# Official "PetCo Baby Betta" Thread



## CalvinWill

I've seen several threads regarding "Baby Betta" for sale at PetCo. I wanted to start this thread for all discussion about PetCo selling Baby Betta, pictures of your new fish or what you've seen at your local stores, and stories of our success and failures.

I am really not sure how I feel about Betta being sold so small. I know that in the hands of your average fish keeper most do not have a chance. Those that do survive to adulthood will probably spend the rest of their lives in cold water in the 1/4 gallon "tank" they have stocked with them in the display. 

Regardless, after hearing about petco selling true "baby" betta, I had to go take a look. Sure enough, I saw no less then 30 colorless, unsexable almost-fry less then the size of my thumbnail, fins included. 

I had no intention of actually buying one of these poor fish, but then I saw one that was slightly larger then the rest in the baby cups. This one had started to show a blue and red mix of color and was clearly a double tail. Sure enough I walked out of the store with a miniscule but potentially beautiful new fish at the low low cost of $1.99.

I brought him home on Saturday. He is in M1's old 1 gallon corner tank. My apartment is running at a cool 80 degrees and his tank is holding solid at a comfortable 78. If he makes it to be large enough, I will add him to the empty section of my divided 10 gallon. He currently eats crushed hikari and frozen bloodworms. 

Not going to get too attached to his fragile little guy just yet, but my fingers are crossed.

Anyone else fall victim to this cuteness trap? Post your pictures and tell your stories.


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## LittleNibbles93

My Petco doesn't seem to be participating in this "Baby Betta" thing going on, I was there Saturday and they didn't have a single cup that said Baby on them, and they had just gotten a fresh supply of adults (I think we have a local breeder who supplies them.)


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## Badjer

I haven't seen any at our store either, and I think I'm thankful for that. I wouldn't find raising one, but most of the bettas at our store (and most stores) are bought by parents for their hyperactive children and these little bettas won't stand a chance.


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## bettalover2033

I would guess his age at about 2-3 months old, no more than three months.

He's a cute little guy (if he is a guy). That is pretty exciting because you are basically raising your own bettas into adults. Thats very cool! It's good for us to be able to buy them when they are still fry, but it is also, bad for the fry because just imagine how much their elders take on and can somewhat recover from, their immune system isn't even developed to take on harsh conditions in the pet stores. again, its a good think but a bad thing too.

Yours is so cute! I love the nice colors on it! And one of my favorites are DTHM or DTHMPK.

I'd like to see some updates on it, It looks like he/she'll turn into quite a beauty! And i'd like to know if it is a female or male, so if you dont end up saying on here, you can PM me!


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## CalvinWill

I am pretty sure he is a male, but having never owned a doubletail (I'm PRETTY sure he is a DbT) i don't really know much about them.

I am really hoping he is a halfmoon double. 

He is still doing well. Might try to feed him a few microworms tonight, but i think he is a little big for them.


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## LilyK

This is my baby betta Casper. I got him on Halloween, so hes put on weight since then


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## tpocicat

CalvinWill, I still feed microworms to my 4 month fry. They love them. So do my neon tetras.
I was at my Petco this Sunday, and so far, no baby bettas.


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## CalvinWill

tpocicat said:


> CalvinWill, I still feed microworms to my 4 month fry. They love them.


Good to know. I just got a culture from my betta club for my upcoming spawn. I thought they were just for the first two weeks of the fry.


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## tpocicat

For the first two weeks of the fry's life, they are essential because the fry are so small. As they grow, there are more choices for them. I feel my four month old fry crushed pellets, crushed flakes, frozen foods of several differant kinds, and microworms.


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## Mariah94

I fell for it. Or, well, my family did. I had mentioned wanting a fish and they came home with this little bitty thing in a bowl. I immediately thought fish abuse and did my research. Now, a week later I have a 5 gallon 8 sided type tank with a heater and filter. I still need to go out and get a thermometer and some good food. But I'm still really new at this and I have a lot of questions. This is also my first post to the thread.

My betta (when I learn how to post pics I will) is about half the size of my pinky, maybe a bit smaller. I haven't had the time to look too much into the sex and type, but I THINK it's a girl...then again, it's a young fish so I might not be able to tell yet. I can't tell an age...maybe you guys have a general idea given the approx. size?

If it is a girl, her name is Temperance. If not, it's Rick Castle -but that chat is for later.

I'm really concerned about the feeding. I have this zoo med betta food that grows when you put it in the water. My little fish can hardly hold it in her mouth and it takes her over three minutes to eat it. So far I've been feeding her 3 times every other day and doing it in cyces. One the night before, one in the morning, and one in the evening -because it takes her so long to eat it and honestly the food (once submerged) is larger than her eye- I really don't want her to bloat up. But she kind of gives me that look (I'm sure you all know it) like she's starving so today I gave her two pellets in her night feed. She looks like she wants more...decieving fish.

Still doing my research, but I saw this thread and decided since I got 1.99 fishy from petcoe I may as well post 

After exams I hope to have everything for her (or him). I know I want to get better food, some blood worms, a thermometer, softer plants...possibly a larger heater (I think mine is for 1-3 gallon?) and a Castle that's softer on the fins. And any thing else she/he needs. Me and this fish have really bonded. Never thought I'd bond with a fish but she/he follows my finger and hangs out on the side of the tank by my bed all the time. She/he is the coolest little fish...

Thanks!


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## Sakura8

Welcome to the forum, Mariah!.  I'm glad you've been bitten by the betta bug. You will have so much fun watching your little pal grow up. 

For your baby, since (s)he is so small, I recommend New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula .5mm pellets. These pellets are seriously small so they should be really easy for your betta to eat. Feed only 1-2 at a time although I admit it will be very hard to just pick out a few. When your betta gets bigger, I'd recommend New Life Spectrum Betta formula pellets or Omega One Betta Buffet pellets. Both are really good foods. 

It really helps to have an adjustable heater too because on the hopefully rare chance your betta may get sick, you may need to turn the heat up higher than normal. 

Oh, and posting pics. If you have the file already uploaded onto Photobucket, then click on the icon next to the globe with the link (second icon from the end). Copy and paste the address into that. It'll post the pic. If the file isn't uploaded anywhere, then go down below the message box and click Go Advanced. Up above the message box, click on the paper clip icon. A new window opens up. Click upload your file, find the file, and upload. Repeat as necessary, then close the window when your down and click submit reply.


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## Mariah94

I think the pic is attached. It's from my ipod so the quality is really bad and i think it's crooked. But after searching around some more...I'm concerned. As you can see in the picture there a parts of she/he that are missing the blue...and I'm not sure if that's because of the age, doensn't have all of the color yet, or is it means the fish is sick? Also on the tail there are tiny little black dots, again I'm not sure if its part of the color or not.

Very concerned now. Won't be sleeping because of my poor fish!


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## Sakura8

Yup, I can see the pic. The black dots on the tail are part of the tail pattern. All bettas have some kind of ray patterning to their tails. The white parts, are they fuzzy or do they just look like the color is drained out of them a little? If they just look drained, then it's either your betta's natural coloring or (s)he may be a little stressed and still adjusting to his or her new home. If that's the case, then the white spots are stress stripes and will go away as your betta settles in.


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## Mariah94

There are no white stripes or anything, so no stress for the fish  But the top of her hear (and a small part of her body) the color is like a brownish? Not the blue of the rest of the body.

Thanks so much!


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## Sakura8

The brownish part is totally natural for a betta of that color so it sounds like your baby is healthy and relaxed.  You can sleep easy tonight.  Yay!


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## Mariah94

Pheeeeeeeeew. I'm glad! Thanks so much!


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## Sakura8

You're welcome. I'm glad I could help.  If you notice anything wrong with your baby, feel free to post in the disease section or PM me. But judging from the pics. your little betta looks good.


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## Myates

Looks like a little girl to me..veil tale. Half the size of your pinky, the males would be showing the longer fins. My newest male is a little over an inch body wise with long fins. 

She's a cutie!


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## Tikibirds

I got one a few days ago but it died in like 24 hours  I went back today and there were about 10 baby's and _*ALL*_ were dead. And the adults they had all looked ready to keel over.

However about a week or two ago I picked up a tiny CT. It was labled as a CT female and not a baby but she is pretty tiny. She can eat new life spectrum pellets. They are small but I dont they they are the tiny pellets though. 

Heartstrings - in a 1 gallon tank.









Moved her into a divided 10G


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## Leeniex

Tiki, her color is amazing. 


Those poor babies they are selling really stand no chance of living.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen

I think to sell the baby bettas it's cruel. D: I dont have a petco where I live, and I'm glad.


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## Gizmothefreaky

I got one of the baby bettas, he didnt even live through the night...  poor thing.


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## SDragon

bettalover2033 said:


> .He's a cute little guy (if he is a guy). That is pretty exciting because you are basically raising your own bettas into adults. Thats very cool! It's good for us to be able to buy them when they are still fry, but it is also, bad for the fry because just imagine how much their elders take on and can somewhat recover from, their immune system isn't even developed to take on harsh conditions in the pet stores. again, its a good think but a bad thing too.quote]
> 
> 
> 
> It is pretty cool how you get to raise your betta. Almost like having a spawn! I tihink the best part is the surprise. You have no clue what you are going to get. But, it must suck for the fish.
> I would love to get one but I dont know how to take care of them. Maybe in a few months.


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## bettalover2033

SDragon said:


> bettalover2033 said:
> 
> 
> 
> .He's a cute little guy (if he is a guy). That is pretty exciting because you are basically raising your own bettas into adults. Thats very cool! It's good for us to be able to buy them when they are still fry, but it is also, bad for the fry because just imagine how much their elders take on and can somewhat recover from, their immune system isn't even developed to take on harsh conditions in the pet stores. again, its a good think but a bad thing too.quote]
> 
> 
> 
> It is pretty cool how you get to raise your betta. Almost like having a spawn! I tihink the best part is the surprise. You have no clue what you are going to get. But, it must suck for the fish.
> I would love to get one but I dont know how to take care of them. Maybe in a few months.
> 
> 
> 
> The best way is to do your homework and learn about their requirements and basics. Go to www.bettysplendens.com and you will find TONS of things from care to breeding.
> 
> Also, I agree with you because that IS exactly what IMO is the aim that the breeders that are supplying the fry, are trying to get across.
Click to expand...


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## gossipgirl1031

I have one that has survived almost 2 weeks now. My newest addition came from a sad situation in the store also. She (I'm pretty sure at least) is definitely higher maintenance than my others, but in a different way than some of my other "rescues". She gave me quite a scare last week when after opening her tank lid to do a water change, I realized that I forgot the net and in that short period of time, she jumped out and fell almost 3 feet onto the floor. I was sure she was a goner, but has done pretty good after that first night. I knew bettas jumped, but I hadn't ever experienced it before. I've never bred or raised young ones before, so any tips and advice would be welcome. I'll try and upload a picture from my BlackBerry soon. Thanks!


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## Zappity

Thank God my Petco stopped selling fish or I'd be +1 baby betta. But if it died..it'd be too tragic xD I hate when my bettas die... ):


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## registereduser

Hi! I'm new here also.
Here is my baby Pooh. Any guesses as to sex/type?
She seems quite healthy and active,
a good eater, too.


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## bettalover2033

She looks like a little cutie! I like her tiny dorsal fin. If I had to guess the sex just from the picture it will be a Female since so far her ventral fins are small and look "female." Though you can't be too sure right now because it could be a he too, but I still would say she is a female (for right now).

Is it okay to call it a female right now?


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## registereduser

bettalover2033 said:


> I still would say she is a female (for right now).
> 
> Is it okay to call it a female right now?


I think it looks like a female, too, but then this is my first betta and anyone else here would know more 

She doesn't have any color at all, I think the camera flash made the blueish sheen in the photo.

Anyway, I will post more photos here as she grows. When I decided to get her I figured I wouldn't know what she would look like but since I was getting her so young I would have her for a longer time


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## kfryman

I saw a couple babies that weren't even bigger than 3/4 of a dime! I am so mad about that


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## bettalover2033

@Kfryman: That is just terrible. It's like the breeders really dont even care anymore if they are that small. I'm surprised that fry that small are surviving very long!


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## bettalover2033

registereduser said:


> I think it looks like a female, too, but then this is my first betta and anyone else here would know more
> 
> She doesn't have any color at all, I think the camera flash made the blueish sheen in the photo.
> 
> Anyway, I will post more photos here as she grows. When I decided to get her I figured I wouldn't know what she would look like but since I was getting her so young I would have her for a longer time


She should color in, in a month or so. I think she is a female because as fry they do develop color when they are younger than she looks. Sometimes they do develop light colors.


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## styggian

I picked up two babies last night, and have been feeding them crushed NLS pellets. They weren't the smallest by a long shot. Both appear like they might be CTs, but I'm not 100% positive. One seems to have a hint of turquoise or green, and the other has this odd spotted pattern. It'll be fun to see how they turn out in a month or two.


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## gossipgirl1031

Mine have all taken off in growth and color in the last week. Except for my newest that got rescued yesterday. She's still small and very little color.


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## gossipgirl1031

I would go female as of the moment. My first baby surprised me. "She" seems to be growing into a "he". Oh well. As long as they are happy & healthy. Cute picture! I need a better camera.


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## registereduser

Is this weird? My baby Betta Pooh loves to share the "sinking wafer" food I give to her tank mate Pookie the Catfish! I also give her freeze dried bloodworms and "BettaMin" and she eats like a little piggy fish! I guess that's good! Do you think she is bonding with Pookie? I know it's not ideal to have just one catfish but they do seem to be friends so far. 

PS I have a 5 gallon tank. Two fish should be the limit, right?


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## bettalover2033

registereduser said:


> Is this weird? My baby Betta Pooh loves to share the "sinking wafer" food I give to her tank mate Pookie the Catfish! I also give her freeze dried bloodworms and "BettaMin" and she eats like a little piggy fish! I guess that's good! Do you think she is bonding with Pookie? I know it's not ideal to have just one catfish but they do seem to be friends so far.
> 
> PS I have a 5 gallon tank. Two fish should be the limit, right?


She is very cute! The pictures are also cute.

Fish "bonding" "pairing" DOES happen, though this is very controversial. Many would say that fish don't have that kind of mind to bond. Though Angelfish are a great example of fish that do bond and chase others away from them and that's not only when they are about to spawn. It's very possible that they have bonded, though it would be unlikely because they are two different species of fish.

Keep an eye on them and tell us how they behave because IMO this is pretty interesting!

P.S.

If I haven't already said this: Hello and Welcome to the forum!


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## Misakitty

My friend and I were eying the babies in Petco last night, and we asked if they knew what varieties were in the baby cups or if they were all veiltails. The guy consulted the manager and came back saying they were supposed to all be veil, but I saw one that definitely looked like it was developing crown peaks. I won't be able to resist next time I go back.

There's something very intriguing about gambling on the color fish you'll end up with, and it's hard not to want to try to rescue one of them.


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## registereduser

bettalover2033 said:


> Keep an eye on them and tell us how they behave because IMO this is pretty interesting!
> 
> P.S.
> 
> If I haven't already said this: Hello and Welcome to the forum!


will do and thanks!!!


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## bettalover2033

Anytime!


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## registereduser

Here is a video I made of Pooh eating her "sinking wafer". As you can see, she hasn't even waited for it to soften up before tearing into it :lol:

She's not much bigger than the wafer!

I made another of her eating the floating food but it won't be ready for an hour on vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/34450704


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## Marvel170

So I just bought a white and red male veil tail from my local petsmart this afternoon,he wasn't very active untill I picked him up then he wouldn't stop swimming around his cup..but he's pretty layed back too..but since i've gotten him home and into his tank he hasn't moved much and has his fins pullled into his body...now he's been in there for a few hours he's moving around more but still not very active.. so my question is, is he just getting use to the place, or does it sound like something is wrong with him?


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## registereduser

oops, it's ready but I can't add it to the previous post so here she is again:

http://vimeo.com/34451903


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## bettalover2033

registereduser said:


> Here is a video I made of Pooh eating her "sinking wafer". As you can see, she hasn't even waited for it to soften up before tearing into it :lol:
> 
> She's not much bigger than the wafer!
> 
> I made another of her eating the floating food but it won't be ready for an hour on vimeo.
> 
> http://vimeo.com/34450704


Fry tend to have the desire to eat more than adults even though adults and fry will eat round the clock if food is given to them.

I just saw the last video you posted and it seems that she might have a nice light red color coming in on her caudal fin. Am I correct? It will be pretty interesting to see her color in!

Just to ease my conscience, what is the temperature in the tank? Sorry if you have stated this information before, but how many gallons do you have her in?


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## registereduser

bettalover2033 said:


> Fry tend to have the desire to eat more than adults even though adults and fry will eat round the clock if food is given to them.
> 
> I just saw the last video you posted and it seems that she might have a nice light red color coming in on her caudal fin. Am I correct? It will be pretty interesting to see her color in!
> 
> Just to ease my conscience, what is the temperature in the tank? Sorry if you have stated this information before, but how many gallons do you have her in?


 Sometimes I think I see red, too. That would be awesome!

I have a 5 gallon tank with a filter and heater. The heater can't seem to get the water warmer than 76 but that's probably because it's winter time.

Next step is to get some plants. I'm thinking mostly soft fake ones with one or 2 real ones. I bought some of those bulbs but they are duds just like everyone here says LOL.

I haven't had a fish tank since I was a kid, this is so fun. Fish are so relaxing, I can feel my blood pressure decrease as I watch them :mrgreen:


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## gossipgirl1031

Marvel170 said:


> So I just bought a white and red male veil tail from my local petsmart this afternoon,he wasn't very active untill I picked him up then he wouldn't stop swimming around his cup..but he's pretty layed back too..but since i've gotten him home and into his tank he hasn't moved much and has his fins pullled into his body...now he's been in there for a few hours he's moving around more but still not very active.. so my question is, is he just getting use to the place, or does it sound like something is wrong with him?


First of all-welcome to the forum! 

It sounds like he probably is just settling in. The transition from the tiny cup to an actual tank can take some adjustment (not to mention the ride home from the store and all). Some take a little bit of time to get used to new settings. He may not eat real well at first either. More settling in. Hopefully in a few days he'll perk up, explore the tank and enjoy his new home. 

Best of luck with your new little friend!


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## gossipgirl1031

registereduser said:


> oops, it's ready but I can't add it to the previous post so here she is again:
> 
> http://vimeo.com/34451903


So cute!! I love how feisty the babies are! I should put up a video of my babies. They are starting to really show some good color. My only "good" way of recording is to use my phone and upload to youtube, I'll try that. Your baby is precious


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## registereduser

gossipgirl1031 said:


> So cute!! I love how feisty the babies are! I should put up a video of my babies. They are starting to really show some good color. My only "good" way of recording is to use my phone and upload to youtube, I'll try that. Your baby is precious


thanks I'd love to see yours and others if possible!


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## bettalover2033

registereduser said:


> Sometimes I think I see red, too. That would be awesome!
> 
> I have a 5 gallon tank with a filter and heater. The heater can't seem to get the water warmer than 76 but that's probably because it's winter time.
> 
> Next step is to get some plants. I'm thinking mostly soft fake ones with one or 2 real ones. I bought some of those bulbs but they are duds just like everyone here says LOL.
> 
> I haven't had a fish tank since I was a kid, this is so fun. Fish are so relaxing, I can feel my blood pressure decrease as I watch them :mrgreen:


Thank you! I'm sure that 76*F is fine for now. If it is in fact because the season, I would suggest watching the heater during the summer because the temp can rise rapidly and over heat.

Yes plants and caves or something she can just it in will be fine because bettas do rest and they would like something that makes them feel secure and not too roomy. See if you can find silk plants. They are the best, but not a huge deal if you find some other soft cloth type items.

I agree completely! Sometimes I just sit back and watch them swim around. I don't completely understand why, but fish have always been so relaxing for me. They help me think and they are my greatest inspiration. I get my best ideas when watching or even thinking of them.


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## gossipgirl1031

They actually do help lower BP! I'm in nursing school and worked in several medical offices. It apparently can help with "white coat hypertension". I love sitting back and watching my happy little fishies (and my snoring/purring sleeping Jack).


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## jvivet

Hi everyone. This is my first post after scouring this site for the last 72 hours.

For a late birthday present i was recently given a blue "baby" betta from petco. It was given in a tinytinytiny 40 oz lee's triangle keeper kit which even at that time realized was way too small. I really don't know anything other than what i've read up about. Sex (although i was assuming it was a male) type, or age. (picture) 

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=ra0y34&s=5

Because of my lack of knowledge and finances on short time i i opted to go with a much smaller tank, only 1.5 gallon that came with a filter (Tetra Water Wonders 1.5 Gallons Aquarium Cube) (in upper left corner of tank)

http://i44.tinypic.com/kqm8n.jpg

I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what "normal"betta behavior is so i can compare it to my betta and see if everything is ok? I'm unsure of sex or type, as this is my first ever betta. Really interested into getting into betta's as they are extremely beautiful fish. If anyone could tell me how young of a fish it is and what extra procedures i need to take in order for it's survival i would be totally indebted to you! Oh also i've been feeding it Baby micro pellets from Hikari fish food that came with the tiangle kit and wondering if i need any supplements for it and how often/how much i should feed it daily. Thanks to all of you!


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## bettalover2033

jvivet said:


> Hi everyone. This is my first post after scouring this site for the last 72 hours.
> 
> For a late birthday present i was recently given a blue "baby" betta from petco. It was given in a tinytinytiny 40 oz lee's triangle keeper kit which even at that time realized was way too small. I really don't know anything other than what i've read up about. Sex (although i was assuming it was a male) type, or age. (picture)
> 
> http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=ra0y34&s=5
> 
> Because of my lack of knowledge and finances on short time i i opted to go with a much smaller tank, only 1.5 gallon that came with a filter (Tetra Water Wonders 1.5 Gallons Aquarium Cube) (in upper left corner of tank)
> 
> http://i44.tinypic.com/kqm8n.jpg
> 
> I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what "normal"betta behavior is so i can compare it to my betta and see if everything is ok? I'm unsure of sex or type, as this is my first ever betta. Really interested into getting into betta's as they are extremely beautiful fish. If anyone could tell me how young of a fish it is and what extra procedures i need to take in order for it's survival i would be totally indebted to you! Oh also i've been feeding it Baby micro pellets from Hikari fish food that came with the tiangle kit and wondering if i need any supplements for it and how often/how much i should feed it daily. Thanks to all of you!


I would like to start out by saying Hello and Welcome to the forum! I'm sure you will like it here.

Well. Lets get down to business! The betta that you have is a *VT (Veil Tail)* female and a very pretty one at that! Please be sure to do your research. Just a heads up there. 1.5 gallons is understandable for now, though you should consider getting her at least a 2.5 gallon (when you are able to).

I like the fact that you are doing many of the correct procedures you need to as many people ignore. (Not on this site particularly).

To tell the sex of a betta you have to look at the "belly" of the betta. ONLY females have what is called an "egg spot." It appears as a white dot that is always there. Females don't usually have very long fins though they can have long fins. In pet stores, you will usually find female with short fins and males with long fins though some males can have short fins and seem to others as females. Usually the males are the "flashy" ones that have a lot of color. (Usually) females are dull in color and not as flashy as the males. Please remember that this isn't always the case and I am speaking from what you would normally see in (LPS) local pet stores.

This is a female betta and her "egg spot"









This is a male betta with long fins (also a VT)









Betta fish behavior consists of not much, but swimming like normal fish and the occasional flaring. (Mostly found in males) Betta fish are aggressive fish and I hope you know, shouldn't be put with its own kind because they are very territorial and need to be separated. Bettas usually only flare when they see themselves in a mirror or another betta and most of the time if not a betta a very bright colored other fish. It is really neat to see them flare and display their fins.

Flaring is when a betta extends their fins to their maximum length and they open their "beard" from their Operculum or gill covers.

This is a male and female's "beard" from the "gill covers"/operculum:
http://0.tqn.com/d/freshaquarium/1/0/r/0/1/BettaFlare1.jpg

Male:









Female:
http://www.petfish.net/pix/showdown2.jpg
When flaring females will usually curve their bodies
Female without the beard:









If you don't know already, This is what a flaring MALE betta looks like:









With bettas there is NO way at all to tell their age UNLESS you are able to get their breeding/spawning/raising records (if any were recorded). 

I think what you are feeding her is very good. IF YOU WANT to, you can get "freeze dried bloodworms" as a small "snack" food that you can ask your LPS if they have any. Bettas go crazy for those. With pellets you should only feed bettas 1 time a day with only 2-3 pellets a day. You can easily divide that into two feedings a day as 2 pellets in the morning and 1 pellet at night. And on the occasional days you could give her about one or two freeze dried bloodworms if you buy them.

You really have much to learn! I'm sure if you visit a few stickies you will find SO much there. If you want to read all of this I'm sure you will have no problem reading info there as well.

I also thought this picture was very helpfu:









I hoped this helped a bunch! Any other questions I will be GLAD to answer for you! You could either PM or ask on another thread of your own.


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## Tikibirds

> Because of my lack of knowledge and finances on short time i i opted to go with a much smaller tank, only 1.5 gallon that came with a filter (Tetra Water Wonders 1.5 Gallons Aquarium Cube) (in upper left corner of tank)


Don't forget the water changes - even with a filter, you should still change out water weekly. If you want to go bigger in the future but are still short on cash, clear storage bins work nicely and they are cheap :-D downside is the plastic is still kinda frosty so views of the betta aren't as nice as with an actual tank.



> Oh also i've been feeding it Baby micro pellets from Hikari fish food that came with the tiangle kit and wondering if i need any supplements for it and how often/how much i should feed it daily. Thanks to all of you!


 They like bloodworms but only as an occasional treat. Frozen is better then freeze dried.

I seen 3 at petco today and I wanted them but I dont think a 5,000 road trip in winter would be good for them. I'll just have to breed my own when I get to NY


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## hmckin20

awww
they're all so tiny!
they look like they were fished right out after hatching.. 
that's an exaggeration.

i know i bought two baby girls from walmart a few months back, josie and marie. they were big enough to tell the gender but were still really tiny.
they're not tiny now. ;P


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## gossipgirl1031

This is Sydney

http://youtu.be/zuoW9fd11K4


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## Misakitty

I took the leap!











This is Sasha. It looks like a veil, but it's hard to tell yet. I can already see a bit of purple hue, so I'm hoping it's a male. They didn't have nearly the selection this time when I went back, which makes me a little sad, I was hoping to nab a crowntail. He seems to be in pretty good shape, very alert, and swimming around.


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## pinkcupid765

This is my new baby. She/He doesn't have a name yet but she's just the cutest thing. Her temporary home is the .5 gal Marina zen thing.  She's healthy, active, and a little piglet. Hehe!


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## gossipgirl1031

Cute babies!!


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## TeaZag

I bought one of the baby bettas from petco and I dont think the guy at the store gave me the right info about taking care of the baby betta. All he said to do is to keep it in the container and crush the betta food pellet and feed it. I need all the info about the baby betta so I can raise a healthy betta fish. I need info about what kind of heater to get what size tank and what food to feed it. Here is a link to the picture of it does my fish look heathy? http://www.facebook.com/pages/Betta...88838094529&set=o.153183680977&type=1&theater


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## youlovegnats

TeaZag said:


> I bought one of the baby bettas from petco and I dont think the guy at the store gave me the right info about taking care of the baby betta. All he said to do is to keep it in the container and crush the betta food pellet and feed it. I need all the info about the baby betta so I can raise a healthy betta fish. I need info about what kind of heater to get what size tank and what food to feed it. Here is a link to the picture of it does my fish look heathy? http://www.facebook.com/pages/Betta...88838094529&set=o.153183680977&type=1&theater


S/he looks stressed (probably due to no heat), but other than that s/he looks good! ^^ 
You'll need to change that water almost daily though- adding the dechlor and whatnot. 
Is the container the cup it came in? 
Is s/he eating the crushed pellets?

For a proper size tank, you'll need a 2-3 gallon tank with a heater. The pre-sets are cheaper, but more unreliable- so I'd get one that you can adjust the heat to. Also get some silk plants and hiding spots.


----------



## registereduser

TeaZag said:


> I bought one of the baby bettas from petco and I dont think the guy at the store gave me the right info about taking care of the baby betta. All he said to do is to keep it in the container and crush the betta food pellet and feed it. I need all the info about the baby betta so I can raise a healthy betta fish. I need info about what kind of heater to get what size tank and what food to feed it. Here is a link to the picture of it does my fish look heathy? http://www.facebook.com/pages/Betta...88838094529&set=o.153183680977&type=1&theater


Looks exactly like mine! My baby Pooh seems extremely healthy and happy. Her favorite food is the Hikari Sinking Wafers I bought for Pookie The Catfish. I also got her freeze dried blood worms and BettaMin flakes but she doesn't like them as much.

I have her in a 5 gallon tank along with Pookie, with a filter and heater at 76 degrees. I am learning as I go about bettas but everything seems fine at the moment :-D

My next purchase will be some silk plants and a few real plants and a water test kit.


----------



## TeaZag

registereduser said:


> Looks exactly like mine! My baby Pooh seems extremely healthy and happy. Her favorite food is the Hikari Sinking Wafers I bought for Pookie The Catfish. I also got her freeze dried blood worms and BettaMin flakes but she doesn't like them as much.
> 
> I have her in a 5 gallon tank along with Pookie, with a filter and heater at 76 degrees. I am learning as I go about bettas but everything seems fine at the moment :-D
> 
> My next purchase will be some silk plants and a few real plants and a water test kit.


Can I feed it brim shimp? Right now Im just feeding it betta pellets crushed but I don't think that's all he should be eating when he's so young. The only thing that I don't know about the filter is I got betta filters for my adult bettas and they were too strong for them to get oxygen. Thanks for all your help I will go get some stuff for the baby betta soon


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## registereduser

TeaZag said:


> Can I feed it brim shimp? Right now Im just feeding it betta pellets crushed but I don't think that's all he should be eating when he's so young. The only thing that I don't know about the filter is I got betta filters for my adult bettas and they were too strong for them to get oxygen. Thanks for all your help I will go get some stuff for the baby betta soon


I baffled the filter and they seem happier

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=30139

not sure on the shrimp but the babies are big eaters (growing kids).


----------



## TeaZag

youlovegnats said:


> S/he looks stressed (probably due to no heat), but other than that s/he looks good! ^^
> You'll need to change that water almost daily though- adding the dechlor and whatnot.
> Is the container the cup it came in?
> Is s/he eating the crushed pellets?
> 
> For a proper size tank, you'll need a 2-3 gallon tank with a heater. The pre-sets are cheaper, but more unreliable- so I'd get one that you can adjust the heat to. Also get some silk plants and hiding spots.


Yes he is eating crushed pellets and he did come in that cup. Thanks for all the info I will go to the store and get some new things for the baby betta


----------



## youlovegnats

TeaZag said:


> Can I feed it brim shimp? Right now Im just feeding it betta pellets crushed but I don't think that's all he should be eating when he's so young. The only thing that I don't know about the filter is I got betta filters for my adult bettas and they were too strong for them to get oxygen. Thanks for all your help I will go get some stuff for the baby betta soon


You can feed him brine shrimp if he's big enough to eat it. He'll need a variety of food though so you can stick to the crushed pellets as well. 
However, you don't need a filter for your bettas- not unless you plan of cycling your tank (which with anything less than a 5 gal. is very hard to do and maintain.). Bettas (and all anabantoids) take oxygen directly from the surface. The little one def. should not have a filter- it will just blow him around and cause him to be stressed out.


----------



## TeaZag

youlovegnats said:


> You can feed him brine shrimp if he's big enough to eat it. He'll need a variety of food though so you can stick to the crushed pellets as well.
> However, you don't need a filter for your bettas- not unless you plan of cycling your tank (which with anything less than a 5 gal. is very hard to do and maintain.). Bettas (and all anabantoids) take oxygen directly from the surface. The little one def. should not have a filter- it will just blow him around and cause him to be stressed out.


 
Do i need a filter if I put a heater in the tank?


----------



## bettalover2033

youlovegnats said:


> S/he looks stressed (probably due to no heat), but other than that s/he looks good! ^^
> You'll need to change that water almost daily though- adding the dechlor and whatnot.
> Is the container the cup it came in?
> Is s/he eating the crushed pellets?
> 
> For a proper size tank, you'll need a 2-3 gallon tank with a heater. The pre-sets are cheaper, but more unreliable- so I'd get one that you can adjust the heat to. Also get some silk plants and hiding spots.


I agree with you. Though keep in mind that these are still fry and fry get easily stressed. Some have those "stress stripes" going across them up until they get color and are adults.


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## bettalover2033

TeaZag said:


> Do i need a filter if I put a heater in the tank?


You're going to need a filter either way. Especially if you don't feel like siphoning the waste out everyday like a filter does.


----------



## youlovegnats

Well a filter doesn't exactly suck up all the waste...so either way you'll have to siphon out the bottom. For anything less than 5 gal. I don't really bother with filters (unless it's a tank kit- like my minibow). I just do 100% changes at the end of each month. 
So say if you were to get a 10 gal. and split it 3 ways (which would make water changes much easier on you, btw.). You would then need to cycle it (which can be a couple weeks) and then only be doing 50% changes once a week (with siphoning) instead of doing two 50%'s a week with the 2.5 gals.


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## TeaZag

I found my old fish tank it is a 3 gallon and it has a filter with it and I will buy a heater at the petstore tomorrow. I have water conditner and I have 3 gallons of water sitting out so I can put my baby betta fish In it tomorrow. I will have to try to figure out a way to slow the filter down so she doesnt get pushed around. Ive only been feeding her a peice of crushed pellet 3 imes a day. I hope she is okay for 24 hours in her little cup that she came in. Please let me know if there is anything eles i should do to make her healthy. Thanks for all of your help and for answering my questions


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## bettalover2033

Trust me she is very healthy right now. She's in a nice sized tank and with the comfort of a few decors, heater, small filter that should do the job.

Just make sure you are careful when siphoning and cleaning the tank ect.

Good Luck!


----------



## Aguamenti

Hi!

I am new to this forum and bettas! I have wanted to purchase a betta for some time now, and last Saturday at Petco I noticed they had baby bettas. My first reaction was "awww they are so cute!". I was intrigued by the idea of not knowing the sex of the betta or its color and getting to watch it mature into adulthood. The Petco I went to had two baby betas: one was very tiny with no coloring and the other was larger with some coloring on its fins. I decided to go with the smaller one so that I could watch it mature longer, not realizing how fragile it was. I asked a Petco sales associate how the care differed between a baby betta and an adult betta, to make sure I could handle caring for it properly. According to them, the only difference is that babies need smaller food. I purchased my little betta, went to my car, and was getting ready to leave. I decided to check on the fish one more time before I left (good thing!) and realized that the poor baby had died! I took it in to exchange it for the bigger betta baby, hoping I would have better luck with an older one. To my dismay, upon closer inspection, I noticed that one of its eyes was cloudy and its water was dirty. I decided to take this one home as a rescue, in hopes of giving it a better life. Now, I need some advice as to how to properly care for the little girl (at least I'm calling her a girl for now), as she is sick, young, and in a new environment. I am also frustrated with Petco for selling such fragile bettas without informing customers about how delicate they are and how to properly care for them. 

I will try my best to explain her current tank, husbandry, and physical appearance. Keep in mind I have only had her for 5 days and I am still learning! Also, all the advice I had for her care was given by people at Petco, before I had discovered this forum. 
Tank: She is in an approximately 1 gallon glass half orb bowl (one side is flat, the other rounded) with tap water and Aqueon betta bowl plus water conditioner/dechlorinator. There is no filter or heater, but she is in a temperature controlled room. The water is a stable 71 deg F (which I think might be too cold for a sick baby, but I didn't want to cause any more stress by drastically raising the water temperature) and the tank is sitting in a dark corner to help her feel more comfortable. I put her in her new home on Monday after I felt she had acclimated to the stress of traveling in a car twice (I bought her at a Petco near my parent's house, approximately 50 minutes away from where I live). 
Treatment: API Bettafix, which she has been treated with 3 times, including today's treatment that I will administer. It says to repeat the dose daily for up to 7 days, and then make a water change. I plan on doing a 50% water change this evening with spring water before I treat because her water is slightly cloudy from the food she won't eat that falls to the bottom. I was advised to use this treatment for her cloudy eye. 
Food: I have been attempting to feed her twice a day, with either Tetra BettaMin Tropical Medley flakes or ZooMed Micro Floating Betta Pellets crushed up.
Appearance/behavior: She is approximately 1 1/2-2 inches in length with a white body and reddish fins. One of her eyes is cloudy and possibly slightly protruding (popeye?). When looking at her profile from above, her back has a slight curve to it. She is always at the bottom of the tank, but when she is prompted to move, her movements are darty and appear to be difficult. She will come up to the surface to get air, and I try to tease her with the food. She seems interested, but will usually not eat any of the food (maybe a small crumb). After a while of swimming up by the surface not eating, she will then nose dive down to the bottom of the bowl, using objects on her way down for support (she has a rock sculpture decoration). Her breathing looks like it might be difficult, but since I am new to bettas, I don't know how normal breathing looks. Also, her fins appear clamped.

What is so difficult about her care is that there are so many factors that could be causing her appearance/behavior. I don't know how long her eye has been cloudy and I don't know if her current coloring is her normal coloring or due to sickness. I don't know how long she hasn't been eating. I really want to give her the best possible care so she survives and has a loving home. I welcome any suggestions about what I should be doing differently to get her healthy again! I will try to get some pictures of her, but I have been trying to leave her alone as much as possible as to not stress her more. 

Thanks!


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## gossipgirl1031

Welcome to the forum Aguamenti! You've officially been bitten by the betta bug! 

I've raised 4 of the babies into juveniles (they're not full grown yet, but you can sex them and they are stronger & bigger of course). I've got 5 that I still consider to be "babies". The babies are all an inch (give or take a little) or under (including tail). Their colors are now starting to show and some I'm even beginning to determine the sex better. 

The best thing I've found for them is to keep them warm. My little ones are all set up in my hospital/nursery (aka my bathroom-warmest room in the apartment). They also have heaters under their tanks and I keep them happy & swimming around at a comfortable 79-80 degrees. I have all my tanks covered with lids that have air vents in them since bettas can jump out of the bowl. I had a surprise on that one! I also fed mine in the beginning every 6 hours with New Life Spectrum baby pellets. I've mainly found those at Petsmart. Mine all have had great appetites. But some bettas take some time to settle in to their new homes. 

I'm not a disease expert, by far. But I know a little. As far as meds go, Bettafix can cause some problems with the labyrinth organ (how they breathe can breathe atmospheric air). So, just use it with caution. I haven't had to medicate mine yet & I've been cautious to do so since they are so fragile. I've just been doing water changes every 3 days with just a good dechlorinator. I like Jungle's Start Right, but there are several good ones. 

So, again, not an expert. Just sharing my experiences. Heat, tank lid, baby food, water changes & lots of TLC  I hope this helps! I have pics of my babies on my page. I'm trying to document them as they grow and change.

And once again-welcome


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## Misakitty

I'm definitely enjoying my little baby so far, and he/she is looking nice and healthy. I just crushed up my regular betta food and he gobbles it up. I have to be careful because he's a little piggy and will eat more than is good. If I lean close to the tank he comes waddling up to the side to stare at me.


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## youlovegnats

I'm surprised at how well some you your all's babies are doing. Considering they need special care and a constant 80*F, they're all doing quite well from what you all are saying. 
Keep it up guys!


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## gossipgirl1031

Thanks! It was harder with my first one, but with each one I knew more of what to expect. Kind of like kids, I guess. That being said, I can only go off my nephews and my god daughter. Of course they are all different, but I knew how to care for them better. There have been a lot of really great, nice people on this site that have helped them get as far as they did


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## Aguamenti

Thanks gossipgirl1031 for the warm welcome and the advice! I also looked at the pictures of your baby bettas, they are just so cute! :-D


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## TeaZag

My baby betta seems like it is doing pretty good I have it in a 3 gallon tank with a heater and no filter so I need some info about cleaning the tank. The heater only heats up to 75 degress so I hope that's warm enough. He/she loves swimming around, I make sure it eats his peice of crushed betta food pellet 4/5 times a day, is that too much or not enough? When I put him in the tank I saw what color he is he's a pretty blue and red. I will try to get a good picture of the baby betta but he swims around alot so it's hard to get a clear picture


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## youlovegnats

TeaZag said:


> My baby betta seems like it is doing pretty good I have it in a 3 gallon tank with a heater and no filter so I need some info about cleaning the tank. The heater only heats up to 75 degress so I hope that's warm enough. He/she loves swimming around, I make sure it eats his peice of crushed betta food pellet 4/5 times a day, is that too much or not enough? When I put him in the tank I saw what color he is he's a pretty blue and red. I will try to get a good picture of the baby betta but he swims around alot so it's hard to get a clear picture


In a 3 gallon, I'd do two 50% changes once a week, and add a 100% change once a week- replacing a 50% change. 
As for the temp. It needs to be more around 78-80 as much as possible, however 75 is 'ok'- but not for a long-term. 
I think you're overfeeding a bit. I'd only feed him twice a day, 3-4 crushed pellets. Over-feeding can cause many different problems, including Swim Bladder Disease, which you want to stay away from- because it can be a major problem if fry get it.


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## gossipgirl1031

Aguamenti said:


> Thanks gossipgirl1031 for the warm welcome and the advice! I also looked at the pictures of your baby bettas, they are just so cute! :-D


Thanks! They're growing up & really showing their colors and fins more now. I'll have to update & take some new ones. Good luck with your little one


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## Tikibirds

They had two tonight and I so wanted to take them home but they were real tiny...nothing but eyes and fin. However I am leaving today for NY and I dont think they would be able to make the 5000 mile journey. I'm not even sure my adults can survive it.


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## Marvel170

Thanks gossipgirl  just an update he has perked up and started eatting, so I think he's starting to settle into his new home


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## Marvel170

Good luck and best wishes to you on your journey tikibirds


----------



## Foxell

I really don't like the idea of pet stores selling such young bettas. Especially because so many people are going to think "Awww cute baby betta must have!" and no understand proper betta care, never mind such young bettas.

The employees don't even know how to care for them. I rescued a youngin' from Petsmart a few weeks ago, who was emaciated. They told me they fed him but he just wouldn't eat along with a few others. They were trying to feed him full sized pellets -.- He obviously couldn't eat them because they wouldn't even fit in his mouth.

He's now getting big and has gotten a lot more healthy. He's gained weight and is turning into a little rainbow fish! He unfortunately has a bent spine due to poor breeding, but it doesn't affect him it all :]

My baby Sprout when I first got him:









And a more recent picture of him:


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## registereduser

Foxell said:


> My baby Sprout when I first got him:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And a more recent picture of him:


 very very cute!

I bought some silk plants today and Pooh is really enjoying them. But now I don't see her as much.


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## gossipgirl1031

Adorable! It's incredible how much they change in such a short span of time  

Marvel-I'm happy to hear your baby is adjusting & settling in nicely-continued good luck!

Good luck on your journey Tiki


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## skiblits

All of the baby bettas from Petco come in at 6 weeks of age. I brought home 2, both in different tanks of course. One I'm pretty sure is a female the other seems to be turning out to be a male.


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## gossipgirl1031

skiblits said:


> All of the baby bettas from Petco come in at 6 weeks of age. I brought home 2, both in different tanks of course. One I'm pretty sure is a female the other seems to be turning out to be a male.


Very cute!!


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## WineDarkSea

registered user, 

I noticed that on the big version of your avatar pic that you posted of Pooh, she has an iridescent gold shimmer. Can you see that with the naked eye, or is it only visible in the camera flash? I watched your vids of her eating and didn't see it there.

Now, I am a total amateur at fishkeeping, but that worried me because I thought the gold on Pooh looked like the pic I saw in this thread:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=89361&highlight=velvet&page=2

That fish was diagnosed with velvet, and I understand one of the trademarks is that the gold can't be seen without a light like a flash or flashlight. I don't want to scare you because, as I said, I don't know anything, and you said she acts very healthy. I almost didn't think I should say anything but better safe than sorry, right? Probably if it was anything, one of the knowledgeable people on the forum would already have flagged it. But maybe you should get one of the experts on the forum to have a look at that picture and see if it's just her natural coloration coming in or anything to worry about.

Anyway, sorry to bother you and be all scary and stuff. I'm sure you're paranoid enough about her without me helping. Pooh is really adorable. I think you're taking amazing care of her. She was really cute having dinner with the algae eater.


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## registereduser

WineDarkSea said:


> registered user,
> 
> I noticed that on the big version of your avatar pic that you posted of Pooh, she has an iridescent gold shimmer. Can you see that with the naked eye, or is it only visible in the camera flash? I watched your vids of her eating and didn't see it there.
> 
> Now, I am a total amateur at fishkeeping, but that worried me because I thought the gold on Pooh looked like the pic I saw in this thread:
> http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=89361&highlight=velvet&page=2
> 
> That fish was diagnosed with velvet, and I understand one of the trademarks is that the gold can't be seen without a light like a flash or flashlight. I don't want to scare you because, as I said, I don't know anything, and you said she acts very healthy. I almost didn't think I should say anything but better safe than sorry, right? Probably if it was anything, one of the knowledgeable people on the forum would already have flagged it. But maybe you should get one of the experts on the forum to have a look at that picture and see if it's just her natural coloration coming in or anything to worry about.
> 
> Anyway, sorry to bother you and be all scary and stuff. I'm sure you're paranoid enough about her without me helping. Pooh is really adorable. I think you're taking amazing care of her. She was really cute having dinner with the algae eater.


With the naked eye she is a very plain brown although I do see a SLIGHT reddish tone coming in. The flash makes her blue, wish it was real! Thanks for the info, will keep an eye out!


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## Tikibirds

So I gave in tonight and got one of the babies...
I probably shouldn't have but I went with the logic that he/she is better off with me - then sitting in the store. She survived the trip to Alaska, I think she may survive the trip out. I have heat packs and she seems healthy.

This is a really BAD pic...She is kinda clamped in the pic but she isn;t in real life










Big Fish, Little Fish. Rarity ate one too many bloodworms >.<









I wonder what "she" will turn out to be?


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## registereduser

What does it mean when they "clamp"? Mine is doing that ever since I changed 1/3 of the tank water a few days ago. She is still very active and eating but clamped up a lot of the time.

I was at my local PetCo yesterday and they have a whole new shipment of babies and several of them were dead 

PS I did use water conditioner and the water temp never changed.


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## bettalover2033

@Tikibirds: they are pretty cute though i hope you are planning on getting bigger tanks for them.

@Registereduser: well the term clamp is when a betta or several bettas have their fins "closed." The fins will not appear to be on the body because they are so close to it and they will not flare or extend any fins if the fish is clamping them. Search on google qnd type in "clamped betta".


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## gossipgirl1031

Cute new baby! I haven't seen anymore of the babies since before Christmas. I'm sure as the new year realy settles in, there will be more. My little ones are growing so fast! I have a few already that would be ready to go to their "forever" homes.


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## Misakitty

Today Sasha was dark instead of light. I apologize for the picture quality, he/she doesn't hold still very well. I'm trying to figure out what the vertical stripes are, if it's possible that Sasha is a she and already displaying breeding stripes? It's still smaller than an inch, but I'm not familiar with how early bettas reach sexual maturity size-wise. Until today Sasha was pale with the two stripes that most of the babies on this thread have.


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## bettalover2033

Well shes pretty and has a nice tank. The male in the back is what is triggering the verticle bars. Bettas become of sexual maturity at at young as 3-4 months of age but isnt wise to breed then around this time.

Though you should know that those verticle bard are just signs of being submissive and can be displayed on males as well at such young ages. I belive she is a female though because from the looks of it...she is next to a males tank which is probably flaring at her and making her want to breed ect. Her dorsal fin is also very far back from the head and she seems to have no ventral fins from what im observing in the picture. All signs of female.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Misakitty

The ventral fins are there, they just pull up when Sasha is moving. Is it normal for them to change colors overnight from light to dark? When I was changing the water earlier she went back to light again immediately which I assumed was stress, but she became as dark as before again shortly after. This has all been exciting seeing what Sasha would grow up into.


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## Sakura8

I've been haunting my Petco for weeks now and they still haven't gotten any babies in. I'm happy but I'm sad. 

Misa, yup, it's usually normal. Bettas get real pale when they're stressed so if your baby darkened up overnight, it means it's happy and warm.


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## Misakitty

This may be a silly question, but how early do juvenile bettas typically start to flare? Is it different for males and females? I've only raised livebearer fry before, so this is all new to me.


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## registereduser

Sakura8 said:


> I've been haunting my Petco for weeks now and they still haven't gotten any babies in. I'm happy but I'm sad.
> 
> Misa, yup, it's usually normal. Bettas get real pale when they're stressed so if your baby darkened up overnight, it means it's happy and warm.


At my PetCo the babies aren't displayed with the older fish, they are on the opposite side of the aquatics area on and end cap.

My girl is still clamped but active and eating. I cleaned her entire tank last night. Getting a water test kit today. 

Are water changes the only way to control ammonia?


----------



## bettalover2033

Misakitty said:


> This may be a silly question, but how early do juvenile bettas typically start to flare? Is it different for males and females? I've only raised livebearer fry before, so this is all new to me.


Actually it isnt a silly question at all. Many betta keepers dont know this.

I am only stating from experience with my fry. Usually I sart to get some bully boys and girs at around 2 months. Though they are still mildly developing their aggression. At about 4 months old, I find myself jarring at least 10-12. Remember these arent flares yet. I notice juvenile fry to start actually opening their gill cover and flaring at around 3-6 months.

No this isnt the same amount of time for every breeder so thats the tricky part. Though this is from my personal experience. Also I usually bred halfmoon plakats and plakats before ao their aggression levels were a bit higher than most.

I would guess that it varies wih females and males. Mostly shown in the males than females. Now if i had to guess and she was in fact a female, I would guess that she is going to be willing to flare in another two weeks to a month. Though some juveniles have been known to flare early with plakats I dont know much if its the same with veil tails or what other tail type you have. Who knows she might even flare at a mirror. Try putting a small mirror in front of her and see if she flares back.

Good luck let us know.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

Registered, depends on the tank size. If it's filtered and 5g or over, cycling it will help with the ammonia. Otherwise, water changes are the way. If it's an emergency and the ammonia spiked suddenly for no apparent reason, you can use a double dose of Prime (dosing instructions on bottle) or Kordon Amquel. 

Since they're having the $1/gallon sale, the end cap was full of tanks.


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## Misakitty

Thanks for the info, bettalover!  She got pretty aggressive the other day when I was late feeding her, and I was sad because my cute Sasha was suddenly mean like all the others :lol:. I'm seeing some new red on her pelvic fins today, so I'm pretty excited.


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## bettalover2033

Heh. Well thats what makes a bettas. I would be excited as well. If you see red on pelvic fins then she may have some red wash in her.

Im glad she is doing fine. I would rather my females flare than to be scared of everything and dart away.

It is pretty exciting to see aomw colors come in.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Magikarp

Hey guys, got a question. I bought a baby betta about a month or so ago and he's/she's doing amazing. However, I noticed today that his/her tail fins are more clamped than usual. Still eats like a pig and swims around exploring the ten gallon tank. Is this unusual?


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## bettalover2033

@magikarp: Actually yes this is a bit unusual. Can you give us more information. Water temperature, appearance, bloat, ect?

Does it have any white spots on it? Whats the water temp? Is it "scratching" against plants gravel? Ect.

If you post a video or show a picture we might be able to help.


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## alysalouise

Well i was in my petco last week and they didnt have babies i think they just got them for the first time this week. Cause one of the employyees said their new. But any way they only had one. So i snatched it up. By time we made it home and was beng floated in nice warm water it didnt look.like it was even going to make it. But i checked on it a little while later and its swimming all over. I decided for now ill.just keep it in a jar floating in one of my tanks for warmth. And im ordering a half pound of decap eggs tonight so hopefully we can get it back on track for a healthy developement. He sure is cute.


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## bettalover2033

Sounds great!! I hope hes okay. I'm going to have to check petco soon because I havent been to one in a while. I dont know if ill support the whole baby betta thing by buying one, but will look.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Magikarp

I can get a good picture tomorrow. 

The water temperature stays at a constant 80-81f. No white spots, in fact he looks a bit darker than usual (could be my imagination. Room is dark).

I just checked up on him and found him on the gravel laying there (never seen him stay still before). But i mean, he was going to the bathroom so... lol. I may have overfed him today and the crushed pellets i fed him today were a littler larger than usual. His diet consists of frozen brine shrimp and crushed pellets. Could overfeeding him be the cause?

Edit: Here's the best i can get for now. His tail usually looks more like the shape of a delta tails and is much more spread out. However its been mostly clamped all day.

http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac326/AnimatedJunkie/Mobile Uploads/P__2560.jpg


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## gossipgirl1031

Good colors-cute baby! Mine are really starting to color up now & finally are getting big


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## alysalouise

This is my new little one, so tiny, maybe 1/8 inch long

Eating finly crushed up flake food for the night
but i think ill cut some of my Frozen Brine shrimp and blood worms up in a bit and give that a go for a fuller tummy


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## bettalover2033

@Magikarp: I am not to good in the bettas sickness, but what I would do is keep an eye on her. ( Its a female) Overfeeding will be obvious because the stomach would get large. This would be hard to tell from a fry because fry's stomach's should be full at all times to ensure they are fully healthy. I hope that she gets more energy and im sorry I couldnt help you like I wanted to.

Does she have any caves or hiding places for her to rest? I would suggest planting the tank fairly full because bettas like to feel secure and sometimes wide empty spaces make them stressed out.

Also try asking OFL she is amazing in this section of betta keeping.


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## Magikarp

Yeah the tank is heavily planted near the back and there are 2 mini caves that she goes into a lot. Hmmm alright. Thanks for the help though


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## bettalover2033

Sorry it wasnt much. Not really my field of knowledge. Im more of the breeding knowledge member. I mostly know the basics and


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## alysalouise

My little one now has a slight belly. It ate a few small bits of frozen shrimp and worms. Hopefully the decap eggs wont take to long to get here. Those should be easier for the little one to eat. He looks so depressed. Just sitting on the bottom sulking


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## LilyK

Just wanted to chime in on Petco's decision to sell the babys. The Petco in my area has completely stopped selling the adults and is only selling the babys (this is outside of Philly). They are super tiny, I think also to tiny to sell and have survive. But I noticed on some of the older ones that the majority were DT or CTs, which I found to be surprising given the vast majority of VT being sold. There was one tiny DT that I had my eye one, but I don't have the room, not even for a little baby. I hope people do their research before buying the babys...


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## alysalouise

LilyK said:


> Just wanted to chime in on Petco's decision to sell the babys. The Petco in my area has completely stopped selling the adults and is only selling the babys (this is outside of Philly). They are super tiny, I think also to tiny to sell and have survive. But I noticed on some of the older ones that the majority were DT or CTs, which I found to be surprising given the vast majority of VT being sold. There was one tiny DT that I had my eye one, but I don't have the room, not even for a little baby. I hope people do their research before buying the babys...


I think they have a better survival rate when coming home with people on here that have been around long enough to watch a number of spawn logs to know what it is they need to survive and to take care of them properly. Or to those that have spawned bettas sucessfully before.


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## Magikarp

Hey bettalover, just wanted to update you. She is doing much better today! i havent seen her clamp her fins at all. The only weird thing i can recall was overfeeding her yesterday.. but after she did her business everything seems well. Do you think that mightve been the cause?


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## TeaZag

I have had my baby betta for about one and a half weeks. I can't tell if It is a male or female or what kind of fins, If any of you can tell please let me know. This link is to the picture of my baby betta fish. http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=324680267555386&set=o.153183680977&type=1&theater 
I bought him a betta leaf to lay on  He is in a heated tank and is eating crushed betta pellets. I don't know if the stripes on him are from stress or just cuse its a baby. So far he is doing pretty good and loves swimming around in his big tank. Its hard to get a good picture of him because he loves swimming around!


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## gossipgirl1031

Should be just because he/she is so young still. It takes weeks-months for those to really disappear.


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## bettalover2033

Magikarp said:


> Hey bettalover, just wanted to update you. She is doing much better today! i havent seen her clamp her fins at all. The only weird thing i can recall was overfeeding her yesterday.. but after she did her business everything seems well. Do you think that mightve been the cause?


Im glad she is doing better. To answer your question yes hat just migut have been it. Bettas get very lethargic when overfed and bloated. Most females dont show bloat like males do. With males I have noticed that when they have bloat its more of a serious matter but when females have bloat they dont seem to be as kuch affected as males.

Also a way to get rid of bloat is helping the betta to flare so i would suggest putting a mirror in front of her so she will flare at it and has been proven to help their digestion period pass through quicker. Also try he pea method. Just boil a pea and feed ( ONLY THE INSIDE ) to them. Make sure it cools down of course.

Though just make sure that there is a paper or something that keeps the two from seeing each other for a while. That can also cause stress on young fish.


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## alysalouise

OMG im so happy right now
So last night i set up a bbs hatchry and homestly didnt think it was going to work cause of no baking soda to get the right PH and i didnt think my heat source was going to work but apparently it did cause i just checked and had live Bbs and i gave some to my 6 week old baby who has hardly eaten anythhing i have given him. But he is going nuts over the BBS im so relieved right now. Maybr he'll finally have a full tummy like a 6 week old fry should


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## iLikeBetta808

so i finally went to Petco today to buy food and supplies. i went around looking at the bettas, and they were lethargic, turning white, their fins were curled and clamped, etc. =___= except for this gorgeous looking halfmoon, he was very active. glass-surfing in his cup. lol.

i saw some baby bettas, there were several containers left. they were so teeny-tiny. i saw one lying on the bottom, later realizing that it had died :/ poor thing. all the other babies were fine.

idk about selling baby bettas.. are they harder to take care of than adult bettas, or is it the same?


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## alysalouise

Thought i would share a few pictures of the little one eating some Live BBS
Also picked up 3 more tonight, they only had 3 tonight and good thing other wise i wouldnt be able to choose which ones to take home
the 3 new ones are bigger and look healthier,but still enjoyed eating live BBS
I love the last picture, he's coming in for the kill! Lol


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## registereduser

My baby Pooh died last night  I got sick Tuesday and wasn't able to get the water test like I had wanted to. By the time I tested the water last night it was .50 for ammonia. It's a 5 gallon tank. That must have been what did it.

However, she was clamping up before I gave the tank a 100% water change on Monday night.:?: I did use water conditioner but I don't have any other additives right now.

Anyway I will be getting a new betta but not until I get the tank right. Poor Pooh was a victim of my ignorance. 

Pookie the cory catfish seems fine, are they affected by ammonia?


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## aqua001

My friend fell for a sad little baby betta that she saw when buying dog food the other day. Then she bought a divider for the ten gallon tnk that currently had one grown betta in it. the poor thing died a few hours later and my friend was so sad. 

Rest in peace, little fella. :-(


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## Gulfcoaster

Hi all! Well I was at Petco buying an ammonia and nitrate test for my adult betta (cycling a 5 g) and I saw one baby. With the Pals card they are $1.67 and I was so afraid reading about the other babies. Right now I just call it 'Baby' because I have a big thing about finding perfect names and Unisex names just don't seem right for him/her. S/he's about 1/3 the size of my pinky and I'm happy to say s/he's swimming about everywhere. So far no color at all and there's hardly any fin to determine what kind of betta s/he is. I think I see just the faintest bit of blue but s/he's pretty uncolored right now. Luckily I have my betta, Sharky's, 1 gallon bowl and heater to use for him/her.

Maybe I'm just being unrealistically optimistic but from the fact s/he survived the bumpy car ride home and the fact s/he's swimming around well, I have high hopes for his/her future!


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## gossipgirl1031

I'm sorry about Pooh  

I have been looking for more babies since my are growing up SO fast, but all of the local Petcos haven't had any in stock since around Christmas. Hardly any bettas period there. Wonder what's up in St. Louis?


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## gossipgirl1031

I wouldn't say harder, just more work. You have to feed them more often in the beginning and they need WARM temps and frequent water changes (at least that's what I've found to be successful). They stress a little more too. But those cute little eyes


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## PiscisAmor

When I went in I saw that my store only had one, and it was dead. Hopefully they'll give up on it!


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## registereduser

PiscisAmor said:


> When I went in I saw that my store only had one, and it was dead. Hopefully they'll give up on it!


My local PetCo went from 20 babies down to one in less than a week, I highly doubt they sold them all. :-?


