

Ouh okay thanks a lot! Umm do we have to use Indian almond leaf?

For breeding?...

I usually use me but I ran out from my last spawn.


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