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## bettalover2033

alysalouise said:


> Thought i would share a few pictures of the little one eating some Live BBS
> Also picked up 3 more tonight, they only had 3 tonight and good thing other wise i wouldnt be able to choose which ones to take home
> the 3 new ones are bigger and look healthier,but still enjoyed eating live BBS
> I love the last picture, he's coming in for the kill! Lol


Those pictures are too cute! Good Luck!:-D


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## TeaZag

Are the baby bettas to old to be kept togather? I went to the store an they had a double tail baby betta. There was a tiny one that was dead it's sad for the baby bettas.


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## bettalover2033

@TeaZag: Yes they might just be too old to be kept together. Most of them don't flare, but many of them still nip. No one should attempt this unless they are fairly experience with bettas and have spare tanks to house each fish attempted to be held together.


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## diablo13

Sorry if this is already stated, but what should one feed a baby betta? I know the usual microworms and BBS, but I don't have any cultures :/ could they grow on crushed pellets/Hikari First bites?


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## TeaZag

diablo13 said:


> Sorry if this is already stated, but what should one feed a baby betta? I know the usual microworms and BBS, but I don't have any cultures :/ could they grow on crushed pellets/Hikari First bites?


 I just have my baby betta in a 3 gallon tank with plants and a heater and I just feed it a little peice or crushed betta pellet food and I just make sure he eats it, I've had him for 2 weeks now and he's growing and doing pretty good


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## Misakitty

Sasha is getting bigger and starting to color in, and I'm noticing what looks like ich. It wasn't visible before when the lil thing was white bodied, but the blue is coming in now. I've had success with salt treatment before, and I wanted to know if it's safe to use this for babies, or if it'll be more dangerous because their organs are still developing? I'd rather use salt, but if I need to try medicine instead I will.


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## alysalouise

bettalover2033 said:


> Those pictures are too cute! Good Luck!:-D


 
Thank you!
Sadly the little one didnt make it, i think he had some swimming problems

I also picked up 3 more babies
And have been gone the past 6 days, and they've done well, i came home and my Decap eggs had arrived, so they all 3 have full tummies, one of them is going to be all blue it looks like
another one looks bluish purple right now, and the last one just has red fins, i think that one will be the girl lol, she just looks girly


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## morla

He is so cute! My Petco is not having a babybetta sale I don't think. I got my 2 bettas at Petsmart and they arn't doing it either. The petsmart where I went only had 1 adult female and 5 adult males!


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## bettalover2033

alysalouise said:


> Thank you!
> Sadly the little one didnt make it, i think he had some swimming problems
> 
> I also picked up 3 more babies
> And have been gone the past 6 days, and they've done well, i came home and my Decap eggs had arrived, so they all 3 have full tummies, one of them is going to be all blue it looks like
> another one looks bluish purple right now, and the last one just has red fins, i think that one will be the girl lol, she just looks girly


I'm glad that they are so happy and full of life.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

Misakitty said:


> Sasha is getting bigger and starting to color in, and I'm noticing what looks like ich. It wasn't visible before when the lil thing was white bodied, but the blue is coming in now. I've had success with salt treatment before, and I wanted to know if it's safe to use this for babies, or if it'll be more dangerous because their organs are still developing? I'd rather use salt, but if I need to try medicine instead I will.


Can you post a pic? Fry are prone to ich and velvet so it's really possible (s)he has it but if you have a pic, that would help. And if it does turn out that it is truly ich, I believe you can use salt but not at the usual adult dosage.


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## alysalouise

bettalover2033 said:


> I'm glad that they are so happy and full of life.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
Me too lol they have some FAT FAT tummies tonight  So cute, especially the one that i suspect is the girl


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## bettalover2033

alysalouise said:


> Me too lol they have some FAT FAT tummies tonight  So cute, especially the one that i suspect is the girl


Im sure they just love being spoiled! Remember that you are in for a surprise. You might just have a girly male lol. Possible, but i want to see pictures of her seen to see how she's growing!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Misakitty

Quite a tricky little creature to catch on camera.  The suspected ich is really visible in this shot, more so than even with the naked eye. Sasha was a little bit stressed at this point and getting lighter because of the camera.


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## Sakura8

Has Sasha been rubbing and darting on things? It does look like ich so I would PM OFL for advice in treating ich in such a young fish. Salt should be fine but I'm not sure how much salt or if a fry can withstand the high heat that we usually use with a salt treatment.


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## bettalover2033

To add to sakuras statement, VERY CLEAN water is the key with heat. Try making it aged though. Do 50%-70% water changes help enornously.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8

Yup. When using the salt/heat treatment for ich, the real key is the water changes to remove the parasites that fall off. If you don't do the WCs, they just reattach. It's different when you use an ich med that kills the buggers but I prefer the salt/heat method whenever possible. Too much meds can cause them to build up a resistance.


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## bettalover2033

Sakura8 said:


> Yup. When using the salt/heat treatment for ich, the real key is the water changes to remove the parasites that fall off. If you don't do the WCs, they just reattach. It's different when you use an ich med that kills the buggers but I prefer the salt/heat method whenever possible. Too much meds can cause them to build up a resistance.


This is very true as well! The more water changes you do, the less ick you will have. When raising the heat in the take you would be speeding up to the fee swimming stage of ick. This is how you begin to get rid of it because when they are in the free swimming stage and when doing the water changes you will be flushing/throwing them away.


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## Ciomara1202

Update on my little guy , no name yet . He's a cutey







. My guess is delta ?


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## dramaqueen

Aww, yes, he is cute!


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## TeaZag

Ciomara1202 said:


> Update on my little guy , no name yet . He's a cutey
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . My guess is delta ?


Wow he is gonna be a really pretty fish! Is it a tiny baby? I think it does look like a delta.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Ciomara1202

Yep he's the size of my thumb lol, but he thinks he's tough . got him about a month and a half ago .he's really changed since then , he went from pale brown with stripes to this ! Still don't know what to call him I'm waiting till he grows up . I know its bad that they sell the babies this young but its very exciting to watch them grow up  .


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## bettalover2033

Wow he is cute! Nice picture as well!


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## alysalouise

Alright here is my three little ones
1st pictures is the smallest one
2nd group of pictures is the "Girly" looking one lol
and 3rd group is my biggest one


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## FinneyFin

My betta was tiny when I bought him,another betta I was looking at was even smaller. He was only a little bigger than your baby betta,how old would that make him? I purposely went for the smaller one and his cup was in perfect condition,I think they just got him in.


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## FinneyFin

He will not eat betta pellets for any reason,I try ever day (two different kinds) He will only eat micro worms. Does that mean he's not big enough to chew the pellets well?


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## teasell

Try crushing the pellets. They are more then likely to large for it to eat


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## wolfiegreen

I just got one Saturday all I know is it's a double tail they really shouldn't be selling the babies there to cute


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## TeaZag

I have had my baby betta for 4 weeks now! It's name is Fry I might change that name when I can tell if it's a male or female. It is a really pretty blue with red and blue fins. I still don't know what type of betta it is. Fry is really happy and u doing great, it is growing so fast. He loves swimming up and down in his 3 gallon tank. Fry loves swimming under plants. I will post a picture later it's hard to get a picture of Fry he just never stops swimming.


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## EmilyN

I got one of the baby bettas at Petco yesterday. He seems to be doing wonderfully so far thanks to the advice from this page. I do have a question tho. I keep reading that the baby shouldn't be kept in the cup I bought him in. My question is is that because of the temperature or is it a space issue? For the time being, I have him in his cup, but his cup is floating in my larger tank, which is heated. Is this okay until he gets a little bigger or should he get his own tank?


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## alysalouise

EmilyN said:


> I got one of the baby bettas at Petco yesterday. He seems to be doing wonderfully so far thanks to the advice from this page. I do have a question tho. I keep reading that the baby shouldn't be kept in the cup I bought him in. My question is is that because of the temperature or is it a space issue? For the time being, I have him in his cup, but his cup is floating in my larger tank, which is heated. Is this okay until he gets a little bigger or should he get his own tank?


 
I am also keeping one of my babies in the cup, floating in one of my heated tanks, i just do daily 100% water changes and clean up any uneaten food from the cup after s/he is done eating
Im just doing so until i go out and get another small tank that i can keep heated for it to go into, i have my other 2 in a 1 gallon split and the light on top keeps the tank at perfect temp, this of coarse is temp. until they are big enough to be in one of my divided 10 gallons where alll my adults are kept

Just make sure to clean up any uneaten food and to do daily water changes


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## EmilyN

alysalouise said:


> I am also keeping one of my babies in the cup, floating in one of my heated tanks, i just do daily 100% water changes and clean up any uneaten food from the cup after s/he is done eating
> Im just doing so until i go out and get another small tank that i can keep heated for it to go into, i have my other 2 in a 1 gallon split and the light on top keeps the tank at perfect temp, this of coarse is temp. until they are big enough to be in one of my divided 10 gallons where alll my adults are kept
> 
> Just make sure to clean up any uneaten food and to do daily water changes


My baby doesn't leave any food uneaten! He's a little pig! Thanks for the advice! I was planning on doing water changes every other day, but I will do them every day. Thanks again!


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## alysalouise

EmilyN said:


> My baby doesn't leave any food uneaten! He's a little pig! Thanks for the advice! I was planning on doing water changes every other day, but I will do them every day. Thanks again!


 
Lol i feed mine decap brine shrimp eggs, and no matter how hard i try to only do a tiny bit, there always seems to be way to many lol, their just so small and its hard not to get alot


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## Allycat924

Here is the baby I picked up from Petco:

Still very tiny, but showing a little bluish iridescence! 

I've had her (?) about a week now. Excited to see how she grows.


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## livingart

I bought a baby about a month ago. When I brought it home it was just a tiny, clear tadpole. Now, it actually looks like a baby fish. I'm pretty sure it's a male. He has long fins, maybe a delta tail? He still doesn't have any color, aside from some dark patches. I can see some iridescence here and there. Does anyone know how long it takes before they color up? Oh, one more thing, he's like a little puppy dog. If I put my hand in the tank to move something, he swims right into it! No fear


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## wolfiegreen

Mine was white when i got it but now is starting to show some color


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## JBosley

I got a betta fish about 2 weeks ago from Paulmac's Pet Store, she was really small and didn't make it. I'm thinking she might have been a baby! Not AS small as some of these, but she was way smaller than any betta I've seen. Wish I had been on this site sooner!

Went out yesterday and got a Red, Veil Tailed Male betta


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## JBosley

I got a betta fish about 2 weeks ago from Paulmac's Pet Store, she was really small and didn't make it. I'm thinking she might have been a baby! Not AS small as some of these, but she was way smaller than any betta I've seen. Wish I had been on this site sooner!

Went out yesterday and got a Red, Veil Tailed Male betta


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## Misakitty

I ended up with another baby today from Petco, and this one is definitely a male. He's a little older than Sasha, who I was convinced was a girl, but after watching their flaring war I'm not sure. It's hard to tell what's beard and what's gill when they're dark and tiny.


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## Thomasdog

Hey, this isn't about 'baby bettas' but I just got a betta female from Petco. She was the only one swimming around like a spaz, so I had to get her. In addition, she had strange white fuzz on her. I figured the clueless Petco people would just throw her away, so I had to get her becuase I have been needing a female for breeding anyway. She is still sick now, but I love her to pieces and that is my Petco fish story.


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## gossipgirl1031

livingart said:


> I bought a baby about a month ago. When I brought it home it was just a tiny, clear tadpole. Now, it actually looks like a baby fish. I'm pretty sure it's a male. He has long fins, maybe a delta tail? He still doesn't have any color, aside from some dark patches. I can see some iridescence here and there. Does anyone know how long it takes before they color up? Oh, one more thing, he's like a little puppy dog. If I put my hand in the tank to move something, he swims right into it! No fear


I've found variations with mine. With my first one, I was CERTAIN he was a "she" & then surprise! Almost overnight (after about 3 1/2 weeks with me) darkened up to red and grew long fins. Some of my other babies that are blues have begun to really hold their color within the last 3 weeks or so. My teals have stayed teal from the beginning. My 2 newest (and smallest I've seen-I've taken in 11 so far) are practically colorless. Madeleine may turn out to be a red, but I'm stumped as to what color Maleya will turn out to be. Good luck!


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## CalvinWill

Small update on my petco baby.

Growing slowly, but really starting to fill out in the fins. At this point I am pretty sure he is a DTVT. No new branches coming into his fins. I was hoping he would be a HM or Delta, but I like the way he looks.

He has learned a new trick. I make him jump for his food every time I feed him and he is getting really good at it. He started doing it on his own, so I decided it was a cute little trick to stick with.


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## styggian

I lost two of my three baby bettas x_x I believe it's because my tank temp dropped too much when we were hit with really cold below 0 weather and I didn't notice in time to bump up the heater to compensate. They looked healthy otherwise and had been eating well and very active. Makes me feel terrible.

My surviving one, the first I got, is growing very slowly. She's very runty compared to the rest of my girls, and still has a "hole" in her dorsal fin after about a monthish. The hole grew out and is a u-shaped segment missing. It's not from the other girls as it's stayed the same size and is closing up extremely slowly. She also has a very bent back. Poor thing. She eats well and swims well, she has no trouble getting around and is as much a pig as the other girls, so I'm not overly concerned, but the bump on her back may weaken her eventually.

I might try two more babies. I have 8 girls right now, in a 15g, with a huge Marineland biowheel filter for 30g tanks, so I'm overcompensating quite a bit on the filter. The one that came with the set up was only a 10-20g I think, but was really weak. I put it into my divided tank so both boys have water flow (baffled, of course).

I've got frozen bloodworms and daphnia now, everyone but my plakat male Ares loves it, so I imagine that'd be excellent for another pair of fry. They were doing very well on crushed NLS pellets and occasional crumbled freezedried bloodworm.

Ugh. Sad that they're even selling fry, the last shipment that they had were ridiculously tiny, I've never seen such small fish aside from livebearer fry! I swear they were barely a half inch long :/


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## Enkil

I was at both PetSmart and PetCo today. Both had babies. I very nearly brought several home, but would not have the room for them. I felt horrible leaving them there. They were all in dirty cups in both places.

The ones at PetCo were so pretty! They had a couple labeled "Female VT" that very obviously were not VT. They are wither CT or combtails.


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## TeaZag

*Updated picture of 'Fry'*

Here are some picture of my baby betta! I think fry is a boy because he was putting his gills up at my female betta yesterday. Fry is getting so pretty and he is growing so fast! I moved him into a new tank that is 10 gallons with my 4 fish divided with a heater and filter. The petco does not have anymore baby bettas anymore for about a month. I think Fry maybe a crowntail because his fins are starting to look like a crowntail. 











This is my one betta Swimlee and Fry looking ta each other.


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## TeaZag

TeaZag said:


> Here are some picture of my baby betta! I think fry is a boy because he was putting his gills up at my female betta yesterday. Fry is getting so pretty and he is growing so fast! I moved him into a new tank that is 10 gallons with my 4 fish divided with a heater and filter. The petco does not have anymore baby bettas anymore for about a month. I think Fry maybe a crowntail because his fins are starting to look like a crowntail.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is my one betta Swimlee and Fry looking ta each other.


I don't know if the pictures worked but if you can't see them here is a link to a few pictures of Fry. http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...03859033.61058.100000402468575&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...03859033.61058.100000402468575&type=3&theater

This picture is of one of my bettas Swimlee and Fry looking at each other. http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...03859033.61058.100000402468575&type=3&theater


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## Tappy4me

Here's a new picture of my Petco baby, Sapphira.  She's grown alot since I first got her. She wasn't as small as most of ya'lls babies, but she was less than the length of a quarter! Stills still just over the size of one now, so quite tiny.

My 2.5 gal tank for her looks like a 10 gal with her in it. hehe


----------



## registereduser

Both of those colored up beautifully! The one I had never got any color before she died


----------



## PaintingPintos

I was in Petco yesterday, and they have tall , narrow shelves full of betta fish. The cups are so tiny, and they are STOCKED with baby bettas. Some hardly have coloring yet. And somehow they can "correctly identify" what tail type, color, and gender the fish is. It's sickening. I was begging to rescue this teeny tiny "white crowntail female" but my mom said "You can't get a new pet every time you walk into a pet store" which is basically true...lol. I almost got a batch of ghost shrimp yesterday.


----------



## djembekah

there was a really small betta at Petsense yesterday. he didnt swim much, but he was fluttering his little fins. he didn't have a lot of color but im not sure he was a baby. I kind of want to rescue him thursday...if he's still okay. HE HAD NO HOLE IN HIS LID AND IT WASN'T CRACKED EVEN A LITTLE so i cracked it open.


----------



## winterhailstorm73

Ok, so I know this thread is a little old, but I just had to share a pic of my new baby! Her/his name is piglet (for obvious reasons), and he has been doing very good since I got him home! He was definitely the healthiest baby they had and I swear he poses for the camera!http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=3500&pictureid=23022


----------



## ao

Sorry to revive an old thread, but just wanted to share a story of being at petco. I was watching them stock their betta, retrieving each betta from a tiny tiny bag just big enough to fit one fish in. The baby betta cups were there, but I was confused, Ive never seen them in petco before despite going about once a week. Then I looked in another cup with no label on it, there were about ten rottening bodies of betta fish around half an inch long, so small i cant make out their tail shape. Its not that our local petco no longer sells baby bettas. Its just that these banies are dead on arrival



so sad...


----------



## copperarabian

aokashi said:


> Sorry to revive an old thread, but just wanted to share a story of being at petco. I was watching them stock their betta, retrieving each betta from a tiny tiny bag just big enough to fit one fish in. The baby betta cups were there, but I was confused, Ive never seen them in petco before despite going about once a week. Then I looked in another cup with no label on it, there were about ten rottening bodies of betta fish around half an inch long, so small i cant make out their tail shape. Its not that our local petco no longer sells baby bettas. Its just that these banies are dead on arrival
> 
> 
> 
> so sad...


Sadly the baby betta supplier sends them in one bag, and because they are so sensitive one is bound to die while being shipped which will pollute the water and kill the rest of the sensitive fry. Having the males stuffed in those tiny bags is sad too, but once their in the cups they do perk up a lot. Either way they should get bigger bags. At least they don't try shipping them together under the idea that the aggression will be spread out


----------



## shi

I know this is a really old thread, but I felt my post would be relevant to this topic  I found it while browsing Google for ways to sex a betta baby, and mine's from PetCo. 









Month 0 Day 0 (according to the Pet function on the camera lol)
First day I got it, don't know what it is exactly ): Temporarily calling him Booger (sister's choice)


----------



## BettaQi

Omgoodness I barely resisted a double tail baby betta the other day and only the color (blue) kept me safe from the cute!

If your little red one had been at my PetCo I fear I would've been swayed!

*swoons*

Maybe buy a daphnia culture.

I've heard that microworms can negatively impact their ventrals.


----------



## BettaQi

aokashi said:


> Sorry to revive an old thread, but just wanted to share a story of being at petco. I was watching them stock their betta, retrieving each betta from a tiny tiny bag just big enough to fit one fish in. The baby betta cups were there, but I was confused, Ive never seen them in petco before despite going about once a week. Then I looked in another cup with no label on it, there were about ten rottening bodies of betta fish around half an inch long, so small i cant make out their tail shape. Its not that our local petco no longer sells baby bettas. Its just that these banies are dead on arrival
> 
> 
> 
> so sad...


Oh dear g*d.

*does reiki*


----------



## shi

BettaQi said:


> Omgoodness I barely resisted a double tail baby betta the other day and only the color (blue) kept me safe from the cute!
> 
> If your little red one had been at my PetCo I fear I would've been swayed!
> 
> *swoons*
> 
> Maybe buy a daphnia culture.
> 
> I've heard that microworms can negatively impact their ventrals.


Oh, I've been feeding it frozen brine shrimp and blood worms o-o Unfortunately, I've been to almost every pet store around my neighborhood, but they don't sell daphnia of any sort ):


----------



## Jupiter

I went to Petco a few weeks ago to see if i could get some girls for my sorority...the baby shelf was empty (actually, the whole betta place was sparse...musta been close to restocking day) but I picked up a betta labeled CT female and I can't believe how TINY she is! She must be a juvie...my regular girl is almost twice her size.

i can't believe they sell them so young there...


----------



## laynisample

I always feel so bad for these babies. I saw a little boy checking them out and he bought one of those dinky .3 gallon "tanks" that make me cringe. If I could I would grab all of them and take them all home.


----------



## LadyVictorian

I always see the babies at petco and honestly I am tempted to get one just so I know one out of the thousands a sold a year won't have to die. I can't say I understand this trend of selling baby fish. It's a bit sick since their survival rate in a store or god forbid someones home is almost nothing. I wish they stopped selling them but you know they won't. Also there was no way Aquarius was an adult when I got him. He's not even a full inch long yet but in the two weeks I have had him he has grown a bit both in body and tail...and he doesn't look so sickly thin. He's beefed up. I think he is coming into his own just nice and his personality is blooming.


----------



## Imagine

I got a really handsome crown tail as a baby from petco, but I do wish they would raise their standards for betta care there.


----------



## shi

The PetCos around my area actually take the best care of their bettas o-o oddly...hahaha they have the cleanest water and biggest cups. Of course, I do see 1 or 2 dead bettas out of the batch when I go sometimes, but all the other fish look fine. Haven't seen any dead betta babies, but there are definitely itty bitty ones there ):

When I got my betta baby, it was the biggest one there, and he was probably barely 2 cm....


----------



## LadyDayne

I just got a baby betta from Petsmart. She is tiny, about an inch long. I didn't think even an inch but my husband pulled out the measuring tape and sure enough shes about one exact inch.


----------



## OrangeAugust

Mariah94 said:


> If it is a girl, her name is Temperance. If not, it's Rick Castle -but that chat is for later.


OMG Castle is my favorite showww! :-D One more week until the season premiere! *flails*

Hehe sorry...

Regarding the baby bettas,
I've seen baby bettas in Petco of differing sizes, but I went into Petco last week one time, and there was one that was about the size of my pinky nail. I've never seen a baby betta as big as the OP's tho.


Oh, and I just realized this thread is REALLY old.


----------



## JadeAngel

I've seen baby bettas at the petco I go to in Wilkes Barre, pa. I never saw them there before, so they must have just started that recently. The smallest was maybe 1.5-2cm long and looked clear brown. I don't think I would get a baby because you can't tell what they will look like.

Our Petco is off and on with their fish care. I mean it's generally pretty good (aside from their betta cups size, but clean water) but there were 2 times I went there that I got a bit annoyed at their negligence and ignorance.

One female was completely covered in fuzz. I mean, head to tail... it was in a round ball of fuzz 3 times the size of it's body. I brought it to their attention and said "there's something wrong with this betta... she needs medicine" and the girl (that doesn't seem to work there anymore) snidely replied "uh, yeaah... she's DEAD" I'm like "oh, do dead fish breathe?" then she realized she was alive "omg... you're right..." and put her aside, supposedly to be given medicine.

I went there again yesterday and 2 betta males had fungus or bad ich... and I pointed it out (1 was really bad and covered the whole body). The girl acted like she couldnt care less.. I said the need medicine. She said it's not her job to give medicine, the girl in the morning takes care of the fish. I said then make sure she knows these guys are sick. I went on to look for an african dwarf frog (after telling her I was there to buy one, and asking her if she knew how to tell males from females. I kind of know but I'm not certain) and after looking around for 20 minutes I told her which frog I wanted. THEN she told me (after knowing I was looking for a frog, and letting me look around for a while) that they weren't selling ANY aquarium creatures because all of the tanks in the store had ich. Really? So first she didn't know or care that the bettas were sick... and it wasn't her job to know that... but she apparently knew that ALL the fish had ich?


----------



## betta526

Hey everyone. Hope this is where I should post. Don't know if I'm supposed to start a new thread. If this post needs to be a new thread, could someone tell me? Thanks. 

This is my story. I started buying baby bettas from Petco about two months ago to stock a betta sorority tank. So far I have about nine females that are doing well and are getting along. I always try to get babies that are big enough that I can see the white dot on the belly. There have been times when the baby end up to be male. I would just separate him into his own home or exchange him for a female. A few of the males I kept are growing very nicely.

I really caught the bug in a big way because now I have my own fish room in the basement that currently consisted of two 10 gallons, six 5 gallons and six 2.5 gallons. I also have a 30 gallon show tank upstairs. Sadly that one just lost 11 female Bettas that I kept 6-7 months long. I think they were stressed from new tankmates I introduced. It was horrible. Poor girls. As you can guess I am quite busy keeping these tanks up with water changes. But seeing them thrive makes it worthwhile. 

I'll post some photos of these babies hopefully tomorrow.


----------



## shi

betta526 said:


> Hey everyone. Hope this is where I should post. Don't know if I'm supposed to start a new thread. If this post needs to be a new thread, could someone tell me? Thanks.
> 
> This is my story. I started buying baby bettas from Petco about two months ago to stock a betta sorority tank. So far I have about nine females that are doing well and are getting along. I always try to get babies that are big enough that I can see the white dot on the belly. There have been times when the baby end up to be male. I would just separate him into his own home or exchange him for a female. A few of the males I kept are growing very nicely.
> 
> I really caught the bug in a big way because now I have my own fish room in the basement that currently consisted of two 10 gallons, six 5 gallons and six 2.5 gallons. I also have a 30 gallon show tank upstairs. Sadly that one just lost 11 female Bettas that I kept 6-7 months long. I think they were stressed from new tankmates I introduced. It was horrible. Poor girls. As you can guess I am quite busy keeping these tanks up with water changes. But seeing them thrive makes it worthwhile.
> 
> I'll post some photos of these babies hopefully tomorrow.


Wooow nice ouo The fact you have the room and resources to do this is amazing  I honestly couldn't tell any of the baby's genders, not sure if they're too small or if they just want to be androgynous :| I'm hoping for a male, but honestly, I'm so attached to my fish I don't really care what gender it is anymore lol


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## bajabluefish

I bought a baby betta from Petco and within two days of having him he started acting very weird (standing on his tail, swimming in spirals, it was apparent to me that he was dying) I woke up the next morning to see him dead  
Poor little thing :/


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## betta526

Poor thing! Sorry to hear that.


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## LadyVictorian

Still considering a baby betta...though I might go for a female or a rescue and see if I can get a sick fish for free or cheap and take it home. I have 4 empty shelves I want to use for sickly fish, not all at once but it would be nice...then again at the same time I have turned into a half moon snob. I'll have to continue to think this over. It took me a year before I finally sat down and agreed I should get Aquarius my fish betta since I was 10. This next step of babies and rescuing or more betta's could very well take another full year on my part. >.< Still they are so sweet and yet...so doomed. I want to save just one, just ONE and give it a good home. I just can't imagine having someone else have taken Aquaman and given him a tiny tank to die in. Gah, he is such a personality on fins with speed in his system I just die thinking of him in that doomed sort of life.


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## betta526

Here is current set up in my basement. I'll be rearranging some tanks today or tomorrow. Want to put lights on the 2.5 gallon drums and also put sponge filter, lights and plants in there. In all honestly, I got my 30 gallon tank for free as well as many of my 10 gallons. I spent money on the filters, heaters and all the 5 gallons/2.5 gallons. But never pay retail for any of them.

Here is my fish tank room:









Here is my 30 gallon show tank:









Here is my crowntail bought from Walmart in March this year:









Here is my halfmoon ("elephant ear" ??) bought from Petco also in March:


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## JadeAngel

wow! You have a lot of little angels! o.o

Is it just the picture, or are his eyes swollen? I love the fullness of his tail and fins


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## betta526

I'm not sure if it's really swollen or he's been like that since I got him. I'm trying to look at photos of him back in March to compare.


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## betta526

Here is photo of him when I first got him. It's still not a good pic since its a little distorted from the crease of the jar. I'll have to dig up more photo. What do you think?









Here is a clearer close up:


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## Tikibirds

My little girl is all growed up. SHe is not an adult yet but she isn't a baby anymore. out of 4, she is the only one to not die in a week. Princess Azula









now:








She has a MUSTACHE! LOL



> I am tempted to get one just so I know one out of the thousands a sold a year won't have to die.


That's a nice theory but so many of them are too weak and sick from shipping and petco lovely fish care - many still won't make it  It's a better bet to "rescue" adults as they can rebound alot easier then the babies or so it seems. I tried 4 times and this is the only one to survive. The last one was so small and the ammonia in the cup registered an 8.0 - I have seen some adults recover from that but this little guy didn't make it


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## JadeAngel

betta526 said:


> Here is photo of him when I first got him. It's still not a good pic since its a little distorted from the crease of the jar. I'll have to dig up more photo. What do you think?


He's my kind of betta  Beautiful, and I've only seen dumbo fins once at petco, so maybe you got lucky with that? I've read they tire more easily?


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## shi

@Betta526: Oh gawd, you make me so jealous... ):

Petco just really got interested in bettas...lol they have the biggest variety for a chain store, and best care for bettas (in my area, it's definitely not ideal care, but it's better than other stores). I also checked out the bettas from Walmart, seems they're taking better care of their bettas too (that, or it's new shipment)


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## betta526

I guess he does tire more easily, all that finnage he's carrying! LOL!! When I got him, I didn't know anything about dumbo fins/elephant ears. Just thought he looked real pretty. I even had petco price match petsmart's price (cheaper at petsmart). I never really officially named him. My 2.5 year old back then called him "Campus" - name of a pigeon in a cartoon. He called my crowntail "Color"! Don't know where that came from.


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## betta526

Shi- the Petco I go to is only 5 mins drive from my house. This and maybe a couple locations within 20 mins drive from me tend to take better care of the Bettas - as far as I can tell anyways. Many walmarts in my area stopped carrying live fish or never have. I drove 20-25 mins to the Walmart where I got my crowntail. I dont go there often, but was in the area over the weekend and found another crowntail. Noticed they are not as well stocked as the last time i was there in March.

Here is my new crowntail addition. I think he has room for more growth.


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## betta526

Here is a photo of my petco baby betta sorority. I did the best I could to get a clear shot.


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## bettasareawesome

I got Sushi as a baby betta at petco one thing that scares me is he isn't getting very big he's a little less than a inch and a half and about 6 months old. I feed him bloodworms and flakes becuase he seems fine and likes the flakes. Also pellets seem to big, I got him by going to the petco gallon for a dollar sale and 5 fish for 5 dollars sale and intended to get some platy's but got him and a red platy he's a delta tail I'm pretty sure and is doing fine other than his size today, he's my avatar. Also he wasn't even in the baby betta aisle someone picked him up and just left him in the decoration aisle on a empty decoration area of a shelf.


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## Rockandrollgirl09

I fell victim to this cuteness trap. Just the idea of owning a betta and seeing it grow was something that I was so excited for. Unfortunately I believe that my little girl I think girl anyways was taken away from her mommy or taken away to soon. She didnt survive much longer after I got her. She lasted maybe about 2 months. I loved her so much. Thats when I decided that if I was ever going to own a baby betta again I was going to be better perpared to take care of her than I was.


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## Goldie2nd

Well I hate to say I fell for the trap! I just got my first baby Betta today, I have it in a creater keeper for now since it is a baby and all. I just fed it a tiny tiny bit of crushed Betta Flakes is this enough twice a day? I have had Bettas before and Neon and Red Crown and Saphire are still growing strong and Saphire has a new home with my sister and Neon and red Crown are with my mother for now. I have dubbed my baby betta Teeny. Picturesd up when and as soon as I can post and take them.


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## AquaticGirl101

I saw the babies at PetCo today too! I wanted to get one so badly and rescue it because they were all sick but I don't have the budget!  They were probably freezing because they water isn't heated... I think it would be super cool to see a betta grow up though!


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## TheMCP

teasell said:


> Try crushing the pellets. They are more then likely to large for it to eat


I didn't know about this when I bought my baby betta. However, it just ignored the pellets until they softened in the water and then attacked them in bits, do it wasn't a problem. :-D


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## TheMCP

Enkil said:


> I felt horrible leaving them there. They were all in dirty cups in both places.


I think we can't let ourselves get emotional about the fish in pet stores, or we'd all have 287 betta tanks all over our homes. 

Personally I know that one of my local pet shops keeps their bettas in apparently good health, and the rest don't really, so I'll only even glance at them at the one where they seem to be doing a better job... it'd be upsetting to let myself notice at the other ones. Even then, I try not to pay attention at the good one, because I expect to find myself saying "but he's so _pretty_! Maybe I could find room for one more..." Last time I was out getting supplies I saw a gorgeous purple male that I really wanted, and had to remind myself that I can't have him, I don't know where I'd put his tank. :neutral:


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## Signature Farms

I saw the babies a my local Petco but was able to resist the cuteness. I already have four with a fifth on the way and since I share this place with other people I've been warned not to overrun them with Bettas!

New user, btw!


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## bettasareawesome

Okay so who's baby bettas have gotten over 2 inches becuase I'm wondering since they get shipped off to soon it stunts there growth.


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## LadyVictorian

Nix is noticeably larger than a lot of the females they sell at petco. She isn't 2 inch yet but she isn't done growing either.









When I first got her.









Now


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## Goldie2nd

OkMy Baby Betta has stipes on it and red dots on his cheek or her cheek. Is super tiny I'm not even sure if it willsurvive it has a heater but still.


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## ChoclateBetta

I really dont like pet stores selling the babies I feel many people are not prepared for it.


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## bettasareawesome

I don't think the stripes are anything to worry about I've never seen Sushi without hers and she is happy and swimming away in her tank.


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## ChoclateBetta

It would nice to get one you have them longer.


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## TheMCP

ChoclateBetta said:


> I really dont like pet stores selling the babies I feel many people are not prepared for it.


Mine has been very easy to care for. Easier than the adults I have, really - the adults were all fussy eaters, I thought one of them was going to starve himself to death but I've FINALLY got them all accepting food as of about two days ago... but baby has always been willing to eat what I feed him/her, and has been growing rapidly and seems to be thriving.

I think I may have gotten it slightly older than some of the babies I saw at petco this morning, though. Some of them were quite remarkably tiny.


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## ChoclateBetta

Babies are harder to care for than adults.


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## Wendyjo

Mine has been easy to care for too. They do require more frequent water changes and feedings and warmer temps, but overall she's been fun and friendly and an easy going little fish. And they grow so fast that soon they are adults and don't need any special care.


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## ChoclateBetta

I never said they are hard I said they are harder than regular to care for than regular bettas.


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## Meggie6347

I currently have 4 that I am raising together...i feed them 3-5 times a day a mixture of bloodworms and brine shrimp. 

The first one I got a little more than a month ago and she was extremely tiny with no color and she was very skinny and unhealthy looking...I put my breeder net in my ten gallon community and put her in it (after raising the temp to 81)...when she got big enough, I released her into the tank and she has been getting along with the other fish splendidly. I still feed her the same diet.

I then got 3 more...one is in the net like the first one was, and the other 2 are still in their cups...before you gasp at me keeping them in cups, the cups are very large compared to other ones, they get cleaned out every single night religiously, and they are floated in my ten gallon, so they are very warm...one of the ones in the cup was a sympathy buy...he/she was very skinny and lethargic and sick...his/her fins looked shredded...the other one was a bit healthier, but still not great...both are improving immensely and growing. When they are all large enough and healthy enough, I will release them as well into the tank.

My plan for these guys is to move them into my science teacher's tank at school that she is letting me redo...and she is giving me the money and volunteer hours for it. That is why I am raising them together as well, in hopes that there will be less aggression in the future...they can all see each other through the nets and cups.

My biggest tips for baby bettas that I have learned through experiences (bad ones as well)...in case anybody wants some:
-Warm water is EXTREMELY important...even more so than adults I think..I like to keep mine at a steady 80-82 and I have had the best results with it.
-Diet: I feed my guys bloodworms and brine shrimp (frozen) 3-5 times a day..I highly recommend food like this (as in frozen or live) because I fed flakes or pellets to a betta baby that I had a while ago and she never grew, always looked sick, and didn't live more than 8 months...(not saying that you cant be successful with pellets or flakes...i just never was). on this diet the first baby betta I talked about here is almost...hmm...2 inches maybe? Just a bit less...maybe an inch and a half? And she started out at about .5-.75 inches and sick..(also, quick tip, when you feed them, feed them enough to make their tummies full...as in make it look like they swallowed a tiny marble ;-) ...you want them nice and full every time they eat)
-clean water...not only are they more sensitive to ammonia (I think), I have heard that they release a growth stunting hormone into the water that can only be removed with wc's...so keep it really clean for them!

Bby bettas can be very high maitenance (for me, anyway...because I have to many... :-D ) but it can be so worth it! Especially when you know that they probably wouldn't have survived much longer without you! And that you are giving them a chance at a long, healthy life!


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## ChoclateBetta

Not that that they are more sensitive they get worse affects.


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## Meggie6347

Sorry, that's what I meant ^ ...it can have a worse effect in the long run for them.


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## ChoclateBetta

Yes like growth stunting. The body stops growing and the organs keep growing.


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## bettasareawesome

Meggie? My betta has gotten bigger but not by much is there anyway you know of to make sure my baby get's food before the platy's steel it?


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## ChoclateBetta

You can separate during feeding.


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## bettasareawesome

what do you mean separate like every time I feed her she goes in a breeder net?


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## Cez

bettasareawesome said:


> Okay so who's baby bettas have gotten over 2 inches becuase I'm wondering since they get shipped off to soon it stunts there growth.


My VP is about 2 inches and growing steadily. He's a healthy eater and I've not seen any strangeness about him since I got him as a baby from the local Petco!

*Edit: No strangeness except the fact that he prefers his 1-gallon to a 5- or 10-gallon tank. Silly goof of a fish!


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## ChoclateBetta

He is a great bubblenester unlike Carter.


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## Cez

And that nest is after I destroyed it last night, on accident! I brought him downstairs to join in the festivities of Thanksgiving, since he's so interested in everything around him.


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## ChoclateBetta

Bettas love watching people they are very intelligant and interactive. Carter is smarter than my dog.


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## bettasareawesome

So what do you mean by separate, put her in a betta net?


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## bettasareawesome

By the way handsome betta


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## ChoclateBetta

I love the eyes.


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## Cez

Thanks, guys! He's a looker, for sure. I love being able to see him grow and mature!


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## ChoclateBetta

Does he do anything funny?


----------



## Cez

He loves to be in the middle of all the action in the house. Things that I think will scare him, he just keeps his cool! He jumps out of the water to grab food out of my hand, and will 'kiss' my fingers when I put them into the water. He has no problems with me just reaching my hand in to grab him, either. Makes moving him fro¤ container to bowl VERY easy during water changes!


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## ChoclateBetta

My last female would swim into the net and refuse to leave.


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## Cez

LOL aww! Silly girl


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## ChoclateBetta

I miss her.


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## Cez

I'm sorry :[


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## laurenmekal

I saved one of those babies from my local petco. She was the tiniest one in the store. She has nearly doubled in size and is doing wonderful. I know it is bad to promote them selling the babies but I couldn't leave her there. My Blue Ivy is gorgeous now and I'm so glad I got her!


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## Cez

Don't worry, a lot of us have purchased babies from Petco for much the same reason. They're just too tiny and too vulnerable to leave there to die! Even the babies that grow up deformed have personality, and I think we're all glad to have saved them from certain death.


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## Meggie6347

bettasareawesome: I raised my baby betta (the first one) for a few weeks in the breeder net inside my ten gallon. I fed her through a medicine syringe (so that no food went to the bottom and so I could make sure she was eating everything I needed her to eat), so every time she sees it now, she knows to come up for it..she just eats straight out of the medicine syringe..like I don't even pump it out for her. (If that makes any sense). She now jumps for it, which is convenient for me because my fat molly can't jump  so i just hold it an inch above the water to feed her 

You could try the syringe and get her used to it..or, like chocolate betta said, separate her during feeding time..if you still have the cup that you bought her in, you can cup her, feed her, and then release her back into the tank..or if you don't still have the cup, I'm sure any tupperware or something would be fine 

I think that feeding through the syringe is helpful because you are not just dispersing all the food throughout the water...you are keeping it confined to one area that you want only your betta to get to and the others can't steal it because you have full control over it 

Let me know if this helped at all!


----------



## LeoTheLakerBetta

A new Petco that opened a little further away from where I live is selling baby bettas. First time I have seen them and up until now I haven't realize how small they are! I can't help but feel sadness and pity for them but it's good that some people save them


----------



## ChoclateBetta

It really is sad most of them are going to live a short stunted life.


----------



## hannah16

I hate bumping this thread but- my Petco isn't selling "baby" betta fish, but these two females I picked up today were TINY. I knew if I left them, they'd die =/.. so I baught them, and paid close to $9 for both since they are CT females.


----------



## Melodica

I was at Petco tonight. There was probably a total of 30 or so bettas in containers on the display and then around 10 more on what I call the fish station, where they put the barcode on the fish.

They had a mix of all kinds, both male and female, some that I've never seen. There were crown tails, veil tails, halfmoon, round tail, double tail, plakat, king and mixtures of those. Some were very pretty and expensive (the kings were $19.99). 

I picked up a container and saw a tiny little female and was surprised. As I looked closer, I saw a few more babies, mostly female. There were only a couple of males. There were also a couple of dead adults that looked like they had passed away long ago, which really made me angry. Don't they check the containers??

I ended up walking out with two males. A double tail and a halfmoon (pictured). I already had a red veil tail that I liberated from Walmart in a second attempt after my first boy got chewed up by a filter (learned from that mistake). 

Anyway, after reading this, I'm glad I didn't pick up one of the babies. I don't know that I have the experience or time to nurse one and I'd hate for it to die, though I really hated leaving them there too. I'd bring them all home if I had the space (and if they wouldn't just replace them tomorrow)


----------



## ChoclateBetta

hannah16 said:


> I hate bumping this thread but- my Petco isn't selling "baby" betta fish, but these two females I picked up today were TINY. I knew if I left them, they'd die =/.. so I baught them, and paid close to $9 for both since they are CT females.


 Dont worry this thread is not that old.


----------



## hannah16

I went to a petco that was farther from my house and saw the $1.99 baby bettas. They were smaller than the two I purchased yesterday. If I had any skills with small fry, I'd probably snatched up one =[ Hated leaving them though..


----------



## BettaPirate

I saw some at petco a few weeks back and now everytime they get a new stock they say they sell out within 2 days! that scares me because I know that a majority will die in the not even .25 gallon cups they sell to keep them in! 
If I found the right baby I would consider getting one but for now I think I will just get a second adult because I know I can take care of them.


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## hannah16

I think that Petco is stupid and smart at the same time. On one hand, the $1.99 price makes most of the stock sell right away, but lots of them die too because they need special care. Stupid because what if that fry turns into an EE?! That's $18 you lose Petco. STOP SELLING BABY BETTAS.... It's so sad...


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Most will probably die from malnutrition.


----------



## Goldie2nd

I try to feed mine as much I can with a varied diet of Frozen Brime Shrimp, Tiny Betta Pellets and Micro Hikari Pellets. I change the water each day, he seems to be growing a lot.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Would it be wrong to buy baby Bettas. Raise them to adulthood and then find them good homes and do that over and over again? Because it would be saving them?


----------



## BettaPirate

I guess that question is kind of like the "do i rescue the Wal Mart Betta?" because then they will just keep selling them and mistreating them until they are sold... it's a catch 22 in my opinion


----------



## ChoclateBetta

They dont care if it dies or gets bought Bettas are very cheap from breeders sometimes .50$ each. So no matter what they dont lose. So buying it will save more than letting it die because either way it is replaced.


----------



## hannah16

I agree with Choc, if I could handle the proper care needed for a young fry, I'd for sure pick one up every chance I had and rehome him/her or if it's a girl, and I had the room, introduce her into a sorority. Because Petco will ALWAYS sell baby bettas now that they've become a big hit.


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## ChoclateBetta

Okay I was confused if it was okay.


----------



## hannah16

IMO it's okay. You're not doing anything wrong. And if sadly the baby passed away within the 30 days, you could always return the fry and pick up a new one and try again. I think you're helping a cause. Because even if the baby died, at least he died with someone who cared.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Plus if they survive you get them into a good crowd.


----------



## hannah16

That too Choc!


----------



## ChoclateBetta

It would be cool to get a 100 gallon and divide it 20 ways then add Baby Bettas to each compartment then sell them on aquabid.


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## hannah16

ChoclateBetta said:


> It would be cool to get a 100 gallon and divide it 20 ways then add Baby Bettas to each compartment then sell them on aquabid.


You have a brilliant mind Choc!


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Thanks I think in profit. I also like to get to watch them grow and choose the one I like every ounce in a while .Like farming plants in oversized filters.


----------



## Goldie2nd

My Baby Betta! He's grown some more since these pics where taken! When do you guys think he'll/She'll change to colors


----------



## ChoclateBetta

No offense but the food in the pics does not seem best for Betta growth. Is there a heater?


----------



## Goldie2nd

ChoclateBetta said:


> No offense but the food in the pics does not seem best for Betta growth. Is there a heater?


Yes there is a heater I give him/her Petco Betta Pellets,HickaruMicro Pellets and Frozen Brime Shrimp.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

I checked the ingredants in Hikari and it is not good.


----------



## Goldie2nd

Oh I did not know that then thank you I will try to get NLS soon any suggestion on which kind of NLS I should buy?


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Betta brand New Life Spectrum.


----------



## Goldie2nd

Ok Great thank you so much!


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Your Welcome.


----------



## gossipgirl1031

That's what I've done in the past. I've had a pretty high success rate with the babies & growing them into adults. Then finding good forever homes for them. Not for profit though, just because I enjoy the process. And I love seeing the betta go to the right home when it's old enough. Last year around this time I had at least 10 or so growing. They've all gone to new homes. I'm currently raising one, but am always on the lookout for more. They keep the stores so cold.


----------



## bettasareawesome

so has anyone gotten one of those baby's that looked like they barely were growing fins and looked like nearly born fry? How well did that work out? And if anyone did what did they do to take care of him/her?


----------



## Tikibirds

I have seen them pretty small but my petco hasn't had any since middle of summer. A few Juvinile adults but no actual baby's.


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## gossipgirl1031

Yep. I did. Super tiny. Could fit on a dime. I've had a few that small. Got one about that size right now that is starting to grow ever so slowly. 

Biggest thing-keep them warm (warmer than a normal betta) and they need to eat a few times a day. And water changes are more frequent for mine since I keep my babies in smaller heated tanks and a warm room. I've found that the ones I've taken in do better in nothing bigger than a gallon (smaller for teeny-tinies). They get lost in bigger tanks and I don't use a filter until they're big enough to swim better. 

NLS Growth works well for food, but even that needs to be crushed for the really little ones. 

Any other questions, let me know. I hope to get a few more to raise to adults soon. It's cold where I live & they don't last long in the stores. The last couple times, I've only seen dead ones.


----------



## Tikibirds

> Would it be wrong to buy baby Bettas. Raise them to adulthood and then find them good homes and do that over and over again? Because it would be saving them?


Depends who you ask. Some people are going to tell you that all you are doing is contributing to the cycle of betta abuse. personally, I am all for removing bettas from petco/walmart/petsmart and providing them with a proper home. 

I would be more willing to do it with adults though. They are alot stronger and less vunerable then the babies. I tried it 4 times and only 1 made it to adulthood. I think alot of that has to do with the conditions petco keeps them in and the stress of shipping. My petco has the babies off in a corner not even with the adult bettas. 

That being said, If I do see them, I will pick one up. I really liked being able to watch my little girl grow up into an adult - white body with red fins.

Her fins looke dhuge on her


















SHe has grown a bit more since the above pic. She does have a weird rash thing on her cheeks - not sure if its a breeding dyformity or what.


----------



## gossipgirl1031

She's so pretty Tiki!! 

And I haven't adopted any out until they were pretty much adults. Too risky otherwise. Definitely knew the sex & they were close to full grown. If you don't have much experience with them, it's tough. Heck, it's tough when you do. I found a system that works for me.


----------



## Tikibirds

A more recent pic - from last week. 









The last one I picked up - poor thing had an ammonia level that turned dark green. He lasted about 2-3 weeks but he never ate anything, not even bloodworms and couldn't swim. I had him floating in cup, inside a breeder net that was in a 20G tank.


----------



## gossipgirl1031

She's so pretty  And I know she has a wonderful home.

That's scary about the ammonia. The one right before this had a similar situation. This new one is finally starting to lose the real red & inflamed gills. Still not a great eater, but working on it. Constant struggle. I just have to remember patience.


----------



## Tikibirds

I named her Princess Azula


----------



## ChoclateBetta

The only reason I dont want one is there is no gender guarentee.


----------



## bettasareawesome

Sushi is no longer a baby she's about 8 months but she's still under 2 inches. Ant tips? She's in a 10 gal. with 3 platys, or is she to old to grow more?


----------



## LebronTheBetta

It's okay if she's under 2 inches. If she's under 1 inch, now THAT'S a problem. lol What have you been feeding her? For babies, or in your case "babies" I hope you've been feeding her frozen bloodworms, BBS, or live foods. Or any high-quality and protein diet. I also suggest adding 1 more platy. 3 doesn't sound right IMO.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

I would reccomend SFB Brine Shrimp.


----------



## bettasareawesome

I was feeding her just flakes but I've added bloodworms to her diet and hopefully soon live brine shrimp


----------



## hannah16

My BF, Alex, said he's going to get me either a 5 g or 10 g for christmas. I was thinking about buying up the smaller baby bettas at petco. How many could I fit into a 5 g or 10 g? I could always divide it later if need be.


----------



## bettasareawesome

well obviously I'm hoping your putting females in and 5-7 in a 10 gal., maybe more since theyre small


----------



## hannah16

bettasareawesome said:


> well obviously I'm hoping your putting females in and 5-7 in a 10 gal., maybe more since theyre small


I won't know there genders until they're older. I think he's getting me the five gallon. I was thinking I could buy 2-3. Because I'm hoping they'll be female and can stay in a sorority peacefully. Though I know most say 5-6 females together. 

Other wise I'll need to buy extra tanks for the boys and hopefully adopt them out once they're old enough.


----------



## Goldie2nd

hannah16 said:


> My BF, Alex, said he's going to get me either a 5 g or 10 g for christmas. I was thinking about buying up the smaller baby bettas at petco. How many could I fit into a 5 g or 10 g? I could always divide it later if need be.



isn't great when your significant other buys things for you that have to do with fish keeping is great!


----------



## hannah16

Goldie2nd said:


> isn't great when your significant other buys things for you that have to do with fish keeping is great!


It's wonderful. Great thing is he loves fish too !


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## gossipgirl1031

That's really sweet


----------



## ChoclateBetta

hannah16 said:


> I won't know there genders until they're older. I think he's getting me the five gallon. I was thinking I could buy 2-3. Because I'm hoping they'll be female and can stay in a sorority peacefully. Though I know most say 5-6 females together.
> 
> Other wise I'll need to buy extra tanks for the boys and hopefully adopt them out once they're old enough.


 You need a ten gallon Miniumum for a Soriety.


----------



## jsgossamer

hannah16 said:


> I went to a petco that was farther from my house and saw the $1.99 baby bettas. They were smaller than the two I purchased yesterday. If I had any skills with small fry, I'd probably snatched up one =[ Hated leaving them though..


I got a tiny colorless baby from petco last year. Put him in an unheated 1.75 gallon critter keeper and feed him only crushed pellets (obviously not ideal, but I knew nothing about fry). He is over a year old now, huge and healthy. I dont know why people are telling everyone they are so hard to raise. I have three more now ( in heated tanks this time) and the are all healthy, active ang growing. One has a swim bladder issue, but I knew that when I got him. Please dont be afraid to get them if you want. Must just die in those horrible cups.


----------



## bettasareawesome

Sushi wasn't hard to keep alive but there were problems, She got ich at 3 months and fin rot at 7 months, but she's a hardy girl


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Carter recovered fast and never behaved differently except many bubble nests.


----------



## gossipgirl1031

Yeah. I find so many dead ones at the stores. All of them (for the most part) recover from their initial rough start and go on to be happy & healthy. Only one of mine has any lingering problems. She basically swims vertically with her tail down. I've just made her tank a little different to accommodate her needs. Like any babies, they require a little TLC.


----------



## irishcreep

jsgossamer said:


> I dont know why people are telling everyone they are so hard to raise.


Same here. I have had 4 out of 4 make it to adulthood with no extraordinary problems.


----------



## Viva

Are baby bettas the same tail type in the end usually, or do they show all tail types evenly?


----------



## jessp118

Viva said:


> Are baby bettas the same tail type in the end usually, or do they show all tail types evenly?


There seem to be a lot of veiltails but you can sometimes see a double right away. I'm not sure about the other tail types.


----------



## gossipgirl1031

I've seen the doubles in person. They're pretty cool, but I never took one home. Others needed the place more. I've had 1 male & 1 female CT. Not the others though.


----------



## Tikibirds

I have only seen an obvious double tail once.


----------



## hannah16

I think someone on here said they adopted a baby betta and it turned out to be a PK elephant ear.


----------



## Goldie2nd

Wow PK ElephantEar cool I feel like mine might end up being a half moon maybe I'm hopping.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

I could tell there gender. I am scared to make my next one a Baby. I am worried about getting a female Betta.


----------



## Perry the platypus

Aww...I don't have Perry as a baby anymore (Perry is like a pre-teen). I can share stories. Well, I went to Petco to look for a betta and I wanted each one! My mom said only one so I settled on this cup that says "Baby Betta". Aqua green VT female!!


----------



## bettasareawesome

Sushi's a delta tail plakat, although some are so small they barely have fins.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Perry you made thr right choice. Bettas are loyal and smart.


----------



## hannah16

ChoclateBetta said:


> I could tell there gender. I am scared to make my next one a Baby. I am worried about getting a female Betta.


What's wrong with a female?


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Nothing I just prefer male Bettas. I feel nervous around female Bettas too.


----------



## hannah16

Rather than getting a baby, why not just pick a smaller male adult?


----------



## Perry the platypus

ChoclateBetta said:


> Perry you made thr right choice. Bettas are loyal and smart.


I know I did!! Just seeing them in little cups make me think of how those Petco people like it if they were in the cups!:-(


----------



## hannah16

Perry the platypus said:


> I know I did!! Just seeing them in little cups make me think of how those Petco people like it if they were in the cups!:-(


Whenever I see people tapping the cups, I tell them "Would you like to be in a bubble and have someone tapping on it? Just enough room to turn around."


----------



## ChoclateBetta

I am okay with Betta cups.


----------



## Viva

Here is Prize eating some frozen blood worms, today is day 4 of having her/him (I'm starting to think its a female) hopefully CT . So far seeing blue and red for colors  










Prize has already learned that when she sees the pipette, that means fooood!!! She goes crazy and starts attacking the bottom of it in anticipation, watch the video!!!


----------



## Viva

Here's a few full res pics so you can see why I think she's a CT (click for large pic):


----------



## Goldie2nd

Yeah I see some rays comming out of her. Awesome.,


----------



## Viva

I've since read that the branching may not indicate CT tail, but that it is just new fin growth/branching and is seen in PK and other tail types as well. I guess it will just be a surprise!


----------



## bettasareawesome

Yeah sushi's doing that im pretty sure its just fin growth though. You'll just have to wait and see.


----------



## Goldie2nd

aww cute Fin growth is good too!


----------



## FishyFamily

*A little boy?*









I am pretty sure from the other posts I've read that my new addition to the family is a boy. He has the beard from what I see. You can't see it very well because of the shadow but he's also a very vibrant green color... so much I had to turn the flash off cuz it would reflect on his scales. Just confirming maybe perhaps someone wants to verify for me that it's a male?:-?

Thanks


----------



## bryzy

Thank god my Pet stores aren't a part of this to my knowledge. I've been looking though encase I do want to rescue a little baby.


----------



## joecool966

I just went to petco and i see them selling baby betta so small i cant believe it.


----------



## FishyFamily

*Puddles*

The guy at the petco here was "no" help and yes I agree so sad that so many people assume small tanks are wonderful to keep bettas in. I used to be one of those people  Today my parents got me a 10 gallon tank from walmart with all the hookups for a late birthday present. I am obviously not using the filter and instead am changing the water once weekly like I do with my other bettas. I fell in love with a baby betta after losing my oldest fish to dropsy or some sort of horrible disease (after I nursed him back to health with aquarium salt and betafix) it was awful. I was in grieving and then went to the store with my husband who is also a sucker for cute bettas. When I went online to do research on my baby betta I learned about tanks and such. I felt so bad and somewhat responsible for my older bettas death but now have vowed to do as much as I can to help my betta family. 

Today I was curious how my husband's betta would react to having the baby close by in another tank. To my suprise my "baby" flared and I saw his little beard come out. I know now that my betta is a boy so I named him Puddles  My husband's betta Charlie is so silly for feeling threatened by such a small fish. Don't worry it was a split second and they were safe in 2 separate tanks. 

I can't wait to get the divider for my 10 gallon but for now Charlie gets to enjoy it while Puddles enjoys his small tank with his heater. I am praying Puddles grows up healthy and nice


----------



## bettasareawesome

Awww i like puddles he's cute. I still need to be 100% sure Sushi's a girl before i do something like put her in a sorority. Im pretty sure Sushi's a girl though


----------



## Mashiro

Figured I'd join the party and add my baby betta to the show!

Here's Small Fry! I've been told *she's* a female, but I don't know.

I'm also not sure of her tail type.

Actually, any info on what you can gather from these pics would be good.


----------



## bettasareawesome

Hmm i'd say a female becuase of the big belly and tail shapes. And is that top fin more rounded or pointed than itwould be easier to find tail type. Maybe a delta tail or plakat? But im not sure.


----------



## Mashiro

bettasareawesome said:


> Hmm i'd say a female becuase of the big belly and tail shapes. And is that top fin more rounded or pointed than itwould be easier to find tail type. Maybe a delta tail or plakat? But im not sure.


I'd guess that the dorsal fin is more round than pointy. Geez, I'm hoping for a delta tail, I've got a pretty male halfmoon that I want to start breeding.

When would she be old enough to breed?


----------



## MoonShadow

Here's Ever, I'll get new pictures of him today! Not sure on sex yet, but my gut is saying male, we'll just have to see!


----------



## Viva

FishyFamily said:


>


*Puddles is adorable! Does he have any colors under the light?*



Mashiro said:


> Figured I'd join the party and add my baby betta to the show!
> 
> Here's Small Fry! I've been told *she's* a female, but I don't know.
> 
> I'm also not sure of her tail type.
> 
> Actually, any info on what you can gather from these pics would be good.


*I think it's still too soon to tell, but he/she sure looks like they're going to have some red.* 


MoonShadow said:


> Here's Ever, I'll get new pictures of him today! Not sure on sex yet, but my gut is saying male, we'll just have to see!


*Sooo cute! I love the color! I love everyone's little babies! Keep them warm and fat  That's what I'm doing with mine so hopefully she'll grow up fast!*


----------



## Goldie2nd

I love all these babies they are adorable.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Small tanks are very common with Bettas. Under 30 gallons is small.


----------



## MoonShadow

A couple pictures of Ever today he's already grown so much in the week Ive had him!


----------



## Goldie2nd

Love your little guy MoonShadow soo cute!


----------



## bettasareawesome

Mashiro its a good possibility she could be a delta tail but im not sure. And i think ive heard 6 or 8 months is a good time to breed but you should probably ask an experienced breeder. Make sure you feed here a lot of protein foods so she gets big and strong or else she might not get as big as she would have.

Moonshadow, wow i really like that metallic green and the kind of clear finsit looks really cool and its a cool combination


----------



## carbonxxkidd

I bought a baby betta tonight! I couldn't resist, 1 out of 4 looked very healthy and I have access to tiny live foods so I figured I'd give it a try. I put it in a breeder box in my sorority with a piece of hornwort. S/he ate a crushed up Omega One pellet, so I think we're off to a good start!


----------



## Xaltd1

I've had great luck w/ 2 baby girls! They have been growing up together, so no fighting yet; but I'm upgrading in the next 2 weeks. These two just tugged at m heart! I've been afraid to name them b/c I was afraid they wouldn't make it.


----------



## Viva

Some pics from today of Prize, this is day 7 of owning him/her. I took some this morning, like in pic 1, and then I came home and took more and noticed a small hole on Prize's anal fin:





Check out the new spots appearing on the dorsal fin though :-D. This pic is with no flash. 



Check out my Baby Betta fish album to see a lot more pics of Prize, I'll keep updating it as he/she progresses.


----------



## Xaltd1

Viva, where in MA are you?


----------



## ChoclateBetta

The ones at my Petco are hard to find in the cup.


----------



## bettasareawesome

Viva i think prize is a boy becuase of the straitness of the back of his bottom fin. (Can someone please tell me the actual name for the fins?) Girls usually have a more curved back of the fin.


----------



## jessp118

Here are some pictures of my baby that I've now had for 2 weeks.


----------



## Goldie2nd

aww cute little guys


----------



## Viva

Xaltd1 said:


> Viva, where in MA are you?


Central Mass.



bettasareawesome said:


> Viva i think prize is a boy becuase of the straitness of the back of his bottom fin. (Can someone please tell me the actual name for the fins?) Girls usually have a more curved back of the fin.


I always need to use a diagram like this...lol. I'm starting to learn though ! The bottom, back-most fin is the anal fin...make's sense I guess


----------



## carbonxxkidd

ChoclateBetta said:


> The ones at my Petco are hard to find in the cup.


I agree, same with some of the females. They are so small that half the cups look empty until you pick them up and really look for the fish!


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Half? Mine are so small they are 5-6/7 times smaller tank cups.


----------



## Goldie2nd

carbonxxkidd said:


> I agree, same with some of the females. They are so small that half the cups look empty until you pick them up and really look for the fish!


I agree some are very small I'm am surprised at how small someof the famles are as well.Almost juvenile.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Most people cannot care for an adult much less a baby.


----------



## Goldie2nd

I agree Choclate but hay that's why sites exist now and good reading too sono excuses really in my opinion. At least to educate yourself and do the best you are capable of.


----------



## jessp118

I just got back from petco. I saw more babies there that were less than a 1/2 inch long. I also saw 2 adult 20$ bettas dead


----------



## ChoclateBetta

In my Area some are sick but you see plenty of interactive Bettas.


----------



## Luxavior

What have you guys done to meeeeee










Look at this look what happened
I only went to check out the aqueon tank sale and this cutie came home with me

I really hope it survives because it has a really pretty teal/blue sheen to it

Its still in its cup which is in the 1g which is still warming up which is in the kitchen for the time being to keep the temperature from dropping while the heater's trying to warm up.

All I have right now are tetrabetta betta plus pellets
I'm planning on soaking just one pellet and cutting it in half or thirds for the little bugger even though these pellets are still decently small.


----------



## Goldie2nd

Um try to buy NLS Pellets they are good and also Frozen Brime Shrimp will help with his/her growth too oh and plenty of clean water to keep the stunt growth hormone at bay so it can grow big and strong.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Live Brine Shrimp are easy to hatch try San Fansisco Brand.


----------



## Goldie2nd

Yes but in case you can't have live stock like me Frozen is also a good option if you can have Live food by all means do that cus is way better for the fishies.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

Great Salt Lake Brineshrimp grow bigger than San Fransisco.


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Here's the baby I bought on Thursday: 


















Sorry about the poop in the photos, I removed it after I took them...probably should have done it before, lol. S/he is currently living in a breeder box in my sorority tank with a chunk of hornwort for cover and seems to be doing well. S/he has eaten everything I've offered: live ceriodaphnia (tiny tiny daphnia), frozen brine shrimp and blood worms, crushed up Omega One pellets, and flakes. S/he has been clamped on and off but overall is pretty active, seems healthy, and my girls are VERY curious about the newcomer. If it's a girl, it will join them in the main tank when it gets bigger. I do see an egg spot, but I've read that is not always telling of the gender. Maybe someone with a good eye can tell?


----------



## Luxavior

All I can find are frozen brineshrimp and frozen bloodworms

I'd love to get frozen daphnia or raise my own but I'm afraid they'll die of overpopulation before one adult male and one baby could eat enough to keep the population in check.

Do you think the baby would be fine with a piece of a soaked betta plus pellet until Monday or Tuesday?

Also how often should it be fed?


----------



## Xaltd1

That looks like the baby female VT I bought awhile ago! They color up well!


----------



## bettasareawesome

Im not sure but it looks like you have a pretty little doubletail female.

Yeah that should be fine i fed Sushi crushed flakes for what 4 months? All though never ever to what i did a few days should be fine but i think i stunted her growth.


----------



## Mashiro

What should these baby bettas be eating?


----------



## bettasareawesome

Live or frozen baby brine shrimp and bloodworms, if you cant get those get some fish food with high protein but they probably won't grow as big. Also theres something like Betta first bites, im not sure on the actual name and it's just tiny betta pellets.


----------



## Xaltd1

I have the mini pellets, too (they're Tetra Betta mini pellets); but they spit them out most times. Mine prefer crushed flakes: "Omega One Betta Buffet" are the only Betta-specific flake I've seen. I crush them as they go into the tank.
The treat they love is a product called "Betta Dial-A-Treat"; it's a multi-compartment dish covered by a rotating top so you can mix-and -match what you feed them. The contents are dried bloodworms, mysis, and daphnia. They are tiny fragments, but you can crush them even further.


----------



## bettasareawesome

Oh that so cools. Don't just feed crushed flakes though, they can survive off them but won't grow as big as they should be, all though the other food you can mix and match will help with growth.


----------



## Xaltd1

I tried live micro worms-once. They didn't notice them. What is the optimal food for bettas?


----------



## LebronTheBetta

For babies NLS Grow, frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, and I think Hikari First Bites is good. Remember to look at the Hikari First Bites' ingredients due to the fact that the Bio-Gold is bad, they might've changed it, too. Baby bettas need higher protein than normal adults do. Remember to keep the water extra clean and full of hiding spots.


----------



## Viva

*Prize lost their stripes!*

So the past few days I'd be looking at Prize and notice that his/her camo stripes had disappeared. So I'd run to get my camera, come back and they'd be there again! I thought I was losing my mind!!! Until today when EVERY time I'd look at her she had no stripes, so exciting! She's already grown a lot in just the 9 days I've had her.
*Yesterday:*








*Today:*








No flash:


----------



## 4hgirl99

i use to have a baby betta but after 3 days the little one saddly passed on  they are really fragile.


----------



## Luxavior

Does anyone have any recommendations on how frequent a water change should be done for a baby in a 1g tank?

I'd put Darling in something bigger but I think bigger would be bad for it at the time being with how tiny it is.

I switched from using the betta plus pellets to a small piece of pre-soaked freeze-dried bloodworms to feed my baby until I can get proper food in a day or two.

I'm planning on making that mini siphon container that I saw in a video link I believe was posted earlier in this thread to use for the tank to suck out any left over food (not like there was any when I switched to pre-soaked bloodworms)

I also plan to buy new pellet food or just switch to frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp entirely after I took another look at the ingredients of the betta plus pellets in which just the first five were wheats, fish meal, potato gluten, soybean gluten and other crap like that despite the label guaranteeing at LEAST 43% protein in the food.

I'm going to make it up to Narcissus for feeding him this crap for the past few months without it clicking in my mind until recently.


----------



## hannah16

I think it's 100% daily. Not for sure, but I believe so. I have most of my bettas in 1-2 g containers/vases for the moment and do 100% daily water changes daily, without doing enough changes, you can stunt his/her growth.


----------



## Xaltd1

The babies need the "Betta Bow" 2.5 gal. and add a heater. The filtration reduced the 100% water change.


----------



## LadyVictorian

Nix my rescued fry from petco has finally gotten breeding stripes for the first time and is full of eggs. It's crazy how fast she grew. So happy I have a snail with her now, if she doesn't eat all her eggs the snail will get what she missed. Got a new camera so I'm going to take pictures of her (it's an underwater camera too) once I get a memory card for it to show you all a comparison. Crazy when I got her she was this tiny little silver thing, now she grew in her big adult colors and looks purple with red and blue wash, almost mustardgas but hard to tell. Her colors are so different.

Also debating saving another baby since I had so much luck with Phoenix. I have her recovery baby tank more than open...in fact two with spare heaters. Hmmm should I do it? I have a freezer full of frozen treats and live brineshrimp in another tank.


----------



## Skyewillow

I clean Archi and Skerries' orange juice bottles 100% every two days. I feed sparingly once a day, and so I don't worry about too much waste output. I also have morimo balls in their containers to help squeak by between changes, so I'm not stressing the girls out by messing with them too much.


----------



## bettasareawesome

Doooooooooooo iiiiiiiitttttt, more cute little baby bettas, i want another one too but im guessing my mom dosent, i wonder if i could split the 10 gal. In half or thirds for more bettas sometime. Sushi and two other bettas, that would be so fun!


----------



## Xaltd1

How can she release the eggs w/o mating? Am I missing something big in Betta care??


----------



## ChoclateBetta

They can absorb them. The eggs are layed then fertilized.


----------



## FishFriend9292

I may just get one and put it in my 1.5 gallon, until I can upgrade it to a 5 gallon.


----------



## LadyVictorian

Xaltd1 said:


> How can she release the eggs w/o mating? Am I missing something big in Betta care??


Without mating females can either reabsorb them or drop them and eat them up again. Eggs dropped during mating is entirely different as the male has to embrace and fertilize eggs. Otherwise non fertilized eggs can drop as well. We just don't see them as often because girls and other fish eat them up.


----------



## ChoclateBetta

1.5 gallons is big enough for a permenet home.


----------



## Xaltd1

:cheers:I bought two beauties two days ago; one bright aqua and the other, deep blue. I had both in a divided quarantine tank- heated and filtered. Today, Brooke (the blue one) was "sleeping" next to the filter intake. After a few hours, I noticed she was not, in fact, sleeping. I hope I did the right thing: I scooped up Marina (the other) and put her in the sorority tank w/ Gilly and Angel. I didn't want to risk it if she was in a contaminated tank. I put poor Brooke in her original cup and put it outdoors to freeze so I can take her back. I'd have put her in the freezer, but I'm a midnight snacker) Te 3 girls aren't nipping; just begging for food, as usual. The tank has lots of hiding places; I just hope her health holds out.
SIP, Brooke!

Happy New Year!:cheers:


----------



## bettasareawesome

aww, that's sad... SIP?


----------



## Xaltd1

Swim In Peace


----------



## Xaltd1

Someone should add that to the acronyms page!


----------



## Xaltd1

Now 3 girls in one tank is causing an uproar. Chasing; no nipping at this point.


----------



## bettasareawesome

Xaltd1 said:


> Swim In Peace


Aaah, I get it


----------



## laur3namb3r

Hi all! Just wanted to brag about my new baby, Copernicus. The only reason I sought out a baby, was because the older betta selection wasn't very good, and I just fell in love with him as soon as I saw him! He was a lot bigger than his cup mates, and I felt so sorry for those tiny babies :[ if I was more experienced, I'd go back and start my own betta nursery! Although that would trigger an increase in inventory. :-/ 

Anywho, I'm still not sure if Copernicus is a male or female, but I'm thinking he's a male.i have him in a 5gal filtered tank, unheated as I live in Hawaii and my apartment is always hot, with lots of silk plants. I feed him 3x a day, and he greedily eats every last crumb. Very smart and lively guy, too. His new favorite activity is riding the filter current. Such a nut. :] So glad he's doing well so far!


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Wow, h/she is beautiful! I saw a few "baby bettas" tonight that were the same size as the females! Most of the time I just see really really tiny ones.

It's fun when you get a betta, baby or not, that eats readily from the start. My baby is a little pig! I have also been feeding him/her two or three times a day, a mixture of bloodworms and brine shrimp and crushed pellets and EVERYTHING gets eaten. It makes me happy to see that will to survive in such a little fish


----------



## Xaltd1

"They" say not to feed more than once per day, but when they stare at you and beg, it's impossible not to give them a little something! I guess the healthiest idea is to give them the correct amount divided all day. BUT it's hard to know how much they need! They are little oinkers and will eat everything!


----------



## bettasareawesome

Awww, pretty little fishy. 

Ugh I should have gotten the 10 gal. right the first time. Sushi is too small for it, I should have gotten a 2.5 just for her.


----------



## laur3namb3r

This is probably a silly question, but you probably shouldn't "fast" baby bettas, right? I haven't, and probably won't, simply because Copernicus looks like he's starved every time I feed him. He also constantly searches around his tank for more crumbs. :-/ Anyone know how long it takes them to start growing?


----------



## carbonxxkidd

I'm pretty sure my baby has grown in the week I've had her (at least I'm hoping it's a her).

She escaped into my sorority today (she was floating in a breeder box in there) and I'm jut going to leave her in there unless I see her being bullied. Here's a video: Baby betta escapes into sorority


----------



## laur3namb3r

Too cute! Seems like s/he is having a good ol time! And your tank is gorgeous! 

Today I went out and bought a couple more goodies for Copernicus's tank; couple new plants (just fake, for now), a driftwood piece, and a betta hammock. I also did my first water change with him, and poor baby got so scared and stressed out, he pooped in his cup! :[ Once I put him back, though, he was so happy. He's loving his new additions to the tank, it's so cute to watch him investigate!


----------



## Mashiro

WOW, is all I have to say about this baby. He or she is coming into their coloring so well... I am stunned. I am loving this baby!


----------



## LadyVictorian

Wow s/he is beautiful, can't wait to see it in another month.


----------



## Mandy Pandy

Well.. I caught the baby betta bug. After giving it a water change (ammonia readings were off the charts) I attempted floating the cup in the tank I plan on using for a sorority. Well... I obviously failed because it sank to the bottom and now the little wriggler is exploring the tank with my albino bristlenose pleco, Whittaker. Water is at a steady 80 degrees... the little guy should be ok right?

I choose the second biggest they had as the tiny ones all seemed to be swimming... off and I didn't feel comfortable with a baby that tiny. It's getting fed a mix of frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, and crushed Omega One Betta Buffet pellets. 

I'm really really really hoping this baby is a girl so it can be a part of my eventual sorority. If it turns out to be a boy, into my community he will go and hopefully get along with my platties


----------



## carbonxxkidd

I am in the exact same boat as you! My baby was living in a breeder box in my sorority and escaped and is now living among fish three times its size. Seems to be doing well though, and so far it's pretty easy to get it food without my other girls noticing! 

I would think that your baby should be just fine, especially because it doesn't have any competition for food right now. The bigger the tank the better for the little guys so as to not stunt their growth (any more than it already is). Good luck!


----------



## Luxavior

Got a slightly decent picture of my baby earlier~









Darling is sitting in the store cup with me upstairs for the heat at the moment while the 1g reheats.

I bought a new heater that'll hopefully keep it around 78-80 degrees since the other one goes up to around 86.

both are nonadjustable but I have more hope for the new one since its supposedly preset to 78 degrees (the other just said it increases water temperature up to 10 degrees above room temperature).

Since the old one is fairly strong to heat a 1g up to 86-88 depending on if our home heater is set to kick on at 73 or 75, I might try it in Darling's future 2.5g tank (since I can't find a 5g like I wanted)

I also upgraded to NLS and frozen bloodworms for both Darling and my adult male, Narcissus.
They can't get enough of either food.

At the moment, Darling gets half a bloodworm or one presoaked NLS pellet 2 to 3 times a day at least 8 hours apart, but has on occasion stolen a whole bloodworm (the second half of it was accidentally stuck to my finger during feeding)


----------



## BettaPirate

they are both beauties! I am still debating going through the work of raising a baby or saving an older fish



Mashiro said:


> WOW, is all I have to say about this baby. He or she is coming into their coloring so well... I am stunned. I am loving this baby!


----------



## LadyVictorian

xD everyone is making me seriously want to rescue another baby...but if i rescued another baby I would want it to be a female so I can start a sorority of all rescued females.


----------



## Mandy Pandy

LadyVictorian said:


> xD everyone is making me seriously want to rescue another baby...but if i rescued another baby I would want it to be a female so I can start a sorority of all rescued females.


I'm really hoping mine is a female for the same reason. I hope to start my sorority in about four to six weeks (Once my den is finished being remodeled and I can move my tank back there... currently it's in my bedroom.)

I think my baby might be similar in color to yours, Mashiro. I can see bits of red on her fins and she definitely has a blue sheen to her. (I'm gonna start calling her a her instead of an it to try to will her to be a girl...)


----------



## LadyVictorian

xD I tired that with Phoenix and it didn't work. I called her a he and she turned out a she but Pixy Nixy is a rebel. 

Ima get pictures of her today and post her before when I first got her and today.


----------



## Mandy Pandy

I still hope she's a girl though! Looking forward to the pics <3

I'm not sure what to name her though... I'm going with a Japanese theme since I already have my Taro. I just moved him to my desk and I'm so happy I did. Before he was in the kitchen in a corner and I only really saw him to feed him. I spend a lot of time on my computer so it's nice to be able to see him so often. <3


----------



## ChoclateBetta

The only reason I wont get one is you dont know gender.


----------



## atwnkltoes

*Baby betta sucker as well*

Hi everyone, I've been snooping around here on my phone. 
My son's blue crown tail made it just shy of his 1 year birthday with us. My almost three year old was devastated.
We also went to the store to buy a "new Graham" and saw the babies.

So, from seeing all of your posts, I'm thinking Baby Graham is a girl. 
It hasn't changed at all from the day we got it, but is a tad longer. 

What concerns me is the striping. Is this normal? Sometimes they are vertical instead.


----------



## bettasareawesome

striping is normal in young bettas, but when they're older it means they're stressed, it's fine.


----------



## LadyVictorian

water looks a bit cloudy, how big is the tank and how often is it cleaned?


----------



## Firefly85

While I have been super busy and away, I haven't been able to keep up here. But i noticed this thread the other night and just wanted to show everyone how big my Blue baby has grown she is as big as my male Vt Cheeto, if not fatter. 
I almost wonder if it is possible she is part "giant". 
I had got her the last week in September, I guess she must be around 5-6 months.

Blue when she was brought home 









And Blue Now


----------



## laur3namb3r

I have been reading that betta fry let off stunting hormones? I researched it, and found some people say its a myth and others think its true. Does this happen to all betta fry, even if one is being raised alone? Any thoughts? 

I have my little one in a 5 gal tank and I most certainly want him to grow to his full potential, so how often should I be doing water changes for him now? It will be a week tomorrow that I have had him, and I changed a little less than half his tank wednesday (I tried to only do 25% but I wasn't paying attention ) Just checked his water tonight too and everything is normal.


----------



## Viva

@laur3namb3
I'm not sure if it's true but I change my water a lot more frequently for the baby. I do 3 50% water changes per week for her in a 5.5 gallon tank.

@atwnkltoes
My baby started with dark horizontal stripes, as all babies have, and now you will almost never see them, just 2 weeks later. I'm not sure what causes it but she will develop vertical stripes one minute and next minute they're gone. 

I got a fluorescent light the other day, and got some pictures of Prize under it. All previous pictures of her were taken under an incandescent, and under the fluorescent she looks a lot more purple. Under incandescent she looks more blue.

Yesterday:
(with flash)


(without flash)


----------



## Tikibirds

I picked up a new one the other day. She was labled as a female betta and not a baby but obviously she is NOT an adult. Maybe not even a female? although I am hoping so.

Hard to get a good pic through a breeder net


----------



## atwnkltoes

I have it in the tank the store told us was perfect for Bettas. It is called a MiniBow and it is 1 gallon. 
It came with a filter system but we took it out because the current seemed way too strong for such a small tank. 
We have been doing partial water changes weekly and a full water change monthly. We also add the conditioner and salt rocks.
The picture does look pretty bad, but it's not that bad to the naked eye.


----------



## Pandlers

I picked up a baby at my Petco the other day, named it Pontus (under the assumption that the baby was a male) - being new to bettas I have no clue how to sex or classify it. Any ideas on the gender and possibly type? C: His very front fins are a bit longer, but my camera didn't feel like focusing on him when they were unfurled since he's smaller...


----------



## Irishdancer

I bought a baby from PetCo in November. I don't know how old he was, but he was even smaller than the pictures others are posting of when they first bought theirs. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly how much he's grown because I don't have a camera so I can't compare pictures. He doesn't have stripes anymore, though, and his tail and fins are definitely much fuller.


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Update on my baby:









I've had him/her for 13 days, 7 of which s/he has had free reign of my 29g sorority tank because s/he escaped out of the breeder box I was keeping him/her in and I just let it be. It's really cute because despite the small size, s/he is FEISTY and steals food from my other girls who are 3x the size of the baby! I love watching them interact.

S/he has definitely grown significantly, but I still can't sex him/her...sometimes it looks like s/he's a boy and sometimes a girl...the egg spot still seems to be there, you can kind of see it in the photo. Can anyone confirm or is it too early yet?


----------



## osromatra

nevermind- ignore me, I don't know diddly, lol.


----------



## Juicebox

im assuming all these babys turn out to be veil tales and crown tails? is anyone gettin half moons, plakats, kings, double tails, elephant ears from the petco baby bettas?


----------



## Mandy Pandy

I saw one that was very obviously a double tail at the store when I picked mine out.


----------



## Firefly85

Yes,i just picked out a double tail last night, I am uploading pic's soon.


----------



## carbonxxkidd

I wish I would have seen some double tail babies when I got mine! I have yet to see one at the Petcos near me.


----------



## aemaki09

Juicebox said:


> im assuming all these babys turn out to be veil tales and crown tails? is anyone gettin half moons, plakats, kings, double tails, elephant ears from the petco baby bettas?


 
I managed to get a double tail for my first one.
At such a young age its hard to tell the difference between a lot of tail types, there are some you can tell are VT for sure, but then there are also ones that look iffy like they could be DeT or HM.

I dont have a petco in my area though, only get to visit once a month when I drive 2 hours away so I'm not sure if they have more variety than I know of

I just picked up a blue/green, black, and white marble CT (atleast I think CT, definitely not VT) today!


----------



## chadi

i got to my local petco every thursday when they get new fish in. Ive gotten baby a couple baby double tails, but mostly they turn out to be vt or ct. probably 80% of mine were female. Got a few nice marbles from babies as well.


----------



## aemaki09

chadi said:


> i got to my local petco every thursday when they get new fish in. Ive gotten baby a couple baby double tails, but mostly they turn out to be vt or ct. probably 80% of mine were female. Got a few nice marbles from babies as well.


 
I'm jealous!!
I wish I could go every time they get new fish in!
I do that at petsmart most weeks, but I have to drive 2 hours to petco!


----------



## Skyewillow

I may be wrong, but my Skerries doesn't look VT and definitely not a CT, I'm thinking he may be Plakat.










He's one of the two Petco babies that we bought back in mid-December.


----------



## aemaki09

Skyewillow said:


> I may be wrong, but my Skerries doesn't look VT and definitely not a CT, I'm thinking he may be Plakat.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> He's one of the two Petco babies that we bought back in mid-December.


His fins are too long to be PK. I'm thinking delta


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Does anyone know around what age baby bettas start losing their stripes?

Today was the first day I noticed mine without stripes. It's kind of off and on, one minute it'll have stripes, the next it won't. I almost didn't recognize my baby today though because of this! Just wondering if there is a way to tell age based on stripes or not? Hopefully in a week or two I will be able to tell if it's a boy or girl...


----------



## Viva

carbonxxkidd said:


> Does anyone know around what age baby bettas start losing their stripes?
> 
> Today was the first day I noticed mine without stripes. It's kind of off and on, one minute it'll have stripes, the next it won't. I almost didn't recognize my baby today though because of this! Just wondering if there is a way to tell age based on stripes or not? Hopefully in a week or two I will be able to tell if it's a boy or girl...


Same thing with my baby, started losing its stripes about a week after I brought it home and now it sometimes has vertical stripes too. No idea on the age thing though.


----------



## Luxavior

Its been 2 weeks since I brought Darling home~

Depending on the lighting, it has a nice blue sheen to it while other times its just white with the baby stripe.


----------



## LadyVictorian

My girls baby stripes didn't fully go away until about 4 months, now the only time she gets them is if she is stressed. Though my girl has a lighter almost lavender body so they may fade faster with darker fish like blue or reds. Not sure as I have only raised Phoenix. Hopefully that won't be true long. Also I am rather confused on her tail type.Sometimes i think she is just veiltail and sometimes I feel she is actually delta because when she flares her tail is more rounded ad full. She also has a fairly long tail for a girl, not nice and tight though it is a girl tail you can tell. Her tail doesn't appear to slop down like a female veiltail but it's not quite the full halfmoon spread though it does fill out when she flares. When she isn't flaring she looks more like a vt. Curious, wish I had my stupid memory card for my camera to take pictures of her with the underwater camera.

Also her color is most baffling, her body is almost a copper lavender, some shades she could almost be chocolate but the inside of her fins are redish orange and the outside are blue, not washed they resemble the mustardgas pattern. What color is that? She went through a freaky color change from being all purple and blue to that. It was kinda funny when it happened too, she lost her blue hue and got more brownish reddish on the body and her fins brightened up tenfold.


----------



## callistra

registereduser said:


> Is this weird? My baby Betta Pooh loves to share the "sinking wafer" food I give to her tank mate Pookie the Catfish! I also give her freeze dried bloodworms and "BettaMin" and she eats like a little piggy fish! I guess that's good! Do you think she is bonding with Pookie? I know it's not ideal to have just one catfish but they do seem to be friends so far.
> 
> PS I have a 5 gallon tank. Two fish should be the limit, right?


What kind of catfish is that? The smallest, require a 10g. Some get much much bigger...

Bettas can sometimes pig out on algae wafers and cause swim bladder issues. so be careful.. Also freeze dried foods need to be soaked before feeding because they're so dry and the bettamin is not a good quality pellet. 

It's especially important for growing bettas to get good quality food. the NLS small fish forumla was a good suggestion. They also make a growth formula.


----------



## Skyewillow

That's a punctatus cory, and they get about 2.5" long (males are slightly smaller than females).

Cookie really shouldn't be in anything under a 10, and with 4 fish of his/her own species. (Other Punctatus cories, not just other cories in general)

They're a really cool species though, I had a trio for a while.


----------



## aemaki09

callistra said:


> What kind of catfish is that? The smallest, require a 10g. Some get much much bigger...
> 
> Bettas can sometimes pig out on algae wafers and cause swim bladder issues. so be careful.. Also freeze dried foods need to be soaked before feeding because they're so dry and the bettamin is not a good quality pellet.
> 
> It's especially important for growing bettas to get good quality food. the NLS small fish forumla was a good suggestion. They also make a growth formula.


Peppered cory.
You need to move him to a 10 minimum and get him at minimum 2 more peppered preferably atleast 4, As they are a schooling species.

EDIT::
Oops! I quoted the wrong person! +1 Callistra!


----------



## Skyewillow

Sometimes I hate the internet.
Last time I looked up paleatus, it gave me punctatus and vice versa.

PALEATUS is the scientific name... stupid internet. -kicks-


----------



## LadyVictorian

I saw a bunch of babies at Petco yesterday and wanted to bring some home but i can only take females right now as this is all I have room for.


----------



## Viva

I want another baby betta...I might go get one this Thursday and get the stuff I need to divide my 5.5 gallon tank.


----------



## Mandy Pandy

Here's an update on my baby! It's doing great! Stripes are pretty much gone and there's some red and blue coming out. The blue is very shimmery <3 I really hope this little fishy is a girl!


----------



## Skyewillow

Mandy Pandy said:


> Here's an update on my baby! It's doing great! Stripes are pretty much gone and there's some red and blue coming out. The blue is very shimmery <3 I really hope this little fishy is a girl!


She definitely has the figure to be a girl.


----------



## Kuro

not from Petco but i got what i now think is a baby/juvie male possible veil tail from walmart yesterday, was in a cup labeled female but he has a very long anal fin..its to long and drapey to be a female and he has lots of color on all his fins. he doesn't have a lot of color on his body but his baby bars have dissappeared for the most part so he should get more color soon.


of 4 in the female section he was the only one alive and when i got him home i tested the water in his cup and it tested 4-5 ppm of ammonia! poor little guy...but i floated him awhile in his new 1g tank(he'll get atleast a 2.5g when get some more size to him) and the slowly added new water till the water amount was doubled the netted him and released him into his new tank and topped the tank off.


he's so little...barely longer then a quarter but i'll feed him well and get him to grow up into a big male like my other 2.


----------



## Shannonb26

Hi all! New here, and have had my baby for a week or so. Pretty sure she is a female because of body shape, and stripes. We recently had a power outage over Christmas and heat was out for two and a half days...so scared she wouldn't make it, but I kept her close to the infrared heater, and she some how survived. Promised myself if she did, she was getting a nicer set up. Going tomorrow to get her a 2.5 gallon tank with a heater, filter, and light. Have named her Sgt. Pepper, so Pepper, for short. Was also wondering if it would be ok to put a few neon tetra in with her??

Also, very annoyed with our Petco! Last time I was there, all their baby Bettas were dead, except for three. I'd love to rescue the unfortunate things, but at the moment, caring for Sgt. Pepper, is my main concern.


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Phaydra wrote this really nice thread about Neons, I suggest reading that - http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=124409

Good job on getting your baby a bigger tank! I bet she'll love it


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## Shannonb26

Forgot to mention, her fins are a pretty aqua and red when light shines on them, and she has a bit of aqua on her body. She's really friendly too! She responds to my voice and swims facing me. She was curious of me from the first day I brought her home. Surprised to find one so friendly, at a young age.


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## Shannonb26

carbonxxkidd said:


> Phaydra wrote this really nice thread about Neons, I suggest reading that - http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=124409
> 
> Good job on getting your baby a bigger tank! I bet she'll love it


Read the thread you suggested....thank you! I think the safest thing for Sgt. Pepper is having the tank to herself.


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## fishprincess

*My New Baby*

Hello everyone!
I just recently purchased an adorable little baby from Petco about a week ago. I was very excited to find a little double tail in the store! The other babies all seemed to be veil tails. It is currently in a 3 gallon tank with a heater, filter, and a little marimo ball.
So far my little one is doing very well. It has a very healthy appetite, is very active, and looks to be in overall good health for it's tiny size.
My baby is only about the the length of the width of a penny (including its tail). It's body is transparent, and has no color except for the faintest hint of red on its head and gills. Its fins are mainly transparent as well, but there is also a tinge or red on the inner part of its fins, which is incredibly hard to see without the flash of a camera.
I had a few questions to ask everyone here who knows more about these little babies than I do!

Question 1: Is the red around its gill area a cause for concern? I was a little worried that maybe it had something to do with being exposed to too much ammonia. And if it is a problem, what can I do to fix it?

Question 2: I know it's a long shot since its still so tiny, but any guesses on age/gender? It's so tiny, and barely showing any color at all that I have no idea how old it is, let alone its gender!

I have attached two crummy cell phone photos of my little baby, I hope they are good enough! The first photo is without flash, the second photo is with flash.


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## BaboBetta

Hi Everyone. Im usually a lurker on here. But anywho..I wanted to ask a few questions and see if anyone can help me out. Acouple of days ago before I went to pick up my kids from school I stopped by Petco to kill some time. And I was shocked to see they are selling baby bettas this young. I saw a few that were dying..some were laying at the bottom of the cup. I walked out of the store still shock, upset and sad all at the same time. But turned my butt around and decided maybe i could help the poor lil guys out. So I ended up buying two that were just laying on the bottom of the cups. (I do have the tanks and food (brine shrimp eggs that i could hatch) to feed them). So..here's my thing. I decided to put them in a 1 gal tank that's been divided for now. I was thinking maybe i could put them in a ten gallon tank (divided of course) but how much water should i put? Half way? full? As you can see they are pretty tiny. I don't want them to exhaust themselves trying to get air. I do have a heater. Their water are usually around 78-80. They are alot more livelier then when i first saw them. One other problem is that i notice that the red one has alil white spot on her/his fin. What can i do to treat it if it's ick? It's just one speck of white on her/his fin. Thats it. She/he is eating and swimming all over the place. And seem happy. any thoughts or advice is appreciated. thanks in advance.


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## carbonxxkidd

Aww, they are so cute! They definitely look happy in their little tank. If they don't have any trouble swimming I would think putting them in the 10 gallon would be fine...my baby is in a 29g sorority tank with 9 adult females and is doing great! My baby betta also had one random white spot on it's fin when I brought it home too and I just kept an eye on it and it ended up going away on its own. If more spots appear then it's probably ick but I wouldn't treat until then.


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## BaboBetta

you think i should fill the water all the way up for the 10 gal?


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## carbonxxkidd

If they are swimming around well enough, I would. From reading this thread and others on here baby bettas need a lot of space and a lot of water changes otherwise their growth can get stunted.


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## BaboBetta

oooh okay. Thanks for the advice Carbonxxkidd


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## BaboBetta

Here is what the white spot looks like. Sorry the pic isn't as clear as i would like it to be. I took the pic with my phone. something i should worry about or no?


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## Viva

Awww a little white baby! How cute! The small white spot looks like it could be a fungal growth, is it "fuzzy" looking? If there are a lot of small white dots that aren't fuzzy looking its probably Ich. Both are easily treatable. Sometimes the fungus will just go away on its own if the fish is healthy, but I dipped my Corydora in some Methylene Blue and within 2 days it was gone.

Today I woke up and couldn't find my baby betta...I freaked out! I checked EVERYWHERE and thought maybe she had jumped out. Luckily she was just hiding behind the driftwood but she was sooooo pale that she was blending into the white sand at the bottom. I don't know whats making her stress so much but I did a 50% water change right away and dropped a few drops extra of Prime. Within 5 minutes she had gained back some of her color but was scared of me when I went up to the tank and would dart around. Usually she happily swims over and greets me. I did get her to eat couple pellets but she ate them very fast and then darted back down to the bottom of the tank again  Stupid me didn't test the water params because I was in too much of a hurry and didn't even think of it, I should do that now. I hope my bb are ok and that it is not something to do with my "cycle" but it could very well be since the tank has only been up since the end of November and a couple mornings ago I woke up to find the filter was unplugged....so I'm not sure how long it was off for...damn cats


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## BaboBetta

Thanks Viva. I have them in a divided tank. Should i separate them? is it contagious? oh and it does look alil fuzzy. Its hard to tell cause it's so small


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## Viva

Ich is highly contagious and fungus lives in basically all aquarium water. The fish only gets a growth if its immune system isn't up to par or it is injured (my Cory took a bite from my betta right where it's fin meets the body). I did not quarantine my Cory from the other 3 and my betta, but only because I didn't have another tank large enough to quarantine it in. I would separate yours just to safe.


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## BaboBetta

thanks for all your help viva. Im glad your betta is okay. I always check up on my bettas too and panick when i can't find them. Because before i lost my two precious bettas to a freakin lizard. I was so mad i had to hunt it down.


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## Viva

Omg a lizard!? Wow that is crazy...sorry to hear that. Glad there's no lizards up here in Massachusetts lol.


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## BaboBetta

yeah my husband caught the culprit. We had just got home from grocery shopping and he moved this board out of the way that was covering our vent for our dryer machine and it ran out. Made all of us ran like headless chickens lol. Of course out of natural instinct...my husband stomped on it. Here's a pic of the lizard.


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## aemaki09

Just wanted to show off my little baby.
Estimate him/her to be about 9 weeks and already blowing a bubble nest.
A blue marbled..not sure of tail type, the fins don't have as much of a slope as my other VT girls...


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## fishprincess

Just wanted to know if anyone had any answers to my previous questions? The red on the gills is still a little concerning to me. I just can't tell if it's just a part of my fishy's coloring or if it is indicative of a problem. Also, any guesses on age/gender are still welcome! 


fishprincess said:


> Hello everyone!
> I just recently purchased an adorable little baby from Petco about a week ago. I was very excited to find a little double tail in the store! The other babies all seemed to be veil tails. It is currently in a 3 gallon tank with a heater, filter, and a little marimo ball.
> So far my little one is doing very well. It has a very healthy appetite, is very active, and looks to be in overall good health for it's tiny size.
> My baby is only about the the length of the width of a penny (including its tail). It's body is transparent, and has no color except for the faintest hint of red on its head and gills. Its fins are mainly transparent as well, but there is also a tinge or red on the inner part of its fins, which is incredibly hard to see without the flash of a camera.
> I had a few questions to ask everyone here who knows more about these little babies than I do!
> 
> Question 1: Is the red around its gill area a cause for concern? I was a little worried that maybe it had something to do with being exposed to too much ammonia. And if it is a problem, what can I do to fix it?
> 
> Question 2: I know it's a long shot since its still so tiny, but any guesses on age/gender? It's so tiny, and barely showing any color at all that I have no idea how old it is, let alone its gender!
> 
> I have attached two crummy cell phone photos of my little baby, I hope they are good enough! The first photo is without flash, the second photo is with flash.


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## BaboBetta

Hi FishPrincess,
Your lil one looks kinda like mines. Except yours is a double tail of course. Here's a link i found that might be able to help you have an idea on how old your betta is.

http://www.bettatalk.com/fry_growth.htm


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## LadyVictorian

So I may be getting a few babies today after therapy, stopping at petco to see if my baby I like is still alive. T.T


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## Viva

That lizard is scary! It looks really big too lol.

Did you get your new baby betta that you wanted Lady?

I picked up a new 10 gallon aquarium today at Petco since I have a spare hood, heater, filter and substrate  Got the plastic mesh to make 4 dividers with, 3 for the new 10 gallon and 1 for the 5.5 gallon, though I still need to get the report binder things to make a DIY divider. I also got a new baby betta, it was the only one there and its sooooo much smaller than Prize was when I got her last month (Prize is getting HUGE now! Still has to develop some color on her body though). Here are some pics of the new baby, s/hes literally less than the length of a quarter. I'm glad I took her home and not someone else since I have a nice microworm batch that I got from titolatino1970 on this forum that's been growing for 2 weeks now...the baby absolutely loves them!


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## Kuro

my little Iroh is doing nicely now...his pelvic fins just colored up the other day and he's got a sheen of purple down his back and all his fins have grown alot since i got him. he apparently enjoys his clean temp 1g tank instead of the cup of death(water tested 4-5ppm ammonia) walmart had him in....cant wait for him to grow some more so he can move into a bigger tank


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## BaboBetta

Viva, that lizard was big and scary. As you can see how it got to my betta...that thing got some long claws. Your little new addition/betta is adorable. 

Kuro, how big is your betta? 

Does anyone on here know when we can tell the tail type or gender? Like how old the betta has to be for us to tell if it's a female or male? Half moon? Crown Tail? Delta? etc..


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## Kuro

Iroh is about 1.5" or so all together fins included.


i'm not sure he's a VT as his tail isn't long and flowy like my Cain's is but that could be from him being a baby or he could very well be a different tail type as well...will just have to let him grow up some more to be sure on what tail type he is.


he has a long drapey anal fin much to long for a female and its gotten longer in the almost week i've had him which is why i say male...plus he has no egg spot and has a male body shape.


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## jessp118

Here are some pictures of my little baby moved to the divided tank


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## BaboBetta

jessp118 said:


> Here are some pictures of my little baby moved to the divided tank


awww..he/she's gorgeous


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## jenjen182

He/she is very beautiful. I have seen baby bettas at my Petco, but I just can't buy them. Although they are cute, I just can't find it in my heart to buy them; I can only buy the adults. Fortunately, my Petco takes really good care of the bettas. The water is always clean and they are always well fed. I have known it for 6 years and never once have I seen a dead or sick betta.


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## carbonxxkidd

Baby's losing stripes! I finally got some pics of what I believe to be a her with no stripes. She still has them occasionally.


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## Viva

Awwww shes so cute!!!


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## NapoleonUWS

I was in my local PetCo (NYC)on Saturday and they had a huge set-up of Bettas - all sizes and colors.

Sure enough there was a section of baby bettas (about 15 of them), some so small that you had to look hard to see them in the container.
I couldn't believe that they sold bettas so young?!


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## laur3namb3r

*my baby is growing!*

My little guy is getting bigger! But I think he has a deformity on his dorsal fin...it's always curling to one side. He's still adorable though! :-D


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## Viva

NapoleonUWS said:


> I was in my local PetCo (NYC)on Saturday and they had a huge set-up of Bettas - all sizes and colors.
> 
> Sure enough there was a section of baby bettas (about 15 of them), some so small that you had to look hard to see them in the container.
> I couldn't believe that they sold bettas so young?!


Yeah some are reeealllyyy small. My second baby betta I got 3 days ago was less than an inch in length...so judging by one of the charts I read online that puts the baby at about 5 weeks old. She was eating microworms only for the first couple days but last night I finally got her to eat some frozen brine shrimp and a frozen blood worm this morning! I couldn't believe it would even fit in her mouth, lol.


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## Luxavior

Do you guys think a baby would be fine in a 5g tank?

I've had Darling for almost 4 weeks now and it looks like its fins may actually be growing.
Its been in a heated 1g tank since I've had it and have performed 50% water changes every other day to every 2 days (mostly every other day) but the poor baby looks rather bored in this tank unless I'm wiggling my fingers at it.

I have a 5g set aside for it, but I'm afraid that its tiny size in a 5g would overwhelm it and stress it out.


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## graciecny

I got sucked into the Petco baby betta vortex two days ago and have spent the last two days trying to figure out how to keep this little fish going. Thanks to all who have posted info in this thread! It was really helpful, and I actually ended up reading the entire thing (thank goodness for that computer at work - LOL!).

My baby is still in his cup that he came in, but I'm planning on changing the water each evening (should it be 100% change?). I know keeping him in that tiny cup isn't good, but I need to get him a tank and I haven't been able to do so yet. If you were going out and buying a tank for one fish, what would you suggest (feel free to go wild with "dream setups" but please keep in mind my budget may not allow for that!)? I was considering the "all in one" desktop kits, but my past experience with that kind of stuff makes me worry it would be best to buy individual items of higher quality instead of the kit.

Also, for food - are the betta pellets or flakes necessary, or can he get by on thawed brine shrimp and bloodworms for now? I bought the smallest betta pellets I could find (API brand) and I think he/she ate a couple of them, but mostly he/she sucks them in and spits them back out. A few of the brine shrimp bits and a teensy piece of bloodworm did get eaten, at least.

Thank you for any advice - this is my first betta, but I've always wanted one. If this little thing makes it, it'll be a lot of fun to see him/her grow!


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## Viva

Luxavior said:


> Do you guys think a baby would be fine in a 5g tank?


My baby was fine in a 5g tank right when I brought her home. Just make sure if theres a filter in the tank that theres a pre-filter sponge on the intake so the baby doesnt get sucked into the filter. Also the water current should be very minimal so the baby has no difficulty swimming.



graciecny said:


> I got sucked into the Petco baby betta vortex two days ago and have spent the last two days trying to figure out how to keep this little fish going. Thanks to all who have posted info in this thread! It was really helpful, and I actually ended up reading the entire thing (thank goodness for that computer at work - LOL!).
> 
> My baby is still in his cup that he came in, but I'm planning on changing the water each evening (should it be 100% change?). I know keeping him in that tiny cup isn't good, but I need to get him a tank and I haven't been able to do so yet. If you were going out and buying a tank for one fish, what would you suggest (feel free to go wild with "dream setups" but please keep in mind my budget may not allow for that!)? I was considering the "all in one" desktop kits, but my past experience with that kind of stuff makes me worry it would be best to buy individual items of higher quality instead of the kit.
> 
> Also, for food - are the betta pellets or flakes necessary, or can he get by on thawed brine shrimp and bloodworms for now? I bought the smallest betta pellets I could find (API brand) and I think he/she ate a couple of them, but mostly he/she sucks them in and spits them back out. A few of the brine shrimp bits and a teensy piece of bloodworm did get eaten, at least.
> 
> Thank you for any advice - this is my first betta, but I've always wanted one. If this little thing makes it, it'll be a lot of fun to see him/her grow!


Keeping a baby in a cup is not ideal mostly because you cannot heat a small cup of water easily to the ideal temp of 82-84 F for a baby. Also water changes should be 100% daily but acclimating the baby every day to new water could get annoying. Usually buying the kits is cheaper for tanks 10 gallons and under (unless you already have pieces of the setup). Kits cost around $30 and range in size from 2gal to 10gal. A tank under 5 gallons is more work in the long-run because it will need two water changes weekly of at least 50%. A tank 5 gallons or more can hold a stable cycle with a filter and once it is established will require only one water change per week of 30-50%. At first my baby didn't eat any pellets and would only eat frozen bloodworms/brine shrimp but eventually she started eating pellets through the pipette I was feeding her with. I think she just assumed anything that came out of the pipette was delicious food because thats how I fed her the frozen foods.


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## graciecny

Viva said:


> Keeping a baby in a cup is not ideal mostly because you cannot heat a small cup of water easily to the ideal temp of 82-84 F for a baby. Also water changes should be 100% daily but acclimating the baby every day to new water could get annoying. Usually buying the kits is cheaper for tanks 10 gallons and under (unless you already have pieces of the setup). Kits cost around $30 and range in size from 2gal to 10gal. A tank under 5 gallons is more work in the long-run because it will need two water changes weekly of at least 50%. A tank 5 gallons or more can hold a stable cycle with a filter and once it is established will require only one water change per week of 30-50%. At first my baby didn't eat any pellets and would only eat frozen bloodworms/brine shrimp but eventually she started eating pellets through the pipette I was feeding her with. I think she just assumed anything that came out of the pipette was delicious food because thats how I fed her the frozen foods.


Thank you for your response! I should have mentioned that I currrently have the baby betta cup floating in my community tank - the water is only in the high 70's, but it is the best I can do at the moment. By floating a second cup of clean water in the tank, I can at least make sure the new and old water are both at the same temp.

I really want to get him/her a tank with a filter, and one large enough to cycle. I think I can cut the cycling time (please tell me if I'm wrong) by using some of the media from the community tank, so the little fella won't have to deal with the ammonia/ammonium and nitrite spikes, or a long wait while I do a fish-less cycle on the tank. Are the Fluval kits decent? I've looked at those, and I've also seen an Eheim that looked gorgeous, but it was $$$$$! I think it was the Aquastyle, maybe a 6 gallon. I know I need a heater, so I also need to know how to size that, and are there any brands in particular that are small and adjustable as far as temp? Our household temp runs from the low 60's to 70-ish at the highest, so I'm going to need a workhorse of a heater (the one in the community tank is a bit oversized for that reason too).

I'm having my hubby bring home some pipets from work today or tomorrow so I can start using them to feed with. Right now, I'm using a toothpick (blunt one) to scoop up a small brine shrimp and feeding them one by one. Yeah, I'm pretty much an idiot. :roll: Still, it seemed better than flooding the tank with more than he could eat. Earlier I dropped a couple in and went back a bit later and siphoned off what was left over with a straw so it wouldn't foul the water. This guy is *way* more work than his "free" tankmates.

Speaking of which, I've debated just letting him out into the big tank (it is a fairly heavily planted tank with driftwood and rocks - lots and lots of hidey-holes, but I have a couple juvenile (nickel to quarter size bodies) Angelfish that are a leeetle too interested in him for my comfort. The other fish are some amande tetra (6), robin gourami (3) and a chinese algae eater. Am I right to think he'd have trouble let loose to compete with all those guys, both for food and territory? 

Again, thanks for your advice. It is much appreciated!


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## prscarlet

I got a baby betta from petco about two weeks ago and was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me what kind of betta it is. I attached a pic of him/her.


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## carbonxxkidd

Looks like a baby double tail. I want one! I still haven't seen any double tail babies around here


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## Mashiro

Once month and Small Fry is going strong! I'm still unsure of the gender, but s/he's growing and eating like a little pig!

A few days ago...









And today right after feeding... ugh.. I can't figure out how to get him/her to overeat so much shrimp. It falls through the slats when I feed Leafy, the other betta and they go nuts!


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## graciecny

Mashiro, the color on your baby is gorgeous! I'm really enjoying the images people are posting. I can't see mine coloring up to be anything crazy, but she's cute all and the same. I have to admit to going back and pondering some of the other babies, but I can't do more than one other and I'd REALLY like a male, so it's probably better not to roll the dice.

FWIW, how many of your babies have ended up being boys versus girls? Straw poll anyone?

My little one is now in a breeder floating in my community tank. I've added some small floating plants and one little plant anchored to a tiny pebble to give her some cover (my angels are always giving her the "I'd really like to eat you" look). I added a photo to my avatar - she's not nearly as colorful as the ones I've seen here.


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## Mandy Pandy

My baby that is totally as big and in some cases bigger than the girls I just bought to join her.


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## eemmais

I went to petco and I saw SUPER tiny fry. Like, half of a penny. It was so sad....


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## Singinghobbit

My girl Capote was bought in mid December. I'm new to fish, so didn't realize that buying a fry was not always a good thing. She started to gt some reds and blues earlier this month. Once I realized that she should be in a heated tank, her color became more vibrant, as did her activity, though she seems to prefer to stay under the cover of her plant. 

I chose to go with a fry because the adults didn't appear all that healthy to me. Ragged fins, poor color, low activity. She's been a fun roommate!


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## tilli94

Well I found an amazing petco about an hour from my house yesterday (by amazing I mean the amount of supplies they have versus the care level) and stopped in on the way home from taking my sister back to school. I wasn't intending to get more than a bag of gravel and ended up with a bag of gravel, box of dog treats, a male double tail betta (couldn't leave without him), and three baby bettas. Right now they're in my 36 gallon bow front with my female hiding under the driftwood. I can't believe how tiny they are. They can't be more than half an inch long.


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## laur3namb3r

Singinghobbit, our babys look identical! So cute! When I went to get Copernicus, I couldn't believe how small they sold them. Luckily, there were only about 5-6 there at the time...although I'm sure they get them in frequently. I saw a family buying their MAYBE 4 yr old a baby betta! Poor thing...I hope s/he is doing ok.

Sidenote: when is it ok to stop doing feedings 3x a day? I've had Copernicus for a month now, and he's about an inch and a half. I'm still doing water changes every 2-3 days, too.


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## Viva

Prize, my baby I got 5 weeks ago, is growing up quick! I hope she gets more color to her in the future, but for now watch her and Cinder flirt together in this video. Notice she starts with horizontal stress stripes and within a minute Cinder has given her (what I believe to be) vertical breeding stripes! They grow up too fast


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## nattiejeanne

*Got my first Betta!*

I was at Petco yesterday and I saw the baby Bettas and they looked so tiny and unhealthy. I have no experience with Bettas but I really felt like I needed to take one home and give it a good chance. I bought one of the tiny Betta tanks they have on display near them. As soon as I got home and did some research I realized this was not going to work. So I went to PetSmart and got a 2.5 gallon tank, and a heater, as well as some frozen brine shrimp. Today I went back and got a better heater and a filter. Oh, and I also got some plants. I have to say the little guy seems to be doing great. I also started a blog because I've been having a hard time finding info, so I'm hoping my experience can help someone else. Plus I think it will be cool to go back and loot at pictures as he or she gets bigger. Any advice is welcome. Please check out my blog (link below) to see what I've been doing and let me know any tips/advice. 

Here is a picture. He is sooooo tiny. 









http://nataliesbabybetta.blogspot.com/2013/02/damn-you-petco.html


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## babybetta

I got one about a week ago feeding on baby brine shrimp and finely crushed flake. pretty active and happy. I think it may be male and very young as its around dime sized. Want to breed someday (probably not him/her) just dont have the funds yet so I'm seeing if I can raise up this little guy. sorry for quality :-( Its jar is a bit over a gallon in size.


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## oneliltiger

*Baby Beta School*

So I am new at this, but I just had to join in on the chat about these fish. i want people to learn from my beginner adventures with baby betta.

I've never had a fish before, despite how much I love them. I'm talking serious too I don't even eat fish because they are too pretty. Also having a fish is cheaper than adding an extra 300 on my bill to keep a dog. Yikes.

So I went to petco for a betta, and I thought it would be fairly simple to keep one due to the common misconception about them needing just food and a bowl.

I got a 1.5 liter tank because I feel for a feisty little betta baby at petco, who I named Poseidon.

I took it home and it did wonderfully for the first night, very active, until the late part of the night. I live alone so my watch on him has been extremely close. He seemed sluggish, and hovered to the top of the bowl. I got online and researched, I learned that bettas don't like currents, but it is helpful for them to have a air pump for oxygen circulation even though it is not necessary. And they need a heater for temps 78-80. 82 for a baby. My apartment was freezing, so in the early morning I got a mini heater and a battery airpump. The baby flourished with the additions and seemed to enjoy the air stream (after I had slit a hole in the tubing to make the flow baby friendly). I even got a plant because I'd read live plants cycle the ammonia.

I was starting to learn more about cycling by this point and was worried about my tank size. (partially due to the heater being too strong that I monitored it constantly, and partially for the tank cycling) I couldn't even sleep because I worried so much. I didn't want my new fish to die of my ignorance. I had already done a 100 percent change on day one and day two. But the third morning I noticed slight reddening of my fishes gills, and poor baby started to gasp a little now and again. (By now I researched diseases to guess it had to be water quality, most likely ammonia)

I set out again (my third visit to the store) and got a testing kit. The levels were fine except for the ammonia as expected. I panicked and packed away Poseidon and his plant into an open sandwich baggie, I got everything I had purchased, the tiny tank, pump and an overhead LED light, and my receipts and charged back to the store for a fourth time.

I argued with the lady about misinformation I had gotten from the Friday I bought the fish, and got the store to fully refund those prices towards a new tank. I kept the heater which I knew worked for a 2-5 gallon, and set about getting that size 2 gallon tank with an air pumped and lights. I found a good filter on sale and added that even though the lady at the store said I didn't need one. I was beyond frustrated for my fish and the misinformation at the store.

I rushed back home with my supplies (including cleaner and new gravel since the first tank came with it and I gave it back) and set about setting up my tank as fast as possible. It took awhile with the filter and air pump and lights which needed to be set, but I started with a good few liters and turned on the heater. Poseidon was still in the bag with his plant, poor dear was panicking wondering what the hell I did to his house.

I checked the water with my kit and made sure the water started fresh and healthy, and waited long for the temp to rise, and set my baby still in the sealed bag of old water into the water to acclimate temperatures. After 10 min I was super careful to completely rid all his old water to keep the new tank clean and plopped him in. He was really stressed at first, but he was gasping a lot less, and much more active at the right temp.

I'd finally done right by the poor dear. He's finally at the right parameters. His gills are gradually healing, and the redness in the gills is going away, along with his gasping. He even got some color today! His fins are turning a healthy red without blemish or unhealthy signs. He's been eating like a pig this whole time, but he's much better. I really want him to make it, so I've been a wreak trying to help him and I finally feel better after all this about my knowledge about what he needs.

So my recommendations for Petco betta Babies is as follows:

- 2 gallon tank

- Filter is a must to rid poop, even if you don't see the poop/fish is very small. My ammonia was bad despite 100 changes and I never gave the fish more food than it could eat. Also I covered the opening of my filter with cut up panty hose to protect my baby in case it got close, he is that small.

- Heater and thermometer. Must be a good 79-82 for babies

- Air pump (somewhat optional, but my baby doesn't need to stay at the top to breath so I recommend getting a built in in the tank (filters are $13, whereas pumps are at minimum a good $20, and that's battery powered)

- Hikari Baby Micro Pellets, actually came in the original tank I bought XD, they literally are the size of pepper (Blood worms live have been a risk from what I've read because the baby is so fragile, if it has any bacteria betta is at risk) 

- Live plant may be a good idea to help regulate ammonia provided it's not dying and is healthy.

- Tester kit, ph, ammonia, nitrate

- CONSTANT VIGILENCE, if I'd been slower about it my betta may not be here :C


----------



## Brey0255

I got my Charlie about two weeks ago from petco. At first she was puny and colorless, but she's growing well and starting to color up.


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## Viva

Glad your baby betta is doing well tiger! They grow up quick so takes lots of pictures. I took a picture almost every day for my first baby betta so I could see how she progressed (check my album on my profile if you want to take a look...it has a pic every few days because I didn't want to upload ALL of them).


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## graciecny

Unfortunately I lost my little gal last night. She was fine in the morning, but had a tiny bit of fuzz on her one pectoral fin (she had somehow bent that fin a few days back) and by last night when I fed them she was clamped and her dorsal fin even had a bit of fuzz on it. This morning she was gone. 

I am so bothered by the loss of that little fish. ~sigh~ I spent a while last night reading up on what might be wrong and was planning to go after work today to get some meds (I think it was fungal, but not sure), but I knew when she wouldn't eat last night something was very, very wrong.

That little fish would LEAP at the food! And to have her not eat...I just knew she'd be gone when I got up, and she was. I wonder if I should have put her down last night rather than let her suffer. :-( Anyways, just had to share. No more bettas for me, I think. Clearly I don't have a knack for them.

I'll keep an eye on the rest of the fish, but I wonder if it was an issue with the lowered flow through the breeder she was kept in...I read something about the fungal infections liking still water. Please keep your fingers crossed for the rest of the fish for me.

ETA: I forgot her picture was on here...just looking at that makes me teary-eyed.


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## Brey0255

and here is Charlie in her new tank! I decided she is big enough and moved her today. She did pretty well throughout the process... and I think she likes her new digs.


----------



## Viva

Sorry for your loss gracie  Fungus I think lives in almost every aquarium but usually the fish can fight back an infection as long as they have no injuries and a healthy immune system. Its possible your baby injured her fin, giving the fungus a vantage point. "Fungus spores are opportunistic and given the chance will invade most types of organic material, including living tissue. Fungus do not harm healthy aquarium fish because the mucus layer on the skin of a fish prevents the spores from infecting its living tissues." This happened to my Corydora catfish when my betta bit his pectoral. He developed a small white, fuzzy patch right where the bite was. I dipped him in a Methylene Blue solution for 8 - 10 seconds, and within 3 days the fungus was gone. Here's a nice article where I learned a lot about fungus in the aquarium.

I don't think you should give up on bettas...it is a learning experience and you did all you could at the time. Baby fish are just more delicate than adults and sometimes there's nothing you can do to save them. You will hopefully have learned from this experience and will be able to help the next fishy in need.


----------



## nattiejeanne

*Water Changes Question*

I'm wondering how often I should do water changes in my 2.5 gallon tank? I've read it's hard to cycle a tank that small. Should I do 100% changes or 50% changes? I have a filter, and of course (since I'm on this forum) I have a baby betta I got from Petco. I've read a few conflicting things on whether to do 100% changes, or 50% changes.... Please let me know!


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## jessp118

nattiejeanne said:


> I'm wondering how often I should do water changes in my 2.5 gallon tank? I've read it's hard to cycle a tank that small. Should I do 100% changes or 50% changes? I have a filter, and of course (since I'm on this forum) I have a baby betta I got from Petco. I've read a few conflicting things on whether to do 100% changes, or 50% changes.... Please let me know!


for 2.5g you should be doing both a 100% and a 50% while siphoning the gravel. You really dont need a filter in a tank that size since it is hard to cycle. Since it is a baby betta, you might want to do more changes since they are more sensitive to the ammonia levels.


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## Krys

I miss my baby Betta. He caught something and ended up passing away. I miss having a baby around the house... xD lmao.

Next time i got to petco, I'll pick one up. What i really like about the babies is that they're like a mystery Betta. A grab bag Betta. You don't know what you're getting and that's part of the fun. Also... they are cheaper. Which is nice for us budget betta-fans. And hey, it's a mystery Betta, you might get a really cool color/fin type at a huge discount.


----------



## Mandy Pandy

Krys said:


> I miss my baby Betta. He caught something and ended up passing away. I miss having a baby around the house... xD lmao.
> 
> Next time i got to petco, I'll pick one up. What i really like about the babies is that they're like a mystery Betta. A grab bag Betta. You don't know what you're getting and that's part of the fun. Also... they are cheaper. Which is nice for us budget betta-fans. And hey, it's a mystery Betta, you might get a really cool color/fin type at a huge discount.


Yeah, imagine getting an EE or a King baby. That would be a HUGE discount!


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## jessp118

here is my baby all grown up


----------



## graciecny

Viva said:


> Sorry for your loss gracie  Fungus I think lives in almost every aquarium but usually the fish can fight back an infection as long as they have no injuries and a healthy immune system. Its possible your baby injured her fin, giving the fungus a vantage point.


 The more I reflect on this (and watch the other fish in the tank thrive - they're doing great!) the more I think it was just her being stressed and that damage to her fin making her susceptible to the fungus.

My plan is to do it right this time - good-sized tank first, get it up and running, then go get another fish who will have a nice big home to live in. Whether I get another baby or an adult remains to be seen. Either way, having a betta living in one of those breeders, even temporarily, if out.

And Krys, I'm really sorry about your betta. Those little fish really work their way into your heart. They have personality!


----------



## babybetta

Mandy Pandy said:


> Yeah, imagine getting an EE or a King baby. That would be a HUGE discount!


I talked to the manager at mine said it should only be a vail tail, double tail, or crown tail. I picked mine out of a bunch that had double or what looked like the starts of crown tails. mine I hope is nither I tryed to pick a happy healthy vail tail over a week later and its doing well at least


----------



## Viva

Mandy Pandy said:


> Yeah, imagine getting an EE or a King baby. That would be a HUGE discount!


The breeders know what to expect from spawns so they probably wouldn't take babies from a King or EE spawn knowing the chances of making a better profit. It would be really awesome though! Also I think most are females because you can usually sell males for more and they are easier to identify them as male when they're that age. They usually will have longer fins and more color even at 5 weeks old. And when they are of the same spawn females and males are easier to identify because they're swimming amongst each other and you can compare. I'm kinda of just guessing but it sounds about right...they'll always go for the most money.



graciecny said:


> The more I reflect on this (and watch the other fish in the tank thrive - they're doing great!) the more I think it was just her being stressed and that damage to her fin making her susceptible to the fungus.
> 
> My plan is to do it right this time - good-sized tank first, get it up and running, then go get another fish who will have a nice big home to live in. Whether I get another baby or an adult remains to be seen. Either way, having a betta living in one of those breeders, even temporarily, if out.
> 
> And Krys, I'm really sorry about your betta. Those little fish really work their way into your heart. They have personality!


Glad you're getting another betta! Get a cute one!


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## aemaki09

I can't hold off the urge anymore! I'm going to be near a petco tomorrow an will probably end up buying another baby betta, if there are any that aren't VT and any that look male. I'm so excited!


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## Krys

Female or male, any tail type, they're lovely. I don't care what it looks like, they're all cute.


btw, has anyone noticed if their females seems to have more personality than the males? Every female i've ever had has always seemed to have more personality to them. And they seem smarter. My males usually pay no mind to me unless i go to feed them. but my females have always watched me or played with me by either chasing my finger against the side of the tank, or even playing with ping pong balls on the surface.

Rin always flares at me too when i put my finger on the glass and chases it, and constantly watches me when i'm at my desk. (Her tank is on my desk)


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## Krys

Mandy Pandy said:


> Yeah, imagine getting an EE or a King baby. That would be a HUGE discount!


It would be, but i doubt breeders would let those go at such a price.


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## aemaki09

Krys said:


> Female or male, any tail type, they're lovely. I don't care what it looks like, they're all cute.
> 
> 
> btw, has anyone noticed if their females seems to have more personality than the males? Every female i've ever had has always seemed to have more personality to them. And they seem smarter. My males usually pay no mind to me unless i go to feed them. but my females have always watched me or played with me by either chasing my finger against the side of the tank, or even playing with ping pong balls on the surface.
> 
> Rin always flares at me too when i put my finger on the glass and chases it, and constantly watches me when i'm at my desk. (Her tank is on my desk)


That's the complete opposite with me.y girls only pay attention to me when I eat, the boys are always trying to get me to pay attention to me


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## bettalover2000

My Princess Kate passed, I want to prepare & get a Baby perhaps.
I would feed it Frozen daphnia & crushed pellets & flakes, I may get blood worms in the future. I want to get one not only cause it'd be fun to see what it turns out to be, but also to prepare me for breeding bettas in the future.


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## Viva

Here is Spark (the red baby), and Prize, the all-growed-up blue baby in their divided 5.5 gallon. Both are female VT's I think. Just wanted a pic of their size comparison.


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## Krys

Yep, both are veiltail females. :3 Congrats.


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## nattiejeanne

I went back to PetCo today looking for a cave for my little baby betta, and I found yet again, at least 25% of the baby bettas on the shelf were dead.  I'm glad I got my little one, but it's horrifying they are keeping them in these awful conditions. I called the manager and complained and was told they are fed and their water changed only ONCE A WEEK! I feed my little guy 3 times a day! I'm so frustrated...


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## Krys

I think a petition is called for. Has anyone ever tried to make one?


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## carbonxxkidd

Viva your baby Spark looks just like mine! So cute.


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## nattiejeanne

New blog post on how my little one is doing!!! 

http://nataliesbabybetta.blogspot.com/


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## ao

Kuro ended up being a rather uncommon petco baby. he seems to have some ee genes in him too...


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## registereduser

I haven't kept up with this thread so maybe this was covered:

Has anyone done this? Since most babies are females, I was thinking of making a "baby sorority". Of course I would remove any males as soon as they started looking like males. The plan is to buy 6-8 baby bettas and put them in a 15 gallon. No other fish, just a snail, sponge over filter intake. What do you think?


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## aemaki09

registereduser said:


> I haven't kept up with this thread so maybe this was covered:
> 
> Has anyone done this? Since most babies are females, I was thinking of making a "baby sorority". Of course I would remove any males as soon as they started looking like males. The plan is to buy 6-8 baby bettas and put them in a 15 gallon. No other fish, just a snail, sponge over filter intake. What do you think?


I've actually really been thinking about doing this too!! Haven't yet, but have really wanted to


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## carbonxxkidd

I think you should try it! I have been really wanting to buy another baby to put in my sorority since the first one I (accidently) added has been doing so well (plus it ended up being a female so win win). If I see a double tail I'm going to buy it and cross my fingers it's a female.


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## Viva

I'd try it if I had a big enough tank for a sorority...it might make them less aggressive towards one another in the future too.


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## Megara

Marvel170 said:


> So I just bought a white and red male veil tail from my local petsmart this afternoon,he wasn't very active untill I picked him up then he wouldn't stop swimming around his cup..but he's pretty layed back too..but since i've gotten him home and into his tank he hasn't moved much and has his fins pullled into his body...now he's been in there for a few hours he's moving around more but still not very active.. so my question is, is he just getting use to the place, or does it sound like something is wrong with him?


He could be cold!!!..make sure ur tank is up to temp!


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## Fishy Mom

I don't know how to post multiple photos from my iPad so I'll have to do baby pics one comment at a time. 

When I brought the poor little guy home. He was see through & so tiny it scared me.


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## Fishy Mom

Here he is one week later. The little bit of color only showed with the camera flash.


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## Fishy Mom

Here he is today!


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## Viva

He/she is looking great, nice improvement. Looks like they have a tinge of green coming in!


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## Fishy Mom

Viva, I'm very excited about the color. It just started show under the regular light today & I finally can't see any of his internal organs at all. He was in bad shape when I got him & the other babies there were dead.  

So far there's no egg spot & here he is trying to flare at my camera...so I'm guessing a boy right now or a very feisty female.


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## Viva

Nice! I wish I had gotten a male so I could see his lovely fins grow. Its sad to see the dead baby bettas  I've only seen one at Petco once, but I know that most of them don't make it.


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## Brey0255

Fishy Mom said:


> Viva, I'm very excited about the color. It just started show under the regular light today & I finally can't see any of his internal organs at all. He was in bad shape when I got him & the other babies there were dead.
> 
> So far there's no egg spot & here he is trying to flare at my camera...so I'm guessing a boy right now or a very feisty female.


When I picked up my Charlie she was just that size and color! She's been home about a month now and just finally started to grow and color a bit!(jeez she must have been 2 weeks when i got her) I'll have to get a new pic on here but it has become pretty clear that Charlie is a girl, of very feisty little girl! Good luck with the baby! I love to watch the progress, so please post updates!


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## Brey0255

My profile picture is Charlie the day she came home from petco. and this is our Charlie Girl today, about 3 weeks later. not quite a month at home yet.


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## Fishy Mom

Brey, Charlie is beautiful. I have a soft spot for blue bettas since the first betta I fell in love with when I was ten years old was blue. I want one just like her when I start my sorority in the summer.

Today I woke up to a color changing baby. I fed him & realized his baby stripes were gone. His body was changing from a coppery, yellow color back to brown baby stripes & his fins were changing colors from red to blue to green right in front of my eyes. It was so fun to watch I sat for 30 minutes just staring. I thought I caught a glimpse of an egg spot, but when I got a good look at his belly it was still more of a dark spot, lol.

Well it looks like I will be running to the store to pick up a bigger home for baby since he's starting to grow more. I'm going get a critter keeper & then after he's a little bigger he'll be going to my sisters in a five gallon. I'm going to miss him, but I promised my niece I would do this for her bday.


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## Crowntails

registereduser said:


> I haven't kept up with this thread so maybe this was covered:
> 
> Has anyone done this? Since most babies are females, I was thinking of making a "baby sorority". Of course I would remove any males as soon as they started looking like males. The plan is to buy 6-8 baby bettas and put them in a 15 gallon. No other fish, just a snail, sponge over filter intake. What do you think?


I've been thinking about this too, since as you stated, most little babies are coming out to be girls. Would be a cool project to try out someday ... hmm.


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## TheGabytron

I went into Petco looking for a bigger tank after I moved across the country and was only able to bring the 2.5 gal tank for transport and came out with a baby betta and a heater! The "aquatics expert" told me they were having a sale on tanks later on in the month so I held off and got this baby instead.

I think it's a she, and even though she had stress stripes, she looked the biggest and most alert of all the babies. It's been exactly a week since I got her and she seems to be doing well! She's in the .5 gal zen tank I saw someone else mention and will be moving on up when the tank sale comes around.









I feed her softened pellets but am going to go back for some fruit flies at Petco. Since the pellets have a tendency to disintegrate, I scoop them up with my nail and stick my finger in the tank. She already knows that a finger in the water means food and has no problem eating off my finger.

I have a question, however. My male betta, who is growing old and sick, is eating pellets soaked in garlic for his immune system, and I have thought of giving her some of these, too, to help her fight disease. Good idea or no?


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## Skyewillow

I have to do a full series of pictures yet, but here's a couple of quick photos of my petco baby, Skerries
























^This is him today^


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## TheGabytron

So I was just changing The Baby's water when not two seconds after being in the clean water, she poops. Typical! hahaha


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## TheGabytron

Skyewillow said:


> I have to do a full series of pictures yet, but here's a couple of quick photos of my petco baby, Skerries


What a change! He looks gorgeous.


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## Brey0255

Skyewillow said:


> I have to do a full series of pictures yet, but here's a couple of quick photos of my petco baby, Skerries
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ^This is him today^


thats amazing! how long did the progression take?


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## Skyewillow

I purchased him Dec 18th (the first photo), and the bottom one was taken yesterday, the 12th.

So almost 2 months.
Here's the girl I bought with him. She was bloated and sick:
















Archipelago is the little girl in front with the pellet in her mouth. (this photo was taken Monday)


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## Fishy Mom

TheGabytron said:


> I went into Petco looking for a bigger tank after I moved across the country and was only able to bring the 2.5 gal tank for transport and came out with a baby betta and a heater! The "aquatics expert" told me they were having a sale on tanks later on in the month so I held off and got this baby instead.
> 
> I think it's a she, and even though she had stress stripes, she looked the biggest and most alert of all the babies. It's been exactly a week since I got her and she seems to be doing well! She's in the .5 gal zen tank I saw someone else mention and will be moving on up when the tank sale comes around.
> View attachment 76855
> 
> 
> 
> I feed her softened pellets but am going to go back for some fruit flies at Petco. Since the pellets have a tendency to disintegrate, I scoop them up with my nail and stick my finger in the tank. She already knows that a finger in the water means food and has no problem eating off my finger.
> 
> I have a question, however. My male betta, who is growing old and sick, is eating pellets soaked in garlic for his immune system, and I have thought of giving her some of these, too, to help her fight disease. Good idea or no?


I was wondering about the garlic too.


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## Luxavior

To celebrate 1 month of having my betta baby, I upgraded the cutie into a 5gallon tank~
Darling is definitely loving the space as opposed to a 1g with a silk plant crammed in it for shelter.

I'm still debating gender, but managed to catch a quick recording of it while it was flaring.
Opinions?
http://cinemagr.am/show/120756473


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## Fishy Mom

Luxavior said:


> To celebrate 1 month of having my betta baby, I upgraded the cutie into a 5gallon tank~
> Darling is definitely loving the space as opposed to a 1g with a silk plant crammed in it for shelter.
> 
> I'm still debating gender, but managed to catch a quick recording of it while it was flaring.
> Opinions?
> http://cinemagr.am/show/120756473


Boy maybe?


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## mosspearl

Our Petsmart has babies too. Oh, and by the way, I'm new here.  This is a wonderful site.  A very small male had caught my eye at our store over a month ago. He was still there every time we went in, and I finally got him yesterday. He is currently about 1.5 inches long, and has visibly grown since I first discovered him. The cup labeled him as a Half Moon. I'd be interested in hearing assessments from you... this is the first betta I've had in over 20 years. He's in my avatar.

I look forward to spending more time here. So glad I found this place. :-D


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## Hail0788

Here is my baby from pet co. I have had her for a week now.


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## Viva

Here's Spark being so cute in the floating Rotala:

[url=http://postimage.org/image/xf08m7r27/full/] [/URL]


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## ao

^ looks like ludwigia XD


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## lillyandquigly

my seven year old betta just died, so I've been planning what I am going to do now that i have no bettas. i think iwill probably get a baby betta! I am going to feed it live foods it's whole life, and keep it in an npt. The tank will probably have a few cories and some shrimp, and some snails, but then other then that just a betta


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## Viva

aokashi said:


> ^ looks like ludwigia XD


Oh yes, it is xD My head was just stuck on rotala I think because I was debating ordering some.


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## Viva

lillyandquigly said:


> my seven year old betta just died, so I've been planning what I am going to do now that i have no bettas. i think iwill probably get a baby betta! I am going to feed it live foods it's whole life, and keep it in an npt. The tank will probably have a few cories and some shrimp, and some snails, but then other then that just a betta


Wow 7 years old! That's crazy awesome! Sounds like an awesome tank


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## lillyandquigly

yeah, I'm hoping it'll be


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## Fishy Mom

Well, my baby turned out to be a girl & I got a surprise 10 gallon aquarium with all the accessories. So, it looks like I'm starting a baby sorority. I identified a few girls labeled baby that are the same size as my baby. I'm hoping to pick them up today. The 10 gallon tank is all planted, but I'm scrambling to get temp homes for all of them until I have everything prepped. I'm hitting up a few people that have extra fish equipment, lol. I'll let you know how it goes.


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## angus

I've had an empty tank since moving Angus for less than 24 hours now and I'm really itching to get to petco for a new betta! More specifically a baby betta. Have most of you had good luck with your baby bettas? I imagine they are much more fragile than the older ones?


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## missnikki

Mariah94 said:


> I fell for it. Or, well, my family did. I had mentioned wanting a fish and they came home with this little bitty thing in a bowl. I immediately thought fish abuse and did my research. Now, a week later I have a 5 gallon 8 sided type tank with a heater and filter. I still need to go out and get a thermometer and some good food. But I'm still really new at this and I have a lot of questions. This is also my first post to the thread.
> 
> My betta (when I learn how to post pics I will) is about half the size of my pinky, maybe a bit smaller. I haven't had the time to look too much into the sex and type, but I THINK it's a girl...then again, it's a young fish so I might not be able to tell yet. I can't tell an age...maybe you guys have a general idea given the approx. size?
> 
> If it is a girl, her name is Temperance. If not, it's Rick Castle -but that chat is for later.
> 
> I'm really concerned about the feeding. I have this zoo med betta food that grows when you put it in the water. My little fish can hardly hold it in her mouth and it takes her over three minutes to eat it. So far I've been feeding her 3 times every other day and doing it in cyces. One the night before, one in the morning, and one in the evening -because it takes her so long to eat it and honestly the food (once submerged) is larger than her eye- I really don't want her to bloat up. But she kind of gives me that look (I'm sure you all know it) like she's starving so today I gave her two pellets in her night feed. She looks like she wants more...decieving fish.
> 
> Still doing my research, but I saw this thread and decided since I got 1.99 fishy from petcoe I may as well post
> 
> After exams I hope to have everything for her (or him). I know I want to get better food, some blood worms, a thermometer, softer plants...possibly a larger heater (I think mine is for 1-3 gallon?) and a Castle that's softer on the fins. And any thing else she/he needs. Me and this fish have really bonded. Never thought I'd bond with a fish but she/he follows my finger and hangs out on the side of the tank by my bed all the time. She/he is the coolest little fish...
> 
> Thanks!


Please make sure to PRE-SOAK the food you feed your betta so it does not grow in their stomach and cause bloating.


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## Hail0788

My baby is getting so big. She has a red and blue hue body. She looks like a VT but I'm not really sure. I have a picture of her on page 55.


----------



## missnikki

Marvel170 said:


> So I just bought a white and red male veil tail from my local petsmart this afternoon,he wasn't very active untill I picked him up then he wouldn't stop swimming around his cup..but he's pretty layed back too..but since i've gotten him home and into his tank he hasn't moved much and has his fins pullled into his body...now he's been in there for a few hours he's moving around more but still not very active.. so my question is, is he just getting use to the place, or does it sound like something is wrong with him?



He may be stressed out from the trip home and adjusting to his new tank.

Did you feed him when you got him home? The first time I brought my betta home I overfed him unknowingly and he looked just like how you describe your fish. I did a quick water change because there was an ammonia spike due to food, and the water change helped. Also I didn't feed him for a day which also improved his condition. Betta stomachs are the size of their eye so overfeeding can be very bad. Three to five pellets PRE-SOAKED per day should be good enough. Should not eat at least one day a week. 

Hope your guy is okay!


----------



## missnikki

youlovegnats said:


> Well a filter doesn't exactly suck up all the waste...so either way you'll have to siphon out the bottom. For anything less than 5 gal. I don't really bother with filters (unless it's a tank kit- like my minibow). I just do 100% changes at the end of each month.
> So say if you were to get a 10 gal. and split it 3 ways (which would make water changes much easier on you, btw.). You would then need to cycle it (which can be a couple weeks) and then only be doing 50% changes once a week (with siphoning) instead of doing two 50%'s a week with the 2.5 gals.


Um, yeah, you DO need a filter. There are also ways to fix the filter so it is not too strong for the Betta. For example, I have cut a small piece of panty hose and fitted it over the out flow of mine, and it slows down the outflow. Filter and heater are essential to keeping a healthy and happy Betta. 

No matter what anyone tells you : Yes, your betta DOES need a filter. 

Would you like to live in your own poop and old moldy food? I don't think so.


----------



## Crowntails

I almost picked up a baby betta yesterday at Petco. It was a beauty, with some colors coming in already. Probably a veiltail female.


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## missnikki

Just a thought - the only way PetCo will STOP selling babies is if people STOP BUYING THEM.


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## angus

I decided against the baby bettas. I feel bad for them, but I'm afraid I don't have enough knowledge to help them. I did get a new betta today though.


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## missnikki

hannah16 said:


> You have a brilliant mind Choc!


I'm sorry but I don't see exploiting baby fish and giving Petco even MORE reason to exploit the fish themselves as being "brilliant". It's using an innocent little being to your own advantage.


----------



## jessp118

missnikki said:


> I'm sorry but I don't see exploiting baby fish and giving Petco even MORE reason to exploit the fish themselves as being "brilliant". It's using an innocent little being to your own advantage.


Do you realize that they will never stop selling the baby bettas. For each dead fish, they get some of their money back. They pay maybe 10 cents for the little fish. They don't care if you buy them or not. Petco clearly doesn't care when the bettas die in their cups. I've seen the same betta dead in its cup for weeks before they realize that the fish is dead. IMO it is better to save a fish from dieing in their own waste.


----------



## Fishy Mom

angus said:


> I decided against the baby bettas. I feel bad for them, but I'm afraid I don't have enough knowledge to help them. I did get a new betta today though.


Here's what I did. All the babies were dead when I was at the local Petco except one in poor condition. She was tiny with absolutely no color. You could see right through her. I took her home because I knew she would be dead within the next day. I had an extra gallon bowl with one of those small preset heaters that kept the water at 80 degrees. I bought a small silk plant they had next to the bettas & put that in there. To start I crushed up pellets, egg yolk, & used tank nibblers (the one with spirulina in it & used it before water changes because it's messy) for feedings & changed did a 100% water change every other day. She turned into a big, fat, healthy girl who is a piggy! She also super friendly & great sorority material.


----------



## Viva

Not buying the baby bettas is kinda like being a vegan because you "love" animals. The same amount of animals are going to be bred every year for slaughter anyways, and now you're cheating yourself out of nourishment and letting the dead animals rot away without being eaten.


----------



## missnikki

jessp118 said:


> Do you realize that they will never stop selling the baby bettas. For each dead fish, they get some of their money back. They pay maybe 10 cents for the little fish. They don't care if you buy them or not. Petco clearly doesn't care when the bettas die in their cups. I've seen the same betta dead in its cup for weeks before they realize that the fish is dead. IMO it is better to save a fish from dieing in their own waste.



I'm talking about the person who says they are going to buy a crap load of the bettas, raise them and sell them off.


----------



## KMC527

My husband and I wanted to surprise our daughter with a fish and we were both Betta owners when we were younger, so we decided to get one for our daughter too. We saw the babies and thought they'd be perfect for her to watch grow. We got our new family member, Cappy, yesterday and since then have done nothing but research how to care for him/her. We bought a .5 gallon tank, but now plan to upgrade when Cappy gets bigger. We've also gotten a tank heater, and better food. I've also read that baby bettas like cooked egg yolk mashed with water, so I tried that too (treated the water first). Cappy loved that. Does anyone know if it's ok to keep feeding him/her the egg yolk? We've also been giving pellets, and blood worms. Cappy was not a fan of flakes. I (hopefully) included a pic of Cappy. Seems to be very young. The white coloring in Cappy is still nearly transparent. Any info or advice would be great. We are trying to teach our daughter the value of caring for a pet and want to make sure we teach her the righ things and, of course, we want to see Cappy grown and thrive and live a long healthy, happy life with us. :-D


----------



## Viva

Cappy is so cute! As long as she/he has heated water and is eating, she should be fine. I crushed up pellets and gave that to my 2 baby bettas, it seemed to work well. They also really loved frozen blood worms, its what I got them to eat first. It has high protein content which is vital for growing babies. Just give 2 or 3 blood worms a day and also feed them crushed pellets daily.


----------



## lillyandquigly

I would upgrade the tank to at least one gallon for now


----------



## KMC527

One more question...

We got a small heater for the tank, but made the mistake of getting an preadjusted one. We did get a thermometer too though. This morning the temp was almost 88 and even though my betta didn't seem to mind (active, eating, etc) I thought that was too high, so I shut it off to cool the water down a bit. I just checked and it's now around 78-79, but my poor baby seems stressed (clamping fins). I put the heater back on, but if the average temp is 88 is that too warm??? I'm also worried about fluctuating temps too much. I saw one suggestion that said to put heater on an on/off self timer to help maintain a temp. Any advice?


----------



## missnikki

Yeah, that much of a temp drop in a short period of time is VERY bad for your Betta!

88 should be fine. Just leave it.


----------



## oneliltiger

*Poseidon the Baby Betta*

So as a fun update, my fish has doubled in size, and is settling into a lovely red color. I've taken out the bubble tube from my second tank to add more room. Best idea ever, he gets all that room back!

2 Gallons is plenty for a little fish like him. It'll be nice even when he's big.

I got some decor to spice up his home, and to make it look more like a sunken Olympus. 

Don't give up on your little bettas, they need a lot of care to keep them healthy and chubby!


----------



## Hail0788

oneliltiger said:


> So as a fun update, my fish has doubled in size, and is settling into a lovely red color. I've taken out the bubble tube from my second tank to add more room. Best idea ever, he gets all that room back!
> 
> 2 Gallons is plenty for a little fish like him. It'll be nice even when he's big.
> 
> I got some decor to spice up his home, and to make it look more like a sunken Olympus.
> 
> Don't give up on your little bettas, they need a lot of care to keep them healthy and chubby!


Aww! He is so cute. I wish my baby was colorful. She is mostly Brown with a lite blue and red hue.


----------



## aemaki09

Just wanted to update pics of my baby girl 
I got her in the beginning of january if I remember correctly and she looked like this::

















A few weeks ago::

















Now::











Still wondering about tail type. Definitely not a CT or DbT, but not too sure on weather she'd be considered VT or DeT? Any ideas?


----------



## lillyandquigly

looks like an hm to me


----------



## Fishy Mom

KMC527 said:


> One more question...
> 
> We got a small heater for the tank, but made the mistake of getting an preadjusted one. We did get a thermometer too though. This morning the temp was almost 88 and even though my betta didn't seem to mind (active, eating, etc) I thought that was too high, so I shut it off to cool the water down a bit. I just checked and it's now around 78-79, but my poor baby seems stressed (clamping fins). I put the heater back on, but if the average temp is 88 is that too warm??? I'm also worried about fluctuating temps too much. I saw one suggestion that said to put heater on an on/off self timer to help maintain a temp. Any advice?


If you have one of those small square preset heaters they sell next to the bettas in the store in a .5 gallon it will raise the temp quite a bit high. I have one of those for my gallon bowl. It keeps a gallon at 80 which is perfect for babies or sick fish. I would upgrade to a cheap 1 gallon bowl or critter keeper as a temporary home with that heater until your baby fish gets a little older. Raising a baby is very rewarding. My baby girl is now in a sorority tank & the most well behaved girl I have at the moment!


----------



## nattiejeanne

missnikki said:


> I'm talking about the person who says they are going to buy a crap load of the bettas, raise them and sell them off.



At least they will make it to adulthood this way. Otherwise they are likely going to just die in those little cups. Petco isn't going to stop selling them, so I'd rather see people buy them who are going to take care of them, even if it's for profit to sell them later.


----------



## Hail0788

nattiejeanne said:


> At least they will make it to adulthood this way. Otherwise they are likely going to just die in those little cups. Petco isn't going to stop selling them, so I'd rather see people buy them who are going to take care of them, even if it's for profit to sell them later.


I agree. I got my baby Mercedes from there. She was very pale and missing one of her fins on her tummy. I've had her for almost two weeks now and she is doing great. I'm never giving her up.


----------



## bettalover2000

aemaki09 said:


> Just wanted to update pics of my baby girl
> I got her in the beginning of january if I remember correctly and she looked like this::
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Still wondering about tail type. Definitely not a CT or DbT, but not too sure on weather she'd be considered VT or DeT? Any ideas?


Lol. Is that Omega 3 in the pic? I use it too, I like that it has meat as the 1st ingredient, not wheat.
I am not sure on the tail type, s/he is pretty!!!


I was thinking about getting 2 & seeing how they develop & play & such, what does everyone think? As said earlier, I would feed them crushed flakes & pellets, along with frozen Daphnia & maybe frozen BW.
Would a 3 gallon (tall) with a slow air pump be good for 2? I have lots of plants & 2 caves that I could use, with still plenty of swimming space, & 3 other tanks that I could use when they get older.

PLEASE REPLY OR PM. ALL ADVICE IS APPRECIATED!!!!!


----------



## aemaki09

bettalover2000 said:


> Lol. Is that Omega 3 in the pic? I use it too, I like that it has meat as the 1st ingredient, not wheat.
> I am not sure on the tail type, s/he is pretty!!!
> 
> 
> I was thinking about getting 2 & seeing how they develop & play & such, what does everyone think? As said earlier, I would feed them crushed flakes & pellets, along with frozen Daphnia & maybe frozen BW.
> Would a 3 gallon (tall) with a slow air pump be good for 2? I have lots of plants & 2 caves that I could use, with still plenty of swimming space, & 3 other tanks that I could use when they get older.
> 
> PLEASE REPLY OR PM. ALL ADVICE IS APPRECIATED!!!!!


Yeah it's omega one, I don't use it too often anymore, just when I wan to switch things up. Seems to sink too easily and is too big for half my boys/girls to eat.
I think a 3 gallon would be fine, but make sure you keep a close eye on them both. I have been wanting to do this for a while, getting 2-3 to put in one of my 2.5's till they grow out, interested to see how they interact as well.
Personally I would try to get a 3 long rather than tall. Babies should have shallow water


----------



## bettalover2000

I do have a 3 long, but I house my male in it & I like how this one has a built-in airline tube, rather than just an air stone, i wouldn't fill it all the way till they're older & can swim to the to more easily.


----------



## Kytkattin

I have had my baby for about a week now and his/her stress stripes just won't go away. Water params are fine, temp is a nice toasty 86 (because less and the stripes get worse!), and s/he eats like a little monster. Plus I have seen some overall growth in body size already!
Please keep in mind that s/he is in the cup for photo purposes only, and the stress stripes were definitely worse there than in the tank. The red seen by the gills is his/her natural coloring, not ammonia burns.










Edit: more info! S/he is in a heavily planted tank so cover and feeling comfortable is not an issue. S/he readily explores, comes to the front and does the wiggle dance for food, and otherwise seems very healthy despite the stripes!


----------



## Crowntails

She's so beautiful! I am trying to save up for the 3 gallon long tank and make it home to a baby betta!


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Kyt, my baby had her stripes for a couple months. In baby bettas, most of it is for camouflage, not necessarily stress. As she gets older, they should go away. Mine just losts hers a couple weeks ago - I hardly recognized her!!!


----------



## Fishy Mom

aemaki09 said:


> Yeah it's omega one, I don't use it too often anymore, just when I wan to switch things up. Seems to sink too easily and is too big for half my boys/girls to eat.
> I think a 3 gallon would be fine, but make sure you keep a close eye on them both. I have been wanting to do this for a while, getting 2-3 to put in one of my 2.5's till they grow out, interested to see how they interact as well.
> Personally I would try to get a 3 long rather than tall. Babies should have shallow water


Well, I got some babies for a sorority & they are just as territorial as adults & have the energy to chase each other for days. I am on constant fish sitting duty & I now figured out that the runt, who I was really worried about, is the one nipping everyone elses fins, but 2 girls are fine & 2 of the slow swimmers have chunks out of their tails. They are in QT healing. I plan on keeping them there longer than just a hospital stay to fatten them up a bit. Since they aren't great swimmers they need to be bigger to stand up to the other girls. It still makes me laugh to say a fish isn't a good swimmer, lol.

My two girls who haven't had their fins nipped are quite a bit bigger than the runt & just chase her away. Those two are well behaved after their initial fight of tail slapping each other on the first day. :roll:

Oh another problem I'm having is that 3 of the girls aren't trained to come to the surface when I feed them yet. Two of those girls are the ones in QT now, so I'm working on them responding to me as well. 

So, if I were to do this over I would keep the babies in the intitial QT much longer to get them trained to know me & respond to me better. I would also be aware that even though fights aren't ending in a blood bath with the babies they still can be very agressive & to expect to put one or two in time out if need be.


----------



## Fishy Mom

Kytkattin said:


> I have had my baby for about a week now and his/her stress stripes just won't go away. Water params are fine, temp is a nice toasty 86 (because less and the stripes get worse!), and s/he eats like a little monster. Plus I have seen some overall growth in body size already!
> Please keep in mind that s/he is in the cup for photo purposes only, and the stress stripes were definitely worse there than in the tank. The red seen by the gills is his/her natural coloring, not ammonia burns.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Edit: more info! S/he is in a heavily planted tank so cover and feeling comfortable is not an issue. S/he readily explores, comes to the front and does the wiggle dance for food, and otherwise seems very healthy despite the stripes!


My baby girl had stress stripes for weeks & they didn't start to fade until she really started to color up. Her gills were really red too, but they look fine now. She was my first baby so I wasn't sure what to think about it, but now I'm realizing that stress stripes & red gills aren't uncommon in the little ones.


----------



## Luxavior

aemaki09 said:


> Yeah it's omega one, I don't use it too often anymore, just when I wan to switch things up. Seems to sink too easily and is too big for half my boys/girls to eat.


For my baby, I established with it that the leaves of the tallest plant in its tank is where I feed it, so if it drops or misses the food, it just falls onto a leaf for the baby to easily find.
Since most pellets are too big for babies, I presoak one pellet and cut it in pieces and feed enough of the cut up pieces to see a little belly.

For my bigger boy, I've unintentionally taught him that tapping on the glass means there's food falling, so if he knocks food into the water from my finger and doesn't see where it went I can just tap the glass and he'll stop looking at my fingers and look below him.
It took about a week or two for him to catch on to the tapping.
If he still doesn't see the food falling before it hits the bottom, I leave it because he enjoys scavenging, and it doesn't take him more than an hour to find any of the pellets he missed.


----------



## Kytkattin

Well that confirms that she is most likely a she then!
I did go and look at some breeder spawn logs and that pretty much confirmed that stress stripes in babies are not from stress. Thanks everyone!


----------



## bettalover2000

If I did get 2, should I quarantine them before putting them together?
If I need to, I might have 1 be in the tank, & 1 in a cup floating in the tank, & alternate them each day & night. What do you think? I am really exited, I hope this would work. Would plastic plants be okay? I might buy a marimo ball if someone has them for sale at a low price & good quality....
(the marimos at Petco are $9 apiece. :| )


----------



## rabidbetta

Hello, this is my first post! I bought Betta Jane (if she turns out to be a boy, she'll be James) a week ago, basically one of those "all the other babies were dead, so I felt I had to save her" situations. I imagine Petco selling baby bettas is probably controversial, but... well, I got her anyway. And then it was so much fun and I've enjoyed watching her grow and showing so much personality, I got 2 more.

I do have a 30 gallon tank and dividers for them en route, so the cups are temporary. I've been feeding 4x a day, checking temperatures, changing 25% of the water every other day. So far Betta Jane seems to be thriving! I got the other 2 today. Any ideas on what gender/finnage variations they appear to be? It's fun to speculate and I'm a complete noob. 

Jane









Violet









Elvis









****More pics here!****


----------



## aemaki09

Luxavior said:


> For my baby, I established with it that the leaves of the tallest plant in its tank is where I feed it, so if it drops or misses the food, it just falls onto a leaf for the baby to easily find.
> Since most pellets are too big for babies, I presoak one pellet and cut it in pieces and feed enough of the cut up pieces to see a little belly.
> 
> For my bigger boy, I've unintentionally taught him that tapping on the glass means there's food falling, so if he knocks food into the water from my finger and doesn't see where it went I can just tap the glass and he'll stop looking at my fingers and look below him.
> It took about a week or two for him to catch on to the tapping.
> If he still doesn't see the food falling before it hits the bottom, I leave it because he enjoys scavenging, and it doesn't take him more than an hour to find any of the pellets he missed.


I just used the hikari micro pellets and then moved to NLS once they could fit it in their mouths. I'm planning to go to petco this weekend to "rescue" another.


----------



## cnbufford

These two little ones came home with me today from Petco. I planned on putting them in a divided 2.5 gallon AQ until they matured, but they had other ideas. The AQ divider wasn't sufficient enough for baby bettas that apparently wiggle their way through even the smallest of crevices. Since I wasn't sure of their sex, their exact age or the age that they begin showing aggression toward one another, they're now in separate housing situations. I left the youngest one in the stable 2.5 gallon and the older went to a large glass bowl. This will have to work until I figure a better situation out. I'm afraid they were both exposed to more stress than necessary, especially after the unplanned AQ mishap. Well, fingers crossed, they're ok. They're aware, active and eating. If these links don't work, their images are in my photo album. Please check them out and make suggestions if you have any!
http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=5520&pictureid=35257
http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=5520&pictureid=35256


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## ao

my new sooty nose baby :3


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## Hail0788

My baby is missing. :'-( I have been looking for her without disturbing the other fish and just can't find her. This is now day 3 I haven't seen her.


----------



## ao

Hail0788 said:


> My baby is missing. :'-( I have been looking for her without disturbing the other fish and just can't find her. This is now day 3 I haven't seen her.


where did u put her? did u check in the filter?


----------



## Hail0788

Yes I did check. she is in a 10 gallon tank with 2 neons 2 glows 1 guppy and a sucker fish. I hope she is just hiding in the rocks somewhere.


----------



## ao

hmm... neons and glow fish are both kinda nippy 
bettas usually dont stary far from the surface.
I hope you find her soon...


----------



## bryzy

Ok. So I'm PROBABLY going to get TWO baby bettas. Wish me luck.


----------



## KMC527

What a difference a week makes! The first pic was taken a week ago when we first took Cappy home and the second one was taken tonight.

(Sorry they are a little blurry, took pics with my phone and I guess it doesn't like close ups...)


----------



## KMC527

Thought this was interesting...

www.waynesthisandthat.com/bettagrowth.html


----------



## Hail0788

KMC527 said:


> What a difference a week makes! The first pic was taken a week ago when we first took Cappy home and the second one was taken tonight.
> 
> (Sorry they are a little blurry, took pics with my phone and I guess it doesn't like close ups...)


What a cutie.


----------



## Hail0788

KMC527 said:


> Thought this was interesting...
> 
> www.waynesthisandthat.com/bettagrowth.html


Wow. This is really cool and helpful. Thank you for posting it.


----------



## blu the betta

are the bettas with the sharp points on their tail crowntails? i have 2 of those. and 1 with a rounded tail.


----------



## Meeples

Just picked up this tiny thing today... less than an inch long. She seems alright so far, ate some crushed soaked pellet and is swimming around.


----------



## paris38

Here is my baby Coco!I'm positive he's a male do you guys know what tail type he could be?He's my first baby so I'm holding my breath that he will survive.


----------



## ao

^looks like a Vt ^_^


----------



## Meeples

paris38 said:


> Here is my baby Coco!I'm positive he's a male do you guys know what tail type he could be?He's my first baby so I'm holding my breath that he will survive.


He looks great! Maybe a double tail?


----------



## paris38

Ya I made a thread in betta pictures and a lot of members said veil so thats what I'm thinking.He could be a double tail becuase he has a slight part in his fin but it could also be a healing tear.Oh well, only time will tell.


----------



## muasdc5

Hello all!

Here's my baby betta...got it two weeks ago at PetCo (2/11/13)...went in for food for my gf's male VT, saw the baby and spent 40min debating if i should buy one lol 









*Picture taken today*

ended up buying this little guy...it was roughly 3/4" when I first got it, measured last night and it's roughly 1" now...I had it in a larger betta tank, but got myself a nice black halfmoon from Petsmart and put the baby into the male HM's cup..i do daily water changes and keep my desk lamp on above it and the male

Any idea if it's a male or female yet? And according to that growth chart previously posted, mine is probably 5-6wks old

Just been feeding it some tiny betta pellets, can't recall the brand of them. I also put in one of those betta bulbs in the cup with it. Probably going to get a larger tank for my male HM and put the baby into the betta tank.

-Ben


----------



## jessp118

muasdc5 said:


> Hello all!
> 
> Here's my baby betta...got it two weeks ago at PetCo (2/11/13)...went in for food for my gf's male VT, saw the baby and spent 40min debating if i should buy one lol
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Picture taken today*
> 
> ended up buying this little guy...it was roughly 3/4" when I first got it, measured last night and it's roughly 1" now...I had it in a larger betta tank, but got myself a nice black halfmoon from Petsmart and put the baby into the male HM's cup..i do daily water changes and keep my desk lamp on above it and the male
> 
> Any idea if it's a male or female yet? And according to that growth chart previously posted, mine is probably 5-6wks old
> 
> Just been feeding it some tiny betta pellets, can't recall the brand of them. I also put in one of those betta bulbs in the cup with it. Probably going to get a larger tank for my male HM and put the baby into the betta tank.
> 
> -Ben


I think that it is still to early to tell. Beautiful looking betta by the way. I wish I had that betta.


----------



## Hail0788

I found my baby! It was hiding in the divider. Baby is fine it just has a little scratch on its back. I have baby in the cup and I think I'm going to keep baby in the cup for the next day or two just to watch over it.


----------



## Hail0788

So this week 2 of taking care of baby. I thought it was a girl now I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure baby is a VT.


----------



## muasdc5

jessp118 said:


> I think that it is still to early to tell. Beautiful looking betta by the way. I wish I had that betta.


Alright thanks for the input and compliment 
I'll keep updating as well.


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## muasdc5

Here's a video i recorded of it eating 4 days after i got it..it's eating some split up freeze dried bloodworms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbPLpR2pD48


----------



## Fishy Mom

Hail0788 said:


> I found my baby! It was hiding in the divider. Baby is fine it just has a little scratch on its back. I have baby in the cup and I think I'm going to keep baby in the cup for the next day or two just to watch over it.


Yay! I'm glad baby is alright.

For the person talking about double tail babies. I saw the most beautiful baby double tail today. The baby had clear fins & a pale colored body. It looked to be in good health too! Wish I could have gotten her/him myself, but I have no room ATM.


----------



## Hail0788

Fishy Mom said:


> Yay! I'm glad baby is alright.
> 
> For the person talking about double tail babies. I saw the most beautiful baby double tail today. The baby had clear fins & a pale colored body. It looked to be in good health too! Wish I could have gotten her/him myself, but I have no room ATM.


Thank you. I want to petco this past Saturday and saw they just gotten in a bunch of new baby's. They were all vt's and they all look the same. I was hoping to find a double tail like everyone else. No luck.


----------



## blu the betta

is keeping baby bettas together bad?


----------



## Hail0788

blu the betta said:


> is keeping baby bettas together bad?


Around 5-8 weeks males start to get aggressive. So it's not a good idea to keep them together.


----------



## cnbufford

Muasdc, a young betta especially needs a heater and more space than the cup it came in.


----------



## ao

Makkuro is three days home and very curious 
Also showing sooty coloration to match its sooty nose ^___^


----------



## aemaki09

Awww! Just getting cuter and cuter! Love the 'stache!

I need to make a trip to petco ASAP!


----------



## Saphira101

I agree with missnikki, but it is entirely your choice.


----------



## Saphira101

Wait- I was replying to a post in the totally WRONG page!! xD


----------



## ao

Thanks ^___^ 
it's ssooo cute ! I cant wait till the colors show!


*And a bit of general info for everyone...*


 Please do NOT keep your babies in cups 
 Heaters are very important... espcially after all that neglect in petco...Give babies warmer water than you would adults, 82-88F is a good rule of thumb.
 Feed little but often. you will want to see a well rounded stomach...
In the wamer temps they will have a faster metabolism. babies have a faster metablism in general anyway as they need to covert the food into growth.
 you should feed a high protein diet.... diet should be varied but live food isnt neccessary... if the babies doesn't know how to eat, crush up the pellet and blow it about, this should draw some attention to the food.
 Change out water often (once a day or once every other day in small tanks) as babies release growth stuntin hormones and will stunt themselves..
 please realize that your babies are older than they look, most have been stunted during trainsit and at petco. they have quite a bit of growth to catch up on. improper care will lead to permanantly stunted bettas.
 If you are unsure about anything, goto the breeding section and ask a seasoned breeder such as Mo, MrVampire (is he still around?) Oldfishlady, Tanseattle, Indijo etc...


----------



## ao

Saphira101 said:


> Wait- I was replying to a post in the totally WRONG page!! xD


cute


----------



## Hail0788

I have move baby into its own vase with heater. So far so good.


----------



## Fishy Mom

aokashi said:


> Makkuro is three days home and very curious
> Also showing sooty coloration to match its sooty nose ^___^


Omg, soooo cute!


----------



## muasdc5

cnbufford said:


> Muasdc, a young betta especially needs a heater and more space than the cup it came in.


Yeah I know, I moved it into an actual betta tank night..those ones that can be divided into two... it's been doing great w/o a heater, I just use my desk lamp as the "heat source" along with a 100% water change every other day. Little guy still doing well..


----------



## muasdc5

Ok! correct me if I'm wrong lol but I'm just gonna go ahead and say my little guy is a male VT...i put a little mirror in his tank, and he started flaring at the reflection...never seen females flare at their own reflections so this is my guess...any input from you veterans??

Pics! his gills were flared...can't really tell in pictures but I'm excited...hopefully he really is a male


----------



## cnbufford

I tried using the "lamp heating" method...it does not provide a stable temp environment. If you are trying your hand at raising a betta, the proper equipment, like a thermometer and a heater, is necessary. These things can be acquired rather cheaply and will benefit the health of your animal.


----------



## blu the betta

heres my three baby bettas.


----------



## ao

Almost positive it's a guy 
The little fellow's getting some good flare practice. can barely open it's gills though


----------



## blu the betta

what genders are mine?


----------



## ao

I have no idea oO
do thy flare if you hold up a mirror to them?
if they do there's more of a chance they might be male. but youwont know for sure until they grow up


----------



## blu the betta

the bottom one is really agressive so im thinking its a male.


----------



## ao

females are pretry aggressive to sometimes.


----------



## blu the betta

tail type im thinking theyre crowntails.


----------



## jessp118

blu the betta said:


> what genders are mine?


To me they all have the same body and fin shape as my female veiltail. But it is still too early to tell. You might be able to tell if they are female if you put a male in view of the fish and she starts to show vertical lines and starts to dance or if they have a white spot under their belly.

Here is a recent picture of my girl.


----------



## blu the betta

thanks.


----------



## Hail0788

Ok so I bought a breeding hold yesterday for my sorority tank just in case one of my girls acts up or gets hurt. So far all is good with my girls but now I'm wondering if I should put my baby in the breeding holder that's in my sorority tank. I still don't know of my baby is a boy or a girl yet. Right I have it in a little vase with heater but no filter. Would it be ok to put it in the breeding holder? My 10 gallon has a filter and a much better heater.


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Hail, I originally put my baby betta in a breeder box in my sorority tank too. She lived in there for a week or so and then escaped when I did a water change, and has had free reign of the tank ever since. She's doing great, and ended up being a female so it worked!


----------



## Popbenz

Sorry


----------



## Hail0788

carbonxxkidd said:


> Hail, I originally put my baby betta in a breeder box in my sorority tank too. She lived in there for a week or so and then escaped when I did a water change, and has had free reign of the tank ever since. She's doing great, and ended up being a female so it worked!


I put my baby in the breeder box 2 hours ago. All the girls surrounded the baby and were flaring now the only one watching baby is Briseis. Every once in awhile Jensen swims by and baby flares up. Magenta and Opal don't really care anymore. Lol. I have noticed the baby has a blue and red hue. I'm 99% sure its a Vailtail but I'm not sure of the gender.


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Yep, that's pretty much exactly what my girls did. I will say though, maybe it's my imagination, but after she escaped into the main tank the other girls really ignored her, probably just because they were used to seeing her already!


----------



## Hail0788

Well my baby looks any where from 6-8 weeks old. So I don't want to release it until I know the gender is and when it gets a little bit bigger.


----------



## Tikibirds

This is my baby girl all growed up :-D
I did the same thing with the breeder box - but she jumped out of it so I just let her be

and the newest one - had her a few weeks already











> Well my baby looks any where from 6-8 weeks old. So I don't want to release it until I know the gender is and when it gets a little bit bigger.


 I did that with a very young VT "female" and ended up with this:









I started to suspect something was amiss when his fins kept growing and growing. He never got more agressive as he aged though


----------



## aemaki09

Quick question::

*what have all your babies grown up into? (Tail types)*

My first was DbT, 2nd is still a mystery. Leaning toward VT because I'm not sure that they have anything other than CT, VT, and DbT


----------



## ao

aemaki09 said:


> Quick question::
> 
> *what have all your babies grown up into? (Tail types)*
> 
> My first was DbT, 2nd is still a mystery. Leaning toward VT because I'm not sure that they have anything other than CT, VT, and DbT


Hmmm... Mine's a veiltail... but not your conventional pointy tailed Vt. His tail is kinda rounded at the end ...he also has colored pectorals ^_^ which are my favorite fins one him.


----------



## Viva

I think mine are both female VT's or DeT's. I cannot really tell because I'm pretty bad at telling female tail types. Here is a good guide I used:

http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/betta-fish/90911-how-tell-tailtype-you-female-betta.html

Since the edges of Spark's tail is straight and not curved like a VT's, I'm going to say she's a DeT but she's not done growing. She is still a lot smaller than Prize and she isn't growing as fast either.:


Prize looks more like a VT:


----------



## Hail0788

I've had baby for 3 weeks now. So what do y'all think boy or girl?


----------



## Hail0788

Here is other photo of baby.


----------



## Cynical Fish Guy

I got one of these.... I need a feature fish in my community tank. There is plenty of plant cover that my tiny guy takes cover in. I'm pretty sure it is male; cause it came out with an attitude, until a neon tetra came to check it out. The poor guy almost had a heart attack. His mates are peaceful and are schooling adult fish. There exsists in my planted tank a whole ecosystem, and I feed live brine shrimp regularly. I can find baby ghost shrimp faster than this betta in the plants, but today is the day I got him.


----------



## cnbufford

OMG I cannot bare to look at my tank at the moment because I'm afraid my smaller baby betta got nibbled on (like a substantial chunk out of his side) by the larger baby betta. The smaller betta is hiding and moving, but I'm certain he's hurt. The divider, which had worked the week they've been with me, wasn't enough to keep them separate.


----------



## ao

1 week home


----------



## Viva

aokashi said:


> 1 week home


Your baby is soooooooooooooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## liz26914

before and after pics!!!

the first pic is when i first got my baby!

the 2nd pic is him about 3 weeks later. not an adult yet but a huge difference in a short amount of time! it kind of looks like his baby strips got more prominent but thats only because the 2nd photo came out better. 

the 3rd pic doesn't show off his beautiful finnage. but i love it. i feel like him looking toward the camera captures a bit of his personality. XP

i have a question about uploading pics. how do i get the pics to show up between the writing? It always shows up at the end of the post for me.


----------



## ao

liz26914 said:


> before and after pics!!!
> 
> the first pic is when i first got my baby!
> 
> the 2nd pic is him about 3 weeks later. not an adult yet but a huge difference in a short amount of time! it kind of looks like his baby strips got more prominent but thats only because the 2nd photo came out better.
> 
> the 3rd pic doesn't show off his beautiful finnage. but i love it. i feel like him looking toward the camera captures a bit of his personality. XP
> 
> i have a question about uploading pics. how do i get the pics to show up between the writing? It always shows up at the end of the post for me.


Looks like a male ^____^


----------



## liz26914

yup thats wht i was assuming. when i was checking out the babies at petco, he was going at it with the baby betta in the cup next to his.


----------



## Tikibirds

> *what have all your babies grown up into? (Tail types)*


One VT female and one CT which I am hoping is a female
had one young "female" VT turn out to be male VT


----------



## MadMay

I agree that it is sad that most of these little guys go to people that dont know what they are doing and I dont think that they should be sold to the general public. That being said I LOVE my little Shelly and seeing him/her develope its kind of like having a spawn without all the hassle XD
aokashi your baby is adorable!


----------



## Pasdio

Our Petco had babies for a while, but I guess they stopped selling or something because I haven't seen them for months. Which I guess is good news? They also seem to carry less in general....or maybe they were just waiting for a new shipping.


----------



## MiyuMikaelson

So I saw Baby Betta's in person for the first time today. They were all a few CM long. But there was one, who was like, the width of my pinky nail. (It's like, a childs nail almost. They never "grew up" with me. :lol: )

Is that normal? How big are the baby Betta's when you guys usually get them?


----------



## oneliltiger

Awww guys, if people didn't buy them, they'd just die at Petco at a very young age. Even for those less experienced owners like myself, I'm sure we do a better job than those cups. Heck any tank is better than those cups.

I just research a lot to make sure I'm doing the right thing for him.

Poseidon is becoming a very handsome ruby betta. And he's growing all the time, so I figure I must be helping him. I even got him through his first fin damage episode.

I had to take him with when I was going to be gone a couple of days and he got stressed out and his fins were flaky for a day. But I got medicine at the store and figured it out for him, and he's in full color and health again.


----------



## Viva

Mine were about 3/4 of an inch long when I got them.


----------



## EmptyYourMindBeFormless

I never really paid attention to the baby bettas at my local PetCo, but peeked at them on Saturday. There is a dedicated mini-shelf of sorts for them and all but 3 were dead. 

Kinda sad, but not surprising. I feel like raising these little critters should be something people "graduate" to, so to speak. I mean, with the whole fishbowl culture these big box stores promote and encourage for bettas, I can't imagine too many of the baby fish lasting too long, either in the store cups or in a tiny, unheated bowl at someone's home if they don't know what they are doing.

Overall, it seems like just a gimmick to me, which is unfortunate. If Pizza Hut wants to come out with a new gimmick pizza every few months, cool. But for stores to sell these guys when a good chunk of their patrons don't understand basic betta care= bad news. 

Oh well, I am glad the knowledgeable keepers here have found some nice baby fish and gave them adequate homes.


----------



## cnbufford

Baby Ares, who is between 6-8 weeks old, on his second week with me (those white spots are bubbles):


----------



## ao

The "baby bettas" we see in store should be anywhere from 2-3 months old. the larger females juveniles are 3months+
Most if not all are stunted...
I also have a feeling that most around around 3 months but are the runts of the spawn. ie the ones on the smaller side.

Whoever is breeding these bettas will profit more from selling the males and the ones that grew faster, rather than the smaller ones. so it's logical that these stunted juvies or sexable females are sold as "petco babies"


----------



## Alcemistnv

Can someone help clarify tail type/ sex/ age for me?


----------



## Fishy Mom

Alcemistnv said:


> Can someone help clarify tail type/ sex/ age for me?


He/she is too young to tell sex for sure, but I'm going to guess female. It's definitely a VT though. Is it your first baby? I'm still head over heels in love with my baby that's all grown up now.


----------



## Alcemistnv

Ahhhh
I actually was hoping for a non female and non veil tail xD


----------



## Fishy Mom

Alcemistnv said:


> Ahhhh
> I actually was hoping for a non female and non veil tail xD


I could be wrong about the sex, but I'm pretty sure that's a VT baby. I'll warn you though, you will fall head over heels in love regardless of gender or tail type. There's a special bond I have with my girl still even now that she's all grown up & in a sorority. She still swims to the top & waits for me to put my hand in so she can snuggle into it. 

I have two more babies who do the same thing now.


----------



## Alcemistnv

I'm pretty sure that I will be in love with the fish regardless, but it was a manner of possibly purchasing another 5 gallon down the line, and therefore I would be putting Envy and Patchy together, but if it's a female, then she gets her own tank. There's a chance I might just get a sorority xD


----------



## Fishy Mom

Sounds like your plan will work out either way if you end up with a sorority for a girl or a 5g for boys. I can't wait to see pics of your baby as he/she grows. That's my favorite part of this thread.


----------



## cejean

I fell in love with a baby at our local Petco a little over a week ago and had to bring him/her home with me. I've been amazed at what a difference only a week has made in him/her. Doesn't even look like the same fish anymore! Really excited to see how my baby continues to develop. Any ideas on if I have a boy or a girl here?

Day 1:









Today:


----------



## ao

Seems like a boy  I could be wrong


----------



## Viva

cejean said:


> I fell in love with a baby at our local Petco a little over a week ago and had to bring him/her home with me. I've been amazed at what a difference only a week has made in him/her. Doesn't even look like the same fish anymore! Really excited to see how my baby continues to develop. Any ideas on if I have a boy or a girl here?
> 
> Day 1:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Today:


Wow he/she colored up very quickly...could be a male then. Also looks like the fins grew a lot in just a week. I'd say male but its always a surprise


----------



## Alcemistnv

gorgeous colors!! 

I noticed that Envy has some red on his fins too~


----------



## liz26914

cejean said:


> I fell in love with a baby at our local Petco a little over a week ago and had to bring him/her home with me. I've been amazed at what a difference only a week has made in him/her. Doesn't even look like the same fish anymore! Really excited to see how my baby continues to develop. Any ideas on if I have a boy or a girl here?
> 
> Day 1:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Today:


love the colors. looks almost like a rainbow.


----------



## aemaki09

I got a new baby today! A little double tail, assuming girl, hoping for a boy though, was the only one other than VT they had. Red find grey body still....will post a picture later. I'm so excited to have a baby. Again my last little girl is all grown up and in the sorority already


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## aemaki09

Here (s)he is! What do you think about it's sex?


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## Hail0788

aemaki09 said:


> Here (s)he is! What do you think about it's sex?


Aww!!!! So freaking cute! It looks like a male to me but hold me to that. I've had my baby for a month now and still can't tell if it a girl or boy.


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## aemaki09

I've had 3 babies so far and still have trouble picking out the right sex.
I also just bred an HMpK pair a month ago, without fin length to help me tell the difference between genders, it'll be interesting seeing how many I mix up


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## Hail0788

Here is my baby. S/he is getting big. Can anyone tell what it is from this photo?


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## aemaki09

I'm gonna go with female VT. If it were male, at that size you would see more length to the fins


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## ashleigheperry

My store only orders a few at a time - though they're popular, the aquatics expert doesn't like selling them so young. They are cute little things though.


----------



## Hail0788

So my baby Mercedes is now out of the breeders box and swimming with the big girls and doing great. No one is chasing or nipping at each other.


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## Alcemistnv

new picture of Envy 

I wish I knew how old he/she was...


----------



## othercents

PETCO doesn't train it's staff that well about the baby bettas because when I got mine today they said the normal betta food would be fine. They must have just gotten a shipment since there were a dozen or so good looking babies while most of the adults were stressed.


























I choose this one thinking it would be a half moon male and I liked the colors, but they had 5 or so double tails.


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## Otterfun

So do they get more colors when they are older.? The ones I saw we're dark grey and not colorful..


----------



## Viva

Otterfun said:


> So do they get more colors when they are older.? The ones I saw we're dark grey and not colorful..


A lot of babies are females and therefore don't show color til later and maybe won't be as vibrant as a male. They also are sometime the runts of the spawn so are stunted. Stress causes them to show almost no color. I got my second female when she was grey and she's now red with pretty mettalic blue. She's growing verrrrry slowly though compared to my first female baby.


----------



## Fishy Mom

Viva said:


> A lot of babies are females and therefore don't show color til later and maybe won't be as vibrant as a male. They also are sometime the runts of the spawn so are stunted. Stress causes them to show almost no color. I got my second female when she was grey and she's now red with pretty mettalic blue. She's growing verrrrry slowly though compared to my first female baby.


I've thought the same thing about them mostly being female and/or the runts of a spawn, but there is no way to know for sure. I wish we could get more info on the babies from the store because that would help with care immensely.


----------



## GailC

I got this little one today. I'm thinking its a veil tail


----------



## Fishy Mom

GailC said:


> I got this little one today. I'm thinking its a veil tail


Awww, so adorable. I love seeing all the pics of the little cuties on this thread.


----------



## Acheron

Hi! It's my first time posting around here (mostly I just lurked to look at the pretty pics...).

I'm terribly, terribly sorry for the pic spammage, but could someone please help me out?

I bought this baby on 2/26 and ever since it's been doing very well (has a 2.5g to itself), and grown a bit.

I'd like very much to name it but I have no clue if it is a boy or a girl... could someone more experienced with babies tell me the gender of this little thing so I can aptly name him/her? : D;










This is the night he/she came home with me...










I'm.... pretty sure that's a beard....?










Best shot I could get of the full body. The fins are mostly flared out.










This is him/her tonight. It's been 11 days since I brought the baby home with me. Hopefully it grew some.


----------



## blu the betta

othercents my betta has the exact same coloring. so i wanted to know if you may update it once in a while?


----------



## jessp118

Acheron said:


> Hi! It's my first time posting around here (mostly I just lurked to look at the pretty pics...).
> 
> I'm terribly, terribly sorry for the pic spammage, but could someone please help me out?
> 
> I bought this baby on 2/26 and ever since it's been doing very well (has a 2.5g to itself), and grown a bit.
> 
> I'd like very much to name it but I have no clue if it is a boy or a girl... could someone more experienced with babies tell me the gender of this little thing so I can aptly name him/her? : D;
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is the night he/she came home with me...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm.... pretty sure that's a beard....?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Best shot I could get of the full body. The fins are mostly flared out.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is him/her tonight. It's been 11 days since I brought the baby home with me. Hopefully it grew some.


That is a male veiltail


----------



## Hail0788

Here is my baby Mercedes. I've had her for over a month now and she loving being in the tank with the big girls. She also eats the bigger pellets now. Gosh she is growing up so fast.


----------



## cnbufford

What do you guys think about the sex of these two? They've been with me for three weeks and are probably more in the juvenile category than anything now. Betta A seems like be a female since there's a small white dot between the ventral and anal fins. If that's true, then A is an aggressive female because it attacked B. Betta B's growth seems stunted; to my eye it's still too small to tell the gender. Determining what B is becomes moreover difficult since its finnage was eaten by A. Insight, anyone?
Betta A








Betta B


----------



## othercents

blu the betta said:


> othercents my betta has the exact same coloring. so i wanted to know if you may update it once in a while?


Certainly. I have only had him/her for 1 day. Just picked up an evolve 2 with some live plants, but need to slow down the flow and quiet down the pump.


----------



## Dene

Hey guys! My first time posting here. =3 I was out checking out Petsmarts for Bettas today, and decided to check out Petco as well. I don't normally go to Petco because we have 3 Petsmarts and they seem to be better. Anyway, I saw the babies and I am in love. There is one the is iridescent, reminds me of an opal, which is my birthstone. xP I think I'm going to save that little baby.

I have an approximately 2 gallon Critter Keeper set up with a Tetra Whisper 3i filter and a Marineland Heater. The heater is very small and keeps the tank at about 76-78 degrees. I haven't seen it lower than 76 F. The filter I think is too strong, so I might take it out. It has made a huge dent in the sand, so I imagine it would push a baby betta around quite a bit. Would I need an air pump if I did that? I also have an Anubias Nana in there, and plan to grab some Mondo Grass. I don't have gravel, I used PFS.

Basically, any tips you guys have or adjustments for my current set up would be much appreciated. I intend to buy the fish, food (baby brine shrimp and the pellets everyone kept mentioning), and the mondo grass.

P.S. The 2 gal would be temporary, I'm saving up for a 20 gal starter kit and to get my 10 gal up and running (all I have is a tank).


----------



## othercents

New tank










Not really happy.










Other


----------



## Fishy Mom

Dene said:


> Hey guys! My first time posting here. =3 I was out checking out Petsmarts for Bettas today, and decided to check out Petco as well. I don't normally go to Petco because we have 3 Petsmarts and they seem to be better. Anyway, I saw the babies and I am in love. There is one the is iridescent, reminds me of an opal, which is my birthstone. xP I think I'm going to save that little baby.
> 
> I have an approximately 2 gallon Critter Keeper set up with a Tetra Whisper 3i filter and a Marineland Heater. The heater is very small and keeps the tank at about 76-78 degrees. I haven't seen it lower than 76 F. The filter I think is too strong, so I might take it out. It has made a huge dent in the sand, so I imagine it would push a baby betta around quite a bit. Would I need an air pump if I did that? I also have an Anubias Nana in there, and plan to grab some Mondo Grass. I don't have gravel, I used PFS.
> 
> Basically, any tips you guys have or adjustments for my current set up would be much appreciated. I intend to buy the fish, food (baby brine shrimp and the pellets everyone kept mentioning), and the mondo grass.
> 
> P.S. The 2 gal would be temporary, I'm saving up for a 20 gal starter kit and to get my 10 gal up and running (all I have is a tank).


I wouldn't use the filter for a baby, but the rest sounds pretty good. The only thing is I keep the babies water temp at 80 degrees, but I don't know if 78 is ok or not. It might depend on how big/old the baby seems. Maybe someone else could answer if they kept a baby betta at 76-80 degrees if it was ok. 

I can't wait to see pics if you take some of your soon to be baby.


----------



## Dene

Thank you! I will be exchanging the Marina (I said Marineland, it's Marina) heater for a different, non-preset one.

I will definitely take pics. =3 You will be asking me to please stop spamming with pics in a little while. xD I really hope my fishy is still there, and I believe its name will be October. Gender neutral, and fits the opal-like coloring.


----------



## Dene

And I can't figure out how to edit my post, even though I was able to edit my other post. -failure-

The thermometer in the tank now reads 82 F. Will the baby be okay is the temp is fluctuating like that, between 76 and 82? I don't think it changes very quickly.


----------



## Fishy Mom

Dene said:


> And I can't figure out how to edit my post, even though I was able to edit my other post. -failure-
> 
> The thermometer in the tank now reads 82 F. Will the baby be okay is the temp is fluctuating like that, between 76 and 82? I don't think it changes very quickly.


Lol, I still have trouble figure how to navigate this site too. I still haven't figured out how to post multiple pics in one comment.

I am overly cautious with the babies so I personally would get an adjustable heater so you won't be worrying about the baby. When I got my first baby I would speed home from work just to check on her. I worried so much the first few weeks, lol. Also, I found the Hakari (spelling?) were great for little ones too. They are like tiny grains of sand & easy for babies to eat.

As for pics spam away. The blue girl in front is my baby all grown up.


----------



## Dene

Awesome, thank you for the tip! I'll grab a new heater, mondo grass, and food at Petsmart and then head to Petco for my fish. xP And pick up pizza on the way home! Yay errands!

That's totally going to be me.
"Hey, want to go to a movie tonight?" 
"Oh, I can't, I have to get home to my baby." 
"Zoey's right there, what do you mean?" 
"Not my human baby, my fish baby." 
And everyone's suspicions that I'm completely insane will be confirmed. =3

Your girl is just gorgeous! I'm really hoping for a male though. xP But I wouldn't be too disappointed if he turned out to be a she.


----------



## Fishy Mom

Haha, that is so funny. I am officially a crazy fish lady according to my kids, but they love it too. I've even caught my husband talking to one of the fish too. He pretending like it was nothing, but I knew. He has two favorites right now & I know he talks to them when no one is around.

If you get a boy it will be fun to see his fins grow out. If you get a girl be prepared to have the urge to start a sorority, lol.


----------



## liz26914

So I thought my betta was gnna end up a veil tail but last week splits appeared on his tail literally overnight like a crown tail and then was back to a non split tail d next day. What's going on?! I thought maybe d splits may have been from ripping on a decor but they looked too uniform and tails can't heal overnight, rt?


----------



## Fishy Mom

liz26914 said:


> So I thought my betta was gnna end up a veil tail but last week splits appeared on his tail literally overnight like a crown tail and then was back to a non split tail d next day. What's going on?! I thought maybe d splits may have been from ripping on a decor but they looked too uniform and tails can't heal overnight, rt?


Could it possibly be just a growth spurt? I haven't raised a boy baby yet so I have no idea. My girl went through a growth spurt over night. It was amazing.


----------



## Fishy Mom

othercents said:


> New tank
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Not really happy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Other


lol, that little not happy face is soooo cute!


----------



## othercents

Fishy Mom said:


> lol, that little not happy face is soooo cute!


 Thanks.... 

I had shutoff the pump because there was too much flow and he/she was all over the place. Over lunch I put some filterfloss into the pipe and was able to slow down the flow to keep the pump on, however now it is too slow and it is still too cold. Hopefully I can get everything tuned tonight along with an adjustable heater, so that there is just enough flow and heat to make the filter usable and keep the betta happy. :-D

At this point Mr/Mrs Betta is swimming and eating just fine. Likes to sit on top of the return pipe.


----------



## JBonez423

I'm compelled to buy the babies, simply because I feel really bad for them. I feel like they're much more fragile than the adults, and the adults actually go quicker here because the babies are sold very young (they look to be much younger than the ones posted in this thread, only half an inch in length) & therefore are pretty much colorless. They're almost invisible in the little cups they're kept in.

I was going to buy a big, flashy male, but I decided to go for the baby. Not only did I feel bad, but I liked the idea of not knowing the gender or type, so I went for it. I'm glad I did. Two weeks later, he (I'm pretty sure he's a male) has been super healthy and active, has more than doubled in size and is a vibrant royal blue:

Floyd:









Today I went and got another baby. I swear, they were even tinier than last time! I went for the smallest one there, who looks marbled. I'm interested in how it's coloring is going to turn out.

Cali:









Already it's pretty active, doing very well and curiously examining everything. Comes right up to the bowl when I check it out.

Anyway, I have to say I really love the baby betta experience. In my opinion, the less time they spend in teeny little cups, the better!


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## aemaki09

CALI IS GORGEOUS!! I mean, so is Floyd, Cali just looks sooo different!
I'm jealous

Goodluck with them


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## JBonez423

Thanks! I truly feel I got lucky with him/her! I've never seen a betta like that in Petco! I can't wait to see how its coloring turns out.

The betta in your pic is wicked cool, btw!


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## JBonez423

*Morning Update on my Baby Bettas*

Just thought I'd give an update and upload some new pics! Cali is so spunky! I swear he dances for the camera, and his fins may have already grown since I got him yesterday! Either that or they just unfurled more or something. Already his fins are exhibiting some red color, I am so excited to see how he turns out. Anyway, I put the bowls side by side, since they'll be sharing a divided tank, and they're fascinated by each other.
















Floyd seems to be developing a black head, too! He's definitely becoming quite the handsome fish. He's not as photogenic, though, and hides as soon as the little red light trains itself on him. I think it's a game, because he never hides, just zooms back and forth. Hopefully my big tank will have better lighting so I don't have to use the flash, I hate how it washes his color out to turquoise.
















They both have really long ventral fins for how small they are, so I'm thinking they'll both end up males, but only time will tell! Once I get their big tank, I'm getting an adult betta for my grandma. Can't wait! I've officially been bitten by the betta bug... uh oh.


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## Tabbie82

They are looking good! Sounds like you have decided Cali is a male? Uh oh is right! If you've been bit by the bug, you and your checkbook are in serious trouble! ;-) That bug bites too easily.


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## JBonez423

Tabbie82 said:


> They are looking good! Sounds like you have decided Cali is a male? Uh oh is right! If you've been bit by the bug, you and your checkbook are in serious trouble! ;-) That bug bites too easily.


Thanks! ^.^ I'm really starting to wonder if he is! Lol I may have to resign myself to him being male,(I was considering breeding when they got older, especially if the marbling is really cool) but he's only really 4 weeks old, maybe 5 weeks, so I guess we'll see! I swear his anal fins doubled in length overnight, though. His ventral fins are skinny, but that could just be age. Floyd has got rather thick looking ventral fins, I'm almost sure he's male. Arrrgh, I wish there was a definite way to tell when they're babies. I am so not a patient person. ;-)


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## Tabbie82

I'm with you on not being patient! It's funny, because I like the idea of not knowing what you are getting with a baby, but I also would want to know as soon as I have them at home what they are!


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## JBonez423

Tabbie82 said:


> I'm with you on not being patient! It's funny, because I like the idea of not knowing what you are getting with a baby, but I also would want to know as soon as I have them at home what they are!


That's exactly how I feel! Haha type-wise, too! I'm thinking (well, hoping) they're crowntails. I thought they'd pretty much all be veiltails, but the guy at Petco assured me it was a totally mixed bag, even when I told him I was going to buy it anyway. So here's hoping something cool comes out!


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## Tabbie82

Definitely keep us updated, because I want to see how they grow up and what they are. I'm getting my baby betta fix vicariously through this forum! :lol: Saves me money and sanity!


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## JBonez423

Tabbie82 said:


> Definitely keep us updated, because I want to see how they grow up and what they are. I'm getting my baby betta fix vicariously through this forum! :lol: Saves me money and sanity!


Will do! =D I know exactly what you mean lol I looove seeing all the super cool bettas people post here!


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## ao

growing up~ 

day1









day17


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## JBonez423

What a change! Do you have any idea how old it was when you got it? Looks even younger than mine, and I think they were both 4 weeks when I got them!


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## Luimeril

beautiful marble, aokashi! just stunning! and that change is like woah! O_O 

i honestly want a baby betta. :I not to 'save' it, because PetCo takes pretty good care of their bettas, but for the fun in raising a baby again.


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## ao

baby bettas are around 8 weeks old... maybe even older. I believe the are sold because they are the runts of the spawn, ie, the ones that are smaller than the regular frys of their age. Thats why they color up so rapidly once you take them home and put them in a proper environment. They are stunted during shipping and stuff due to cold water, no food, stress etc

@ lumieril- u sure its a marble? it would be great if it is!


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## JBonez423

Well, definitely an err on their part considering I've seen a lot of "ugly ducklings" becoming swans!


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## Otterfun

I got one last night and did a simple NPT with a Critter box. 1 hair grass, 1 italian visalia, and 3 stones. Betta is called Wee, since he/she is tiny. Wee was pretty colorless and is picking up some red and blue overnight.

Wee may be going to work with me =D.

Oh after taking the pictures, I decided to throw in an anacharis since Wee likes sleeping on it.


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## Hail0788

Aww! All the babies are growing into beautiful adult bettas.


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## aemaki09

Well, my babies doing really well in the week I've had him/her! Survived in the sorority tank for a few days even! Long story, but she jumped in during a w/c and it happened to be the day I couldn't find my net! Anyways, back to solitary for now! I'm leaving towards female, regaurdless of what the ventrals say because she got breeding stripes the other day when I had a couple new boys next to her bowl.


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## Otterfun

nice looking baby aemaki


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## Fishy Mom

Aemaki, she is sooooooo adorable.


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## dorid222

Ok so I was in petco a few days ago buying dog bones. I strayed over into the fish section just to check it out and betta's have always interested me so I like to check them out. Then I saw these baby betta's. most of them were dead or looked like they were dying, so sad btw. But then I came across this one and he/ she seemed liked pissed off slash sad like get me outta baby betta jail PLEASE! I had to go to school so I promised him/her I would save them from baby betta jail the next day. So I went back the next day and got him, the girl there said all I need is some food and water conditioner or just use spring water. So I thought great, I can totally do that! Oh and I asked if he needed to be acclimated and they said NO, jerks. Anyway so I got him home and I have this like 1.5ish gallon jar that I kept these decorative ball things in, rinsed it out, hooked him up with some spring water and have a nice day, I thought we were cool. THEN, I started reading about them and all the things they actually need and started freaking out because I am super attached to this little guy, who I am calling baby betta bb for short, and began to be terrified he would die. So I did a bunch of research and I have a 5 gallon tank with a filter and a heater on the way I paid extra for 2 day shipping, I bought the API water conditioner, water testing stuff, tank cleaning supplies, one of those betta leaf hammock swings, a plant for the tank, and a spot where he can hide. In the meantime I rigged this heater I have it underneath the stem of the bowl between two pot holders so he doesn't become fish soup and its actually heating the water it gone up a few degrees so I think it's good, I put the thermometer in the bowl and he is like super interested in it. Staring it down and swimming all around it and stuff . He seems to have lots of energy and is swimming all around he eats no problem so I have high hopes that he'll make it! I checked the ammonia level and its good for now. He got new water yesterday so should I change it again tomorrow? How do I know how much water conditioner to put in? The instructions are for per gallon. Please give me some feed back I'm so concerned about my new tiny friend. When I found out he needed all this stuff I didn't hesitate to spend almost 150 bucks for my 2 dollar fish lol. But I just want him to make it and be ok!! How do I know if he's happy? He swims all around from the top to the bottom and he's on my kitchen table and ever time we come in he's checkin us out and follows my finger... Lots of personality!! Oh and when his new tank comes how long should I wait before I switch him into it? Please help!! I'm totally brandy new at all this, all I wanted to do was save the poor little fish, and I'm glad I did, but now I'm like having to become a fish aquarium expert overnight Ahhhh :-D


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## blu the betta

why do people say baby bettas are hard to care for? they are too easy.


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## ao

Learning how to swim or stay afloat from scratch is pretty easy...
when you are plunged head first into the ocean, and not know how to swim, I dont think you will think swimming is easy...

similar concept, 

Whilst bettas are an easy fish to keep for the seasoned aquarist. many betta fish keepers are not aquarists and were suckered into this via false advertising....

I think it's better to be helpful to those who want to care for their fish and are feeling overwhelmed...


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## dorid222

Well I suppose I came to the wrong place for help and support!?? Geesh


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## Tabbie82

@dorid222- Don't be discouraged! It sounds like you are doing a good job. It can be overwhelming at first, bringing the little guy (or gal) home, then realizing you were misinformed and trying to learn everything as soon as possible. *Most* people on here are happy to help you. To answer your specific questions: 
"He got new water yesterday so should I change it again tomorrow?"
This thread should help you understand when to do water changes:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758

"How do I know how much water conditioner to put in?"
This depends on your tank size and the conditioner- I usually put 7 drops per gallon of mine in, so if it is the same for you, you would use 10 to 11 drops for your current tank. It doesn't have to be exact.

"Oh and when his new tank comes how long should I wait before I switch him into it?"
You can set it up, condition the water and if you want to, put him in that day. He will need to be acclimated. You'll have to float him in the water in a cup or bag and put a little of the new water in with him every once in awhile for an hour or so. This will get him used to the new water parameters and temp. With a newly set up tank, you will have to do more water changes at first because of ammonia buildup. Once the tank is established, you will only have to do water changes once a week on a five gallon.


FYI- There is a metal piece in the betta hammock. You should probably remove that by cutting the end and pulling it out with pliers before putting it in the tank. All my boys have the hammock and LOVE it! Oh, and congratulations on your new baby! Once you have him/her all settled in, you will love having your betta around. I hope this helps. Sorry that you had a less than warm welcome here. PM me if you have more questions and I will try to help.


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## Dene

Hey Dorid! I'm fairly new to the baby Betta world also, but it sounds to me like you're doing things right!

I don't know enough to answer your questions thoroughly, but I can say that once you have the 5 gallon set up you should put your jar (with him in it) in the new tank for about an hour so that the water temps can become the same. Also try pouring out a bit of his old water (down the drain, not into the new tank) and put some of the new water into the old jar every 20-ish minutes. That will get him used to it without shocking him.

Hopefully someone else can better answer your questions!

EDIT: Someone did answer them better than me. xD

I have a new baby!


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## ao

dorid222 said:


> Well I suppose I came to the wrong place for help and support!?? Geesh


Thats a lovely baby you have there. see how it's tail is a little like <>= instead of <>< ? It's clamping its rail because it's feeling a little uncomfortable. that could mean that it's a bit cold. young betters prefer warmer temperatures, around 82-86F ^_^ somtimes even 90F. It helps them grow.

I recommend 25w adjustable heater.

feed the baby whenever it's stomach look somewhat smaller. not too much, you may have to crush up pellets for it. It a little more work than an adult betta, but watching a fry grow up can be very rewarding. 

You're doing great already, don't let negative comments bother you too much ^__^


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## aemaki09

dorid222 said:


> Ok so I was in petco a few days ago buying dog bones. I strayed over into the fish section just to check it out and betta's have always interested me so I like to check them out. Then I saw these baby betta's. most of them were dead or looked like they were dying, so sad btw. But then I came across this one and he/ she seemed liked pissed off slash sad like get me outta baby betta jail PLEASE! I had to go to school so I promised him/her I would save them from baby betta jail the next day. So I went back the next day and got him, the girl there said all I need is some food and water conditioner or just use spring water. So I thought great, I can totally do that! Oh and I asked if he needed to be acclimated and they said NO, jerks. Anyway so I got him home and I have this like 1.5ish gallon jar that I kept these decorative ball things in, rinsed it out, hooked him up with some spring water and have a nice day, I thought we were cool. THEN, I started reading about them and all the things they actually need and started freaking out because I am super attached to this little guy, who I am calling baby betta bb for short, and began to be terrified he would die. So I did a bunch of research and I have a 5 gallon tank with a filter and a heater on the way I paid extra for 2 day shipping, I bought the API water conditioner, water testing stuff, tank cleaning supplies, one of those betta leaf hammock swings, a plant for the tank, and a spot where he can hide. In the meantime I rigged this heater I have it underneath the stem of the bowl between two pot holders so he doesn't become fish soup and its actually heating the water it gone up a few degrees so I think it's good, I put the thermometer in the bowl and he is like super interested in it. Staring it down and swimming all around it and stuff . He seems to have lots of energy and is swimming all around he eats no problem so I have high hopes that he'll make it! I checked the ammonia level and its good for now. He got new water yesterday so should I change it again tomorrow? How do I know how much water conditioner to put in? The instructions are for per gallon. Please give me some feed back I'm so concerned about my new tiny friend. When I found out he needed all this stuff I didn't hesitate to spend almost 150 bucks for my 2 dollar fish lol. But I just want him to make it and be ok!! How do I know if he's happy? He swims all around from the top to the bottom and he's on my kitchen table and ever time we come in he's checkin us out and follows my finger... Lots of personality!! Oh and when his new tank comes how long should I wait before I switch him into it? Please help!! I'm totally brandy new at all this, all I wanted to do was save the poor little fish, and I'm glad I did, but now I'm like having to become a fish aquarium expert overnight Ahhhh :-D


Please do not be discouraged by ignorant comments. I myself find baby bettas from petco almost harder to care for than my own spawn!
I am REALLY proud of you for doing your research!!! You sound like you are taking this very seriously!
What kind of food did you get? I suggest the hikar micro pellets or new life spectrum small fish formula just because they are easier for your baby to eat. 
As for the conditioner... What kind did you get? It says "put so and so amount in per gallon, put in 1.5 times that, doesn't have to be exact, but try to put more rather than less in, safer that way 

Seriously, you are doing an amazing job! Don't worry too much!  you'll be fine!
Also, if you already have the conditioner, I'd switch from spring to tap water...keeps bettas immune systems up, spring/ro/distilled water can cause them to lower since they really have no need to worry about fighting stuff off with it being practically sterilized.


Your baby is gorgeous by the way, a cute little Veil tail from the looks of the picture


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## dorid222

Thanks aokashi,,  so I was just having this discussion with someone else but I would love you're feedback too! So his water temp right now is only 73 degrees, poor thing. My heater rigg isn't working out as hoped. The darn thing is so stupid hot it burnt the pot holders!! Anyway my heater should hopefully be coming in the mail Friday. Do you think I should just buy him a good one in the morning so he's happy and comfortable or you think he'll be alright till Friday??


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## ao

Glad to see that we didn't scare you off ^_^

I would get a heater as soon as possible. is there a room in your house that is warmer than others? I myself have a room next to the door where the heating for the whole house runs, it's a nice constant 80ish. When I first got baby bettas, I didnt have a heater, so I would keep them in there.

what are you using the heat the tank right now? 

I really don't want to say, buy a heater immediately or it will die! because it probably wont... but it wont be good for the little guy's health either :/

I guess it's up to you  but for now try to aimfor 76-78 as a minumum.... when that heater comes you can slowly notch it up over a couple of hours to 82F... then go higher if you want to.

Another important thing, make sure the thermometer is accurate!!!


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## dorid222

Hey just noticed your response aemaki09!! Thanks I am super serious I really just want him/her to be happy and comfy!! Anyway I'm feeding it dried worms and I bought pellets today but they were way too big for its mouth! The brand is omega one? The conditioner I got is API, I already put the conditioner in the spring water so I'll dump it out and put tap, so what about 10 drops then?? Thanks again


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## aemaki09

Oh yeah, omega one is huge!! If you can, save those for later, and go back to petco and get the NLS small fish or hikari micro pellets. I use the hikari since they are cheaper and babies dont stay this small for long, but the NLS is a better quality. 
if it says a certain amount of drops per gallon, what are the drops? 7? you dont need to dump it out, just saying, you might as well save money adn do that for your next change.

As for the heater dillema, I wouldnt stress going until friday without a heater, (s)he will be fine without it, but if you have the money to spend on an extra, you might as well grab it in the morning. It's always a good idea to have a spare lying around anyways


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## Dene

I've got Omega One and I'm crushing them with the back of a spoon, seems to work just fine. I was told Hikari is not good anymore, since they changed their formula. And my Petco had NLS Betta Formula and Small Fish. Should I buy that instead? What about Hikari Bio-Pure Baby Brine Shrimp? That's the only BBS I could find, and it's frozen (I think).


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## ao

It should be totally fine to get the NLS grow or small fish formular. My baby got used to the size and still eats them now even though he's adult sized now. The other option is to crush the omega one. Omega one is a pretty good brand too ^_^

I would hold off on the dried worms until they are older  especially since they are not as nutritious~


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## Otterfun

While I was feeding my invertebrates (Snail, RCS, and Amano) a bit of algae wafer fell into Wee's tank.Wee looked rather "stressed out" trying to figure out how to eat the gigantic find, lol

Wee finally figured that it could rest the food against the rock and then munch off it, pretty smart IMO. I think Wee has a pretty hefty appetite.


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## Meeples

Rescued a baby two nights ago... his fins were clamped up and he was living in an absolutely filthy cup, so I decided to risk taking him home to see if doing water changes would help. Sure enough, he started perking up overnight after swimming around erratically with his clamped fins when I brought him home, and by the second evening when I moved him into a larger tank his fins had unfurled. I've been feeding him a lot of crushed pellet and blood worm in hopes of getting him nice and plump. 

I'm treating the water with salt right now because it looks like he has a teeny bit of fin rot going on. I'm not surprised since he was swimming and resting in filth.


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## lillyandquigly

that's a REALLY pretty doubletail, also I'm not sure the salt is a good idea because he's young (I hope it's ok that I called it a he, since we don't really know right now)


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## Meeples

lillyandquigly said:


> that's a REALLY pretty doubletail, also I'm not sure the salt is a good idea because he's young (I hope it's ok that I called it a he, since we don't really know right now)


Ah okay. I won't add salt for the next water change then. Thanks! I'm guessing it's a boy, but not sure... I haven't named "him" yet. Just trying to get him stabilized and healthy!


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## lillyandquigly

he looks very beautiful, good luck! I am planning on buying one soon because I currently have no bettas because my seven year old one died Anyways, any tips at all from anyone would be welcome!


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## Otterfun

lillyandquigly said:


> he looks very beautiful, good luck! I am planning on buying one soon because I currently have no bettas because my seven year old one died Anyways, any tips at all from anyone would be welcome!


wow, 7 year old, that's a long life for a betta.
any tips on betta longevity?


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## JBonez423

I got Floyd 3 weeks ago to the day! To commemorate this occasion, I decided to post a couple pictures. He's definitely looking male to me, and kind of like a crowntail (maybe? hopefully? =P)!

3 Weeks ago:









Today:









Also, I went back for a third.. had a spare tank. =X I just cannot resist those cute faces...









That's a really pretty DT, Meeple! Looks like it's going to have some awesome coloring. =]


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## Fishy Mom

lillyandquigly said:


> he looks very beautiful, good luck! I am planning on buying one soon because I currently have no bettas because my seven year old one died Anyways, any tips at all from anyone would be welcome!


If you can keep a betta alive for 7 years I think you can handle a baby, lol. Sheesh, you'll have the baby for 10 years!


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## Fishy Mom

JBonez423 said:


> I got Floyd 3 weeks ago to the day! To commemorate this occasion, I decided to post a couple pictures. He's definitely looking male to me, and kind of like a crowntail (maybe? hopefully? =P)!
> 
> 3 Weeks ago:
> 
> View attachment 79965
> 
> 
> Today:
> 
> View attachment 79966
> 
> 
> Also, I went back for a third.. had a spare tank. =X I just cannot resist those cute faces...
> 
> 
> View attachment 79967
> 
> That's a really pretty DT, Meeple! Looks like it's going to have some awesome coloring. =]


Some one is in love! They look great. The new little one has a beautiful red color. I'd say post update pics, but I don't think I need to say that to such a proud betta parent. If we start carrying little pics of our babies in our wallets you know we will officially be considered the crazy fish people, lol.


----------



## JBonez423

Fishy Mom said:


> Some one is in love! They look great. The new little one has a beautiful red color. I'd say post update pics, but I don't think I need to say that to such a proud betta parent. If we start carrying little pics of our babies in our wallets you know we will officially be considered the crazy fish people, lol.


Lmao I've been bitten by the betta bug, that's for sure.. it's real bad! I've been looking for a soothing hobby, though, something healthy. Think I definitely found it. Thank you very much! ^.^ I will definitely keep posting! I've been trying to refrain from doing so every day, it's so difficult sometimes lol.


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## Fishy Mom

JBonez423 said:


> Lmao I've been bitten by the betta bug, that's for sure.. it's real bad! I've been looking for a soothing hobby, though, something healthy. Think I definitely found it. Thank you very much! ^.^ I will definitely keep posting! I've been trying to refrain from doing so every day, it's so difficult sometimes lol.


Ahh post away. That's what I keep coming back to this thread for. I love seeing them grow up.


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## lillyandquigly

Otterfun said:


> wow, 7 year old, that's a long life for a betta.
> any tips on betta longevity?


she was like my first betta, I got her when i didn't know how to take care of them. I honestly don't know any tips on them I guess she was just one of those bettas that live a long time. I do have one tip though, keep up on water changes, feed a variety of foods, and always keep a sharp eye on them! She would have lived longer I'm sure, but I noticed when I cleaned out her tank after she died that one of the decorations was rusting -.-


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## JBonez423

Fishy Mom said:


> Ahh post away. That's what I keep coming back to this thread for. I love seeing them grow up.


Me too! I'm with everyone in being morally outraged that Petco sells betta babies, but on the same note, it's just so rewarding to be able to give them good housing and care from such a young age.


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## Otterfun

lillyandquigly said:


> she was like my first betta, I got her when i didn't know how to take care of them. I honestly don't know any tips on them I guess she was just one of those bettas that live a long time. I do have one tip though, keep up on water changes, feed a variety of foods, and always keep a sharp eye on them! She would have lived longer I'm sure, but I noticed when I cleaned out her tank after she died that one of the decorations was rusting -.-


thanks, i like your avatar, very artsy


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## lillyandquigly

thanks The betta was my girl Cheng, the old one do you have any tips on raising the babies?


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## JBonez423

Lol I don't know if I just got lucky 3 times in a row or what, but mine are all easy to raise. I feed them crushed pellets, keep them under a warm light and make sure they always have clean water (recently started using water conditioner). Nothing special and they all seem to be thriving! =] *knocks on wood*


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## Fishy Mom

lillyandquigly said:


> thanks The betta was my girl Cheng, the old one do you have any tips on raising the babies?


Opps, I think we were so impressed with 7 years we forgot your question. I've kept my babies in a heated (80 degrees) 1 gallon since they were so tiny & upgraded after their first growth spurt. I did 100% water changes every other day because I've read they are more sensitive to ammonia & my tap water reads at 0 for ammonia, nitrites, & nitrates. I was using the Hikari food, but just found out they changed the formula. I would just crush up the bigger pellets now.

Really the biggest thing is heat, food, & water changes...not that much different than the adults.


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## lillyandquigly

Ok that's good, I think I have everything planned now


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## Fishy Mom

lillyandquigly said:


> Ok that's good, I think I have everything planned now


Awesome! Post pics of your baby when you get him/her settled in. I'm excited for you.


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## Dene

I've officially kept Cae (changed his name) alive for a whole day! xD He seems to be doing very well, but kind of spends most of his time in a tiny corner. I think he might still be getting used to the new tank and everything.

And I want 17 million more. xD Maybe not that many, but you know...

JBonez; That's how I was! I just wanted something relaxing to do with my time... a planted Betta tank seems like just the thing! I was planning a tropical community tank, but now I think I just want Bettas.


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## JBonez423

I definitely recommend getting a big tank and dividing it up! I feel like I would love to do tank makeovers for people. On their budget, of course. I feel so limited on mine! But bettas are super relaxing. I love how they aren't fearful, too. Mine come right up to the tank to inspect me! They'll even let me touch them. It's a weirdly amazing trust because it's a fish and they're pretty much just instinct based and run on a flight reaction lol so it's pretty cool to have fish that totally break that mold.


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## JBonez423

Bettas are truly funny little things. I have 3 babies, they all acclimated just fine, ate, seemed at peace, all that. Got a betta adult, he seems PISSED. Barely eating, just kind of floats there. He's all unfurled and pretty, though. He just seems like a real grump.









Here's hoping he cheers up soon!


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## Otterfun

lillyandquigly said:


> he looks very beautiful, good luck! I am planning on buying one soon because I currently have no bettas because my seven year old one died Anyways, any tips at all from anyone would be welcome!


so what have you been doing with the other bettas in your album?
did you take out the metal from the decor?

I am new to betta keeping but I consistently hear that clean water, vacuuming, acclimation with WC, and not overfeeding as recurring advise.

I also read that when water is not clean or if betta is stressed for whatever reason, the opportunistic bacteria that already exist in the water will attack the betta and get it sick.

columnaris is an opportunistic bacteria that infect stressed betta.
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/columnaris.html


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## lillyandquigly

yeah I did, Cheng was my last betta actually, I don't have those other ones anymore. fhil died last year, Ferdinand died about a week after I got him, from jumping out of the tank.


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## Dene

JBonez; I have a 10 gal. Feel free to design it for me. xD I want live plants, but I don't want to not be able to see my fish. xP I also plan on making caves from PVC... the ones I've seen that other people made look awesome.

Would a 10 gal only be big enough for 2 males? Or could I divide it for 3?


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## aemaki09

Dene said:


> JBonez; I have a 10 gal. Feel free to design it for me. xD I want live plants, but I don't want to not be able to see my fish. xP I also plan on making caves from PVC... the ones I've seen that other people made look awesome.
> 
> Would a 10 gal only be big enough for 2 males? Or could I divide it for 3?


a 10 would be plenty for 2-3 I divide mine for 4, but that's in a fully cycled established heavily planted tank. If the tank is new, I'd say 3!8: a good amount, eventually, if you really want to divide it for 4, make sure you keep an eye on parameters. 2.5 gallons is what you'd get dividing it 4 ways, but 2.5 gallons/betta is still recommended to be a 1 50% + 1 100% change per week, if you are fully cycled you could get away with 2-50%'s and if you are cycled and well planted you could do 1-50%/week... It all depends on the amount of time your willing to spend on water changes and how much space you are able and willing to give per fish. ---IMO, some people will say 3 max.


----------



## Dene

Awesome, thank you!

I'm very worried about Cae. D; He has clamped fins, badly IMO. D; I posted on the disease/emergency thread. =/


----------



## aemaki09

Do you have a heater in there with him? Have you checked te ammonia level since he clamped up? Could be either of those, or he could just be stressed from something


----------



## JBonez423

Dene said:


> JBonez; I have a 10 gal. Feel free to design it for me. xD I want live plants, but I don't want to not be able to see my fish. xP I also plan on making caves from PVC... the ones I've seen that other people made look awesome.
> 
> Would a 10 gal only be big enough for 2 males? Or could I divide it for 3?


Lol woot! What's your "theme"? I kinda went for a "tripping out" theme with mine. I need more red plants and stuff to make it more colorful, and possibly a black light to swap out from time to time, and then it will be even trippier lol.

The PVC caves sound awesome! I know some people have advised against metal in the tank, although I'm not 100% why. They even say to take it out of silk plants, so I don't think it's fear of ingestion. So I would def do my research before putting it in. The good news is that PVC isn't coated or anything, so I can't see what the problem might be, but a more advanced betta owner might be able to tell us why.

A 10g is plenty for 3 or 4 males or females. As long as your filtration and whatnot is good, they'll be fine. =]


----------



## TwilightNite

Okay this is my little girl Opal, I got her June 2011 before my Petco were selling "Baby Bettas" but she was *really* itty bitty she was at least less than half the size of an an adult female (not including the adult's fins) and just has to pick the sweet little thing up! 

This was her the week I got her.










And here she is now!










The little girl grew like crazy! ^_^


----------



## JBonez423

Love the coloring! She's gorgeous! ^.^


----------



## TwilightNite

JBonez423 said:


> Love the coloring! She's gorgeous! ^.^



Thank you so much! :-D


----------



## JBonez423

Oh my gawsh, you guise! Guess who has more baby betta pictures..! =3 This girl right here. Everyone is settling in GREAT! I'm loving the tank set up and everyone who comes over says it looks great. My room is now a sanctuary as opposed to just a room... I actually get paid to live with and look after my grandma, who has Alzheimer's, so these guys have been a great source of stress relief for me!

Anyway! Baby picturesssss! ^.^ 









Marley!

Jagger! Forgive the blurriness. Fish are hard to photograph! But they come out so nice.

















Floyd's color is really starting to pop! Anyone else think he's really starting to look like a male? He always flares at Marley, but Marley seems more curious than aggressive. Sometimes they flare for awhile, race each other and then start "dancing". It's adorable. They almost seem pleased that they're tank mates. Very odd.









"BRO, DO YOU EVEN FLARE?!?"

So! This is my estimate on ages, and the internet is backing me up so far; I think they were all 5 weeks when I got them, Floyd is now 10 weeks, Marley is now almost 6 weeks and Jagger is 5/6 weeks. Someone had said they the petco babies are not really baby bettas, they're only stunted or female bettas... I really don't believe this is true. I genuinely believe these breeders probably overbreed, take a net-ful of babies and cup and sell. But they seem to be hardier than the adults! I almost think this is because they spend less time in a cup than the adults, since the adults probably aren't well housed even with the breeders. My babies had a much easier time adjusting than the adult male crowntail I bought my grandma seems to be.

But then, who knows. Maybe I just got lucky. I certainly feel it. =]


----------



## ao

I said they're stunted during shipping and housing in petco... due to lack of food and warm water. never said they are stunted female bettas.


----------



## JBonez423

I don't think it was specifically you I was talking about. I actually heard it from a few different people on different threads and websites. Didn't mean to single anyone out.


----------



## JBonez423

I should have said "some have said", not "someone had said".


----------



## Dene

aemaki; Yes, he has a heater. The water temp is 80-82. And no ammonia according to the test. I think he needs more hiding spaces.

JBonez; No theme as of yet. xP The no metal thing has to do with metal rusting and then poisoning your fish. Don't have to worry about that with PVC though.
Also, your fish look awesome.

Slightly unrelated, but: Wal-Mart had a betta in a cup (like they do) and it was labeled as a female betta but she was HUGE. Does that mean she was mislabeled or could it just be a large female? Should I get her to flare and check for a beard? xD


----------



## Tikibirds

> . Does that mean she was mislabeled or could it just be a large female? Should I get her to flare and check for a beard? xD


It's possible they are Giant Females. When I lived in Alaska, I found quite a few that were easily 3 inches long. I got 3 very large females from there. One of them, I was told by people on here, was actually a HM and not a VT. They would get in beautiful ones- ones you would find on AB. Too bad no one cared for them.


----------



## JBonez423

Thanks! =D and good to know! I just had a total "ohh, duh" moment there lol.


----------



## quietlythundering

I hope this doesn't seem out of place, but I've noticed that the Petsmart near my house seems to be stocking their shelves with (possibly) juveniles. I'm not sure if these guys are really fry (they were TINY, but not smaller than my thumbnail) or if they're skinny because they aren't being fed enough, or even if their growth was stunted due to inadequate living conditions. They were having a promotion where all bettas were cheaper (all of the male veiltails were gone!) and I was sorely tempted to invest in an escpecially tiny female that was the smallest betta I've ever seen (her fins were either clamped or she was a fry who was still developing her adult fins).....I didn't end up taking her with me because I already found a betta that I wanted to adopt (welcome to the family, Declan!) but I wonder how she is. I feel terrible about it now because she was so small...


----------



## Dene

I've seen some really small females at my local Petsmarts too. =/

If I had more money, I would have a ton of tanks and snag all the little ones and all the sick ones and keep them until I found responsible owners.


----------



## quietlythundering

Dene said:


> I've seen some really small females at my local Petsmarts too. =/
> 
> If I had more money, I would have a ton of tanks and snag all the little ones and all the sick ones and keep them until I found responsible owners.


I know what you mean! :-(
I wish I had more money.


----------



## Hail0788

My baby Mercedes is getting so big. 

Here she is on day one.


----------



## Hail0788

Mercedes now. It's been 6 weeks since I brought her home.


----------



## Artemis

I want one SO much but what if I got one I didn't like? How do you pick one out?


----------



## Otterfun

Artemis said:


> I want one SO much but what if I got one I didn't like? How do you pick one out?


I think it's like having kids, it's a commitment to unconditional love regardless of how they turn out to be....you start with a resolve to commit regardless...


----------



## ao

uh... You just kind of fall in love with your baby bettas
XD they "grow" on you


----------



## Artemis

That's what I figured  think I would love him/her anyway. If I win Student of the Month, I get a free betta, sadly it's pretty much all male VT so no babies but if I don't win I can get a baby and even if I do win I MIGHT be able to get a fourth though doubtful.


----------



## Artemis

If I win, we will call the store and see if they can get some babies in, if I don't, I still get a baby, win win kinda


----------



## JBonez423

Agreed with the responses, I would love my bettas even if they ended up losing all their color and becoming a muddy brown! xD

The surprise is part of the fun, though. You can usually tell if they might be blue, green, red, etc. But the fun part is seeing exactly what kind of blue, green, red, etc. they become!


----------



## ao

for both of mine, I had no idea why colors they'd turn out to be. both were relatively colorless when I got them (no stripes just pearly non pigmented fish)
i ended up with one gizzle and another black which might be a marble


----------



## JBonez423

aokashi said:


> for both of mine, I had no idea why colors they'd turn out to be. both were relatively colorless when I got them (no stripes just pearly non pigmented fish)
> i ended up with one gizzle and another black which might be a marble


Those are the best finds! I ended up with a marble as well, I am so excited to see her color journey! =]

I really think the best fish are the ones who are surprises. I haven't really a clue what color my newest baby will turn out to be, but that's kind of part of the excitement.


----------



## Artemis

I love your black piebald/marble aokashi. Haven't seen the grizzle. Can you tell tail types when they are that young or not unless they are double tail or a flaring halfmoon?


----------



## ao

well this is them both ^_^
Makkuro still has a clear streak on her anal and a few light splotches over her body. 









and this is Kuro. My former petco baby :3
yeah he nommed his tail... it's got a lot of growing back to do... use to be a bit longer than the length of his body :/


----------



## Fishy Mom

Aokoshi, they are beautiful! Anyone else have updates on their babies. I love seeing them grow.


----------



## JBonez423

Excuse to show off my babies? I'll latch onto that! ;P









Floyd is growing RAPIDLY now. His fins are getting longer by the day. 
























I'm pretty sure Marley is turning out to be female! Does that look like an egg spot to anyone else?























I'm 99.9% sure Jagger is female. Lookit that fat body and egg spot! =3























And the newest addition.. went to PetCo for supplies and couldn't leave him. Literally the smallest baby I've ever seen there, possibly the length of a dime. I actually thought he was a guppy. Sometimes his scales glint an almost blue, but otherwise he's colorless. I named him Elvis.


----------



## Tabbie82

OMG! Look at Floyd! He's so big! And pretty! :-D I can't tell about the egg spot on Marley. S/he has longish ventrals, so I was leaning towards male, but I'm no expert, that's for sure! Love the new boy. They are all so pretty!


----------



## Fishy Mom

Soooo cute! Floyd is getting big & that marble girl is gorgeous. Jagger's red fins are stunning. I can't wait to see if she ends up being a solid red color. If the new baby ends up being a girl you'll have a great start to a sorority.


----------



## JBonez423

Thanks, guys!!! ^.^ Floyd is currently my pride and joy lol they cracked me up this morning, because apparently the divider was loose (oops!!) and sometime in the night, they switched sides! I stared for a full five minutes in sleepy confusion...

No kidding on the sorority! I'm almost leaning toward male with the newest guy, because I read something that said often males won't have camouflage stripes when they're babies, but I know bettas never stick to a solid rule. =P Marley is a good example of that! I though boy at first... then girl... then guy... now girl again, but I still don't know! Either way, I'll be happy, though! What's the rule on cellophane marbles? From the way the red is already washing out of her fins, I'm wondering if she'll end up white.. or just with a butterfly pattern. So exciting!

Jagger's coloring is amazing. I kind of hope she ends up full red, but on the same note, a pink body with deep red fins would be REALLY pretty...


----------



## ao

dark bodied males and females both have stripes. light bodied ones dont ^_^

ask the breeders :3


----------



## JBonez423

Really? Huh! That's awesome lol. I'm so curious to know what color he'll end up. I'm envisioning a very pale, icy blue betta.... hey, a girl can dream. ;]


----------



## ao

hahah
watching them grow up is exciting isn't it? I was sooo excited wathing Kuro's fins grow longer and his clear beard grow black spots. thwn when I thought he was done his pectorals colored up! haha


----------



## JBonez423

It really is! It's very addictive, too! I'm almost glad Petco is selling babies now. I know they might not fall into the right hands, but to be honest, neither will regular sized bettas. I was talking to someone who worked there and she told me the only ones who really buy the babies are the experienced betta owners, because most novices are nervous about killing a baby, and turned off by their lack of coloring/finnage. But what I like most about it is that these guys will hopefully spend less time in a cup than the adults.

There should be a limit, though, on age and on the amount of babies they get at a time. Elvis is so teeny, I almost think he got in there by accident... either that or he was a super runt lol!


----------



## ao

My local petco gets....200 bettas every week. half of them dont have a space in the little cubicles so they're scattered around. some in inconspicuous places where no one ever looks.


----------



## JBonez423

That's crazy!!! Our PetCo literally gets about 15 babies and females, and maybe 30 males a week! I'm not sure how many out PetSmart gets in a week, but there weren't all that many when I went in yesterday. However, they were also on sale, so that could have something to do with it.

Stores definitely need a limit on how many fish they can stock at a time, especially in the conditions bettas are kept in. I'm so thankful my PetCo seems to do daily water changes and actually make an effort to take care of the bettas... I can only imagine how you must feel walking into a store with 200 bettas in substandard care. =x


----------



## Crowntails

Wow, your marbled girl is beautiful!


----------



## JBonez423

Thanks! ^.^


----------



## JBonez423

My apologies if this is too soon to post pictures again. I try to go a week in between but, well, they were being super feisty today so I broke out the camera. =3 If it helps, these are actually more recent. The ones I posted this morning were from a few days ago (Elvis from yesterday, as soon as I got him home).






























I have a couple questions about Floyd. First, how do you tell if a juvenile is a crowntail? I googled the crap out of it and have no idea. Does he look like one to anyone? Also, does the black head mean he'll become a marble, too, or do some fish just have black heads? I'm skeptical that I got lucky enough to have two marble babies lol.























Ok, either that's an egg spot, or Marley is very good at pretending to be female! I mean, s/he could very well be a male with an egg spot, because Jagger's is very prominent even though she's younger, and they both have light bodies so I don't think the color is throwing me off. Marley is just full of surprises, I guess. :roll:
















Jagger, showing off a stunning red as usual.























Elvis actually has some color this afternoon!


Bettas prove that change can happen in a matter of hours! ;-) Again, I apologize for posting twice in one day! I'm a total showoff mum. :roll:


----------



## Meeples

My PetSmart stocks very few bettas... maybe 20 at a time, and they are always in clean cups when I'm there. The PetCo on the other hand, stocks tons and tons and frequently I see very dirty cups and dead fish. Very sad. I think it just depends on the individual store, and the employees who work there. Hopefully more places get caring employees who will take better care of all their fish!


----------



## Meeples

JBonez Elvis looks super cute!!


----------



## JBonez423

Thanks! =] He is, he's a pipsqueak lol.


----------



## Meeples

My baby, still unnamed... he's thriving! Purchased two weeks ago. Took very well to his new divided tank versus his baby cup which had poo everywhere.


----------



## JBonez423

So cute! What a nice find for 2 bucks, huh? =P


----------



## Meeples

Yes. I feel so lucky and blessed to have found such a cutie. Right now his dorsal fin looks too big on him. Kinda like a kid going through a growth spurt.


----------



## JBonez423

Lol I think that's when they're the most adorable, though! That's the point Floyd is beginning to get to. =P


----------



## Meeples

I totally agree! It's cute when all the parts don't fit together yet. PS, about Floyd's fins, I've read somewhere that they sometimes look spiky when they're growing out. So it's really hard to tell if he'll be a CT yet.


----------



## JBonez423

Lol figures! I've been trying to find pictures of juvenile veiltails, crowntail, etc. but it's difficult. I was hoping an avid breeder might catch sight of his picture and be able to tell me! =P


----------



## bannlow2471

Well now I've gone and done it! For the past couple of weeks I have been reading this baby Betta thread and thinking either one of two things. 1) I really HATE the idea of these teeny tiny babies being sold to who knows who and getting who knows what kind of care. OR 2) Those are the cutest darn things ever and I wish I could have one. 

For some reason today after work I just couldn't seem to stop myself from stopping off at Petco "just to see." And you know how that story ends. There were three babies there and not really having much to go on (they were all teeny and practically colorless, all looked pretty lethargic and unhappy, etc) so I chose one at random and got some Hikari Biogold and also some Bettamin flakes just because I was afraid even the tiny little pellets would be too big for that tiny baby mouth. Also got a couple of plants, a thermometer and heater and came home to get him/her installed in Murray's old 2.5 gallon tank.

I treated the water with API Stresscoat and API Quick Stsrt and floated her in her cup for a solid almost two hours, adding teaspoon amounts of tank water to cup at twenty minute intervals. Whilst he/she was still confined to the dip cup I floated in a few pellets and there was definite interest but I wasn't sure if any were actually ingested. So I crushed up a few flakes and that seemed to work better. I was thinking before bed I would try a few frozen (thawed) brine shrimp. As of now the baby has been in the tank itself for about an hour and seems to be doing well. The thermometer (I got an aqueon 10 w mini heater) does appear to be slowly raising the temp. It is almost to 80 degrees.)

One thing I forgot was a test kit so I'll do that tomorrow. 

Any suggestions on water changes or feeding or anything else? Thanks to this forum I feel like I pretty much know what to do but nonetheless its a bit daunting to realize how tiny and fragile this little guy or gal is and that this little life is in my hands. 

Also ...I am estimating that this little one is about four weeks old now. At what age will tail type and gender become evident? I don't really care except that I don't care for gender neutral names all that much and am itching to christen this new little one.


----------



## JBonez423

Floyd is about 11 weeks now and I'm still not 100% on his gender or type, so you're definitely in for a bit of a wait on that one! I think 9 times out of 10 it'll probably end up VT, though. I took the pellets and the flakes with the shrimp in them and crushed them all up together, they really seem to like that. With water changes, I keep my babies in a .75 gallon tank (they looks so huge in it... lol) for the first week or two, I try to do 50% water changes every couple days and refrain from full out water changes at first to minimize stress, but stuff does happen. I just had to change my newest baby's tank because I had put too much food in and it was getting gross lol.

It's actually not as scary and daunting as a lot of people think. I've rehabbed different baby animals all my life and thought I was in for an adventure, but I find as long as you keep them clean, warm and fed, they're happy little fish. =]


----------



## bannlow2471

Thank you so much JBonez! I agree with you ... At the core of it babies of most any species are pretty similar. I was a wildlife rehabbed for awhile and raised my share of baby squirrels, mockingbirds, bluejays, etc. I guess I'll just keep on doing what I'm doing and hope for the best. At the very least I think he/she is better off here than in that little cup with people gawking at them all day. Fingers crossed!


----------



## JBonez423

Definitely! I'm starting to prefer buying the babies over the adults, honestly, especially if it means a shorter amount of time being in teeny little cups! And as far as raising them goes, it's MUCH easier than having to put formula into a teeny syringe and feeding fidgety baby birds and squirrels! And no one has to be stimulated to go to the bathroom! ;]


----------



## JBonez423

Thought I'd post this, in case anyone's curious! PetCo baby vs PetCo adult.. 














 

Lol my babies have a whole lot of growing to do!!!


----------



## bannlow2471

That sure is a big difference!


----------



## Hail0788

Mercedes has been doing so well that I went to PetCo and got me another baby.


----------



## bannlow2471

Wow! How many do you have now?? You are going to be busy!


----------



## Fishy Mom

Hail, you're going to have a bunch of tanks with all the babies from your local petco aren't you, lol. The new baby is so adorable!


----------



## Hail0788

Fishy Mom said:


> Hail, you're going to have a bunch of tanks with all the babies from your local petco aren't you, lol. The new baby is so adorable!


Lol I feel like I'm turning my home into a Betta aquarium. 6 girls 2 males and 1 baby.


----------



## Fishy Mom

Hail0788 said:


> Lol I feel like I'm turning my home into a Betta aquarium. 6 girls 2 males and 1 baby.


I have 5 girls, 1 male, & 1 baby right now. I was going to put the baby in the sorority, but she's just not growing so i'm going to wait. My son went to stay over at my mom's house (they have a big lot of land) so he could practice shooting with one of his BB gun team mates & he said he'd better not come home & find a fish tank in his room with a new fish. :lol: I didn't want to tell him I already thought about it. ;-)


----------



## Hail0788

Fishy Mom said:


> I have 5 girls, 1 male, & 1 baby right now. I was going to put the baby in the sorority, but she's just not growing so i'm going to wait. My son went to stay over at my mom's house (they have a big lot of land) so he could practice shooting with one of his BB gun team mates & he said he'd better not come home & find a fish tank in his room with a new fish. :lol: I didn't want to tell him I already thought about it. ;-)


Aww! I want to see them. You should buy a breeders box for your baby. I did that with Mercedes. I kept her in there for 3 days and when I let her out with the big girls she did fine. Mercedes is still the smallest in the tank.


----------



## bannlow2471

So cool to hear about everyone's babies! My new little one is doing great today. New heater seems to be keeping the tank at a steady 81 degrees and as I've now been observing for a little over 24 hours its comforting to see some patterns developing. And as has been said those patterns are pretty typical for all babies of every species ...it's basically eat and sleep, eat and sleep, eat and sleep. I also feel like I am starting to see a reddish tinge to the baby. So we'll see.


----------



## Meeples

Hail0788 said:


> Mercedes has been doing so well that I went to PetCo and got me another baby.


How cute! Any guess on how old she is?


----------



## Hail0788

I think about 4 or 5 weeks old.


----------



## JBonez423

Who wants to see some real changes? ;-)

Marley when I got him, 3 weeks ago.
















Marley today!





















 

Is that the same fish? Come on, now.  And we've still got a LOT more growing to do!


----------



## Crowntails

Wow, big change!


----------



## JBonez423

I know! Lol some of his old pics he looks like a little sardine. Now he's actually looking like a betta! =P


----------



## Fishy Mom

Hail0788 said:


> Aww! I want to see them. You should buy a breeders box for your baby. I did that with Mercedes. I kept her in there for 3 days and when I let her out with the big girls she did fine. Mercedes is still the smallest in the tank.


I released her today. I figured I should give it a shot while I was spending the day at home. She fit right in. Both her & the big girls acted like she had been there all along. I'll get some pics tomorrow!


----------



## Hail0788

Fishy Mom said:


> I released her today. I figured I should give it a shot while I was spending the day at home. She fit right in. Both her & the big girls acted like she had been there all along. I'll get some pics tomorrow!


I'm glad your baby is doing good with the big girls.  I can't wait to see.


----------



## bannlow2471

Well I am happy to report that my new little one continues to do well. Yesterday I did a 75% water change during which I removed he gravel substrate except in one little small Gladware cup that I had anchored one of the plants in. I put a tan colored towel under the tank and added a merino? moss ball as well that I picked up during a trip to Petsmart for a new heater. I so appreciate whomever it was that mentioned this. It has made things easier for feedings as I can easily see any uneaten food and syringe it out with the turkey baster. (Which incidentally the baster has worked well for feedings, too .. I just put whatever I'm feeding in a small amount of tank water and then express it right next to the baby. It's funny because after a couple days of this he/she knows the routine and is eating enthusiastically at each feeding. Before I figured out this method
the food was going everywhere and it took a lot of time to suck all the uneaten food out.)

Here's a picture.


----------



## bannlow2471

Well, gee - I didn't realize the picture was posting sideways. What the heck? Anyway - all still seems good as of this morning - I was a little nervous to be leaving all day and not being able to check on the baby until this evening. And WOW - when I walked in to my office this morning and saw Murray, he looked HUGE!


----------



## Acheron

So it's been a month now since my boy (yes I'm finally certain it's a boy... XD) came home with me.

He's grown quite a bit since I brought him I think....










First day...










Yesterday!


I'm not quite certain how old he is yet, or what tail type he is. He's about an inch now (maybe a tiny bit more) in length, not including the tail.

Someone told me in this thread earlier that he is a VT male, but while his tail's certainly been growing, it's growing more spread out/rounded like that, rather than longer and flowy.

Maybe someone here can give me a better idea? :]


----------



## aemaki09

He looks like either a widely spread vt or possibly a VT. Dorsal and anal look VT but the tail looks DeT, I'm kind of stumped as well, guess we'll have to wait and see!


----------



## Otterfun

Acheron said:


> So it's been a month now since my boy (yes I'm finally certain it's a boy... XD) came home with me.
> 
> He's grown quite a bit since I brought him I think....
> 
> 
> 
> First day...
> 
> 
> 
> Yesterday!
> 
> 
> I'm not quite certain how old he is yet, or what tail type he is. He's about an inch now (maybe a tiny bit more) in length, not including the tail.
> 
> Someone told me in this thread earlier that he is a VT male, but while his tail's certainly been growing, it's growing more spread out/rounded like that, rather than longer and flowy.
> 
> Maybe someone here can give me a better idea? :]


very handsome boy


----------



## Otterfun

Here's mine on 3/14/13









today 3/25/13


----------



## Acheron

Otterfun said:


> Here's mine on 3/14/13
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> today 3/25/13


Aw is it a little crowntail?


----------



## Otterfun

Acheron said:


> Aw is it a little crowntail?


IDK, I am trying to look for spilt in the end cartilage of the fins (not sure the correct term) to see if it is VT or CT. Looking more like a VT for now.

Curious gobbled the whole algae wafer that was supposed to be for the nivertebrates, and she definitely over-ate. I put her in a breeder's box until her tummy shrinks. Also, she has white tips coming out of her bottom, and she has egg build up...tough to be a girl sometimes...maybe that explains her appetite.


----------



## JBonez423

O.O Whoa. Someone blossomed overnight.









I'm back on the male side of the fence. Lol. Oh, the joy of having babies!









Once I get batteries for my camera, I'll post new pics of all the babies! =]


----------



## Fishy Mom

JBonez, he is stunning. I think it's a boy & the egg spot would be visible by now if it was a girl.


----------



## aemaki09

Agreed, most definitely male. Now for the tail type. Definitely not VT lol probably a delta...


----------



## ashleylyn

Day 6 of having my Petco baby.  Crowntail? Little one is turning blue! And has such a feisty personality. Loves to flare, beg for food, dart around, and attack its reflection if I show the mirror. :lol: Also blows bubbles on occasion, but not nests... S/he's probably only slightly over an inch, fins included. And has gotten very fat so its diet time, lol!


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## JBonez423

Thanks! =] The weird thing is, sometimes I swear I see an egg spot and can kind of see it in earlier pictures, but I don't know if it's just my imagination or if it's a false egg spot or what. As for the type, I'm not sure but there are two rays in between each ray, if that helps! Floyd's fins got intensely big before his next growth spurt, but he wasn't quite as full as this. I'm loving the luminescence in his scales though.


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## Snoeflayke

Well, I did it.
I got myself a baby.
I bought the little one yesterday, and I have it in a 1.75g Kritter Keeper thing.
The little one is eating a crushed NLS pellet about every 4-5 hours!

No name yet, maybe one of you has some suggestions?


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## Hail0788

My baby after a week. I'm pretty sure it's a boy.


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## bettafishgirl

Wish I could get a baby. Frankly I don't have the time or money :c


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## bettafishgirl

JBonez423 said:


> O.O Whoa. Someone blossomed overnight.
> 
> View attachment 88881
> 
> 
> I'm back on the male side of the fence. Lol. Oh, the joy of having babies!
> 
> View attachment 88889
> 
> 
> Once I get batteries for my camera, I'll post new pics of all the babies! =]


Very handsome!


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## Somethingstoofishy

One way to tell a boy from a girl is that boys attack their reflection. DO NOT put male and male in tanktogether... you can put male and female and female and female. Males are VERY territorial.


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## LebronTheBetta

Actually, sometimes they don't.. Females can do this.
You can't put male and females together, they'll either breed or fight. To have females in a tank together, you'll need at least 4.


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## bannlow2471

Ok, so last night I finally got a semi-decent picture of my little baby. Any ideas on gender or tail type?


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## jessp118

bannlow2471 said:


> Ok, so last night I finally got a semi-decent picture of my little baby. Any ideas on gender or tail type?


looks to be maybe a delta or a veil. It looks too young to tell the gender


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## bannlow2471

@jessp, thanks for your input. Any idea how long it will take before gender becomes known? I do feel like maybe he/she is a delta tail because even though its in miniature, the way the tail is set on the body doesn't look anything like my male veil tail.


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## kristinaowl

Hello! I fell victim to the cuteness a few weeks ago. Here are some pictures documenting my little one's progress. S/he is doing extremely well. 
Any idea about sex and/or tail type? Thanks!









March 16th









March 25th









Today - It's a terrible photo, but it's an accurate representation of it's coloring at the moment.


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## bannlow2471

Wow, that is going to be a beautiful fish! SO CUTE!


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## aznmint

Hello! I recently joined and I just noticed this thread =) I'm guilty of falling for the baby bettas from petco, but they're just so darn cute and i'd love to give them a better home than they would of had if they were stuck in a tiny cup forever

Anyways I've had Momo for over two weeks now and here are some current pics of him. I'm not sure of if Momo is a male or female, but i'm hoping for male. Also i'm pretty sure he's a crowntail too


















Momo is currently in a 5.5 gallon tank that i've split into two because i recently bought a moontail betta on impluse xD He has big castle (got on sale), some plants, and a heater. Not going to have a filter because they seem to strong for him and upsets him (i do weekly water changes though)









^ When i first got him! Excuse the title on it, i'm making myself a documentary of him (from baby to adult!)


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## bannlow2471

Momo is precious!


----------



## aemaki09

I got 2 new babies today.
I am pretty sure one is a VT (hopefully male) an the other is a CT (possibly CT) female. 
I originally was only planning to buy a single one, whichever looked the most male, but I couldn't help myself with the "girl". It wasn't doing very well in the store, severely clamped and had a hard time getting air.
They have been floating in the main tank all day while I was in class till I could get them better situated. She looks so much better after 6 hours of having her home. Hopefully she can pull through the stress of being stuck in a cup in a really busy store for god knows how long. :/

Planning to post some updated pictures of my other 2 "babies" along with the 2 new ones once they get more accustomed to their new homes.


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## aznmint

bannlow2471 said:


> Momo is precious!


Thank you! ^^ He's just adorable every time he sees me because he goes to the front of the tank and paces back and forth as if he's thinking "Food?!?!?"


----------



## aemaki09

So they are definitely male and female, just can't determine tail type for sure yet.
The red is obviously the boy, the grey with red fins is my girl.
Leaning toward VT male and CT female... But it could definitely change...
Here's a few pics of him showing off and her striping up 

























I'll post updated pics of my 2 older girls tomorrow.


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## lillyandquigly

she looks like she could be a combtail, the male does look like either a young vt or possibly a roundtail?


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## JBonez423

bannlow2471 said:


> @jessp, thanks for your input. Any idea how long it will take before gender becomes known? I do feel like maybe he/she is a delta tail because even though its in miniature, the way the tail is set on the body doesn't look anything like my male veil tail.


I think that unless you have an expert eye, it's impossible to tell both until they're much older. Like, 12 weeks, older. Floyd is currently 12 weeks and I'm just beginning to think he's a veiltail because his rays are beginning to soften and kind of crumple when he swims. As for the gender... good luck lol. I've been back and forth with all my babies for the longest time. One of mine even had an egg spot, which has disappeared. They're freaking pranksters. ;P


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## Otterfun

aemaki09 said:


> So they are definitely male and female, just can't determine tail type for sure yet.
> The red is obviously the boy, the grey with red fins is my girl.
> Leaning toward VT male and CT female... But it could definitely change...
> Here's a few pics of him showing off and her striping up
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'll post updated pics of my 2 older girls tomorrow.


nice babies, she is already having vertical aggression bars? Is she stressed next to another betta?


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## aemaki09

Otterfun said:


> nice babies, she is already having vertical aggression bars? Is she stressed next to another betta?


Vertical aggression bars? I've never heard of those.
They are breeding stripes. Females show them when they are "ready to breed" (which she is obviously too young for, but that's technically what they are for) kinda like how a male will flare, a female shows him her stripes to show that she's a girl.

She probably is stressed too though, she was in a petstore cup for god only knows how long and is very weak


----------



## Xeek

Young juvenile bettas may develop what looks like stress stripes, they won't go away until adult size if they do. I could find no reasons that my baby betta was stressed, but when she finally grew up they were gone. I assume after some mild initial stress they develop these stripes but keep them not for stress but for camouflage at least until they are older.


----------



## Otterfun

aemaki09 said:


> Vertical aggression bars? I've never heard of those.
> They are breeding stripes. Females show them when they are "ready to breed" (which she is obviously too young for, but that's technically what they are for) kinda like how a male will flare, a female shows him her stripes to show that she's a girl.
> 
> She probably is stressed too though, she was in a petstore cup for god only knows how long and is very weak


oh, ok..thanks.

It's just that when I had the 2 baby cups side by side, one of them is showing vertical bars and got very active in front of the other one when I first got them. I thought one of them is being aggressive versus stressed or ready to breed....


----------



## Xeek

Otterfun said:


> oh, ok..thanks.
> 
> It's just that when I had the 2 baby cups side by side, one of them is showing vertical bars and got very active in front of the other one when I first got them. I thought one of them is being aggressive versus stressed or ready to breed....


Stress stripes are going to be horizontal. It's not uncommon for baby bettas to have them when they get a little larger.


----------



## Viva

Otterfun said:


> oh, ok..thanks.
> 
> It's just that when I had the 2 baby cups side by side, one of them is showing vertical bars and got very active in front of the other one when I first got them. I thought one of them is being aggressive versus stressed or ready to breed....


The stripes confused me at first too. Sometimes I would look at my baby betta and it would have horizontal stripes (seen in young bettas and in stressed, adult bettas). Minutes later I would look and she would have no stripes, and then vertical bars/stripes started to appear as she got a little older. These patterns can change within seconds as I've seen it happen literally before my eyes. The best way to tell if they're stressed is to see if they have horizontal stripes and their color will become pale and less vibrant.

Unstressed baby betta with horizontal stripes:


Vertical "breeding" stripes (they develop as they mature and sometimes appear randomly):



The reason your baby got active and developed the vertical stripes was because she may have been displaying her readiness to breed, or to let the other fish know she is female. I'm not exactly sure on betta's breeding behaviors but I witnessed something similar to you once when I put my female betta in a plastic cup and floated her in my male's tank:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqlkmZsreNg&list=UUKfOpQPC1iT2dYnWsNDhyZQ&index=6

At the beginning of the video she has horizontal stripes and looks very pale, indicating stress. But after she notices the male betta dancing around her cup she develops vertical stripes (0:37) and seems very active and alert to where he is.

Sorry this was so long of a post, hope it helps.


----------



## Meeples

I have read that verticals can be a sign of aggression, in addition to breeding. My big girl got vertical when she saw my baby betta that was clearly immature... unless she's a cougar!


----------



## Viva

Meeples said:


> I have read that verticals can be a sign of aggression, in addition to breeding. My big girl got vertical when she saw my baby betta that was clearly immature... unless she's a cougar!


LOL! Perhaps it is a sign of aggression as well but I thought they would flare a lot if they are being aggressive.


----------



## justmel

Here's my two babies. I've had them a few weeks now. I think they are both female VT's, but I'm not sure.


----------



## bannlow2471

So Friday marked Day 14 of life with a baby Betta ... and it sure has been interesting. This little guy/girl seems to grow and change by the day, and I'm almost sure he's a boy - since he got a new neighbor (Suma, my female crowntail who I brought home last Wednesday - she is in an separate tank but they can see each other) he's been flaring a lot and I think I can see a little tiny beard. 

Also, it is killing me to know what tail type he or she is and I don't know if it's just that he's (she's) too little or whether I am just too inexperienced, but I can't figure it out. I thought maybe delta tail, but now I'm thinking maybe halfmoon? I don't really care ... I just want to KNOW! Any ideas?


----------



## justmel

I don't know about the tail, but I think you have a beautiful baby on your hands


----------



## bannlow2471

justmel said:


> I don't know about the tail, but I think you have a beautiful baby on your hands


Aww, thanks. I think so, too!


----------



## bannlow2471

Ok, so I was getting really aggravated with these terrible iPhone pics because they were always so blurry, so last night I got out my Canon and took a few shots. Here are two that really show his/her tail and I'm hoping one of the experts here can tell me what tail type I've got here.


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## Xeek

looks like a veil tail to me with some very unique coloration. The end of the tail will likely close up more when it gets older. My baby looked almost like a crown tail until she got older.


----------



## bannlow2471

Thanks, Xeek! A veil tail? Really? That is the one tail type that I wouldn't have guessed! I guess maybe because I've only seen adults? That would be just fine with me, since my first Betta is a veiltail and I think he is stunning! This baby's coloring is a bit unique, I think - in that he sort of changes colors depending upon the light. The picture I posted last night was taken four days ago with my iPhone 4s and in that picture he looked mostly reddish, which isn't the case. When viewed with the aquarium light on he has lots of other colors - green, turquoise, etc. as well as the red. I think some of what you're seeing in the picture here as far as colors is due to the flash, but not all. It's certainly fun watching him grow up and change - which he does on a daily basis it seems like. Anyway, thanks for your input!


----------



## Xeek

I think a crown tail would have much more obvious crowns, this one does not. The small curves in the tail could make you think it is, but those will smooth out when it gets older.

I'm not sure I would call this one a baby? Looks like it's getting up to it's young adult size actually. My baby was smaller with big baby eyes, this one has more proportional eyes like an adult.


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## bannlow2471

Hi, Xeek. I think maybe these photos are making him look bigger than he is. IRL he is maybe an inch long now nose to tail. I've had him about two and a half weeks (Friday was 14 days) and this is how he looked on Day 1:



SO I don't really know - but based on the little research I have done I was estimating him at about two months old or so. What do you think?


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## Xeek

Now that is def. a baby. It's grown up a bit now in your other pics! It's a fine fish you have! I almost want to say it's female based on the belly.


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## bannlow2471

Xeek said:


> Now that is def. a baby. It's grown up a bit now in your other pics! It's a fine fish you have! I almost want to say it's female based on the belly.


Really? Interesting. I thought girl at first but in the last couple of days I have felt like I definitely saw a beard when he/she was flaring. Ah who knows? Lol!


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## Xeek

its near impossible to to tell this early.


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## bannlow2471

Xeek said:


> its near impossible to to tell this early.


Yeah so I've been told but that doesn't seem to stop me from obsessing over it LoL!


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## Xeek

She has the belly of a female, where the eggs will be, but young male bettas and present that and confuse you until they get closer to their adult size. If she shows a bit of white under that belly or some vertical lines it would be definite on the female answer.

My baby also ended up as female, which was fortunate! She fits in well with the sorority and never presented a problem of aggression. I suppose it's because she grew up in a transparent breeder box in the sorority tank - she automatically went to the bottom of the pecking order without any fights. Anyone that chases her will realize how a gold medal Olympic swimmer she is! She is small and super fast for a betta.


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## bannlow2471

Thanks, Xeek! This is all very fascinating to me as I am so new to Bettas in general, and baby Bettas for sure!


----------



## muasdc5

Two month update..to those who said she wouldn't survive with me using only a desk lamp as a heat source > 











First got her at ~3/4"

Now she's almost 1 1/2"...

I want to raise another one, but i went last week and they had no more babies on the shelves, asked if they stopped selling and was told there were mmore coming..gonna go check later this week. I want to raise a male!!! lol


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## Xeek

My Petco also has no more babys and they haven't got any in a long while.


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## JBonez423

So I FINALLY got batteries for my camera. It's been something like three weeks, and everyone is undergoing some serious changes. I tell you one thing, though- raising bettas can be really, really confusing. I've been back and forth on gender, tail type, what have you. I finally gave up and just decided to enjoy the ride, and I'm thinking Marley and Floyd are finally beginning to show their true types/genders... hopefully. =P

So without further ado... picture time!

Elvis is still teeny. Haven't had to move him out of his 3/4 gallon kritter keeper, he still looks to teeny in comparison. Finally beginning to color up, though, and look a little less like a guppy!
















Jagger has me riddled with curiosity. I don't have much experience with reds, do the have a tendency to have a pale body before they brighten up? Sometimes he looks maroon, other a brilliant crimson. Those strange iridescent spots showed up the last couple days. I'm still pretty certain she's female, although I'm just going by body shape and her egg spot. I think Marley might be proof that it's not always an accurate way to figure it out. =P 























Floyd is rapidly approaching the 4 month mark, and despite my earlier beliefs, I'm starting to believe s/he's actually female! Her body is growing, but her fins aren't, and those ventrals are starting to look short and fat. I don't know if I see an egg spot or not, I kind of see something there but my untrained eye can't really focus before she swims off. I'm also thinking she's a veiltail! That tail is really crinkling and flowing. Very cute surprise. =]

Out of curiosity, should I be worried she seems to swim with her ventrals to one side? Doesn't seem to impede her at all. Is this common is bettas, or a weird quirk?






























Marley is really becoming my pride and joy (don't tell the rest). His egg spot completely disappeared, and his fins went CRAZY. I've heard a couple opinions on the type, from delta tail to round tail to half moon (Although I doubt that, because he only has two rays within the rays). His colors are really changing, and his fins are beginning to tint a steel blue color. I definitely think he was an awesome Petco find, especially considering the colorless runt he was when I first got him! Now he's bigger than Floyd lol.



















































I love these guys.

Any thoughts, guesses, comments much appreciated. =]


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## BettaNubRandyLove

*Outraged*

Im angry at Petco. I go there today to find that they are participating in this poo. im planning on rescuing one. They were unmoving even when I tapped the plastic cups. Temperature was not nearly high enough. THESE FRY ARE SICK!


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## Viva

My baby Spark looked similar to Elvis in body at first, but has almost the same coloring as Jagger. Spark is a lot smaller than my first baby Prize, who is blue and looks similar to your Floyd..so I think you're right that Floyd is female. I reallllly love Marley though, he/she looks marbled which is awesome! I've always wanted a marble. To me they all look female except for maybe Marley. Only time will tell though. I've had my babies since the end of December/Early January and still Spark is very small compared to Prize. I think sometimes they're the "runts" of the spawn and also their growth gets stunted from being in the cups for a long time.


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## bannlow2471

@JBonez, all your babies are gorgeous! I can't imagine how much fun it is watching them grow and change. I can hardly believe the metamorphosis my little one has undergone these last three weeks.


----------



## Mashiro

Picked up this little baby today! He/She's in a dragon themed 2.5 gallon tank!

Can't wait to see her grow up!










Here's the link for my journal on this baby!

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=153177


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## bannlow2471

Aww, what a cutie!


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## carbonxxkidd

The next really good looking baby betta I see, I'm buying. I was going to buy one a few weeks ago and decided against it and I'm so sad! My first baby is as big as my other girls now. She's gorgeous and I want another! I just lost a couple of my other girls and my tank seems empty with only 8, lol!!!


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## JBonez423

Thanks guys! =] They really are a bundle of laughs. Marley's transformation has me floored! He's such a cute little marble!


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## bannlow2471

*Meet Chai Son!*

So ... in the last couple of days, it has become obvious that while I'll need to wait awhile longer before tail type becomes clear, what is NOT in doubt any longer is my little "baby's" gender. I've clearly got a little boy on my hands, and as such, I have finally been able to give the little guy a name. His name is Chai Son ... Thai for mischievous boy, and I could not have picked a better name in terms of meaning. This guy is a character, and full of personality and fire. So entertaining and fun ... I just love him, and I can hardly believe that in three weeks he's gone from a little tadpoley thing to a gorgeous young fish. 

Here are some recent shots taken over the weekend. I took them with my iPhone, not my Canon, the latter of which seems to pull more green out, but it also just depends on the time of day and the angle - his colors change that much, even just to the naked eye. In these he is more red/purple than green and blue, but hey - I'll take it. He's gorgeous either way.


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## Hail0788

It's been about 4 months since I got my first baby Mercedes. Well it looks like she hasn't grown in 2 months. She still looks like a baby. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong or maybe she is just a runt. What should I do?


----------



## Otterfun

Hail0788 said:


> It's been about 4 months since I got my first baby Mercedes. Well it looks like she hasn't grown in 2 months. She still looks like a baby. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong or maybe she is just a runt. What should I do?


Daily WC if she is in a small tank. How big is the tank?
Try using Amquel+ with the daily WC, it made a difference for my babies.


----------



## Hail0788

Otterfun said:


> Daily WC if she is in a small tank. How big is the tank?
> Try using Amquel+ with the daily WC, it made a difference for my babies.


She is in my 10 gallon sorority tank with 5 other girls. I do once a week wc.


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## Otterfun

Hail0788 said:


> She is in my 10 gallon sorority tank with 5 other girls. I do once a week wc.


if it is 10g, once a week WC is what %? 100%, 50%, 25%?


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## Hail0788

Otterfun said:


> if it is 10g, once a week WC is what %? 100%, 50%, 25%?


25% and at the end of the month 100%


----------



## Otterfun

it should be fine since you have a big tank. maybe some babies are meant to be petite and because of you it got a second chance for to live life fully in a nice 10g tank =D


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## bettacrazygirl86

I got a baby betta recently. More like two weeks ago, really. S/he is adorable. Any idea how old s/he might be? I'm thinking s/he is really a boy... There's already a huge bubble nest (huge for him, that is), and he flared at me. It was more cute than intimidating, like an angry kitten hiss. xD Adorable rather than remotely frightening.

Here's a video of him.  http://www.keek.com/LittleFishies/keeks/SH3Gbab


----------



## dragonscalecrowntail02

My baby 'Kaptyn' is my second baby Betta from Petco. The first one, Kaori, I rescued and complained to my Petco. The manager was a sweetheart and told me he would make sure that the Betta's looked better next time. I haven't seen much of an improvement sadly. Kaptyn is doing great! (knock on wood). I started a brine shrimp hatchery (located in Mass so if any Betta owners need some baby brine shrimp let me know) for her and she's currently on Hikari first bites. I keep her tank at a nice 79-82. I clean the bottom of her tank with a turkey baster once daily, and she is fed about 4-6 times a day. Good luck fellow baby Betta rescuers!


----------



## dragonscalecrowntail02

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1butJlkmJw


----------



## dragonscalecrowntail02

Also, how often is to often to change baby Betta water? I've been cleaning the bottom of the tank with a turkey baster nightly, but I really want the water to be as clean as possible. Can I do 100% water changes every 2 days? The tank is a temporary critter keeper tank half way filled out (1.75g when filled), heated. Help!


----------



## JellOh

Curious question, can I feed regular brine shrimp that has been cut into baby betta bite size pieces? Also, does anyone have a good way of telling how old a baby betta is?


----------



## rmarkham

JellOh said:


> Curious question, can I feed regular brine shrimp that has been cut into baby betta bite size pieces? Also, does anyone have a good way of telling how old a baby betta is?




I am also wondering this..


----------



## bannlow2471

*Baby pic update*

Thought it was probably time to update the photos of my "baby," Chai Son. We're four weeks in now, so I'm guessing he is maybe about three months old or so? These were taken over the weekend. I still can't tell tail type - or maybe I just don't know what to look for. But he graduated from a 2 gallon to a 5 gallon tank this weekend and is LOVING the extra space to swim and play. The tank is still a little bare ... he's getting some more plants tonight.


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## dragonscalecrowntail02

WOW Chai looks AWESOME! So I've come up with a nice system for my Baby Betta (whose new name is _Looksee_). She is in a half filled 1.75g critter keeper. I try to keep the water at 79-82 but sometimes it drops to 75, and I plug in my space heater. The water is changed 100% every other day, and every day the poop is siphoned out when I see it. She is fed about 4-6 times daily, a mixture of Hikari micro pellets and live baby brine shrimp from my hatchery. I believe he is actually a *HE*. The back tail is rounded, so I'm hoping for a male halfmoon! Since i've brought him home, his colors have changed! He was just grey with two stripes, one dot on the tail and a *HINT* of red in the fins. Now I see a gorgeous silvery blue showing up on his fins and butt! I'm hoping that I'm doing everything right for him <3


----------



## Hail0788

I've had baby #2 for over a month now and I am pretty sure it's a boy I'm just not sure about the tail type. I thought is was a VT but I don't know. What do Y'all think?


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## Hail0788

Here is another picture of him. Still looking for a name too.


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## Otterfun

My first baby bubble nest of my newest baby male DT Cambodian


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## carbonxxkidd

Got a recent picture of my baby...well, she's no longer a baby. She is now almost the same size as the other girls in my tank and is fat and feisty! 










For reference, here are two baby pics of her, the left is from 1/9 and the right is from 12/28/12










Really want to get another baby...so much fun to watch them grow!


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## bannlow2471

Aww, what a cutie! I agree ... I am wanting another baby for myself!


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## Hail0788

Ok so here is my first baby Mercedes. I've had her for about 4 months now and she is still pretty small. I'm not sure why.


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## Hail0788

Here's another.


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## bannlow2471

Mercedes sure is a cutie. Seems like she's definitely a female and from what I have heard sometimes the baby Bettas are not as young as they look at first. So maybe she will always be on the smaller side? Adorable though!


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## Jams

Hello. I was thinking of getting a baby betta and I would like to know if a five gallon aquarium is too big. I would also like to know if an african dwarf frog would live peacefully with it. Thanks in advance!


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## bannlow2471

I personally would be concerned about putting an ADF in with a baby Betta. One of the pair of ADFs I briefly had (I had to rehome them) in a 5 gallon with my adult male veiltail grabbed his tail at one point and he had to really struggle to get away. My Betta was fine but I hate to think how it could have turned out if he had been a fragile baby.


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## Jams

Ok thank you (I definetly wont be doing that)


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## Viva

A 5 gallon is perfect size for a baby betta and adult bettas so it can be his/her permanent home. I raised Prize in a 5.5 gallon then split it into two and raised another baby named Spark. Spark stayed very small though, she is about half the size of Prize and I think she's done growing.


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## KariHuizar

I went to PetCo about a week ago and I bought a baby Betta fish. Now I've had Bettas before, females to be exact but never a baby. Is there any way of telling if it's a male or a female yet?
Here's a picture of it:


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## Meeples

Here's my baby that I've had for 1.5 months.


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## KariHuizar

I took that picture a week ago, here's an update:
Does anyone know what kind of Betta it could be?


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## Meeples

KariHuizar, it looks like a VT to me. A very cute one. Also, maybe female? It's hard to tell but you can try letting her see another betta to see if her reaction gives you any clues.


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## KariHuizar

Thank you! I put a mirror next to her and she was flaring at it. Still not quite sure if it could be a male but yeah it does look like it could be a female! Thank you!


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## bannlow2471

What a cutie!


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## KariHuizar

Aw thank you guys! Can't wait to see it grow!


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## KariHuizar

Here I corrected the picture and you can see its color. :]
I wish I knew how old it was! I'd say about 7-8 weeks but I can be totally wrong.


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## Rana

I saw baby bettas when I was out recently and part of me was horrified (so many are going to go to awful homes!), and another part really loved the idea of watching a baby grow up. So pretty much the usual reaction whenever I see live animals for sale.

A divided 5g would be enough space for two bettas I believe, but my concern is what if the baby turns out to be female- I already have an adult male, and no room for more tanks. Obviously they wouldn't be able to get to each other but would sharing the same water stress them out? I could always find an adult boy if that's the case, but watching a baby grow would be quite the experience.


----------



## dragonscalecrowntail02

Pleased to say that Hudson is becoming a seafoam green and red betta! I still am not sure about the gender, but I'm hoping for a boy and have not seen any white egg spots on his belly. I'll try and get a good picture but I don't have a schmancy camera.


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## Hail0788

My baby just keeps getting bigger.


----------



## Hail0788

I still can't what kind of tail it is.


----------



## bannlow2471

Female VT, maybe? (Just a guess, I'm am still very new to this!) *Very pretty! *


----------



## bettasareawesome

If I keep coming to this thread I will need to get another baby betta so why do I keep coming here? The are all so cute though!


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## bannlow2471

I feel the same way!


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## Hail0788

I keep looking for a baby double tail.


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## Viva

My very first baby betta ever JUMPED out of her fish tank when I was feeding her the other day. I panicked so bad and it was hard getting her off the floor (lol) but she's okay now. Actually as soon as I put her back in her tank she swam around the bottom all scared for about 2 minutes then went right back up the surface of the water and ate her pellets LOL. She has a little bruise? or something on the spot where I assume she landed on the floor. Anything I should do for her? The hospital tank is being used right now for Paradise and his fin issues but I think she's doing well without any salt or special treatment.


----------



## Otterfun

U can use Kordon fish protector if you have some to heal the bruise.


----------



## Viva

Otterfun said:


> U can use Kordon fish protector if you have some to heal the bruise.


Ok thank you, I will look into it. I plan on ordering a bunch of medications/remedies for my upcoming rescue-tank anyways.


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## Hail0788

I think my baby is a halfmoon. It's tail starting to get really big.


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## Otterfun

Hail0788 said:


> I keep looking for a baby double tail.


I got one on 4/4/13 in the PetCo cup. I thought he was a cellphane but turns out he was so stressed that he lost his color in the store and the color picked up as soon as we got home, a Cambodian DT:









First bubble nest on 4/22/13 and that's when I knew he was a boy:








Today, love his tail, I think it is called butterfly ?? since the edges are back to "nude" color of the body which is more nude than the reddish pink as shown in real life:









They are rewarding to rescue. I think I will name him Chris Cross.


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## Crowntails

Wow, he is beautiful.


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## Viva

He is really beautiful! You're lucky you got a male, I really wanted one of my 2 babies to be a male.


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## Otterfun

Yeah, but I was hoping it to be female for my sorority. He's trained to swim into cup for feeding time. Now I have to start another tank for him only...


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## copperarabian

He is beautiful!


----------



## aemaki09

I bought another baby the other day. 
I've had 6 babies total, only one has died (first and smallest one) and I gave my 3rd away to Skyewillow when I met her the other day and am giving another, my 2nd ever, to a friend who wants to use her for breeding.
I have 3 left that I will keep for the rest of their lives. #1, a female VT (I think, maybe delta) who is a "black" orchid butterfly, but her body is more grey with blue irid. She has some sort of issue where she swims nose up and tail down, but is starting to gain strength now after a month with me. The 2nd is a super red VT male, he's a pretty flirty boy! Already blowing huge nests and trying to flare at the full grown HM in the tank next to him. 3rd is my newest addition, he's a classic Cambodian, pink body red fins, I've only had him for a week and he looks like he may only be about 6-8 weeks, but is most definitely male and I can't wait to watch him grow. I'll try to post pictures soon!


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## Otterfun

thanks, hope this will be an encouragement to those who like PetCo baby rescue. Not all of them turn out great in terms of looks and some have physical issues (like my Nano) but at least they all have a second chance to live life fully. Just think of the fact that they might be culled since they were not the strongest and fittest babies...


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## bannlow2471

That is a beautiful baby, Otterfun!


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## KariHuizar

My little Betta has been doing just fine but these last two days it's been just staying at the bottom of the tank not very active. It's scaring me and I'm not sure what to do. Also if you look at it's picture on page 95 of this thread you can see it's color and now it looks like it lost it's color. It seems pretty white to me with two black stripes going horizontal across its body. I'm so scared. :'[

Also nothing has changed in the tank.
The water is still warm, it has its heater, I mean everything in the tank is well but just these two days its been just not so active.


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## Otterfun

Something is stressing him/her out


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## Viva

KariHuizar said:


> My little Betta has been doing just fine but these last two days it's been just staying at the bottom of the tank not very active. It's scaring me and I'm not sure what to do. Also if you look at it's picture on page 95 of this thread you can see it's color and now it looks like it lost it's color. It seems pretty white to me with two black stripes going horizontal across its body. I'm so scared. :'[
> 
> Also nothing has changed in the tank.
> The water is still warm, it has its heater, I mean everything in the tank is well but just these two days its been just not so active.


This happened to my first baby Prize when I split the tank in two and had the filter on her side. The current of the water was stressing her out for at least a week before I decided to turn it off for a bit and see if she gained any color back, which she did. She turned a darker blue and her stress-stripes were completely gone. Check the water parameters first (ammonia, nitrites and nitrates) if it is a filtered tank and if they are high do a water change. Try baffling the filter too to see if that helps at all.


----------



## Rgirl15

hey so i just got a new baby betta as well! i was hoping someone could tell me the type of betta and gender! if its a boy his name is ash, if its a girl her name is felicity! also, can someone tell me how to post pictures? lol thanks!


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## Otterfun

I think you can drag and drop or copy and paste.


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## Xeek

that could be a crown tail but my babies crowns closed in when she got older and she turned out to be a veil tail. Its too early to sex her.


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## Rgirl15

@otterfun
ok thanks! ill try it but last time i did it completely redirected my page

@xeek
Thanks!


----------



## Rgirl15

/Users/jenniferbidmead/Desktop/IMGP3224.JPG

see? thats all it says when i drag and drop! copy and paste too!


----------



## Rgirl15

ok! i think i got it!


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## Otterfun

Cute baby, may be a boy


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## Viva

Judging by the anal fin (the fin on bottom) it looks female, but if it's anal fin starts getting longer which can happen very suddenly than it most likely is male. You can usually see a white egg spot about the size of a grain of salt on her belly near her pelvic fins if it is a female. The pelvic fins look female too. Males will have longer, thicker pelvic fins. As you know most baby things, including humans, look female until they develop their manly structures


----------



## bannlow2471

Aww, what a cutie!


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## Rgirl15

New java fern for my betta!!


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## Fishy Mom

This is for Hail who commented that her baby Mercedes isn't growing. My runt decided she was going to be a he after being in a sorority for four months and I've had him for six months!


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## Otterfun

Very very pretty betta


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## bannlow2471

@ FishyMom, do you know what tail type your boy is?


----------



## Fishy Mom

bannlow2471 said:


> @ FishyMom, do you know what tail type your boy is?


I don't know yet. He's not growing out like the VT baby male I kept for a few months to grow out for my niece though. His fins were more floppy. I'll post an update pic as he grows & his tail type is easier to identify.


----------



## Fishy Mom

Otterfun said:


> Very very pretty betta


The pics make him look more blue than he really is. In person he is more lavender. I think I have his sibling in the sorority too & it's going to be too tempting to breed two lavender bettas with such strong bodies & fins.


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## Lights106

Hi! I have been suckered into the adorable baby bettas! I got this one. I think it's a girl. I think I see an egg bubble thing. But my question is, if it is a girl, when could I start a female community? Right now he/she is in a 2.5 gal with heater and filleted with a square from tights over the intake. I know I want to upgrade to a bigger tank, but not ATM.


----------



## Canis




----------



## BlueInkFish

i see a whole lot of baby bettas at my petco =P its sad though not much people buy them and end up passing away =(


----------



## Rana

I think I might take the plunge and get a baby tomorrow... Is there anything I should definitely know, or avoid doing? I've got a 1g quarantine tank with heater, and when I'm sure it's healthy I plan on it going into my divided 5g next to my old man Jude.

I normally feed Omega flakes, would crushing them up be a suitable food? I assume that the size they're commonly sold at is large enough that they don't need micro fry foods, and if there's no danger I'd just as  soon stay with flakes instead of pellets. Hopefully I'll be able to convince my mom to let me buy frozen bloodworms as well, since I know that babies especially need lots of protein.


----------



## carbonxxkidd

I did a bad thing you guys...I had a $5 Petco rebate today, and when I went to the store the first thing I looked at was the bettas...there were two baby double tails (the first I've seen there) and I bought them both! They are currently in QT and then will be added to my sorority for the time being....hopefully they both end up to be girls. Pics to follow...


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## Lights106

It's ok. I went in to petsmart for a tank divider and almost went home with 3 more betta's. . . .The only thing stopping me was work. I knew my boss wouldn't mind me bringing the fish in while I worked. But I am really wanting another baby. . . crap.


----------



## Viva

carbonxxkidd said:


> I did a bad thing you guys...I had a $5 Petco rebate today, and when I went to the store the first thing I looked at was the bettas...there were two baby double tails (the first I've seen there) and I bought them both! They are currently in QT and then will be added to my sorority for the time being....hopefully they both end up to be girls. Pics to follow...


Heheheheehehe. I'm currently dividing another 10 gallon tank 4 ways (bare bottom) for rescues. I think a nice baby DT will count as a rescue, right? I've always wanted a DT baby but never found one. Good finds! What colors are your two showing?


----------



## Rana

I did it! I walked into PetCo and walked out with a baby betta. And another tank for my mom's new boy. 

It's still acclimating so no pictures yet, but it is teeny tiny! Probably about 1/2-3/4 an inch, and completely transparent. I had figured that a bigger one would be more my speed, but I fell in love. It'll have to stay in the quarantine for a lot longer than I initially planned since my divider's holes are too big, but I think I can stay on top of water changes and all that.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Well mind as well post here since I to have two beautiful PetCo babies!

Tony was the real rescue, he was hanging at the top of his cup fighting to swim down, I think his swim bladder is a tad bit smooshed. And Steve just kept jumping out at me so I had to get both of them! Here's their journal: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=167010

Here is Tony first in his cup and then just a few days ago. I originally thought he was going to be a CT but turns out he might have switched to VT on me. Also might be a girl but I can't see any ovaries since he's colored up. His ventrals are still shorter than Steves but the anal fin is pretty pointed. So we'll see!




And Steve! First day in his cup and a picture from yesterday. He's going to be a VT and he's definitely a boy.


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Viva said:


> Heheheheehehe. I'm currently dividing another 10 gallon tank 4 ways (bare bottom) for rescues. I think a nice baby DT will count as a rescue, right? I've always wanted a DT baby but never found one. Good finds! What colors are your two showing?


One is yellow/white with some black markings (marbling?!) on her dorsal and anal fins. I've seen some blue iridescence at certain angles, which has me pretty excited. The other has a darker body with red fins...I'm expecting that one to grow up to look just like my first baby, except double tail.  The red one is showing breeding stripes...does that mean she's a female? She's also pretty feisty and a bit larger than the other one. I have both of them in a breeder box (divided) in my sorority tank right now...so much for QT. They are eating well though and seem healthy. Fingers crossed! Still trying to get some pics, they aren't being very cooperative...working on it...


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Okay, got a couple quick pics. Here are the new additions. Here's the yellow one, it's hard to see the black spots in this photo. 








The red one, with breeding stripes.









And a quick one of the two...


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## Rana

First few pics of my baby! I'm thinking of starting a journal to keep track of his/her growth. Gonna be super interesting to see what it grows up to be!

It is just the tiniest little fella, I really hope I can handle keeping it alive. :blueshake:


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## Lights106

I had to rescue this guy! Mold and crap all over the bottom!!!
http://m.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8820437318/lightbox/


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## Viva

carbonxxkidd said:


> Okay, got a couple quick pics. Here are the new additions. Here's the yellow one, it's hard to see the black spots in this photo.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The red one, with breeding stripes.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And a quick one of the two...


OMG they're sooo cuuuute! I NEED A BABY DT!


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## carbonxxkidd

Viva said:


> OMG they're sooo cuuuute! I NEED A BABY DT!


I know, I'm still shocked that I found them. After months of looking for a baby DT, I finally got lucky! I probably shouldn't have bought both though...and if one turns out to be a male I'll probably have to buy and set up a new 5g for him, haha. They are little piggies though, hopefully they grow fast!


----------



## Lights106

Viva said:


> OMG they're sooo cuuuute! I NEED A BABY DT!


To bad you don't live in Orem, ut! There were several when I rescued my double tail today!


----------



## Lights106

carbonxxkidd said:


> I know, I'm still shocked that I found them. After months of looking for a baby DT, I finally got lucky! I probably shouldn't have bought both though...and if one turns out to be a male I'll probably have to buy and set up a new 5g for him, haha. They are little piggies though, hopefully they grow fast!


Where did to get your divider? I am still new and the one I got for my 10 gal is crappy.


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## Rana

Lights106 said:


> Where did to get your divider? I am still new and the one I got for my 10 gal is crappy.


Have you looked into making DIY dividers? They're basically plastic craft/needlepoint mesh with report binders along their edges for strength & stability. I made one for my 5g and it seems to work great, plus it was like $5 overall.


----------



## Lights106

Rana said:


> Have you looked into making DIY dividers? They're basically plastic craft/needlepoint mesh with report binders along their edges for strength & stability. I made one for my 5g and it seems to work great, plus it was like $5 overall.


Oooo!! Good to know!!!


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Lights106 said:


> Where did to get your divider? I am still new and the one I got for my 10 gal is crappy.


 
I used this tutorial to divide my 5g tank: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/diy-aquarium/diy-aquarium-tank-dividers-21866/

The one in the picture with the babies is actually just a piece of extra craft mesh I had and cut out to use as a make shift divider (no report binder pieces) because I'm dividing a breeder box, not a full size tank. Too bad the plastic divider that came with the breeder box doesn't go all the way to the bottom, or I would have just used that. Lol. The breeder box is just temporary, though.


----------



## ashkallen

Hello all! I got a baby betta from Petco several days ago. I had never heard of baby bettas before - I was looking at the adults when a staff member excitedly told me that they just got a baby double tail in that day. I had never seen any betta besides a veil tail before. Anyways, I'm attaching a picture just because I think it's cute. My main question has to do with feeding. I have Hikari micro pellets, but he has been absolutely refusing to eat. All he will eat is freeze dried bloodworms even though I know that is not ideal. I would experiment with live/frozen foods, however I'm going out of town for a wedding for a whole week and my sister needs really easy instructions to follow for taking care of my fish.

The betta is in a 5 gallon dirt tank (no fertilizers, lights on 10 hours a day). This tank was home to my guppies before they massively over-populated it and had to be moved. I do 25-50% 1-2 times a week. The tank temperature is set at 80 degrees. The betta is currently in a floating breeder trap so I can monitor his food intake and because he's not quite strong enough to swim against the filter. Anyways, if anyone has food suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it! I was told that the Hikari micropellets are what he ate in the store. Also if anyone is able to tell me more specifically his tail type from the picture or whether he is a "she," I'd appreciate that as well. Thanks!


----------



## lilnaugrim

ashkallen said:


> Hello all! I got a baby betta from Petco several days ago. I had never heard of baby bettas before - I was looking at the adults when a staff member excitedly told me that they just got a baby double tail in that day. I had never seen any betta besides a veil tail before. Anyways, I'm attaching a picture just because I think it's cute. My main question has to do with feeding. I have Hikari micro pellets, but he has been absolutely refusing to eat. All he will eat is freeze dried bloodworms even though I know that is not ideal. I would experiment with live/frozen foods, however I'm going out of town for a wedding for a whole week and my sister needs really easy instructions to follow for taking care of my fish.
> 
> The betta is in a 5 gallon dirt tank (no fertilizers, lights on 10 hours a day). This tank was home to my guppies before they massively over-populated it and had to be moved. I do 25-50% 1-2 times a week. The tank temperature is set at 80 degrees. The betta is currently in a floating breeder trap so I can monitor his food intake and because he's not quite strong enough to swim against the filter. Anyways, if anyone has food suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it! I was told that the Hikari micropellets are what he ate in the store. Also if anyone is able to tell me more specifically his tail type from the picture or whether he is a "she," I'd appreciate that as well. Thanks!


Cute baby! and yes it is a Double tail, that's all. You won't know color until it grows up. I might be mistaken, I think I see the triangular ovaries behind it's stomach, also the anal fin looks very square and what I can see of the ventrals, they seem short. So I'm voting female  As far as feeding, it's a good idea to smash up the pellets if you can to make it smaller so the baby can actually eat them. I feed mine 3-5 times a day since they are growing after all


----------



## ashkallen

Thank you! I think I've just found myself a particularly stubborn betta. The micro pellets are plenty small to fit in his mouth. He just spits them out again after 5 seconds. Every single time.


----------



## lilnaugrim

ashkallen said:


> Thank you! I think I've just found myself a particularly stubborn betta. The micro pellets are plenty small to fit in his mouth. He just spits them out again after 5 seconds. Every single time.


Lol one of my older boys did this till I switched his food ^^ Good luck with your baby! Looks like she's going to become a handful ahah


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Baby's tail looks different today. It was a bit frayed when I got it on Thurs, but now it almost looks like the ends are about to fall off. I added a bit of extra stress coat to the water and the baby is still eating well, hoping if it is fin rot the clean water and stress coat will do the trick...any suggestions? S/he has definitely grown since s/he came home, and the black markings are getting more prominent...hoping this is just its way of healing itself...


----------



## justmel

My baby DT, right now we're calling him Duo. I hope it's a girl, but will be happy either way and name him when he gets big enough to know for sure if it's a male or female. Just picked this poor half starved baby up yesterday. Pigged out on some walter & micro worms as soon as I got it home. Wouldn't even look at the pellets. He's smaller than my 2 1/2 month old fry!

Have to say I was impressed with the Petco employee that checked me out though. First he asked to make sure I had water conditioner, a heater, and at least a 1 gallon bowl. When I told him I had 16 babies at home that I had spawned and raised myself he said it certainly sounded like I knew what I was doing and asked if he could ask me a couple questions. He started with asking how (or what) I feed the babies, how they are kept, extra. Here's a petco employee who at least does care about the bettas!


----------



## Otterfun

carbonxxkidd said:


> Baby's tail looks different today. It was a bit frayed when I got it on Thurs, but now it almost looks like the ends are about to fall off. I added a bit of extra stress coat to the water and the baby is still eating well, hoping if it is fin rot the clean water and stress coat will do the trick...any suggestions? S/he has definitely grown since s/he came home, and the black markings are getting more prominent...hoping this is just its way of healing itself...


could be double tail x crown tail boy


----------



## Otterfun

justmel said:


> My baby DT, right now we're calling him Duo. I hope it's a girl, but will be happy either way and name him when he gets big enough to know for sure if it's a male or female. Just picked this poor half starved baby up yesterday. Pigged out on some walter & micro worms as soon as I got it home. Wouldn't even look at the pellets. He's smaller than my 2 1/2 month old fry!
> 
> Have to say I was impressed with the Petco employee that checked me out though. First he asked to make sure I had water conditioner, a heater, and at least a 1 gallon bowl. When I told him I had 16 babies at home that I had spawned and raised myself he said it certainly sounded like I knew what I was doing and asked if he could ask me a couple questions. He started with asking how (or what) I feed the babies, how they are kept, extra. Here's a petco employee who at least does care about the bettas!


very cute, LIKE


----------



## Kiara1125

Otterfun said:


> could be double tail x crown tail boy


No, most bettas have extended rays. Even VTs will. I had a CT baby betta and they look a LOT different. The rays tend to extend and then (after having him for a month) the rays branched out into a split.


----------



## Viva

justmel said:


> My baby DT, right now we're calling him Duo. I hope it's a girl, but will be happy either way and name him when he gets big enough to know for sure if it's a male or female. Just picked this poor half starved baby up yesterday. Pigged out on some walter & micro worms as soon as I got it home. Wouldn't even look at the pellets. He's smaller than my 2 1/2 month old fry!
> 
> Have to say I was impressed with the Petco employee that checked me out though. First he asked to make sure I had water conditioner, a heater, and at least a 1 gallon bowl. When I told him I had 16 babies at home that I had spawned and raised myself he said it certainly sounded like I knew what I was doing and asked if he could ask me a couple questions. He started with asking how (or what) I feed the babies, how they are kept, extra. Here's a petco employee who at least does care about the bettas!


How cute, and what a great name! The Petco people at my store never ask me anything. In fact they annoyed me last time because I called to see if they had any new 10 gallon tanks in, which they said they did. So I went there and there was still the old one I saw a few days before that had scratches on the black frame on the bottom -_-


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Well, ends of baby betta's tail got really fuzzy and fell off...here's a pic of him/her in a salt bath today:


----------



## ktmrox11

I just got a baby betta at Petco, now I feel bad because I'm fairly new to betta owning and I didn't think they would be so much different from adults. Anyways, Cleo (the baby betta) is doing quite well, I think. She eats crushed betta pellets, should I get her anything else to eat. By looking at several fry growth charts, I'm estimating she is about 6 weeks. She really likes her 2.5 gallon tank and swims all around constantly. I can't decide if you would consider her colorless- she looks dark from far away but close up, you can see hues of blues, reds, and even purples. how can I tell if she is healthy?


----------



## justmel

If she swims and eats well then she is likely healthy! Can you share a picture?

We all started somewhere, so don't feel bad, you are at least trying to do your best for your baby. Don't be surprised if she turns into a he on you though. At such a young age it's hard to tell what sex they are.

What kind of pellets are you feeding her? You could offer some frozen treats like brine shrimp if she's big enough to eat them.


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## ktmrox11

They are Aqueon Betta food pellets, 40% crude protein. She eats when she wants to and when she sees food. Is it bad to offer freeze dried blood worms? I have some, I doubt my mom would go for live or even frozen. I would share a picture, but I can't figure out how...


----------



## lilnaugrim

ktmrox11 said:


> They are Aqueon Betta food pellets, 40% crude protein. She eats when she wants to and when she sees food. Is it bad to offer freeze dried blood worms? I have some, I doubt my mom would go for live or even frozen. I would share a picture, but I can't figure out how...


Yeah freeze-dried anything is bad, only can be fed as a treat though. It's high in protein but Betta's need other things too. Freeze-dried anything will also promote constipation if fed too much 

And for pictures you can click "Go Advanced" and at the bottom is says Upload Picture or something like that, click it. Browse your folders to find a picture and upload it. Close out of the pop up window and sumbit your reply.

Or you can use Flickr/Photobucket and there should be an IMG Coding, click on that and you can paste it right into the text box here.


----------



## ktmrox11

Okay, here are some pics. Sorry if they're really bad quality. She swims around a lot and it's hard to catch her.


----------



## lilnaugrim

ktmrox11 said:


> Okay, here are some pics. Sorry if they're really bad quality. She swims around a lot and it's hard to catch her.


So cute!! And yup, definitely a she  Oh and you won't know her color until she's about 2, 2.5 months old when they stop changing colors (Unless they are a marble) looks like you'll have an indigo girl with some red wash in the fins though, possibly a CT but most likely a VT with some extended rays


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## ktmrox11

Yay! I was hoping for a purple ish Betta! So, do you think she overall looks pretty healthy?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah! She looks great! Nice full tummy and all


----------



## ktmrox11

Oh good, I'm glad I'm doing something right. So, I break up her pellets and feed two or three of them to her once in morning, once at night (she only ends up eating a little of what I put out) but then she seems still hungry. I don't want to overfeed her but I also want to make sure she gets enough to eat.


----------



## lilnaugrim

ktmrox11 said:


> Oh good, I'm glad I'm doing something right. So, I break up her pellets and feed two or three of them to her once in morning, once at night (she only ends up eating a little of what I put out) but then she seems still hungry. I don't want to overfeed her but I also want to make sure she gets enough to eat.


You could actually feed her about 3-5 times a day on a small amount. Just like human babies, they need food more frequently than normal aged Betta's. I found out that I was underfeeding my babies too and once I started to feed them properly they perked up and started to grow like crazy!


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## ktmrox11

Oh my! Will do, for sure. I of course stupidly assumed again that she would be on the same feeding schedule as a fully grown fish. *facepalm* Sorry for all the questions, but when will she have entirely developed her finnage?


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## lilnaugrim

ktmrox11 said:


> Oh my! Will do, for sure. I of course stupidly assumed again that she would be on the same feeding schedule as a fully grown fish. *facepalm* Sorry for all the questions, but when will she have entirely developed her finnage?


Lol, No problem! I did the exact same thing so no worries ;-)

Here's a good chart to use for reference: http://www.bettatalk.com/fry_growth.htm
So around 2.5-3 months it should be around complete, unless for a boy which I think grows all the way up to 4-4.5 months? Not sure about that though.


----------



## Lights106

I'm trying to figure out if my baby Berta's enlarged stomach is normal or not. I'm leaning towards the not. But not sure. He/she is 5/6 weeks. Swims around actively and acts normal. Eats 3 times a day of crushed omega pellets (I work and that's what I can get in) here is a link to its picture.
http://m.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8862515770/lightbox/


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## lilnaugrim

Lights106 said:


> I'm trying to figure out if my baby Berta's enlarged stomach is normal or not. I'm leaning towards the not. But not sure. He/she is 5/6 weeks. Swims around actively and acts normal. Eats 3 times a day of crushed omega pellets (I work and that's what I can get in) here is a link to its picture.
> http://m.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8862515770/lightbox/


Hmm I click the link but the page stays black, no pictures come up :/


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## Lights106

I'm mobile so that could be why. I'll post a pic when I get to work.


----------



## Lights106




----------



## Lights106

I was thinking it matches swim bladder looks wise, but he/she acts just fine. So I'm just not sure what to think. AND if it is swim bladder, how to treat it with a baby.


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## Otterfun

It looks full from food.


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## Lights106

Sounds good then. My other baby wasn't this young when I got him so his stomach never got that big, so I wasn't sure. PHEW! Ok then.


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## justmel

Your baby looks full and healthy to me too. Nothing wrong with that belly that I can see.


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## Lights106

Yay! My niece and nephews were there when I rescued she/him so they are now attached, so if anything happened, oh gosh. I don't want to know their reactions.


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## NightStars

my baby betta.


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## Meloreste

I found this site after we got home with the baby betta my daughter picked. I am determined to keep this little whippersnapper alive. Here's a pic; can anyone tell if it's a male or female? I'm not sure how old it is; it's a little under an inch.


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## lilnaugrim

Meloreste said:


> I found this site after we got home with the baby betta my daughter picked. I am determined to keep this little whippersnapper alive. Here's a pic; can anyone tell if it's a male or female? I'm not sure how old it is; it's a little under an inch.


It has the shape of a male from my stand point. Longer ventrals, anal fin seems to be pointed and a longer dorsal rather than short and fat. I don't see any ovaries but in that picture it's rather hard to tell. So I'm going with male


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## Krys

Meloreste said:


> I found this site after we got home with the baby betta my daughter picked. I am determined to keep this little whippersnapper alive. Here's a pic; can anyone tell if it's a male or female? I'm not sure how old it is; it's a little under an inch.


Looks more like a female to me. The ventral fins are the same size as the anal fins. However, if it's really under an inch long, it's probably only a few weeks old. Maybe 6 weeks. Still kind of early for sexing.


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## Krys

Lights106 said:


> I'm trying to figure out if my baby Berta's enlarged stomach is normal or not. I'm leaning towards the not. But not sure. He/she is 5/6 weeks. Swims around actively and acts normal. Eats 3 times a day of crushed omega pellets (I work and that's what I can get in) here is a link to its picture.
> http://m.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8862515770/lightbox/


Fry can keep their "baby belly" up to 6 months of age. It's normal. Only if it seems to be causing the betta discomfort or swimming problems should you worry. And judging by the picture, they look to be about 7 or 8 weeks old. Can you measure it?


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## Lights106

Krys said:


> Fry can keep their "baby belly" up to 6 months of age. It's normal. Only if it seems to be causing the betta discomfort or swimming problems should you worry. And judging by the picture, they look to be about 7 or 8 weeks old. Can you measure it?


S/he doesn't stop moving if I'm near. But I haut snuck up on him. He is exactly 1". So that's aprox. 7 weeks.


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## Lights106

Nose to end of tail btw.


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## lilnaugrim

Lights106 said:


> Nose to end of tail btw.


Ah when measuring Betta's you measure from nose to peduncle or the beginning of the tail at the body so you just measure the body length.


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## Krys

i'm thinking of grabbing a baby next week when i go hit up petco and petsmart for some community fish for Cap's tank.

I have a spare 5g tank that would be nice for a baby. Plus, I like the mystery of baby bettas. They're like grab bag bettas. You don't know what you're getting, but you're getting something. lol


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## Viva

Krys said:


> i'm thinking of grabbing a baby next week when i go hit up petco and petsmart for some community fish for Cap's tank.
> 
> I have a spare 5g tank that would be nice for a baby. Plus, I like the mystery of baby bettas. They're like grab bag bettas. You don't know what you're getting, but you're getting something. lol


Hehe, yeah its really awesome to see them grow and get color. I'll be getting another one as soon as my new 10g divided tank is done cycling  Can't wait! I just got two new rescues and they're in my spare tanks, otherwise I'd get the baby today!


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## TexasRose

Hi, I am new to this site and I hope I can get some help. My son went to a party where baby betas were given to the 6 year olds as thank you gifts. My mouth dropped when my husband gave the betta to me. I bought a 2.5 gallon tank, water conditioner food and fake plants. I don't know when my fish ate last or anything about fish. I went in panic mode when I discovered the betta food I bought was to big for my betta to eat. Went out and bought new food for "Lizzy" to eat. I have seen so many different eating schedules that I don't know what to do. I went to buy a heater and the petsmart rep said that I don't need a heater. I will try to post pics of Lizzy but please let me know how offer to feed her, and if I need a water heater. I keep checking on her every couple of hours, always afraid I might loose her. Thank you.


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## Mashiro

TexasRose said:


> Hi, I am new to this site and I hope I can get some help. My son went to a party where baby betas were given to the 6 year olds as thank you gifts. My mouth dropped when my husband gave the betta to me. I bought a 2.5 gallon tank, water conditioner food and fake plants. I don't know when my fish ate last or anything about fish. I went in panic mode when I discovered the betta food I bought was to big for my betta to eat. Went out and bought new food for "Lizzy" to eat. I have seen so many different eating schedules that I don't know what to do. I went to buy a heater and the petsmart rep said that I don't need a heater. I will try to post pics of Lizzy but please let me know how offer to feed her, and if I need a water heater. I keep checking on her every couple of hours, always afraid I might loose her. Thank you.



First of all, welcome to the site, second of all, that's awful that they just gave out baby bettas to unsuspecting people! Baby bettas require lots of extra water changes and a good diet of protien rich food to not stunt their growth. And absolutely 100% they need a heater. 2.5 gallons is perfect for a single betta and you'd need about a 7.5 watt heater for it. They're not that hard to find online. A good brand of food to feed your baby is New Life Spectrum Growth Flormula, these pellets are very tiny and will fit your baby's mouth nicely. When he/she gets bigger, I recommend switching to New Life Spectrum Betta Forumla. Perfect for adult bettas. Just keep up around 30% water changes every 3 days or so until he/she's big and fat and you'll have a healthy adult betta!

Thanks for joining and looking out for your fishie!


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## TexasRose

Thank you so much. How often should I feed her? Petsmart said every two says, and I see some people feed thei betas everyday two times a day. I already set my calendar alerts to change the water every three days. Thanks again.


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## Lights106

TexasRose said:


> Thank you so much. How often should I feed her? Petsmart said every two says, and I see some people feed thei betas everyday two times a day. I already set my calendar alerts to change the water every three days. Thanks again.


Ack!!! No! They need to be fed 3-5 a day!! They are like a growing kid. They need food.


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## ktmrox11

*Anything else?*

I keep my baby Betta in a 2.5 gallon tank all by herself and feed her several times a day with crushed Aqueon Betta food pellets. I keep her tank at a comfy 81 degrees. She eats well and has a very rounded belly, she also explores her tank a lot and swims to the front when she sees me. Is there anything else I can do to keep her healthy? I just want to make sure I'm doing what's best for her. I'm guessing she is about 7 weeks old and a female.


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## Lights106

At 7 weeks old they can be anything. Boy or girl. My first baby I got at 6 weeks had a little white egg spot till just recently. My second baby is t ahowing any signs of knowing what he/she is. 
Sounds like you are going great though


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## Viva

TexasRose said:


> Thank you so much. How often should I feed her? Petsmart said every two says, and I see some people feed thei betas everyday two times a day. I already set my calendar alerts to change the water every three days. Thanks again.


Baby bettas need to be fed protein rich foods at least 4 - 5 times a day. Try to crush the pellets if she won't eat it or if it's too big. Once they're an adult, they should be fed 3 - 4 pellets twice daily. Basically don't believe anything the pet stores tell you.


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## amzingaly

Uhh oh! everyones baby bettas are so cute its making me want to get one :shock:. The next time I find one I might end up bringing it home.


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## Lights106

amzingaly said:


> Uhh oh! everyones baby bettas are so cute its making me want to get one :shock:. The next time I find one I might end up bringing it home.


If you do make sure you only want one. . . it's rather addicting. My baby's are being soooo freaking adorable! I want more!


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## Lights106

Baby Jr. update! I do believe he's 6 weeks. He's just under an inch. 

Picture is not loading!


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## Lights106

Here is the link to his pic in my albums

http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=8769&pictureid=59874


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## lilnaugrim

Lights106 said:


> Here is the link to his pic in my albums
> 
> http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=8769&pictureid=59874


Oh wow, he's adorable and fat! lol cutie


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## Lights106

I love him! He is just to adorable! This is my other baby. I think he's about 9 weeks
http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=8769&pictureid=59882


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## Shadyr

*Hoping for a better outcome on this one!*

I got a baby betta last summer - it was barely more than a fry and I thought the poor thing was dead till I tapped the cup and it struggled upright. It was a little doubletail, and I was sure I had to give it a try. It was no avail. Warm water, brine shrimp, mini pellets, daily changes...the poor thing never would eat and eventually passed away. 

And for a long time running now, my Petco has not had any babies, which was kind of a relief in some respects. But they have started having a few in stock again recently, and history is hopefully NOT going to repeat itself.

Well, except this little tadpole is also a doubletail. Tiny, grey, mostly head, and still wearing baby stripes. BUT this one was alert from the start, and I have personally seen it eating at least something every day. I got it Friday (hopefully the first day it was there, they stock most Fridays) and put it in my 2G planted Kritter Keeper that has been without an inhabitant (other than the plants) for a while. I honestly halfway expected to never see it again. But the little creature has been exploring, and is already learning to come up front to be seen and fed. With just a few days in there, I'm even starting to see some color. I am hoping that it will be a she and can eventually join my sorority, but for now, I'm mostly just hoping that this baby, whether male or female, will get to be a grown up!

Saturday:








Monday:


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## lilnaugrim

Shadyr said:


> I got a baby betta last summer - it was barely more than a fry and I thought the poor thing was dead till I tapped the cup and it struggled upright. It was a little doubletail, and I was sure I had to give it a try. It was no avail. Warm water, brine shrimp, mini pellets, daily changes...the poor thing never would eat and eventually passed away.
> 
> And for a long time running now, my Petco has not had any babies, which was kind of a relief in some respects. But they have started having a few in stock again recently, and history is hopefully NOT going to repeat itself.
> 
> Well, except this little tadpole is also a doubletail. Tiny, grey, mostly head, and still wearing baby stripes. BUT this one was alert from the start, and I have personally seen it eating at least something every day. I got it Friday (hopefully the first day it was there, they stock most Fridays) and put it in my 2G planted Kritter Keeper that has been without an inhabitant (other than the plants) for a while. I honestly halfway expected to never see it again. But the little creature has been exploring, and is already learning to come up front to be seen and fed. With just a few days in there, I'm even starting to see some color. I am hoping that it will be a she and can eventually join my sorority, but for now, I'm mostly just hoping that this baby, whether male or female, will get to be a grown up!
> 
> Saturday:
> View attachment 141434
> 
> 
> Monday:
> View attachment 141442



That's sad and adorable all in one! I hope your baby will live and so far with what you've told us, things are looking up for it! Good luck! I'm sure everything will turn out great for that little one ^^


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## Viva

Your baby is so cute Shadyr! One of my two bettas that I got as babies would only eat microworms for the first few days I had her...then she switched to frozen blood worms and crushed pellets after that. Sometimes you can trick them into eating if you wiggle a blood worm in front of it's face and then throw in some crushed pellets.


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## Lights106

Oh s/he is so cute!!! I can't wait to hear more about his progress!


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## JamieL

I just bought one. I was in petco with my daughter and she spent forever looking at the fish, so I decided she was ready for one. I saw the baby bettas and I thought it would be so cool and rewarding for her to see it grow and change. I asked the employee for as much as she could tell me..."small bowl...feed him one pellet every other day"...I bought a betta tank kit, my daughter picked her baby, and i brought him home and googled before I did anything. I got better info, ran to petsmart for a heater. I originally got a 1/2 gallon tank, the heater said for 1/2 - 1 1/2 gal tanks, but I suspect it's too warm so I'm going out tomorrow for a bigger tank, thermometer, plants, etc, and I'll keep the small for emergencies/spare. I asked the woman at petsmart how to transfer him safely, she said "just scoop him up in the net and drop him in!". :shock: even as a total fish newbie I knew that was wrong. My daughter is really attached to this little guy, and I'm committed to keeping him alive!! He seems to be doing fine so far, but I've only had him a day so I know I'm not out of the woods. He's pretty small, blue with red tail fins. I don't know how to post a pic or I would. I think this could be the start of a beautiful fish relationship for me.


----------



## JamieL

I added a couple (albeit low quality) pics to an album, anyone feel like taking a peek and seeing if you have an idea yet of bubblefishy's gender/type? Just curious what he/she might grow up to be! My three year old girl picked out pretty girly surroundings for this little fishy :lol:


----------



## Saphira101

How much hope would there be for a baby in a cup with such high ammonia levels that the little thing was caused to have a bent spine?


----------



## Shadyr

JamieL, it's way early to tell, but the body shape kinda says "girl" to me!

I've noticed that the ventrals on my baby are already as long as those on my adult girls, so I'm suspecting mine is a boy. Was kinda hoping more for a girl so she could be part of my sorority, but I have a plan for either outcome 

Ammonia might cause many issues, but I don't think a bent spine is one. The cynical part of me suspects half these babies are fish that might normally be culled, but they give them a chance by selling them as babies. I imagine as long as the fish can swim normally and doesn't appear to have any other issues, it would be fine, Saphira. Just would not make a good breeding fish, but would no doubt be a good pet.


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## lilnaugrim

Saphira101 said:


> How much hope would there be for a baby in a cup with such high ammonia levels that the little thing was caused to have a bent spine?


One of my baby's also has a bent spine which contributes to his swim bladder issue but once he's full of food he's got no problem swimming anywhere he pleases! So I'd say as long as the tank is kept clean with the cleaning every 3 days or so and food every 3-4 hours, he should be just fine!


----------



## TexasRose

*Lizzy update, Thanks for help!*

Hi, everyone. 
Since my last post I bought a cobalt 10 watt heater, ordered an azoo filter because the filter that came with my 2.5 gallon tank gives Lizzy trouble. The guy at the aquarium store suggested that I use ozarka spring water since I have a small tank. Anyone else using spring water? 
Also, with the light on the water temp reads 81 degrees, at night when I turn off the light it drops to 78-79 should I still use the heater? Does anyone add aquarium salt for bacteria? Lizzy is starting to show some color, can't wait to see what she will look like and if she is really a girl. Here is a picture.


----------



## lilnaugrim

TexasRose said:


> Hi, everyone.
> Since my last post I bought a cobalt 10 watt heater, ordered an azoo filter because the filter that came with my 2.5 gallon tank gives Lizzy trouble. The guy at the aquarium store suggested that I use ozarka spring water since I have a small tank. Anyone else using spring water?
> Also, with the light on the water temp reads 81 degrees, at night when I turn off the light it drops to 78-79 should I still use the heater? Does anyone add aquarium salt for bacteria? Lizzy is starting to show some color, can't wait to see what she will look like and if she is really a girl. Here is a picture.


Whatever you do, do not at AQ salt, especially for long term use. It can be used for medication but not for long term with Betta's. It will basically cause a liver and/or kidney failure and it's pretty much a death sentence. But can be used for medication up to 14 days safely.

You can use spring water (still use conditioner though) but it could get expensive after a while. Is there anything wrong with your tap water?


----------



## TexasRose

lilnaugrim said:


> Whatever you do, do not at AQ salt, especially for long term use. It can be used for medication but not for long term with Betta's. It will basically cause a liver and/or kidney failure and it's pretty much a death sentence. But can be used for medication up to 14 days safely.
> 
> You can use spring water (still use conditioner though) but it could get expensive after a while. Is there anything wrong with your tap water?


The water where I live is very hard. I have to use distilled water for my appliances that require water or clean out with vinegar after each use. Our water is very drying to our skin as well.


----------



## lilnaugrim

TexasRose said:


> The water where I live is very hard. I have to use distilled water for my appliances that require water or clean out with vinegar after each use. Our water is very drying to our skin as well.


Okay, well distilled water isn't great either. It lacks all the minerals Betta's need, just like we need, from water. I would suggest either mixing it with spring water or tap water then to get the minerals.

Betta's can acclimate to nearly any chemistry to water, the only thing that _might_ happen is some fin curling in hard water, but otherwise they're completely fine to live in it.

EDIT: AQ salt is good for killing off external bacteria but Baby betta's are sensitive anyway and it shouldn't be used as a preventative. The best thing you can do for a preventative is keep the water clean, change it every other day at least 50% so that the growth isn't stunted.


----------



## TexasRose

Thank you. I thought about mixing the spring with tap. That is what I will do.


----------



## Lights106

lilnaugrim said:


> Cute baby! and yes it is a Double tail, that's all. You won't know color until it grows up. I might be mistaken, I think I see the triangular ovaries behind it's stomach, also the anal fin looks very square and what I can see of the ventrals, they seem short. So I'm voting female  As far as feeding, it's a good idea to smash up the pellets if you can to make it smaller so the baby can actually eat them. I feed mine 3-5 times a day since they are growing after all


Lilnaugrim, would you be able to help me figure out Baby Sr's gender? S/he is 9 weeks and I do see a white egg spot but I know that's not a for sure thing here is a link, but in case it doesn't work (I'm mobile) I have several pics in my albums. 

http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=8769&pictureid=59882


----------



## ktmrox11

At what age do Bettas stop secreting the growth stunting hormone?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Lights106 said:


> Lilnaugrim, would you be able to help me figure out Baby Sr's gender? S/he is 9 weeks and I do see a white egg spot but I know that's not a for sure thing here is a link, but in case it doesn't work (I'm mobile) I have several pics in my albums.
> 
> http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=8769&pictureid=59882


It looks like it might be a girl. How long is it as far as inches? The short ventral and short fins all around make me think girl. Body shape also indicates but it's hard to tell when I don't know how big it is.


----------



## JamieL

This might be a silly question, but is my baby too little to go into the filtered 5.5 gal tank? He's in a 1/2 gal "betta starter tank". I planned to buy a 2.5 gal and filter, but they had a 5.5 kit that was on sale and actually cheaper so I went for it. I'm going to put some sponge in the filter to slow the flow before I move him.


----------



## lilnaugrim

JamieL said:


> This might be a silly question, but is my baby too little to go into the filtered 5.5 gal tank? He's in a 1/2 gal "betta starter tank". I planned to buy a 2.5 gal and filter, but they had a 5.5 kit that was on sale and actually cheaper so I went for it. I'm going to put some sponge in the filter to slow the flow before I move him.


You can also put some pantyhose around the intake so that he's not sucked in. You might have to lower the water a little bit so he can swim effortlessly to the top and bottom but a 5.5 would be great! It gives more space for growth and the Growth Stunt hormone won't effect him as easily as if he were in a smaller tank :-D so yes! He can go into there!


----------



## Lights106

lilnaugrim said:


> It looks like it might be a girl. How long is it as far as inches? The short ventral and short fins all around make me think girl. Body shape also indicates but it's hard to tell when I don't know how big it is.


I measured last week and I could t get an accurate measurement, but a smidgeon bigger than an inch.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Lights106 said:


> I measured last week and I could t get an accurate measurement, but a smidgeon bigger than an inch.


Okay so most likely able to be sexed then, I'm going with female but sometimes they do that just to trick you up! lol The cleanliness of the fins and how short they still are seem to indicate female, but that anal fin is still pretty pointed. However, I myself, have had long finned females have pointed anal fins so that's never a good way solely either XD


----------



## BeansJDS

I actually saw my baby betta flare at a mirror and knew I had a boy. Another big indicator for me was the advice that longer ventral fins are a good indicator.

Not sure if this is accurate, but I read once that its okay to show them a mirror once in a while (for only a few minutes like every other day or so) as it helps stimulate them even when they are little. I have also read that mirrors are bad, but I think that is only if used in the wrong way.


----------



## lilnaugrim

BeansJDS said:


> I actually saw my baby betta flare at a mirror and knew I had a boy. Another big indicator for me was the advice that longer ventral fins are a good indicator.
> 
> Not sure if this is accurate, but I read once that its okay to show them a mirror once in a while (for only a few minutes like every other day or so) as it helps stimulate them even when they are little. I have also read that mirrors are bad, but I think that is only if used in the wrong way.


Females also have beards, although sometimes they're smaller but I did have one female that's bigger than most of my males and she had a huuuuge beard! But it was still a female and she's in my sorority at the moment 

But yes Ventral fins are a good indicator, but again I have a long finned female who could easily pass for a male if I couldn't see her ovaries.

The mirror is good exercise less than 15 minutes a day is fine. It becomes a problem when you leave it up all the time is all. And so you are correct, just when you use it wrong as with anything, it turns out bad :-D


----------



## justmel

Here's my baby DT after 10 days. At first I was thinking it was a boy, but now I'm leaning towards girl. What do you think? I have to say, I was hoping for a girl. Duo is around and inch, tail included.

The second baby is Shrimp, and 11 weeks old. No vents so I'm clueless. Fins tell you anything?


----------



## Viva

I think they are both female but only time will tell! 

@JamieL:

I put my first baby betta in a 5.5 gallon, filtered tank by herself and she did fine! She LOVED it! She zipped around that tank so fast you could barely see her! When I divided it to make room for another baby betta she definitely missed having the whole tank to herself! A good thing to put over EVERY filter intake is a pre-filter sponge (Fluval makes some). They are very cheap, they help to house your beneficial bacteria in your filter, they baffle the filter so the outflow isn't is as strong and they also prevent any long, flowing fins from getting sucked in and torn (or little fishies from getting sucked in)! It is possibly the best investment I've made to my tanks because I also have peat moss balls in each tank which when you squeeze them some brown peat comes out and the pre-filter sponge sucks it all in and makes the flow a lot less to almost non-existant. As long as there is even a very small drip coming out of the filter then it's fine.


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## TexasRose

Congrats! I'm glad your betta loves her new space. I wish now that I bought a 5 gallon. When mine grows I will be afraid to change tanks. Ill have to learn about transferring healthy bacteria.


----------



## Viva

TexasRose said:


> Congrats! I'm glad your betta loves her new space. I wish now that I bought a 5 gallon. When mine grows I will be afraid to change tanks. Ill have to learn about transferring healthy bacteria.


 
You just take out the sponges in a filter that already has the bacteria in it, then just follow the instructions on starting the new Nitrogen cycle normally. The bacteria will make the cycle start up much faster than if you were starting from scratch. It will cut the time to about 2 - 4 weeks as opposed to 4 - 6 weeks.


----------



## TexasRose

Thank you, Viva.


----------



## JamieL

Viva said:


> I think they are both female but only time will tell!
> 
> @JamieL:
> 
> I put my first baby betta in a 5.5 gallon, filtered tank by herself and she did fine! She LOVED it! She zipped around that tank so fast you could barely see her! When I divided it to make room for another baby betta she definitely missed having the whole tank to herself! A good thing to put over EVERY filter intake is a pre-filter sponge (Fluval makes some). They are very cheap, they help to house your beneficial bacteria in your filter, they baffle the filter so the outflow isn't is as strong and they also prevent any long, flowing fins from getting sucked in and torn (or little fishies from getting sucked in)! It is possibly the best investment I've made to my tanks because I also have peat moss balls in each tank which when you squeeze them some brown peat comes out and the pre-filter sponge sucks it all in and makes the flow a lot less to almost non-existant. As long as there is even a very small drip coming out of the filter then it's fine.


Thanks! (And thanks to the other poster who answered!). That's my biggest fear, him getting stuck to the intake. There's a horrid pet store by my house that has tanks with dozens of dead little fish stuck to the intakes in their tanks. It's horrible.

I was just in petsmart looking for the sponge you mentioned and an employee came over, I told him what I wanted and he said to only thing I could do was put this mesh bag over it...then I found the fluval ones you mentioned. So i went over and showed him because I'm obnoxious  . I got a moss ball too while I was there. . Gonna set it up and move Bubblefishy to his new home.


----------



## Viva

TexasRose said:


> Thank you, Viva.


You're welcome Rose!



JamieL said:


> Thanks! (And thanks to the other poster who answered!). That's my biggest fear, him getting stuck to the intake. There's a horrid pet store by my house that has tanks with dozens of dead little fish stuck to the intakes in their tanks. It's horrible.
> 
> I was just in petsmart looking for the sponge you mentioned and an employee came over, I told him what I wanted and he said to only thing I could do was put this mesh bag over it...then I found the fluval ones you mentioned. So i went over and showed him because I'm obnoxious  . I got a moss ball too while I was there. . Gonna set it up and move Bubblefishy to his new home.


Hahahahahaha, nice job! It's always nice to prove those petstore workers wrong =P You will love the pre-filter sponges. The moss balls are great too! The peat moss balls I got from a seller in the UK, they supposedly help lower PH and make the water softer. Peat is supposed to lower PH I guess but I haven't seen too much of a difference.


----------



## JamieL

Transferred him to the 5.5, he's doing great. I used the second sponge to slow the flow coming out, and he seems like he's actually playing in the little current! He keeps swimming back over to it and swimming into it on purpose. I think he's a feisty little guy. I can't believe how much bigger he looks in just 3 days!


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Has anyone ever gotten a dragon baby?? I'm pretty sure one of the double tails I got a couple weeks ago is a dragon...at first I thought it might be velvet but it's definitely just some really shiny scales! I can't seem to get a good pic, but I am so excited!!!!


----------



## amzingaly

Alright guys I'm convinced! All of your babies are so adorable I just have to have one of my own! I set up a tank for it today and I'll be picking one up on monday . I'm sure someone posted this already but what exactly should I feed the little guy?


----------



## Viva

You have to feed crushed pellets or pick up some New Life Spectrum Grow pellets. Also feed them frozen bloodworms at least once a day...babies need protein to grow. Feed them every 3 hours and they will grow like a weed! At first my baby would only eat live microworms, then I switched to frozen bloodworms and now she is eating only pellets.


----------



## Rana

You can also feed crushed flakes, if they're high quality. My baby hates NLS pellets but will eat Omega flakes readily enough. :3


----------



## kvw1988

Okay so I just got one of the babies, I figured for $2 why not? They had three at the store, one was dead, another I'm not sure about and then my little guy, or girl. I don't have very high hopes for it because it is missing part of its anal fin, and it's spine is crooked there. Doesn't look like it has fin rot, just like it never had a tail there. But other than that it seems pretty healthy, very active, it even started to change color when I put it in it's new home from a dull grey (I thought that's how they looked at that age) to some blue showing through.


----------



## TexasRose

I have a baby too! My son received her as a thank you gift at a party. We have had her for 8 days. She is almost an inch and she has some pink/ purple color coming in. This board has given me a lot of good information on taking care of my little tot. 

Good luck with yours!


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## kvw1988

Ok here's a picture of my little one. For someone who I'm sure was a cull it seems quite active and happy. I didn't have the heart to just leave the little guy there, I was sure no one would pick it because it's fin is messed up and its back is a little crooked. I have to admit I was kinda surprised this morning to see it swimming around, but I'm still trying to not get to attached. Oh and if anybody has any guesses on gender let me know, I'm leaning towards male but who knows.


----------



## JamieL

Our little fishy is doing so well. He's really active, he's feisty and he attacks his food. And he seems to grow noticeably every day. Horizontal lines are almost gone, and his blue and red color is richer. What a difference a bigger tank and regular feedings makes. My daughter really wants her fishy to be a girl, but I'm leaning towards a boy now, because its still so little but the fins have gotten so long in just the last couple days. Im so impatient, i wanna know!! We'll see! I'll have to get a good picture later.


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## JamieL

pic of Bubblefishy in the cup from the store and then yesterday, almost a week after we brought him home


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## kvw1988

Aww he's cute. What have you been feeding him? Mine loves the frozen bloodworms but do I have to feed some pellets too?


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## lilnaugrim

kvw1988 said:


> Aww he's cute. What have you been feeding him? Mine loves the frozen bloodworms but do I have to feed some pellets too?


Yes Frozen BW's are great! You can feed crush pellets as well though so the tank isn't as messy. I would alternate days with the BW's and the pellets. I use a mixture of ground up NLS flakes, pellets and Omega one Pellets and they love it!


----------



## kvw1988

Ok thanks  this is so exciting watching them grow up


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## lilnaugrim

kvw1988 said:


> Ok thanks  this is so exciting watching them grow up


It is! Even though my two little boys had stunted growth, they're growing up so well and gaining colors everyday! It's so beautiful and exciting :-D


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## JamieL

I've been feeding mine frozen brine shrimp and crushed flakes. He won't seem to eat any pellets I've tried. My petsmart didn't have frozen bloodworms, unless they had another name and i didn't see them, but I want to get those too.

I have the hikari first bites, but they're so small, is it kind of pointless to feed him those at this point? And how many times a day is everyone feeding their babies? I've been feeding 3x/day, is that good?


It is fun to see them grow, just in a week i see such a difference. I can't wait to see if hes a male or female and what kind of betta. When we transferred him to the 5.5 gallon my almost 3 year old said "he's gonna grow up in there!" She loves him, she kisses the tank and talks to him.


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## kvw1988

I've been feeding mine 3x a day, once in the morning about 8, then before work 130ish and when i get home about midnight.


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## lilnaugrim

Babies can eat every 3-4 hours so 3x a day is fine but you may want to go up to 4 or even 5 small meals. Only put in what they will consume in about a minute or so and take the rest out if you can


----------



## JamieL

lilnaugrim said:


> Babies can eat every 3-4 hours so 3x a day is fine but you may want to go up to 4 or even 5 small meals. Only put in what they will consume in about a minute or so and take the rest out if you can


Thanks, I definitely will, sometimes I notice he looks hungry between feedings, I see him picking around at the bottom like he's looking for food, or when I come up he floats in the spot I always drop the food and stares me down, lol. The woman at petco said they feed them every other day, so it's probably better to work up to more frequent feedings that way anyway.


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## amzingaly

My baby is home and zooming around the tank! I decided to name it Avery :lol:


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## JamieL

I just did a water change and the little bugger was chasing after the siphon and my hands! I had to have a second person keep an eye out to make sure I didn't suck him up. Whoa!!! I guess he's feeling good.


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## kvw1988

When do you start getting them on an adult feeding schedule?


----------



## beachbunny

Hi everyone! I thought I'd come here with a concern rather than making a new board. I have a new baby betta from petco. He is currently in a 1 gallon tank with a heater and now with one of those amazon plants that I read was recommended here. I have changed his water every other day and fed him 4 times a day. 

I feel a little worried because he started flaring today and he's so active he's constantly flaring. When I put food in he flares at it, when he sees a bubble he flares at it. I'm getting scared he will get overworked or maybe he's getting stressed out? Is there something I should do or is this something normal for a baby? I think he's around 8 weeks old.


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## lilnaugrim

beachbunny said:


> Hi everyone! I thought I'd come here with a concern rather than making a new board. I have a new baby betta from petco. He is currently in a 1 gallon tank with a heater and now with one of those amazon plants that I read was recommended here. I have changed his water every other day and fed him 4 times a day.
> 
> I feel a little worried because he started flaring today and he's so active he's constantly flaring. When I put food in he flares at it, when he sees a bubble he flares at it. I'm getting scared he will get overworked or maybe he's getting stressed out? Is there something I should do or is this something normal for a baby? I think he's around 8 weeks old.


No, flaring is good! He's getting his exercise in! If you're really worried, keep the lights off so he doesn't see his reflection or anything and he should be fine.

@kvw1988, when they are adults! Lol. Around 2.5-3 months old they should be able to start taking regular pellets, you'll see them lose their baby bellies when they start to mature. For males, if he makes a bubble nest that's a sign of maturity so that's a good marker.


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## kvw1988

ok thanks  just to give ya an update, she's (pretty sure its a girl, I think I see an egg spot) grown quite a bit, just needed a little tlc, and she's darkening up to a pretty steele blue color. And a ton of energy!


----------



## Viva

These babies are so cute! Should I be worried about my baby Spark? I got her in the beginning of January 2013 and she was the smallest baby there. She is still very small...about half the size of my other full-grown baby female named Prize I got in December 2012. Spark has a big belly too, unlike Prize. She used to go around eating small pond snails that were in her tank when she was even smaller so I'm worried maybe she ate some shells that are still undigested from months ago? Should I be worried or just assume she is a "runt" and just has a big belly still?


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## JamieL

my baby started flaring!


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## Shadyr

T+10 days

Not much change in size - in the Day 10 picture you can see the thermometer for scale. This one is still very tiny. I'm starting to lean toward "Boy" because of how the fins are already filling out - that's the one thing that has visibly grown a bit. And the colors are coming in nicely! This little critter is already so bright! My kids have named it "Magic" because they say that will work fine no matter if it's a boy or girl.

Day 1: Grey, stripey, skinny









Day 10: Still has baby stripes everywhere, but lots of change for the better!









Those Hikari mini pellets are *great* for this size. (S)He really gobbles them up.


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## lilnaugrim

Shadyr said:


> T+10 days
> 
> Not much change in size - in the Day 10 picture you can see the thermometer for scale. This one is still very tiny. I'm starting to lean toward "Boy" because of how the fins are already filling out - that's the one thing that has visibly grown a bit. And the colors are coming in nicely! This little critter is already so bright! My kids have named it "Magic" because they say that will work fine no matter if it's a boy or girl.
> 
> Day 1: Grey, stripey, skinny
> 
> View attachment 148282
> 
> 
> Day 10: Still has baby stripes everywhere, but lots of change for the better!
> 
> View attachment 148298
> 
> 
> Those Hikari mini pellets are *great* for this size. (S)He really gobbles them up.


Oh wow! What a change! He's beautiful! yeah I'm going for boy as well, the ventral fins are nice and long and the anal fin is growing out longer than most females would be at this point. Beautiful!


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## Viva

JamieL said:


> my baby started flaring!



Awwww so adorable! I remember the first time my baby Prize flared at me while I was trying to take a picture...I would've caught it on camera if I didn't freak out and squeal in delight lol!


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## TexasRose

*Help, please. Not sure if I'm being told the right way to treat my betta's water.*

I went to a small local fish store to have Lizzy's water tested. Her PH balance was really high because the water where I live is really hard. The guy gave me some reverse osmosis water from rhe shop and suggested that I so a 50% change today, and a 20% water changes the next few times with the r/o water. He said not to add anything to the water at all, and we will check the water early next week. 

I only had my baby betta for 12 days, so my tank has not cycled. I was using 1/4 spring water and 3/4 tap with conditioner and it still have a high ph. 

Do you agree with the r/o recommendation?


----------



## Viva

Unless you have a reverse osmosis system for your aquarium, which are quite expensive, then you are never going to be able to lessen the hardness of your water because you'll need to do water changes. If your tap water is hard, most likely the PH will be high and it also means it's hard to get your PH down. The best you can do is to keep your PH stable. A betta can adjust to PH up to 8.0 or more, so unless your PH is much higher than that I wouldn't worry. It is more dangerous to play around with the PH of the water than to keep it stable at 8.0.


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## TexasRose

Thank you!


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## lissienen

All these pictures of baby betta's are beyond adorable... I'm glad the nearest PetCo is over an hour away and that the petstore I manage doesn't sell babies because I would probably end up taking them all home so that they don't end up in bad homes simply because they are far, far too cute for that.

Shadyr - your baby is _especially_ adorable!


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## Shadyr

lissienen said:


> All these pictures of baby betta's are beyond adorable... I'm glad the nearest PetCo is over an hour away and that the petstore I manage doesn't sell babies because I would probably end up taking them all home so that they don't end up in bad homes simply because they are far, far too cute for that.
> 
> Shadyr - your baby is _especially_ adorable!


Thank you! Some of the babies I see are more like young adults, but this one was really a baby! I love how his (90% sure it's a boy already) colors blossomed - teal and blue and pink! Confident boys wear pink well. Already eats like the typical piggy grown up betta, just micro pellets instead of normal. And is learning the "Look at Me!" dance. And might be a jumper, he jumped at my hand this morning when I was feeding him! Today is the two week mark, so I'm fairly confident that unless disaster strikes, he's going to do *just fine.*

Also, just had to say - your avatar girl looks like the long lost twin of my Sorority girl Ice!


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## beachbunny

lilnaugrim said:


> No, flaring is good! He's getting his exercise in! If you're really worried, keep the lights off so he doesn't see his reflection or anything and he should be fine.
> 
> @kvw1988, when they are adults! Lol. Around 2.5-3 months old they should be able to start taking regular pellets, you'll see them lose their baby bellies when they start to mature. For males, if he makes a bubble nest that's a sign of maturity so that's a good marker.





That's a relief!  Thank you so much for that advice I feel happy to see him flare now! I am started to get worried again though... I think he's only around 9/10 weeks old so I don't think he started to make bubble nests yet? But there are many tiny bubbles scattered over the surface, not in one area like the pictures I've seen of nests. I see him make bubbles with his mouth and they are just everywhere! Is anything wrong or is this normal behavior? Sorry I have so many concerns, since I found out babies die much more easily I am worried!


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## JamieL

beachbunny said:


> That's a relief!  Thank you so much for that advice I feel happy to see him flare now! I am started to get worried again though... I think he's only around 9/10 weeks old so I don't think he started to make bubble nests yet? But there are many tiny bubbles scattered over the surface, not in one area like the pictures I've seen of nests. I see him make bubbles with his mouth and they are just everywhere! Is anything wrong or is this normal behavior? Sorry I have so many concerns, since I found out babies die much more easily I am worried!


Mine does this (the bubbles), my tank looks like that too. It seems like its just something they do, I've seen him make little bubbles that float up to the top, but they don't have any pattern/shape/reason like a bubble nest. I was curious about that too though.


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## lilnaugrim

It's kind of like when a kitten really wants to run around but then end up flopping around everywhere because they can't balance properly yet. Same idea, your babies a trying to figure out bubble nests but they haven't quite gotten it yet. With age they'll get better at it, provided that they are boys ^_^ girls will also blow bubbles sometimes but the nest doesn't get nearly as big or as properly constructed as boys's do.


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## FadedPinkFins

This is my Betta Chance that I bought at a PetCo as a baby. There is a picture of her when I first bought her from the Pet Store on March 13th and a Picture from today, she was excited and swimming around haha


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## lilnaugrim

FadedPinkFins said:


> This is my Betta Chance that I bought at a PetCo as a baby. There is a picture of her when I first bought her from the Pet Store on March 13th and a Picture from today, she was excited and swimming around haha


Cutie! She's adorable!! She looks so much better too :-D


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## FadedPinkFins

My BoyFriends betta who he named Miracle I believe has some sort of growth stunt or something of the sort because she is about a third the size of chance and hadn't began truly growing until about a month or so ago, not sure why. I read something online about a certain thing that betta's secrete when they're growing as a defense mechanism to male the others around them stay smaller so that they themselves have a better chance of surviving and how it works against them if their water is not changed? not sure if that's true or not but I think I'll start taking over the care of little Miracle  I cannot tell the sex of him or her yet though. Hopefully I can work out a tank arrangement for each of them when we go back to school! (S)he also was very excited about me taking pictures haha


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## FadedPinkFins

@lilnaugrim from what I can tell I think I may have gotten a little lucky with how well she's doing


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## Fishy Mom

FadedPinkFins said:


> My BoyFriends betta who he named Miracle I believe has some sort of growth stunt or something of the sort because she is about a third the size of chance and hadn't began truly growing until about a month or so ago, not sure why. I read something online about a certain thing that betta's secrete when they're growing as a defense mechanism to male the others around them stay smaller so that they themselves have a better chance of surviving and how it works against them if their water is not changed? not sure if that's true or not but I think I'll start taking over the care of little Miracle  I cannot tell the sex of him or her yet though. Hopefully I can work out a tank arrangement for each of them when we go back to school! (S)he also was very excited about me taking pictures haha


Don't worry too much about slow growth. I had a runt for over six months that didn't grow. One day he just sprouted & now he's the biggest betta I own. ;-)


----------



## FadedPinkFins

Fishy Mom said:


> Don't worry too much about slow growth. I had a runt for over six months that didn't grow. One day he just sprouted & now he's the biggest betta I own. ;-)


Haha okay, Thank you. I will just continue to do my best and take care of the little fella, hopefully he'll grow ;-)
haha


----------



## lilnaugrim

FadedPinkFins said:


> My BoyFriends betta who he named Miracle I believe has some sort of growth stunt or something of the sort because she is about a third the size of chance and hadn't began truly growing until about a month or so ago, not sure why. I read something online about a certain thing that betta's secrete when they're growing as a defense mechanism to male the others around them stay smaller so that they themselves have a better chance of surviving and how it works against them if their water is not changed? not sure if that's true or not but I think I'll start taking over the care of little Miracle  I cannot tell the sex of him or her yet though. Hopefully I can work out a tank arrangement for each of them when we go back to school! (S)he also was very excited about me taking pictures haha


This one is a boy, no ovaries :-D

Yes they excrete a Growth Stunting hormone that does exactly that. Usually it's best to change the water every other day at least 50%, if it's a small enough container then 100% and if it's really small like .5 gallon, then 100% every day IMO.

Yeah my babies are stunted as well from being in their cups and I fell a bit behind on their 3 gallon but now they're in the split 5.5 and doing loads better, still not growing as I'd like but keeping the water clean and enough food is key!

My babies started to eat crushed up NLS pellets! Granted they're still small but it's so cute to see them gooble down half a pellet!


----------



## Fishy Mom

FadedPinkFins said:


> Haha okay, Thank you. I will just continue to do my best and take care of the little fella, hopefully he'll grow ;-)
> haha


They are cute when they are that littlearen't they? Enjoy your little guy.


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## resa

*I'm a victim of wrongful fin type sold to me*

I don't know much about bettas but I bought one that said it was a ct female. I had lots of other tropical fish but they all died and they all came from petco. they all had fin rot...neways
a moderator said they believe my betta to b a plakat not a ct... last night I was going through my fish pics and realized my betta baby didn't have stripes until the last several days but anyways here's her/his pic....the first ones you can see she didn't have stripes last ones she has stripes


----------



## resa

sorry only the second pic shows no stripes on her....I uploaded the wrong pic to be the first upload


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## BlueBettaSplendensLover

*My little guy is awesome!*



CalvinWill said:


> I've seen several threads regarding "Baby Betta" for sale at PetCo. I wanted to start this thread for all discussion about PetCo selling Baby Betta, pictures of your new fish or what you've seen at your local stores, and stories of our success and failures.
> 
> I am really not sure how I feel about Betta being sold so small. I know that in the hands of your average fish keeper most do not have a chance. Those that do survive to adulthood will probably spend the rest of their lives in cold water in the 1/4 gallon "tank" they have stocked with them in the display.
> 
> Regardless, after hearing about petco selling true "baby" betta, I had to go take a look. Sure enough, I saw no less then 30 colorless, unsexable almost-fry less then the size of my thumbnail, fins included.
> 
> I had no intention of actually buying one of these poor fish, but then I saw one that was slightly larger then the rest in the baby cups. This one had started to show a blue and red mix of color and was clearly a double tail. Sure enough I walked out of the store with a miniscule but potentially beautiful new fish at the low low cost of $1.99.
> 
> I brought him home on Saturday. He is in M1's old 1 gallon corner tank. My apartment is running at a cool 80 degrees and his tank is holding solid at a comfortable 78. If he makes it to be large enough, I will add him to the empty section of my divided 10 gallon. He currently eats crushed hikari and frozen bloodworms.
> 
> Not going to get too attached to his fragile little guy just yet, but my fingers are crossed.
> 
> Anyone else fall victim to this cuteness trap? Post your pictures and tell your stories.


Yep! I bought my first ever betta from Petco and he was a $1.99 betta baby. I knew he would turn out to be a beautiful male veil tail, and sure enough he did! I love him and since he grew up with me, he has been raised to know that I will not hurt him, and he actually swims to the front of his cage every time he sees me! I actually think he likes me! (Mainly because he knows I feed him) But not once has he ever puffed out his "beard" at me. He is a great little fella! :-D


----------



## beachbunny

lilnaugrim said:


> It's kind of like when a kitten really wants to run around but then end up flopping around everywhere because they can't balance properly yet. Same idea, your babies a trying to figure out bubble nests but they haven't quite gotten it yet. With age they'll get better at it, provided that they are boys ^_^ girls will also blow bubbles sometimes but the nest doesn't get nearly as big or as properly constructed as boys's do.


Okay that is very good to know! Thank you!


----------



## beachbunny

JamieL said:


> Mine does this (the bubbles), my tank looks like that too. It seems like its just something they do, I've seen him make little bubbles that float up to the top, but they don't have any pattern/shape/reason like a bubble nest. I was curious about that too though.


It's nice that I'm not the only one experiencing this x) lilnaugrim said that it is normal though so no worries!


----------



## scootshoot

My petco baby looked like a days old baby guppy when I got him. Months later he's turned into a veil tail male. At the time he was put in, he shared the 15 gallon with an array of ghost and cherry shrimp and a school of neons.

Now that he's grown up, he can easily fit a shrimp or two in his mouth but completely leaves them alone even if they happen to be swimming in front of his face. Am sure it's due to the fact he literally grew up with them when he was a mere pup so are used to their presence.


----------



## resa

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh


----------



## AltheaGlyndwr

So I went into Petco to get some flea meds and came out with a little guy. He's probably just over an inch long... maybe less... I can't quite tell. In any case he was bigger than most of the others and had the most amazing personality. Ever since I set his cup in his new tank and seems ready to go and get it. Super active and aware. Anyway here are some really bad picks I just took and wanted to share. Any advice would be great! Not my first betta, but my first this tiny. Not sure if it's a boy or a girl but I see faint blue and pinkish red sheens on his fins 

























He's obviously totally stressed out atm but hopefully he'll realize I'm taking care of him soon.


----------



## Shadyr

Stripes seem to be normal on babies. It took mine about a week to show color, I think it was the same size as yours, more or less. Tomorrow will be three weeks, and (s)he's quite colorful now.


----------



## AltheaGlyndwr

I just found a ruler and measured what I want to assume now is a she and she was almost exactly and inch. I found a website with a chart (linked from this thread) and I believe that s(he) is between 6 and 7 weeks. I'm super excited! Isn't that when they are more likely to survive? I am so glad that I kept looking through this thread from the beginning. I only got to like page 18 but then I saw the chart and it was super cool. Cause its fins aren't completely colorless but they also aren't totally colored either. Def think that it will be some mixture of blue and red!  It moves and acts just like my girl Mystique... minus that crown tail appearance that my older girl has. If it is a girl she'll be the second in line for the sorority I want to start sometime relatively soon.... probably by the end of the year I hope.  <3 totally loving it.


----------



## AltheaGlyndwr

OMG OMG! I just saw the cutest thing! So I've been trying to get my adults to flare ever since I moved and they just havent. But as a keepsake from my brothers wedding I was given a compact mirror. I had the brilliant idea to try that. It totally worked! Both of my adults gave me GIANT flares and then I decided to try the baby just to see... and it totally flared. So adorable. It doesn't even have a bear yet but it tried to be fierce~ That and I have an update on the color even though I just got it today. The top of its body seems ot be coming in blue with red on the vectril(?the two that stick out on the bottom) are almost entirely bright red now and all of its fins are colored with noticeable red hue. There is brown on its face and front back... So excited. I think s/he's getting sorta comfortable.


----------



## AltheaGlyndwr

It wouldn't let me add my pictures to my last post... sorry for posting so many in a row but I'm excited and I got some really awesome pictures of color.



















This is the difference that almost 6 hours of clean water, a place to "hide", plenty of good food, and a bigger living space has made. S/he's constantly swimming around exploring. S/he even tried to eat the bubbles that they made. Their bubbles are so tiny~


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## Viva

Awww he/she looks like a healthy baby! Congrats!


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## AltheaGlyndwr

I'm so glad! So their belly is supposed to stay full/almost bulging constantly? when should that stop? (I don't know if it's too early but it almost looks like s/he has an egg spot like my girl... Is it possible? Just the one spot)


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## lilnaugrim

AltheaGlyndwr said:


> I'm so glad! So their belly is supposed to stay full/almost bulging constantly? when should that stop? (I don't know if it's too early but it almost looks like s/he has an egg spot like my girl... Is it possible? Just the one spot)


Many young males, even sometimes right after maturity retain a imitator egg spot/ovipositer. So it's not always reliable.

But based on the fins and body type I feel that it is a girl. They will have the "baby belly" which will look bulged, but as long as she is pooping regularly and it seems to lessen by the time next feeding comes, it should be alright. But generally feed 3 times a day, just a very small amount since they can't eat a lot at once, but over the course of the day they can eat a lot.


----------



## Shadyr

Update on Magic - 3 weeks post-purchase.

I keep going back and forth, last week I thought the ventrals were too long for a girl, so it must be a boy, this week I think they look triangular(ish) like a girl.

I can barely see the stripes anymore. Other than size (Up to about 1.5 inches now), it's looking more like a small betta and less like a baby betta.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Shadyr said:


> Update on Magic - 3 weeks post-purchase.
> 
> I keep going back and forth, last week I thought the ventrals were too long for a girl, so it must be a boy, this week I think they look triangular(ish) like a girl.
> 
> I can barely see the stripes anymore. Other than size (Up to about 1.5 inches now), it's looking more like a small betta and less like a baby betta.
> 
> View attachment 154338


If you gave us a side picture I could probably figure it out for you ^_^ also, shine a light behind her/him, if you see the triangular ovaries behind the stomach area when she swims in front of the light, it's a girl. If just the circular stomach, tis a boy ^_^


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## Shadyr

lilnaugrim said:


> If you gave us a side picture I could probably figure it out for you ^_^ also, shine a light behind her/him, if you see the triangular ovaries behind the stomach area when she swims in front of the light, it's a girl. If just the circular stomach, tis a boy ^_^


I'll try that with the light. And believe me, I've tried to get a good side picture. Magic will come up to the top if there is something going on (probably hoping for food) but if I take the camera down for a side picture, it's off into the plants (s)he goes!


----------



## AltheaGlyndwr

Thats cool! Thanks~ I'm really hoping that its a girl... then I will be able to include her in my planning a sorority. I'm really liking the red on all of her fins. So How much is a lot and how much is genrally enough? So far every time I feed her the belly gets bigger but then is more normal by the time shes totally begging for food again. I've been feeding her about 6ish of the really teeny tiny pellets Hikari Micro Pellets. I also just went to check what food exactly it was and saw a GIANTLY long terd on the bottom... So she's pooping  Since bringing her home at about 6 yesterday (it's currently almost 130 pm so almost 24 hours) I've fed her three times. Everything seems alright though. She seems more than okay with everything. She even seems to be getting comfortable with me being around. She comes up to see me and is starting to follow my finger because it generally leads her to food. Can they trust you that quickly?


----------



## Shadyr

You've given a bigger better home and multiple instances of food, what's not to trust? ;-)


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## AltheaGlyndwr

Very true! Good. Makes me feel awesome inside to know that the baby is already appreciating me.


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## Lights106

Here is what my son fondly calls Guilty. . . don't ask me about the name. It looked like he had some fin rot going, so I'm treating it.


----------



## larisa5656

I am so gullible when it comes to fish in a pet store, and baby bettas are no exception. I went into Petco today to return two goldfish that had died five days after purchase and find suitable replacement goldfish. I had an adult male betta for about 1 1/2 years, but I switched to goldfish thinking they would be easier to take care of. Yet, in the store, I was quickly captivated by the beady black eyes and red tail of a baby betta. Needless to say, the betta now known as Clifford (I think its a she, but it might be too soon to tell) has now taken up residence in my home.

Right now, she's pretty lively and eager to explore her 2.5 gallon tank. I plan to feed her a small pinch of Tetra Bettamin Tropical Medley flakes (leftover from my previous betta) 2-3 times a day. Any suggestions on water changes though? With my other betta, I used to do a 30% water change every 3 days and a complete water change every 2 weeks, but I worry this might be too much stress for Clifford.


----------



## Viva

For babies their water actually needs to be changed much more frequently as they release a growth-stunting hormone into the water that must be removed through water changes. A 50% every day or every other day is probably the best, and maybe one 100% per week.


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## lilnaugrim

larisa5656 said:


> Needless to say, the betta now known as Clifford (I think its a she, but it might be too soon to tell) has now taken up residence in my home.


Looks like an adorable boy VT to me!! Congratulations on your New Baby Betta!


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## Mar

So, I live in Canada, so there's no PetCo, which means no baby bettas 
I have never seen one in any pet store here. 

However, I was just looking at the female bettas in PetSmart, wondering if there would be one to catch my eye and join my sorority. As I picked up all the jars, and looked at them, I noticed one jar near the back, so I reached for it. There seemed to be nothing in it, so I tilted it back and forth, wondering if PetSmart accidentally put up an empty jar. A little baby betta swam into focus. I was super shocked and really excited. 

I bought her for $3.99 and slowly acclimated her to a 1gallon tank that seems way too big for her. The temperature is a solid 78F, and so far, she's just sitting near the ground. She has almost no colour, except for this almost translucent blue on her fins.

At PetSmart:



In her tank:


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## lilnaugrim

Mar said:


> So, I live in Canada, so there's no PetCo, which means no baby bettas
> I have never seen one in any pet store here.
> 
> However, I was just looking at the female bettas in PetSmart, wondering if there would be one to catch my eye and join my sorority. As I picked up all the jars, and looked at them, I noticed one jar near the back, so I reached for it. There seemed to be nothing in it, so I tilted it back and forth, wondering if PetSmart accidentally put up an empty jar. A little baby betta swam into focus. I was super shocked and really excited.
> 
> I bought her for $3.99 and slowly acclimated her to a 1gallon tank that seems way too big for her. The temperature is a solid 78F, and so far, she's just sitting near the ground. She has almost no colour, except for this almost translucent blue on her fins.
> 
> At PetSmart:
> 
> 
> 
> In her tank:


Oh poor baby!! I'm so glad you picked her up! Emaciated and everything! Although...I'm not seeing ovaries and so just keep in mind she might turn to a male Plakat lol it's certainly got the streamlined body of a wild Betta or plakat  fatten her up and then we'll see! haha

Good luck with her! You should start a log if you haven't already!


----------



## Mar

Thinking of starting that log, but I'll wait a couple days. I really don't want to start a log, and then find her dead only after a week. She's super fragile and barely eats :/

I looked under her, and saw a white egg spot, so I'm 99% sure she's a female. Thanks for your support though! 
Trying to think of a name for her.

gonna run and see if I can macro up some better pictures!

I really think she has some sort of crooked spine :/ her back never really fully straightens out.


Currently have an IAL inside, so hopefully she becomes more comfortable and moves around.


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## MattsBettas

At that age you may not see ovaries even if they are female, and an egg spot does not make it a female. Males, especially young ones, can have false egg spots. Only time will tell.

I've seen a baby at the petsmart here, I hate petsmart. And not selling baby bettas is a good thing IMO, I'm willing to bet that over half of them die in the store sadly.

Glad you got it, and good luck! Crush the pellets.


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## Mar

MattsBettas said:


> At that age you may not see ovaries even if they are female, and an egg spot does not make it a female. Males, especially young ones, can have false egg spots. Only time will tell.
> 
> I've seen a baby at the petsmart here, I hate petsmart. And not selling baby bettas is a good thing IMO, I'm willing to bet that over half of them die in the store sadly.
> 
> Glad you got it, and good luck! Crush the pellets.


Yeah I heard about that egg spot thing  Hopefully she is a female!

It is a good thing that they're not selling baby bettas, but I have always wanted one, so it was kind of a guilty pleasure for me. :S

Yeah, crushing the pellets and flakes as small as I can, but nothing seems to interest her. 

I Agree, while I was a PetSmart there were at least 3 dead bettas. I was super shocked since the one near my house usually takes pretty good care of it's fish, but I guess it happens.


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## JamieL

Ohhhh Clifford is really cute!!!

Mar, your baby is super cute too, poor thing looks like he/she needs tlc, she's lucky you found her.

I was in petco looking for more decor for Bubblefishy's tank and an employee asked me if I was shopping for a fish and I said no, that I bought one several weeks ago and was shopping for stuff for it...she showed me a tank that was maybe a gallon and had a divider in the middle so i could have another betta in there. :shock: i don't know if she was trying to sell me a second fish or what. They must have just fed the babies, there was sooooo much food in their cups. I wish i could take them all home. :|


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## Mar

Thanks! She won't come up for food, but if I let a crushed pellet/flake soak for a while, and sink it down in front of her, she will eat it!! Hahaha progress!


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## MattsBettas

At least she will eat! Progress for sure lol.


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## thisismydesign

I just got myself a baby double tail today, though only because he looked really sick. I'm willing to do my best for his so I nabbed him before he faded or was tossed. The Petco near me takes good care of their bettas, unfortunately this was not that Petco. These fish weren't in as good as condition as the ones I usually see.

This guy, who I've named Will, was on his side not doing anything except breathing. Of course I bought him. I probably wouldn't have if he wasn't a double.

This is him after I put clean water in his cup (he's usually like this)









and this is him only about 20 minutes later









I'm going to take it as a good sign.

The betta next to him is Mushu, my dragonscaled iridescent halfmoon. I got him last week from my Petco and besides some fin rot he should be pretty healthy. They're in my little Betta Clinic. Mushu will go back into my 10 gallon tank with my 3 oto cats (who he gets along very well with) and I have a .5 for Will once he's able to swim around better and then eventually a 2.5. Once I manage to find a job I'll work on getting something a bit bigger for him.


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## Viva

Omg he is so cute! I would be horrified to see a baby betta in that condition


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## Mar

Very cute, he's going to grow into a beauty just like Mushu!


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## thisismydesign

He died about an hour ago He was trying to swim with his little tail twitching but then he just gave out. He tried so hard.



I'm more broken up over him than I thought I would be.


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## Mar

RIP little fishy.  at least his last moments were spent in a heated tank and he didn't die alone.


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## thisismydesign

Yeah

I kinda think I killed him though. I had put some food in there for him and was try to get him to eat. Even when I wasn't near him he was going all over place and didn't seem in control. I shouldn't have tried to feed him.


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## Mar

You can't blame yourself blame for trying to feed your Betta!

Its definitely not your fault. He deserved worse treatment in the pet store so it definitely wasn't the food thing. Sometimes you just can't save them


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## thisismydesign

All the bettas at that particular petco weren't in good shape. Fin rot was the least of their worries. I'm pretty sure I saw some fungal infections and maybe a velvet or two.

Thankfully the one I normally go to takes much better care of their bettas. Where the other changes the water once or twice a week they do it whenever they notice the water is dirty. They also check multiple times a day, not leaving it up to just the aquatic specialist.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to go back to Petco, but I'm freezing his itty bitty body so I can either get my money back (woohoo, $2) or just get another baby. I'm really hoping they have a double tail.

What are some things I should look for if I pick out a new baby?


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## Mar

I'm no expert, but id suggest the regular things? Bright clear eyes, healthy fins, and an active Betta that responds to outside stimulus. Also if your pet store knows, ask about the age so you can act accordingly? Idk ;/


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## thisismydesign

Ok

For food are crushed NLS pellets good? Hikari baby fish food? Frozen bloodworms? I have all of those things.

I have a .5 gallon, a 1.7 gallon (or 2...I never found out) and a 2.5. I don't have a filter for him/her but they need water changes every day anyway, right? I was going to look all of this up, but got distracted with trying to save poor Will.

I don't have a job right now, but I'm trying to find one. I also have to dog sit for my grandparents for a week and will get paid for it. I should be able to get a 5 gallon as a permanent home for him/her and maybe a small filter and heater. I'll have to go through the site to see. If I don't have enough I still have the heat lamp as a back up.

Sorry I'm rambling. I think stuff out better when I write/type it down.


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## Mar

Since I don't have any live food on hand, I feed mine crushed pellets and flakes and the occasional frozen bloodworm/daphnia. dont expect the Betta to eat it right away. Its gonna be shy. Just leave it there and come back in 15 minutes. Remove uneaten food. If your Betta refuses to eat, you mayvhave to get live BBS. They should have a water change every other day I believe, but every day couldn't hurt!

Your plan sounds good! Keep us updated.


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## thisismydesign

Hold the phone, there's a 5 gallon tank at walmart for $26, filter included, hood included, and a vast majority of the reviews are 5 stars. The filter is the same kind I have for my 10 too, easy to baffle.

I don't even HAVE to get it now. The baby can grow over the next few months and then I can get it when I start thinking he/she is getting too big for the 1.7 that way it can cycle without the fish in it.

Saves me a lot of money this way.


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## lilnaugrim

thisismydesign said:


> Hold the phone, there's a 5 gallon tank at walmart for $26, filter included, hood included, and a vast majority of the reviews are 5 stars. The filter is the same kind I have for my 10 too, easy to baffle.
> 
> I don't even HAVE to get it now. The baby can grow over the next few months and then I can get it when I start thinking he/she is getting too big for the 1.7 that way it can cycle without the fish in it.
> 
> Saves me a lot of money this way.


I would suggest getting it soon though. They aren't going to grow much at all in a 1.7-2 gallon tank. I had my babies (split) in a 3 gallon with water changes every other day and they barely grew over the month that I had them. Switched them to my 5.5 and they had obnoxious growth spurts! It's also going to be easier to care for the 5 gallon, so not right now but soon if you can get that it will be much easier for you and your little one.

They do excrete the growth stunting hormone and it will just effect him/her faster in a smaller tank, see?


----------



## Mar

Yeah, switching my little baby to my 5 gallon. Just a question. For the 5 gallon, how often and by how much should I complete water changes?


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## lilnaugrim

Mar said:


> Yeah, switching my little baby to my 5 gallon. Just a question. For the 5 gallon, how often and by how much should I complete water changes?


For babies? I still suggest doing at least a 50% every other day just so that it stays crystal clear for them, it's key in their development along with multiple feedings a day of course ^_^


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## Mar

Okay, thanks! I'll get on that. Already switched her to the 5gal.


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## AltheaGlyndwr

Because of a string of recent accurances I am going to be getting a 10 gal tank today and doing a fish in cycle with my adult female (going to be extremely diligent on the water changes and chemistry level watching) and I was thinking of, until I get more females and QT them for a while, having a divider in for my baby betta to be in there too so it gets filtered water and more room and such. What I am really wondering though is if I should wait to put the baby in until after the cycle is finished or if I can ust watch really carefully and have them both in there while it's cycling (divided of course). I posted a thread asking but no one has answered and I'm thinking that asking this thread will be more efficiant and logical simply because it IS about babies... ? >.< Not trying to be impatient or anything I just like knowing what my plan is before I jump completely in.


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## Viva

My first baby grew up in a 5.5 gallon filtered tank, she grew like a weed. My second baby I kept in a 1.75 gallon Kritter Keeper and did the same water changes but her growth is stunted...she is still about half the size as my first baby. I did a 50% water change every day or every other day.


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## Mar

Really interesting to see how tank size affected the growth of 2 different fish!


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## thisismydesign

This is Gill/Gilly (probably Gilly) I just got her and put her in her temporary home so she's a bit upset right now. When the stripes are gone her body is more purple and her fins a bit magenta with a slight shimmer.


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## thisismydesign

Gill is doing well and swimming all over the place. His/her colors are even brighter now. He/she will be a lovely little fish.


Gave Gill two crushed NLS pellets an hour apart and they were snapped up happily. He/she looks healthy, is alert, and is curious about the thermometer as well as me when I approach.


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## Lights106

Ok so my female's fins have changed. Elongated anal fin towards the back. Closest to the caudal fin. Still female or maybe a chance of being male? I'll post a before pic from 3 weeks ago. The one posted on this post is from 2 days ago.


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## Lights106

Ok here it is.


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## Lights106

This was from 3ish weeks ago?


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## sassyfriend

Well I had a little baby from Petco and I tried feeding him/her like the micropellot bag said to do. Goldie seemed ok for a little while and then she died. 

Have no idea what went wrong. Never had a baby before.


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## TheOnlyCanvas

Okay. So I just moved my two males into a divided 20 gal with some mystery snails and went to a local PetCo to use a coupon. I left with food for the snails, root tabs, 7 ghost shrimp, and this little baby.

It was the smallest out of the four they had (just about an inch... so under two months? I think?) and I don't know if it's a baby thing or not, but its gills are really red, which worries me. I have it settling into Arthur's old 2.5 gallon with the temp set to 80 or so.

Anyone have any advice? I'm not sure if I can get this little one to maturity, but it's super active and seems to like me, so here's hoping!


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## Shadyr

I have to feed mine micro pellets - the normal betta pellets, even the NLS are still too big.

Super clean warm water, stresscoat, and regular feedings (several per day for a baby) are your best bet. The first baby I got was just too far gone and did not make it. The one I have now was in a bit better shape to begin, and *so far* is thriving. Since you say yours is active, that's a good sign!

The gills could be ammonia, but since the ones at that age are so transparent anyway, it could also just be that you can see the blood circulating there through the skin. Mine was similar when I got him, and 4 weeks later, his coloring is in and his body is completely opaque.


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## kvw1988

TheOnlyCanvas, I think you'll be ok, the red gills seem to be a baby thing, mine was like that too, and he's okay. They really aren't too different from taking care of an adult, they just need to be fed a couple small meals throughout the day, and they do need more frequent water changes. I feed mine a total of 5 omega one pellets over the course of the day, I have to soak them in water for a minute first then cut them in half but mine loves them.
I agree with Shadyr, if yours is active that's a good sign, just remember the first day or so they may hide quite a bit just from getting used to their new home. Good luck!


----------



## Shadyr

TheOnlyCanvas, picture 2 tells me why you brought him home! That face, so "Save me!"

But that reminds me, picture time! Magic at 4 weeks post-purchase. I think I can definitely say "He" now - look at those fins - Anal and dorsal are now past the tail. It's hard to get a good picture. This is a good profile, but the color is so dark. He's a rich deep blue with teal and pink accents. Already a handsome double tail!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Yeah, I managed to think well enough on my feet when I purchased him/her yesterday that I bought micro pellets. S/he's just so darn tiny! I'll be purchasing (hopefully) live food after work tonight, if not I'll get some frozen. In the meantime, though s/he really seems to love the micro pellets - gobbles them right up as soon as I put them in the water!

Here's a video of him/her from last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RctxASb5_08&feature=youtu.be

The fake plant is atrocious looking, but it's soft and has lots of places to rest/hide in and s/he loves it. There's some java fern in there too, with a piece of IAL.

So far so good - baby seems to be thriving and is very curious. I'm seeing some red on the fins, which is exciting!

Thanks for the advice! I've gotten advice from a few people, and I'm much more confident now that I'm doing things right and that I may just be able to successfully raise this little one.


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## TheOnlyCanvas

Shadyr, what a beautiful fish! It's so exciting to see how they grow up!


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## lilnaugrim

Hey all, so I just caught up with this thread haha. But TheOnlyCanvas, the red gills is not a baby thing. It's only a PetCo baby "thing" because they sit in those cups all the time so they are much more susceptible to ammonia poisoning but nothing that frequent water changes and a good healthy diet won't help!

Also your baby looks to be only about 3-4 weeks old, might be one more week since they all have stunted growth from the cups.


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## TheOnlyCanvas

Oh gosh, even younger than I thought  I can't believe they sell them at that age.

I'm going to do my very best to get this baby healthy and happy!


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, it's not fair to them for sure but at least many of us who do take them home can give them good care :-D


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## logisticsguy

Please do not take any of this the wrong way. Petco and other stores are selling babys way too young imo. Are they giving new owners a care sheet? A baby that size should be still eating new hatch bbs and many have not been weaned to start eating pellets. Babys require pristine water and if in a small cup water must be changed 100% every day. Also how are the stores keeping the water at 78-82f? Many are emaciated in the stores which leaves the door open for low immunity to bacteria. It just hurts to see many of these little guys compromised even before the new owner takes them home. My fear is that many will die and the new owner blames themselves. There is also a social aspect. Juvi fry play by chasing each other having play fights ect. They think they compete for food when in the spawn and eat everything in sight just so the others do not get food. Alone without completion they seem to lose that drive and eat less. Many stores also do not even feed the babies frozen foods. It takes me some time to give juvi betta in the 6-8 week stage a comfortable food change over to pellets. If you do have a baby betta try nls grow and if not eating well you could make your own new hatch bbs. Its not that hard.


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## Shadyr

TheOnlyCanvas said:


> Here's a video of him/her from last night:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RctxASb5_08&feature=youtu.be
> 
> The fake plant is atrocious looking, but it's soft and has lots of places to rest/hide in and s/he loves it. There's some java fern in there too, with a piece of IAL.


Your baby looks inquisitive and perky in that video - and since it is eating, I bet it will be fine! I love the way bettas zip forward, pause, examine, zip, pause, examine - they are such quirky fish!

I've taught Magic to jump and nip my finger to get fed. Yes, stupid betta tricks 101  He is a natural jumper anyway, I see him leap over plant leaves at the surface all the time. Which also worries me...he will need a secure full hood.


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Logisticsguy I totally agree with you. I shudder to think how many stunted, sick, freezing and starving babies are sitting in PetCos right now. I have a hard time imagining how any breeder worth his salt would be willing to sell so young. I wish they wouldn't. But I figured if I could make just this one baby's life comfortable, it would be worthwhile. I can't save them all. But I can try to save this baby.
Also yes, s/he is pretty lively! And very curious! Always comes over to the glass when I watch and makes cute faces at me. I've decided to name him/her Phoenix, because there's a bot of red in its fins. I'm interested to see how s/he turns out.
And that's so cool! I've never tried to teach my fish tricks. I have great admiration for those who manage to train their fishies. They're smart, but stubborn!


----------



## logisticsguy

One easy trick is "feeding time triple tap" I start when they are 2 weeks old. Before any live food is put in the tank I tap 3 times and wait until they all get to the top. After awhile I start waiting until they ALL get lined up to eat. Some fry will even start chasing late stragglers to the top. It makes it easier later on so the new owner doesn't have trouble any getting the fishes attention at feeding time. It can create great excitement. Its like "OMG he tapped! Did you hear that! He tapped! he really did" Race to the top.


----------



## lilnaugrim

That's so adorable CJ! I'm really glad you take such care of your fry, I mean, that would be really bad if you didn't XD

My two boys Steve and Tony have grown up so much already! Once I moved them to the 5.5 they grew like the weeds everyone else had been telling me about! lol So I do suggest getting a bigger tank if you can! It's really worth it and it will be their permanent home so it's even easier ;-)

Steve ate a whole NLS pellet today! I accidentally dropped it in thinking I had split it already but I guess I didn't and he gobbled it all down! I was so proud of him, Tony's still got a bit of growing left to do to do the same but he's getting there ;-) Hopefully I can get some "before/after" pics up here soon. I mean they're not full grown but y'all can see their progress!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I purchased some frozen BBS (it was all they had unfortunately) and Pheonix is eating like there's no tomorrow! It was a relief to come home and find the little one still cruising around the tank.

I also got another live plant and a little pagoda for him/her to hide in, although s/he's not so sure about it at the moment.

And I did get a 5 gallon. I'm moving in about a month, though. Do you have to cycle a five gallon? If so, I think I'll hold off on putting him/her into it until after the move so that things are bit more stable.

And that triple tap trick is really neat! I might just teach my baby that trick. Might try it with my full-grown boys, too.


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## TheOnlyCanvas

One day of good food and warm, clean water and Phoenix started showing some color!
Is it just me, or does s/he look like s/he may have potential to be a crowntail?

Also an important question: I have a preset heater in the tank. Normally it keeps the water right at 80 degrees, but the weather got cooler suddenly last night and when I woke up this morning the tank had dropped to 77! Poor thing was clinging to the top of the water where it was warmest. Are there any adjustable heaters safe for a 2.5, or should I get the 25w adjustable Hydor and set up the 5 gallon to avoid the swings?


----------



## TexasRose

TheOnlyCanvas said:


> One day of good food and warm, clean water and Phoenix started showing some color!
> Is it just me, or does s/he look like s/he may have potential to be a crowntail?
> 
> Also an important question: I have a preset heater in the tank. Normally it keeps the water right at 80 degrees, but the weather got cooler suddenly last night and when I woke up this morning the tank had dropped to 77! Poor thing was clinging to the top of the water where it was warmest. Are there any adjustable heaters safe for a 2.5, or should I get the 25w adjustable Hydor and set up the 5 gallon to avoid the swings?[/QUOT.
> 
> I bought an ehime ( not sure I spelled it right) for my 2.5 and it is adjustable and works like a charm. Initially, I was scared because I bought a 50 watt heater. So, before using it I calibrated the heater and the temperature has always been 79-80 degrees. I had to put it diagonally in my tank because the heater is long. My "Lizzie" was just as young as yours and she is doing very well so far.
> 
> Good luck!
> 
> Ps. I have my temp set at 80.


----------



## TiffanyP

Hello everyone! I got my baby betta at Petco 10 days ago, and I must say things are going swimmingly (pun intended haha). Because of temporary space limitations I have my fishy in a 1 gallon tank with a mini heater - once I'm able to move into my apartment I'll get a bigger tank, but for right now my fishy seems to be thriving so I'm not worried. 

If you noticed, I haven't been calling it a he or a she yet because well - I'm just not certain. I've looked at tons of websites and my fish seems to fit under some of both qualities of a male and of a female and no two websites say exactly the same thing.

Using this chart (http://www.bettatalk.com/fry_growth.htm) I estimate my fishy to be about 8 weeks old or on the small side of 9 weeks. I've loved watching it grow!

I'm no stranger to bettas, but I've only ever bought and kept them when they were full grown, so this whole baby betta thing is new to me. Maybe those of you more experienced with baby bettas could help me figure out if my fish is a male or a female? So I can give it a name instead of just 'fishy' haha

Here's some pictures:
1. When I first got it and brought it home









2. Taken this morning, 10 days after I got it, without flash









3. Also taken this morning, 10 days after I got it, WITH flash









Thanks for your help, and bear with me if I don't respond right away - I'm still getting used to this site.

--Tiffany


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## TiffanyP

Seems like the pictures didn't work... this link should work to see them then: http://s1319.photobucket.com/user/tiffanyp2007/library/

Or if you right click on it and click 'open in new tab' it opened just fine for me


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## TheOnlyCanvas

Welcome to the forum! Your baby is so cute!

Unfortunately I'm not help with sexing young fish haha. It looks like you're doing a pretty darn good job with him/her! How soon are you moving? Bigger tanks are much better for growing babies


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## TiffanyP

Thanks  I've done quite a bit of research and I *think* he's a male, so I've been calling him Alaric, but I'm not positive - hence why I came here!

I'm a live-in nanny/housekeeper and my apartment is the basement, but it has some flooding issues right now, so as soon as the sump pump is replaced and functioning properly, and the drywall has been put back up I'll be moving down there. So anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks yet. If I notice that he's getting stressed or not his normal swimmy self, I'll upgrade and keep him on the bathroom counter (the only space big enough in my temporary room for a tank bigger than 1 gallon).

I'll post updated pics in his album, found here: http://s1319.photobucket.com/user/tiffanyp2007/library/Sir Alaric


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Awesome! Alaric is such a great name  And I love the colors you picked for the tank - they're perfect. It's hard to believe that's a 1 gallon because the fishie is just so tiny!


----------



## BittyB

How small can females get? I was at my Petco and noticed they had a bunch of females right now that maybe are a 1 1/2 inch long so I figured they might be very young.


----------



## TiffanyP

He has grown SO much though, even in just the past 10 days. I'm pretty smitten with him


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

It really is amazing how quickly you get attached, isn't it?

I think it's officially the fourth day I've had Phoenix. With regular feedings s/he's started to put on some weight, which I'm beyond happy about. The steady temps are having good effect, too.


----------



## lilnaugrim

S/he looks wonderful TOC! I'm super happy that you were able to get her/him. I'm inclined to say that it is a female but I also know that it's nearly too nearly to tell, but looks like maybe a start to some ovaries behind her stomach! But of course that can change ;-)

Lookin good everyone!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Honestly I'm fine with whatever s/he turns out to be :-D

I love getting updates on peoples babies, and I'm impressed at how successful most people have been with them! They're all so beautiful and healthy looking!


----------



## logisticsguy

Im sneaking a couple of pics of my 8 week old babys in here they are homegrown and not from petco but I hope that's ok.


----------



## Mar

8 weeks and they already look so healthy and with so much colour! It's good to know that's how they're supposed to look like with care, unlike the stressed, colourless pet store baby bettas. :/
Very cute, I love number 3 and 4's colourations!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh man logistics, that's totally cheating XD I wish my boys looked like they were actually 8 weeks >< I've had them two whole months and they still look younger than that!

Lovin that lipstick on the second to last! And the pattern on the last one, love it!


----------



## JamieL

Wow, they look so different than the petco babies, that's crazy! They're beautiful, makes me even sadder for the little babies in the cups though! 

I'm going to try to take a video of my baby eating off the spoon later, I'm pretty sure he thinks he's a shark. He's so little but so aggressive!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

The difference lots of love and good care makes is astounding. Just makes me feel even worse for these poor PetCo babies. I wish there were a way to convince them to stop selling babies.

Of course, your babies are beautiful as always


----------



## JamieL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3UioszzIF8

Here i recorded him...he was attacking the back of the spoon at one point, I couldn't get him to come around.


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Here's updated pics of my two double tails. I got them around May 24th so over a month ago...the first photos of them are on page 99 of this thread. They haven't really changed a whole lot, so hoping that they are both girls.








Pretty sure this is a female dragon DT! She almost didn't make it at first but is now super feisty.








This one I thought was a boy at first, but no fin growth really so not sure now.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Looking really good Carbon! Looks like the second one is a boy, I don't see any ovaries behind the stomach. First does look like a girl but since I can't see ovaries because it's opaque it's hard to say ^_^


----------



## Canis

Just got this little one today, after my eldest betta passed away. This will be baby #2!


----------



## Shadyr

Awww what a sad looking little bit. I hope that with your care and attention that it will thrive!


----------



## Canis

S/He has already perked up a ton with warm and clean water 8D









"Whatchu lookin at? You lookin' at me? I know you are!"


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ahaha! That's so cute Canis! s/he is going to grow up fantastically!


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Yeah! Unclamped already! So cute, Canis!


----------



## lilnaugrim

I predict a boy Canis! lol total stab in the almost-lit-room (instead of dark haha)


----------



## Canis

lilnaugrim said:


> I predict a boy Canis! lol total stab in the almost-lit-room (instead of dark haha)


I'm thinking so too! You can't see the ventrals in the pic because of how clear they are, but they are really long! As are the other fins, compared to how big little Fishizzle's were.


----------



## Canis

carbonxxkidd said:


> Yeah! Unclamped already! So cute, Canis!


Thanks :-D


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

So precious!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I don't know how (s)he managed it unless (s)he's a tail biter, but Phoenix has managed to take a couple of small chunks out of his/her tail. 
Some darker spots have started coming in on the anal and dorsal fins, and when (s)he turns they flash gold.


----------



## Viva

I thought my baby had torn her fins once but really it was just fin growth - sometimes part of the fins grow faster than the others making it look like a chunk is missing. Really it just hasn't grown in yet. She looks great and her gold/red shimmer is beautiful!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah TOC that looks like a tail biter to me but probably nothing to worry about.

I see the start of fin rot on the dorsal though, hopefully enough frequent water changes will help that :-D


----------



## TiffanyP

I swear these little stinkers double in size overnight! I left Alaric for 2 nights (with someone to feed him for me) and I couldn't hardly believe he was the same fish!  I think he's going to be a crown tail by the way his fins look now - I'll take a couple of new pictures and post them later.

Phoenix is looking good  Can't wait til she starts showing more color!


----------



## TiffanyP

He was happily swimming around as I was trying to get pictures of him so these are the best I could get! What do you guys think - crown tail?


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Oh man, reading through this thread makes me want to get a baby of my own, once my tank is ready! (I actually might keep it in my 2 gal QT for the first month or two, just to make water changes easier.)


----------



## lilnaugrim

TiffanyP said:


> He was happily swimming around as I was trying to get pictures of him so these are the best I could get! What do you guys think - crown tail?


Looks like VT to me with maybe some CT down the genetic pike, possibly might be a Combtail but more often than not VT's will have ray's that stick out just like that, making them not perfect VT's but they're still VT's. But there's always a possibility since he looks like he has a long way to grow still!


----------



## TiffanyP

Oh cool - I didn't know that VTs had lil rays like that. And yeah, he has quite a bit to grow yet - I just like speculating 

I'm avoiding PetCo like the plague right now because I'm broke and I know if I see a baby DT I'm not going to be able to leave it there lol I've definitely caught the betta fever!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

lilnaugrim - Phoenix has had that on the edge of the dorsal since I picked him/her up. It hasn't changed so I'm not stressing over it. I clean the tank every other day so if it is rot it'll clear up, but the coloring on the rest of the fins suggests it may actually be pigment 0.o Guess we'll find out!
P.S. Tiffany, Alaric so beautiful! Goodness! He's getting big so quickly.


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

You're telling me. I went to PetSmart today and decided to look at the bettas... there was a female crowntail suffering from serious SBD issues in that blue medicated water with at least 8 pellets floating around her and it just broke my heart. I took her to the register and showed them and told them I thought I might be able to help her. The cashier called over a manager, who told me to just take her, no charge. Said they just got the shipment in today. If that's true, I'm really sad to think that their bettas _arrive_ in that sorry state.
So she's floating in a hospital 'tank' in the divided 20 gal.
I really need to stop.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Sounds good TOC, just thought I'd point out the black if you hadn't noticed but in that case looks like it might be pigment then! How exciting ^_^

That's super sad about the female CT :-( poor girl, I hope you can fix her up real well! If you need help feel free to PM me ^_^


----------



## Lights106

Baby Sr. Died today. I was an idiot and put her in a 10 gal where she seemed happy, then put guppies in today (Females a d guppies can get along) but 2 of the guppies ended up dying. 12 hours later Baby Sr. Died. I feel awful!!!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Lights106 said:


> Baby Sr. Died today. I was an idiot and put her in a 10 gal where she seemed happy, then put guppies in today (Females a d guppies can get along) but 2 of the guppies ended up dying. 12 hours later Baby Sr. Died. I feel awful!!!


Aww I'm sorry to hear this!! :-( may Baby Sr. S.I.P.!

Actually most Betta's are fine with guppies, they really only go after their own species. Maybe a nip here or there on the guppies but they usually have no interest whatsoever unless it's a super aggressive Betta and they're invading his "territory"


----------



## TiffanyP

Aw, I'm sorry Lights  Keep your chin up, dear!

Random story: On Saturday I was counting back the weeks to approximately when Alaric would have been born/hatched... May 4th. Star Wars Day! Heck yes!! I thought about renaming him Chewy or Vader, since his face is so dark haha but I couldn't - he's just my Alaric


----------



## lilnaugrim

Alrighty, as I had mentioned a few pages back (lol) I was going to show updated pictures of my two little babies!! They are now housed in a split 5.5 giving them each roughly 2.75 gallons, fed just about 3 times a day with mostly NLS flakes but I also crush up NLS pellets. I'd crush the Omega but they're really hard to do that >.<

Here's when I first got them the first day, this is Steve:


Tony:


And just a few days ago I took this photos:
Steve!









Tony!









And the two together flaring!


----------



## TiffanyP

Wow!! Their colors are awesome! It amazes me how they can go from little quite ugly colorless fish into those gorgeous colorful fish. They're amazing lilnaugrim  And I love their names too!


----------



## logisticsguy

The boys look terrific lilnaugrim. You doing very well and I love their colors.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Thanks Tiffany! Yeah, Steve and Tony are the best! ;-)

Thanks CJ! I know they've still got a ways to go, but they're much better in the 5.5 now that they aren't being stunted as much >.<

It really is amazing to watch them grow up and say "I did that, I helped grow that baby!" it's a good feeling when you do it right and I can see why some people breed for hobby!


----------



## Imagine

Here's a timeline I made of my baby betta Royal since I got him last summer (not actually a baby anymore):-D


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Oh Lights I'm so sorry to hear that 

Those progress pictures are seriously amazing!

Viva was right about the chunks 'missing' from Phoenix's tail - it's just tail growth! Different sections are growing out and it's so strange.

P.S. Steve and Tony are wonderful names omg well done


----------



## lilnaugrim

Haha, thanks!!


----------



## TiffanyP

Have any of your fish been picky eaters? The pellets I got for Alaric when I bought him are too big for his mouth, so I've crushed them up and he likes those, but since they're crushed, its hard to measure out enough that he'll eat in one feeding, so the uneaten stuff sinks to the bottom and clouds up the water... 

So I tried flakes, which he didn't want anything to do with. Went out tonight and bought some mini pellets to see if he'd like those better since he could get them in his mouth... nope. Spit that out after about half a chew and avoided the other few too... 

Just want to see if I'm alone in this or not lol


----------



## Meeples

Any guess on gender? I've had this little thing for about 4 months now. I was assuming it was a girl but the fins are looking a bit long now...


----------



## Meeples

TiffanyP I had the same problem... I just ended up cleaning up the tank more. I tried smaller pellets but my baby didn't like those so I just went with crushed Hikari Betta. Bloodworm, too.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Tiffany, instead of crushing completely, can you break it in half with your finger nail or a plastic card of something? That's what my boy's get.

Also Meeple, looks like a boy but I can't be too certain since the ventral's don't look very long. If you could get a flashlight and shine it behind your baby, see if you can see triangular ovaries behind the stomach. something that might help is to stress it out a little, put it in a cup or something that it doesn't like so it can lose color and that should make it easier to see if there are ovaries or not.


----------



## TiffanyP

Okay, thanks guys  I'm going to try the New Life Spectrum food on payday to see if he likes that, and if he doesn't, I guess I'll just keep changing his water frequently. He's my only baby right now so he's getting a bit spoiled


----------



## logisticsguy

NLS Grow is .5mm (small) pellet that is perfect size for young betta 6 weeks to adult. It can be hard to find. Its high in protein and juvi betta digest it easily. Meeple I think you have a boy. One frozen food young fish love is Freshwater Frenzy which is a variety pack of sorts with bloodworms bbs daphnia ect. A cube can feed many baby fish so just chip out a small piece and back to the freezer. One pack will last a single betta for months.


----------



## TiffanyP

They have the NLS .5 mm pellets at my PetCo, I was just hesitant about buying a $7 container of food lol I'm cheap so I went for the $3 stuff that was small enough for him but he doesn't like it at all. So back to PetCo I'll go on Friday


----------



## logisticsguy

Yeah the smallest container of NLS grow I could find here was 14 bucks but prices here (Canada) are really high. Try to make sure its the Grow formula. With fish food I find quality does cost more but well worth it in the long run.


----------



## TiffanyP

Okay, it was the .5 mm food for 'small fish'... I'll check closer and see if its the grow formula. If it's not, is it still okay to feed to him?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh sure! Not a problem! I use regular NLS pellets that are 1mm so the .5mm should be just right for him in that case. My little ones take the 1mm no problem now although a few are still a little big. As long as it's a higher quality food than say Aqueon or Topfin, you should be fine


----------



## logisticsguy

Yes its ok just not as good for growing fish imo.


----------



## lilnaugrim

^ agreed but if it's all you can get to, it's better than nothing or worse quality food. But yes of course frozen foods and live foods would be a much better option  I personally don't have access easily to frozen foods around me, although I think I saw one of my LFS has some in! I'll have to check again when I have money ;-)


----------



## TiffanyP

Okay, I'll try and find the grow formula then  if not I'm sure he'll be fine with the regular stuff (if he'll eat it, the picky little stinker lol) He's grown so much but he's still just a little whipper snapper yet. Thanks for all of your advice


----------



## logisticsguy

The difference between NLS small fish formula and nls grow is that grow has more fatty acids (energy) and small fish has vegetables. If you look at my fat lil fish its easy to see lol. Also live new hatch bbs when they are under 8-9 weeks really gets them growing. Be careful to not overfeed fry. Its best to feed young fish often without gut stuffing them.


----------



## TiffanyP

I try to feed him just a little bit about 3 times a day. But since I've been crushing his food, naturally some of it is powder which clouds up the water really fast. I'm trying to find an alternative that he'll eat that won't cloud up the water so quickly - these every other day water changes aren't easy on me, or on him. I'm trying to cut it down to about twice a week - I don't want to go much longer than that since he's in a small tank for the time being. Only a few more weeks and he'll get to move into a mansion! I can't wait, and I'm sure he can't either


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

The Petcos around here don't carry NLS Grow, only NLS Small/Medium/Large/Betta. Petsmart doesn't carry NLS at all.

I've been thinking about getting one of those cheap pill-splitters, and seeing if that would work instead of crushing pellets. I also want to use it to split algae wafers to feed snails when I get them.


----------



## TiffanyP

The pill splitter is a genius idea Flyby... I'm going to have to keep that in mind for any future bettas I have


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

I already have two in the house, but one has been used for human meds (including some real nasty stuff, IIRC), and the other for cat meds... I don't want to accidentally contaminate the tank with those!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Pill splitters are such a great idea!

Phoenix seems to be fine with the 'small fish' formula from NLS, and absolutely LOVES the frozen bbs I've been feeding her.

I'm pretty sure she's a girl. Ever since someone pointed out the possible outline of ovaries I've been watching more carefully, and I'm pretty sure they're actually there. Yay!

I've had her for just 8 days. Her tail is looking really funky because of the way it's growing out, and the red and black coloration is coming in slowly on her fins.


----------



## TiffanyP

What a doll  She looks so healthy!

There was a white baby betta at PetCo (I made the mistake of going back haha) and it's not just colorless, it's white... and if it's still there tomorrow I'm going to have to bring it home. His/her little face was just saying "Take me home!" and I can't fight it anymore!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Yup... you've been bit by the betta bug.
Join the club


----------



## Rosencrantz32

I caved and got a baby today. I picked up its cup and it spread out its tail and swam around all happy. I put it down and looked around the store then came back and (s)he was all clamped up. But as soon as I picked up its cup again (s)he unclamped and started swimming around again. How could I just leave it there after that? lol


----------



## TiffanyP

Ah Rosencrantz I see you have been bitten by the bug too  As stated previously... welcome to the club haha


----------



## Rosencrantz32

Haha Thanks 
I've been stalking this thread for a while. It's nice to finally be able to join in


----------



## remywax

*asdddf*

I went to petco today to get some neon tetras to add to my tank and I took a look at the bettas and saw that they were selling baby ones. I was wondering why they would do that, their so little!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I think some others have mentioned in the past that the babies they sell may have been culls that the breeders decided to attempt to cash in on by selling as babies instead, and I think that may be true for many of them. If that is the case then at least they get a second chance, even if the chances are slim that they'll go to a good home 

If they would have been culls the breeders are messing up because most of the babies I've seen on here are stunning when they grow into adults!

Rosencratz your baby is so cute!


----------



## El1216

Just bought 5 there were 68 babies there!


----------



## TiffanyP

I went back today to get my lil fishy friend, but he/she died  I knew I should have gotten it yesterday! Oh well though - I'll just keep my eyes out until I find another one that catches my eye 

And 5 of them? You're gonna have your hands full haha Post pictures if you can


----------



## TiffanyP

I couldn't resist posting this picture!

"Oh hai!" -Alaric


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

*dies from the cuteness*
Okay, question for more seasoned betta owners.
I recently rescued a CT female and she's improving slowly but surely. When she's done in QT I'd like to split the 5 gal that Phoenix is in between the two of them. If I continue to do water changes every other day, is it okay to house them together in a divided tank?
I have a spare, but I'd rather keep my number of tanks down 
For now I have her QT tank floating in the 5 gal because it's warmer.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah you could split it Canvas, the female will benefit from the frequent changes as well, no worries there


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Hooray!  I'm so proud of how well they've both been doing. Thanks, lilnaugrim!


----------



## lilnaugrim

TheOnlyCanvas said:


> Hooray!  I'm so proud of how well they've both been doing. Thanks, lilnaugrim!


Welcome! ;-)

Nice swords by the way ^_^


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Thanks! They're from those little Topfin tubes - they all came in the same tube, and I got them just a week ago.
I have a harder time with swords than some other plants, but I love them. I just put a few drops of Flourish in with them today, so hopefully the few leaves that are starting to look a little battered will perk up some.


----------



## lilnaugrim

TheOnlyCanvas said:


> Thanks! They're from those little Topfin tubes - they all came in the same tube, and I got them just a week ago.
> I have a harder time with swords than some other plants, but I love them. I just put a few drops of Flourish in with them today, so hopefully the few leaves that are starting to look a little battered will perk up some.


Ah yes, that's because all sword plants are heavy root feeders, they do well with Flourish but I suggest getting root tabs if you can ^_^ and they'll perk up in a week or so!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I bought root tabs a while ago. I keep forgetting I have them! Guess I'll put one in tonight, and put one under the huge sword in my 20 gallon, too.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Definitely! I actually split the tabs and put half under eat sword although looks like you have two close together so you could put it in the middle. This way the tabs, I feel, are being used more and you sort of save money in it in the long run ^_^


----------



## JamieL

Here's my baby Bubblefishy from when he came home to now (almost 5 weeks).


----------



## TiffanyP

He's so colorful Jamie! Good job


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

His colors are so great!


----------



## JamieL

Thanks! My daughter picked him out, I had another one in my hand. He was the only dark colored baby, maybe he was easier for her to see in those little cups.

Although since last night he's been pacing on one end of the tank and when I walk in he's all pale and striped and sometimes clamped, then after he sees me he colors up again. He's been in that spot every time I walk in the room :/ he was constipated yesterday, maybe that's causing stress.


----------



## JamieL

I fed him for the second time today (I feed 3x) and I keep peeking in and he's colored and swimming around like normal again. I wasn't exactly fasting him but I reduced his feedings til his bloating went down and I think he was actually just hungry pacing by the side closest to the door watching for me to come in with food. These fish are so funny.


----------



## TiffanyP

Hahaha Alaric does that too! When he's hungry he'll swim like crazy all around the side of the tank closest to me until I go over and feed him, and when I walk in the room and he sees me he swims all crazy too. I like to think that he's excited to see me


----------



## Viva

Yeah bettas catch on fast, even the babies. I fed both my babies bloodworms with a pipette and now every time they see a pipette they attack it like crazy! Currently I'm nursing a little female (basically a baby, she's sooo young!) with a pipette as well because she won't eat pellets yet.


----------



## JamieL

I feed him off little rubber baby spoons from when my daughter was a baby, he goes crazy when he sees one. I'm obsessed, I want another one. If my brothers betta knew the fish living arrangements he'd probably pack up and move here!


----------



## Shadyr

So it looks like this will be my last post to the baby betta thread (until such time a I get another, I *wants* a DT girl and short of shipping, this is the only way I ever see em in my local stores) - cause I think Magic showed me he's not a baby any more.

The story:
I have a girl in my sorority who clamps up and (through no method I SEE) gets her fins torn up anytime I do a major clean or work in the big tank. She typically then gets to spend a few days in a light AQ salt med tank until she feels better, and then she is returned to the big tank until the next time I have to do maintenance. I had the med tank torn apart when I pulled her this go-around...I had given her a couple days just to see if she would pull out of it without the salt this time, but no, she'd gone from clamped to clamped and a bit listless. Since the med tank wasn't set up, I put her in her cup in Magic's tank. 

Oh My. He was smitten. He was dancing and flaring for her, and when I came back a couple hours later to see if the temp in the med tank was good, I found this:









He's come a long way from this scrawny thing, and in only 5 and a half weeks!


----------



## JamieL

He made that bubble nest for her?? That's so cute!!!!!


----------



## lovefordebbie

aww, so cute


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Oh how precious! Your baby is growing up!


----------



## thisismydesign

*Hannibal is growing up too!*

I'm not sure how old he is since I got him from Petco, but I estimate him to be around eight or nine weeks old.

He's old enough to flare! I only had the mirror in for a minute, as soon as he was done flaring I took it out.










His colors haven't changed much, only the dark edge to his fins, but I love the purple and red!


----------



## Viva

He's gonna be beautiful!


----------



## bettaman12

What kind of betta do you think he will be? He will definitely be a awesome though!


----------



## thisismydesign

bettaman12 said:


> What kind of betta do you think he will be? He will definitely be a awesome though!


I'm hoping for a delta or hm, but I'll be happy as long as he's not a veil tail. Though if he is a vt then I think his colors will make up for his overly common tail type.


----------



## bettaman12

He looks like a Delta Plakat to me but he might change. Just my opinion! He has a very nice variety of colors!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Ahhh I love veiltails, though. Overly common, yes, but they're so spunky!


----------



## thisismydesign

TheOnlyCanvas said:


> Ahhh I love veiltails, though. Overly common, yes, but they're so spunky!


Overall I love them, but their colors don't seem as vibrant or have as large of variety. I like unique looking fish. My adult, 007 is a silver minor rose tail half moon.


----------



## thisismydesign

bettaman12 said:


> He looks like a Delta Plakat to me but he might change. Just my opinion! He has a very nice variety of colors!


I love the purple and red combo!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I'd noticed that about veiltails, too. I wonder why that is?

Here's a video of Phoenix and her soon-to-be-divided-tank-mate Mara, the female crowntail I rescued a little over a week ago. She's recovering well!

I've had Phoenix for 13 days now. Her fins have been growing and she's bulked up a little bit, but not much change in color.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SenKz-c3Ns0&feature=youtu.be

I've been amazed at how relaxed they are even though they can see each other and get close without touching. Phoenix thinks Mara is super fascinating while Mara could really care less at this point :-D


----------



## TiffanyP

Alaric blew his first little bubble nest yesterday  I'm so proud of him!


----------



## JamieL

yay, tiny bubble nest!

while we're at it, anyone have any idea what type of betta mine might be??


----------



## Viva

It looks like a little male VT possibly


----------



## lilnaugrim

I also say VT for now since I can only see two ray's in his tail but it's hard to tell in the smaller photographs and I know they don't normally stay still.


----------



## JamieL

yayyyy, i can't wait to see what he grows into.  yeah, it's so tough to get a pic of his fins in their full glory, haha. he'll swim, slow down, spread them out so nice...then ZIP! off he goes.


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Okay, I bit the bullet today and got a baby. Both the baby and an adult I got were haunting me as I walked about the store. Good thing I have two tanks, and I was actually there looking to get one! I had meant to only get one. LOL

Anyways, pics of the baby to come. I'm doing a very slow drip acclimation for it, even slower than the drip going on the adult! It was swimming around and unclamped in the store, and is doing so now.  And either it's in the middle of a fin growth-spurt (more likely), or it's a crowntail (less likely).  And there's hints of a blue body and red fins, but who knows how it'll turn out!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Flyby Stardancer said:


> Okay, I bit the bullet today and got a baby. Both the baby and an adult I got were haunting me as I walked about the store. Good thing I have two tanks, and I was actually there looking to get one! I had meant to only get one. LOL
> 
> Anyways, pics of the baby to come. I'm doing a very slow drip acclimation for it, even slower than the drip going on the adult! It was swimming around and unclamped in the store, and is doing so now.  And either it's in the middle of a fin growth-spurt (more likely), or it's a crowntail (less likely).  And there's hints of a blue body and red fins, but who knows how it'll turn out!


He sounds like how my little Tony was when I first got him (minus the swimming part lol) but I thought he was going to be a CT too but now I don't know what he'll be! He's not VT because VT's only have two rays and he's got four so far so we'll see!!!

Can't wait to see your baby!! :-D


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Thanks! I want to be extra-careful acclimating him, which is why it's taking so long... The adult was done and ready to be released in 1.5 hours. lol

The baby is so cute. I can't wait to be done taking pics so I can post them!


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Baby's in his/her new home! Spent about 4.5 hours dripdripdripping, and then went in. S/he's already had one meal, and will get another before I go to bed.  S/he had a blueish tinge to the body and a reddish tinge to the fins at the store, but between being freaked out by the ride home, and the bad lighting at night in that area (the tank only fits C7 bulbs, and all of those available right now are nightlights) you can't really see any color on him/her.

Store cup: 









Acclimating:









Checking out the new digs:









And the big boy that also wouldn't let me leave without him:


----------



## JamieL

Ooh he's pretty.

Bubblefishy's tank is in my daughters room and last night she was being a pain at 10pm, insisting she needed her sheets changed (anything to stay up, lol). So I had to turn a lamp on, and i couldn't find him in the tank...i looked and looked and finally found him sleeping inside the floating log! It was so cute!


----------



## TiffanyP

Question time: At the end of the month, I'll be going back to my hometown on vacation for a couple of weeks. I'm bringing Alaric with me, but I'm not sure of the best way to transport him home... It's about an hour and 20 minute drive, and I'll be driving alone so there wont be anyone to hold him. Any suggestions or thoughts of what to put him in or to make the trip easier for him? It'll probably be pretty warm and my car doesn't have AC, so I'm not worried about him getting cold, but I'll probably keep him shielded from the sun so he doesn't overheat. Thanks in advance!


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Do you still have the cup you brought him home in? If not, then maybe get one of those cheap ziplock containers from the store and poke a bunch of air holes in the lid. Either way, I would think put him in that with some clean water, and the whole thing into a little cooler to keep it dark and the temp steady.

I've never tried to do a roadtrip with a pet, though, so take my advice with a grain of salt.


----------



## TiffanyP

I do have the container he came in - I was thinking about using that I just wasn't sure if it was too small.

I've read a couple of articles but of course, they all say slightly different things - just trying to get some more tips


----------



## logisticsguy

Take a thermometer with you so you will know if its too hot or too cold. Keep out of direct sunlight as much as possible. A cooler or insulated box to put the container in is also good.


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Okay, took a bunch more pictures of my new baby tonight. I selected a few of the best ones and uploaded them to photobucket. 

So let's play the What Is It? Baby Betta Guessing Game!  










And there are more pictures here:
One.
Two.
Three. 
Four.

And I'm having a bit of trouble telling if that's a well-fed belly, or an over-fed belly...


----------



## Mar

So cute!
I'ma guess male VT. 
Looks like a well fed belly xD But I'd neverknow


----------



## jeano

*Temperature and food question*

Hello Everyone!

I have new betta baby that we adopted a few days ago. My 5 year old grandson named him Tony Stewart(most all his stuffed animals are named this also :shock until we are able to determine his sex. 
We have a 10 gallon tank that is divided for our 2 adult male bettas, Norman and Rico. I have this tank set at 80 degrees. But I did read that the juvies need a slightly higher temp. 
Tony is in a 2 gallon tank and his preset heater failed yesterday and was keeping his tank at a steady 84. So I rushed out and got an adjustable one. 
I was wondering if this was a good temp for him? Should it be slightly higher or lower?
Also, just wanted to be sure I was feeding him the correct variety of food. He gets a rotation of NLS small fish formula pellets, frozen bbs, daphnia and blood worms. He eats like a pig and then begs for more. I feed him 3 times a day.
Thanks ahead of time for any input!


----------



## JamieL

Hahahaha, that's what happens when toddlers name pets! Our fish are named "bubble fishy" and "captain hook", courtesy of my three year old. :lol: 

Everything you said sounds exactly like our baby bettas setup, right down to the food. His tank hangs at around 81, he seems pretty cozy.


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Tiffany - I've had to bring my fish with me several times on a five hour drive across the Rocky Mountains. I recommend keeping him in a sealed tupperware container, no holes. Use something large enough that you can leave a good amount of air at the top. Holes in the lid make the water splash out on drives, and when I tried it I lost way too much water for my comfort. As yours is a short drive, a sealed lid will be fine. Otherwise I'd recommend stopping occasionally to open it so he gets fresh air.

Also, pack that container into another box, cooler, etc. surrounded by towels, and lay something over the top to keep the sun off.


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

What to do for a constipated baby? The tank is essentially bare-bottomed, but I'm not seeing any poop... I don't know if it's because he's constipated or because I'm just missing it.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Flyby Stardancer said:


> What to do for a constipated baby? The tank is essentially bare-bottomed, but I'm not seeing any poop... I don't know if it's because he's constipated or because I'm just missing it.


Freeze-dried or frozen daphnia will work very well, keep feeding him though. He's not going to poop if he doesn't eat.

How long have you had him and how often are you feeding/what?

Sometimes if they've been malnourished for a while they won't poop much under a day or so later.


----------



## jeano

How often should the babies be fed? I have read 3, 4 and 5 times a day. I currently feed Tony 3 times a day and he gobbles it up. Should I up that to 4? I don't want to underfeed him.


----------



## lilnaugrim

jeano said:


> How often should the babies be fed? I have read 3, 4 and 5 times a day. I currently feed Tony 3 times a day and he gobbles it up. Should I up that to 4? I don't want to underfeed him.


If you can get to 4-5 times a day that'd be great! If that's the case, don't feed him tons, just a little bit and then just feed more frequently. But if you can only get to 3 times a day like I can, then that is fine as well it won't hurt them  they might not grow _as_ fast but they'll grow still!


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

lilnaugrim said:


> How long have you had him and how often are you feeding/what?


I got him Friday, fed him twice that day with cut-up pellets. Fed him four times on Saturday, the first two pellets, second two frozen brine shrimp that I had separated into bite-sized pieces. He was only fed three times yesterday (I was out of the house at one feeding time), all three times pellets.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Flyby Stardancer said:


> I got him Friday, fed him twice that day with cut-up pellets. Fed him four times on Saturday, the first two pellets, second two frozen brine shrimp that I had separated into bite-sized pieces. He was only fed three times yesterday (I was out of the house at one feeding time), all three times pellets.


Okay, keep that up then, that's good. It just might not have worked it's way through his system yet, so just hold out and he should poop in the next day or so. If he doesn't, then if you can get some frozen/freeze-dried Daphnia then that'd be the way to go!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

Somebody is losing her stripes and gaining some really gorgeous colors


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

I went out to get some timers (one to replace a failing timer on my big boy's tank for the lights, and another one for the baby's heater so I don't have to rely on memory to plug it in at night and unplug it during the day when room temp is more than enough for the little thing). When I got home, I went over and checked on the little guy. I noticed his tummy looked smaller, so I scanned the bottom of the tank... Sure, enough, there was poop! Yay!

And he also looks bigger already than when I brought him home, and it's only been about half a week!


----------



## JamieL

It's amazing the growth you see right away! What a difference good food and water conditions make.


----------



## jeano

Okay, so my bad...left the frozen baby brine shrimp out and it thawed and had to throw it away(way to go!). I have the frozen brine shrimp for my adults but was wondering what is the difference in the bbs as opposed to the adult brine shrimp. Is this okay to feed to my baby or is it not as nutritious?


----------



## Viva

It should be fine they're just bigger. You might need to cut it up a bit.


----------



## jeano

Thank you, Viva! I have no worries about him eating the bigger shrimp. I was surprised when he ate a huge blood worm. I guess I had read somewhere that the adult brine were less nutritious than the bbs. He is already eating NLS small fish formula, daphnia and bloodworms on a rotation.


----------



## Viva

Yeah then he should definitely be okay! I rescued a tiny female about 10 days ago and I still can't get her to eat pellets. She's been eating frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worms like crazy though!


----------



## TexasRose

*Lizzy 1 month and a half*

Look what I found! (Picture of her bubble nest)
Thanks to everyone's help Lizzy has grown from a fry to a toddler. I got her 6/1/13 as a fry and now she has color and blows bubbles. 

I'm currently setting uo a 10 gal. Tank. It's running with the filter. I'm waiting for a couple more plants to be delivered. I hope to have her in her new home by the first week in August.


----------



## TexasRose

*6-1-13*

Lizzy June 1


----------



## TexasRose

*Lizzy 7-11-13*

She has grown!


----------



## jeano

Wow, beautiful! What a difference a month makes! Amazing how you can see a change everyday!


----------



## TexasRose

Isn't it great! I love watching her grow. This forum really helped me. I have no experience with fish and so far so good. Good luck with your baby!


----------



## jeano

Thank you, TexasRose. Tony Stewart is doing awesome! 

Does anyone feed their babies the Omega One Buffet Pellets? It has some awesome protein in it. I think I would have to break it apart a bit as it might be too big? He already loves the NLS small fish formula.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh wow TexasRose, he's grown up beautifully! Yeah females don't make elaborate nests like that and with the new picture, definitely a boy!


----------



## Fishy Mom

TexasRose said:


> She has grown!


She is a he. ;-)


----------



## Fishy Mom

lilnaugrim said:


> Oh wow TexasRose, he's grown up beautifully! Yeah females don't make elaborate nests like that and with the new picture, definitely a boy!


I must have been typing when you posted that it was a boy too, lol. 

I forgot to add to my comment that he sure did turn out beautiful!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Fishy Mom said:


> I must have been typing when you posted that it was a boy too, lol.
> 
> I forgot to add to my comment that he sure did turn out beautiful!


Oh lol, yeah np!


----------



## TiffanyP

I'm so glad one of you said it - I was sitting over here thinking to myself "that has got to be a Larry, not a Lizzy" but I was too chicken to say it haha

He is indeed very beautiful though


----------



## TexasRose

Oh wow! Looks like we need a new name. :lol:


----------



## TexasRose

lilnaugrim said:


> Oh lol, yeah np!


Thank you! And thanks for responding to my, "need help messages"! My son is going to come up with a new name. Lol.


----------



## logisticsguy

A very cute boy. Maybe Leonardo?


----------



## lilnaugrim

TexasRose said:


> Thank you! And thanks for responding to my, "need help messages"! My son is going to come up with a new name. Lol.


Always welcome!

Oh yeah, I like Leonardo as logistic's suggested :-D then Leo be the nickname ^_^


----------



## TexasRose

lilnaugrim said:


> Always welcome!
> 
> Oh yeah, I like Leonardo as logistic's suggested :-D then Leo be the nickname ^_^


I'm going to suggest Leonardo to my son! I love it. I might secretly call him Leo.


----------



## TexasRose

logisticsguy said:


> A very cute boy. Maybe Leonardo?


Love it!


----------



## Viva

Wow what a cute little boy Texas! He's growing up so fast!


----------



## fleetfish

I just got some little ones yesterday and I am sure they're less than three months old - they are very tiny and utterly adorable. One is a cambodian VT and other is a wild colour DTPK ... as far as I can tell both are baby girls  

I'll post pics as soon as I can.


----------



## xfrequentflyerx

Mariah94 said:


> I fell for it. Or, well, my family did. I had mentioned wanting a fish and they came home with this little bitty thing in a bowl. I immediately thought fish abuse and did my research. Now, a week later I have a 5 gallon 8 sided type tank with a heater and filter. I still need to go out and get a thermometer and some good food. But I'm still really new at this and I have a lot of questions. This is also my first post to the thread.
> 
> My betta (when I learn how to post pics I will) is about half the size of my pinky, maybe a bit smaller. I haven't had the time to look too much into the sex and type, but I THINK it's a girl...then again, it's a young fish so I might not be able to tell yet. I can't tell an age...maybe you guys have a general idea given the approx. size?
> 
> If it is a girl, her name is Temperance. If not, it's Rick Castle -but that chat is for later.
> 
> I'm really concerned about the feeding. I have this zoo med betta food that grows when you put it in the water. My little fish can hardly hold it in her mouth and it takes her over three minutes to eat it. So far I've been feeding her 3 times every other day and doing it in cyces. One the night before, one in the morning, and one in the evening -because it takes her so long to eat it and honestly the food (once submerged) is larger than her eye- I really don't want her to bloat up. But she kind of gives me that look (I'm sure you all know it) like she's starving so today I gave her two pellets in her night feed. She looks like she wants more...decieving fish.
> 
> Still doing my research, but I saw this thread and decided since I got 1.99 fishy from petcoe I may as well post
> 
> After exams I hope to have everything for her (or him). I know I want to get better food, some blood worms, a thermometer, softer plants...possibly a larger heater (I think mine is for 1-3 gallon?) and a Castle that's softer on the fins. And any thing else she/he needs. Me and this fish have really bonded. Never thought I'd bond with a fish but she/he follows my finger and hangs out on the side of the tank by my bed all the time. She/he is the coolest little fish...
> 
> Thanks!


Don't overfeed your Betta. But as for things other than that, you are doing well so far.


----------



## Lindsaypez

I went to Pet Co. today and they had a ton of baby bettas. I keep thinking about them. I wish I could adopt one just to rescue it!  My Abraham keeps me busy enough with the other things going on in my life though.


----------



## JamieL

Caught the little guy patrolling the side and flaring at...himself? He's tough.


----------



## lilnaugrim

xfrequentflyerx said:


> Don't overfeed your Betta. But as for things other than that, you are doing well so far.


Actually babies require about 4-5 small feedings a day so 3 times a day isn't overfeeding and it's actually rather hard to overfeed fish honestly


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

jeano said:


> Does anyone feed their babies the Omega One Buffet Pellets? It has some awesome protein in it. I think I would have to break it apart a bit as it might be too big? He already loves the NLS small fish formula.


Omega One pellets are the staple in my babyfish's diet.  I bought a pill cutter, and I've been using that to chop them up into rough quarters. (It takes some manipulation with the sharp end of a bamboo skewer to move them around on the pill cutter.) The quarter-sized pieces are perfect for babyfish mouths to get around!


----------



## PetMania

I went to PetCo and saw around 3 "female bettas" They were less than an inch! I guess someone brought up who ridiculous selling babies is. But now they try to sell babies as smaller females.


----------



## miscanon

Meet Speck, aka "Fishykins", the baby betta I adopted today! This is only a temporary home for him/her, while I get his/her permanent, 5 gallon home all ready. C:


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

So, watching my little boy swim all over the place... He's such an active guy, and always so eager to eat! Still hasn't shifted to his adult colors yet, though today he was showing signs of it... A touch more iridescence to his body.  And I'm thinking he'll either be a veiltail, or a crowntail... When his tail folds down for a moment, it's started to get this little fold that makes me think veil... But the crown-y points haven't filled in after the better part of a week, which makes me think he could possibly end up a crown or comb tail... We'll just have to see!


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Pretty baby, miscanon!


----------



## TexasRose

PetMania said:


> I went to PetCo and saw around 3 "female bettas" They were less than an inch! I guess someone brought up who ridiculous selling babies is. But now they try to sell babies as smaller females.


I went to my petco and saw fry so young they were clear and you can see a black dot at the head. It was maybe a couple of centimeters long. I never FAQ a fry so young. It took all I had not to walk out with another betta. If I could put two in a tank with out a divider I would adopt another betta. 

Some of the adults were in yellow water. I complained to the manager, but he swore that they take good care of their fish. So I pointed out all the dead and yellow water fish. He said he would take care of it.


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Okay, water change question, folks. My baby is in an uncycled 2 gallon tank currently. I'm doing daily 50% water changes (or so, a couple accidentally were more like 60% change). Since I'm doing so many of the partial changes, do I need to do the once-a-week 100% change normally recommended for an uncycled tank this size?


----------



## TexasRose

Do you have a filter in your tank? Mine is in a 2 1/2 gal tank with a filter. I use a filter with a sponge and biomedia (azoo filter from amazon, asiandude666 has a tutorial how to set it up).

I have never done a 100% change. You want to keep the good bacteria. With a filtered tank I did changes every third day, mostly 20-30%. When I went thru my cloudy phase i did 50% once a week, 20% the second time that week. Now my tank is crystal clear. Also, I rinse the sponge, bio media, and pre filter in the water that I syphoned out.

Now that my betta is getting bigger, I'm about to move him into a bigger tank.


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Nope, currently no filter on the tank. The tank came with a built-in filter, but the motor stopped working and I haven't purchased a replacement filter yet.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Flyby, you don't necessarily need a 100% at the end of the week if you're doing 50-60%'s daily but if it makes you feel better then you can certain do it and it won't hurt the baby at all. Just acclimate carefully as all, I'd take a whole hour with a 100%


----------



## TexasRose

Flyby Stardancer said:


> Nope, currently no filter on the tank. The tank came with a built-in filter, but the motor stopped working and I haven't purchased a replacement filter yet.


The filter that came with my tank was too strong, it kept blowing my betta around. The azoo is adjustable, it's like a smaller version of the aqua clear. I'm really happy with it. I'm sure there are others that are just as good. 

Also, mine loves its water at 80 degrees. I bought an adjustable heater too, I felt that I did not have enough experience to trust a heater that I can't control. Since I knew my waters temp I calibrated the heater, and it has been on point since day one. I have a 50 watt eheim heater. (I could have gotten a 25 watt but the fish store did not have any). 

Good luck!


----------



## PetMania

TexasRose said:


> I went to my petco and saw fry so young they were clear and you can see a black dot at the head. It was maybe a couple of centimeters long. I never FAQ a fry so young. It took all I had not to walk out with another betta. If I could put two in a tank with out a divider I would adopt another betta.
> 
> Some of the adults were in yellow water. I complained to the manager, but he swore that they take good care of their fish. So I pointed out all the dead and yellow water fish. He said he would take care of it.


 I know. It's so ridiculous. This is how it goes: People walk in with their kids. Kids see baby betta and want it. That betta has a terrible life in a 0.3 gallon tank swimming in it's own filth. 
First, they leave bettas to die while living in a cup. Then they sell babies!!!!! It's like puppies at a puppy mill. This is another reason why I started my rescue.


----------



## JamieL

Baby bubble nest under the heater?


----------



## Mar

^

That's too cute!


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Took a really bad, somewhat blurry video of my baby for the one-week update.  I have a lamp throwing light into the tank, because the light in the lid adds almost no light.

The blue-ish coloring you see is iridescence. In the dimmer light from the lid light you can still see the fry coloring quite clearly.

http://youtu.be/nTG6vzejsnE


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I had a mishap today in which the female on the other side of the divider in the tank that Phoenix is in jumped the divider into Phoenix's side!

Both fish are perfectly fine - in fact they seem kind of sad that I separated them. Definitely scared me, though.

With small tanks you should be doing regular 50% changes at least for an adult. For a baby, the 50% a day or two sounds pretty good!


----------



## Viva

My two baby girls did that too, actually like 3 times. My cat would love to go up and mess with the divider and knock it over. Nothing ever happened and one girl was about twice the size as the other, lol. Now they live together in a sorority and the little one chases the big one around!


----------



## miscanon

Flyby Stardancer said:


> Pretty baby, miscanon!


Thank you! S/He's got some blue and purply-red on his fins now!


----------



## jeano

Tony Stewart is finally getting some color! Lots more color today than yesterday, and growing like a weed. He's loving his new moss ball and hornwort in his tank :-D


----------



## PetMania

TheOnlyCanvas said:


> I had a mishap today in which the female on the other side of the divider in the tank that Phoenix is in jumped the divider into Phoenix's side!
> 
> Both fish are perfectly fine - in fact they seem kind of sad that I separated them. Definitely scared me, though.
> 
> With small tanks you should be doing regular 50% changes at least for an adult. For a baby, the 50% a day or two sounds pretty good!


If it was an adult, you should 100% water changes if it is 1-2 gallons in my opinion. You have to be careful with babies. 
The same thing happened with my males. One jumped to the other side. They didn't fight. They just swam around with each other and explored that part of the tank. I separated them anyways.


----------



## TiffanyP

Thought I'd post one more picture of Alaric - he's growing out of the baby stage and consistently makes little bubble nests above his leaf bed  He gets to move into his mansion (5 gallon tank) when I get back from visiting home in 2 weeks! Do you guys still think he's a veil tail?


----------



## lilnaugrim

TiffanyP said:


> Thought I'd post one more picture of Alaric - he's growing out of the baby stage and consistently makes little bubble nests above his leaf bed  He gets to move into his mansion (5 gallon tank) when I get back from visiting home in 2 weeks! Do you guys still think he's a veil tail?


He's only got two ray's so far so I think he'll still be a VT but there's a chance he could change and become a Delta or something!


----------



## ao

heehee, they'll surprise you! mine turned out to be a mess tail!



Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## TiffanyP

When you say 'rays' what are you looking at to determine that?


----------



## lilnaugrim

TiffanyP said:


> When you say 'rays' what are you looking at to determine that?


Take a look at the picture below. See the number's and then they're point to those things? Those are ray's. Each tail type has a certain amount of ray's like a VeilTail only has 2 ray's and you see the one in the picture is a 4 ray Plakat. Also known as branching, you see the base of the tail with the main ray and then it branches out into the different ray's there. So anyway, your baby only has 1 branch so far which means 2 ray's, hence most likely a VT. But he can still grow out to have both those ray's branch again to make 4 rays and again to make 6, then 8 and so on and so forth.

So when you hear the term "over branching" it means that that main ray has branched so many times that you can barely count the ray's at the edges, usually this ends up as a rose tail or feather tail effect.

But anyway, all VT's have 2 ray's. CT's generally only have 2 ray's but there are 4 ray's. PK's start out at 2 ray's and then can increase from there, going into HMPK which is usually 4-8 ray's and sometimes more. Then DeT's and HM's usually have around 8 ray's and up but there are some that are under 8 ray's and just have really good webbing between the ray's. You can see in that picture below too, the part that's between the main ray that comes from the body is called webbing. PK's are known more for having more webbing which allows them to have less ray's and still get up to HM status without having like 8 rays or more like most regular HM's.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh and I rescind my verdict! On some ray's when I looked closely you can see 4! So he's got 2 branching so far! So not a VT


----------



## TiffanyP

Awesome! Thanks for explaining that for me


----------



## JamieL

Alaric looks a little like bubblefishy! Here's an update on him:


----------



## JamieL

Also I got a good pic of his tail, finally, I think he has four rays?? What does that mean? And, that ammonia alert doesn't do squat, I had a spike in my tank last week after I missed a pwc and it never changed color.


----------



## TiffanyP

Bubblefishy is so handsome!  and he does look a bit like Alaric!


----------



## Viva

He is gorgeous! He could end up being a delta tail or maybe and HM if he has 4 rays I think.


----------



## JamieL

Thanks  I can't wait to see him fully grown. He's still so little, he's a little squirt compared to our adult betta.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah looks like he has the potential for more branching though. And definitely a potential for HM, the more flaring and stretching he does to his tail the more he could reach HM status. That's basically how we can varying degree's of DeT, Super DeT and HM, just depends on how much stretching they do. Of course that doesn't mean show your babies mirrors all day long lol, but it has to do with genes as well still ^_^


----------



## JamieL

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah looks like he has the potential for more branching though. And definitely a potential for HM, the more flaring and stretching he does to his tail the more he could reach HM status. That's basically how we can varying degree's of DeT, Super DeT and HM, just depends on how much stretching they do. Of course that doesn't mean show your babies mirrors all day long lol, but it has to do with genes as well still ^_^


Cool! I show him a mirror every couple days, but he's feisty, I catch him patrolling the side and flaring on his own every so often. He even flared at me when I walked in the room earlier. Flares at the cat. :-? He's fresh, haha.


----------



## lilnaugrim

JamieL said:


> Cool! I show him a mirror every couple days, but he's feisty, I catch him patrolling the side and flaring on his own every so often. He even flared at me when I walked in the room earlier. Flares at the cat. :-? He's fresh, haha.


lol yeah, Steve flares at everything too XD It's adorable and then Tony couldn't care less about anything! He's such a good boy, not killing shrimp or some surprise Endler's that came with plants XD Steve already killed a shrimp and a snail >.> can't trust him! haha


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Okay, so after this morning's scare, I ended up rearranging babyfish's tank.  He was cupped while I did, because I didn't want to risk hurting him. I took out the silk plant, changed what pot I was using for a cave, and added a few live plants. I also took off the lid, and replaced it with some clear binder sheets with air slits cut into the top. Also brought in a desk lamp and put a 14watt daylight bulb in that.

And this afternoon he got three new MTS buddies. 










And that explanation of what is meant by 'rays' was really handy! Now everytime I go in, I try to look at babyfish's tail rays. XD So far I only see two, but his fin is still really small. I can barely see with my eyes, and I know my camera can't pick up more detail through the aquarium. Even after 10 days, his tail still has that scalloped look. Isn't it supposed to come and go as their fins grow?

More pictures!


----------



## Mar

Adorable! You should start a baby journal!


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Oh yay! Babyfish started getting in his colors!




























Though it's still easy to lose... I have my lights set to turn off for 2 hours during the middle of the "day", and apparently babyfish does not like that. I went in to do a water change while the light was out and babyfish had gone back to being pale with stripes.  Poor guy!


----------



## ao

it's natural for fish to lose coloration at night ^_^, my panda garra which has distinct black stripes become almost completely white... kinda creepy


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

I experienced that with him yesterday... Went in to see if he wanted to be fed after I fed my cats breakfast at insane-o'clock in the morning, and he was a bit slower to wake up than he usually is when I feed my cats... Freaked me out. I thought he was dying!


----------



## Viva

My baby (when she still was a baby) would lose her stripes and then they'd come back in a few minutes. Then she would switch from vertical bars to horizontal stripes to nothing then back to stripes...it was silly!


----------



## logisticsguy

This fry had to moved from the grow out into his own 10g tank he was being a terror on the others so had to be moved. He lost almost all his color for 24hrs and his baby stripes came back. Fonzi is back to normal but he seems lonely guy lol. Be nice or be alone mister. The rest of the spawn is very peaceful with each other.


----------



## PetMania

If I could, I would buy all of them :-D


----------



## lilnaugrim

He's absolutely stunning CJ! I love that color combo for sure!


----------



## sydneygamache07

*Wanting to move baby betta to new tank*

Hi,

So I am wanting to move my baby betta from his/her current tank to a new larger one. I know a tank needs to cycle but I'm not sure what the best way to do this is. He/she is doing great so I don't know if it is worth moving or just letting him/her be. If I decide to, what should I do. I know baby's are more sensitive so I want to make sure I do it correctly. 

Thanks!!


----------



## PetMania

Sydney
*Sorry if this is long. 
You should cycle your tank for at least a few days before you add the baby betta. In the new tank, you should have something that produces ammonia so that the new filter can grow the bacteria and start doing it's work. You could use dead plant material, fish food, etc. Also, you will have to watch your ammonia levels everyday. The bacteria in the tank will go about doing its job in turning the ammonia into nitrites, then turning that into nitrates. Test the water every day for all three os these. When the ammonia goes to zero, your new tank is cycled and ready to acclimate fish. But I would prefer leaving the cycled tank to run at least one more day. 
Don't forget to watch your nitrites and nitrates. If they are too high whilst the ammonia is dropping, you still need to watch out for that. Do water changes until they go down. Nitrites and nitrates are still bad for fish. 
Do a 30% water change (when the ammonia goes down) to help the filter out. Don't add fish until the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates have gone down. 
Hope this helps


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

Petmania has it partially right. Cycling isn't just the ammonia, though, and it often takes longer than just a few days unless you have something to seed it. However, cycling without fish is a lot faster than cycling with your fish in! (You can let the ammonia and nitrite be at toxic levels when cycling without your fish, but if you try to cycle with your fish you need to do water changes to keep those at healthy levels, but that slows down the cycling process.)

To cycle without your fish, you need a source of ammonia. PetMania's right in that you can use dead plants or fish food, but I prefer to just use pure ammonia so that I can control how high the ammonia levels are. It can be a bit hard to find pure ammonia, but I found mine at Ace Hardware.

Either way, you want both ammonia and nitrites to drop down to 0 in the presence of whatever ammonia-adding agent before you're cycled. By then you'll have built up a lot of nitrates, so you'll want to do a massive water chance (90-100%), removing whatever ammonia source you were using, before adding your baby.

Good luck! And if you want more info on using the pure ammonia, just ask.


----------



## PetMania

Thanks Flyby for putting in the info I forgot. :-D
I'm not too much of a morning person. 
Good Luck


----------



## lilnaugrim

Depending on the size of the tank (I can't see the picture so I don't know if it's related) but water changes should be done every day or every other day at least at 50% so a cycle isn't totally necessary for a baby unless you know you won't be able to do those water changes. Just wanted to put that there too. If it's bigger than 3 gallons then I wouldn't worry about cycling it right now but just do daily or every other day changes and that should be fine, it would start to cycle it anyway.


----------



## PetMania

lilnaugrim said:


> Depending on the size of the tank (I can't see the picture so I don't know if it's related) but water changes should be done every day or every other day at least at 50% so a cycle isn't totally necessary for a baby unless you know you won't be able to do those water changes. Just wanted to put that there too. If it's bigger than 3 gallons then I wouldn't worry about cycling it right now but just do daily or every other day changes and that should be fine, it would start to cycle it anyway.


Why shouldn't the tank be cycled? No matter the size. Don't the levels have to stablize?


----------



## lilnaugrim

PetMania said:


> Why shouldn't the tank be cycled? No matter the size. Don't the levels have to stablize?


Not saying that they don't have to cycle it, but it's not necessary. With babies you have to do so many water changes that it's going to screw up the cycle anyway causing Mini-Cycles and other things so hence it's not necessary to cycle a smaller tank since usually more water is being taken out and all that good stuff.

However, yes, if it's bigger than 3 gallons it won't mess with it as much even if a 50% daily water change is done. So yes, it would help to cycle it for sure.


----------



## TexasRose

Flyby Stardancer said:


> Petmania has it partially right. Cycling isn't just the ammonia, though, and it often takes longer than just a few days unless you have something to seed it. However, cycling without fish is a lot faster than cycling with your fish in! (You can let the ammonia and nitrite be at toxic levels when cycling without your fish, but if you try to cycle with your fish you need to do water changes to keep those at healthy levels, but that slows down the cycling process.)
> 
> To cycle without your fish, you need a source of ammonia. PetMania's right in that you can use dead plants or fish food, but I prefer to just use pure ammonia so that I can control how high the ammonia levels are. It can be a bit hard to find pure ammonia, but I found mine at Ace Hardware.
> 
> Either way, you want both ammonia and nitrites to drop down to 0 in the presence of whatever ammonia-adding agent before you're cycled. By then you'll have built up a lot of nitrates, so you'll want to do a massive water chance (90-100%), removing whatever ammonia source you were using, before adding your baby.
> 
> Good luck! And if you want more info on using the pure ammonia, just ask.


I set up a planted 10 gal tank two weeks ago. I thought I was cycling the tank. I have it running with a filter, and bio media. I was going to bring the bio media over from the tank my fish is in when I add the fish. Do I still need to do the ammonia part? Will the ammonia kill my plants?


----------



## PetMania

Hmmm. At least watch the ammonia levels. You probably don't need to add something for the bacteria to process. You've been cycling it for 2 weeks?


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I saw that ray thing on Tumblr! It's such a great explanation - I had no idea what people meant by branching. Now it makes sense!

Phoenix is doing super well - I've had her for almost a month now, which I just realized and am completely shocked by. She's finally got the little potbelly going on and her colors are darkening up, although if anything startles her at all she goes completely colorless and gets her stripes back. Sometimes she has vertical stripes, too. When her colors are actually there she's kind of a maroon color, and the rays on her fins flash kind of lavender in the light. I have no idea what she'll end up looking like!


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

TexasRose said:


> I set up a planted 10 gal tank two weeks ago. I thought I was cycling the tank. I have it running with a filter, and bio media. I was going to bring the bio media over from the tank my fish is in when I add the fish. Do I still need to do the ammonia part? Will the ammonia kill my plants?


If you hadn't added any sort of source of ammonia, then it wasn't cycling. It was sitting there with plants trying to grow. And ammonia won't kill your plants, they'll absorb it as a nitrogen source, same way they do nitrate.



lilnaugrim said:


> Not saying that they don't have to cycle it, but it's not necessary. With babies you have to do so many water changes that it's going to screw up the cycle anyway causing Mini-Cycles and other things so hence it's not necessary to cycle a smaller tank since usually more water is being taken out and all that good stuff.


Agreed that you don't necessarily NEED a cycled tank if you're doing many water changes anyways. However, doing water changes won't cause mini-cycles unless you forget to dechlorinate the water and the chlorine/chloramines kill the BB. The many water changes that need to be done during a fish-in cycling process only slow down the growth of BB, not kill them.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Flyby Stardancer said:


> Agreed that you don't necessarily NEED a cycled tank if you're doing many water changes anyways. However, doing water changes won't cause mini-cycles unless you forget to dechlorinate the water and the chlorine/chloramines kill the BB. The many water changes that need to be done during a fish-in cycling process only slow down the growth of BB, not kill them.


Sorry, I should have specified. In my head I was thinking about tanks that were already cycled and not in the cycling process.

Oy, had a whole thing written out and internet quit on me ><

But either way, I've had babies in uncycled and cycled tanks and I haven't seen a difference. But of course, should everyone do it my way? Nope! I was only pointing out that a person doesn't have to cycle it but it would be a good thing eventually. The best thing would be if the baby went into an already cycled tank, is all.


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

lilnaugrim said:


> Sorry, I should have specified. In my head I was thinking about tanks that were already cycled and not in the cycling process.
> 
> Oy, had a whole thing written out and internet quit on me ><
> 
> But either way, I've had babies in uncycled and cycled tanks and I haven't seen a difference. But of course, should everyone do it my way? Nope! I was only pointing out that a person doesn't have to cycle it but it would be a good thing eventually. The best thing would be if the baby went into an already cycled tank, is all.


Oh, I hate when the internet does that. Or when I'm nearly done typing out a long post, and then somehow the backbutton activates and I lose everything.

Oh, the tank my baby in was uncycled. I think it tried to cycle when I added plants, but now it's reading ammonia and nitrates (both of which are present in my tap), and no nitrites... I have no idea what's going on with it. I was doing 2 50% changes a day when I was reading nitrites. Now I'm back down to one a day until I have the bigger tank set up and ready.

The only part I was disagreeing on was water changes causing mini-cycles to happen.


----------



## jeano

*Vitachem*

I am using Vitachem on my adult bettas but am wondering if I can use this with my baby, Tony Stewart? Does anyone have experience with this product?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yes Jeano, you can use Vita-chem for the babies too ^_^ I've been using it and so far Steve has seen quite the growth spurt! So I believe it's pretty beneficial any which way you look at it.

@Flyby, yeah sorry. Sometimes I just write and I had mini-cycles on the brain from the other post, I know better that doing water changes like that won't cause mini-cycles >.<


----------



## jeano

lilnaugrim, he is in a 2g. What would the dosage be on that? I add 1 drop per gallon on my big boys as per bottle instruction. Do I need to reduce this dosage for the baby?


----------



## lilnaugrim

jeano said:


> lilnaugrim, he is in a 2g. What would the dosage be on that? I add 1 drop per gallon on my big boys as per bottle instruction. Do I need to reduce this dosage for the baby?


I never did, I do 1 drop per gallon for all the tanks, even the 1 gallon and then I use it on my frozen BW's about 3 drops per little cube thing or more and then I soak pellets in them other times. I don't do it everyday, more like twice a week or three times depending on my mood ^_^ but you can do it everyday as per instructions.

EDIT: of course if you want to reduce it to .5 drops per gallon so only 1 drop for your 2 gallon, then that's quite fine as well! I think it depends more on the age of the babies, my boys are already at 3.5 months in total and 3 months with me so I do the full dose.


----------



## jeano

Thanks for the info! He's about 3 months old, so I'll dose the regular dose. Ya, the bottle says with food 5 times a week to add it to food, but I don't do it that often with my big boys. Like you I add it to food a couple times a week.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yep, sounds good then! :-D


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

lilnaugrim said:


> Flyby, yeah sorry. Sometimes I just write and I had mini-cycles on the brain from the other post, I know better that doing water changes like that won't cause mini-cycles >.<


We all have days like that. *hugs!* I was a bit surprised to be hearing that information coming out of you, to be honest. lol


----------



## lilnaugrim

Flyby Stardancer said:


> We all have days like that. *hugs!* I was a bit surprised to be hearing that information coming out of you, to be honest. lol


lol, I'm not perfect! And I surely don't know everything....yet haha but thanks, it was just one of those days >.<


----------



## Whimsical

*My baby developed a barcode?*

Hi all- new here 

So last week I bought this baby betta from petco:








​
He's a light brownish/tan little guy (about an inch from nose to tail-tip now) with just the faintest shimmer of color on his fins if you get the right lighting. All the babies at the store had these stripes on them, and I was told he/she would grow out of them once he got older, so I haven't been too concerned. He's a great little fellow named Photon. 

Anyways, today a friend suggested I hold up a mirror to the tank, explaining that aggressive behavior and flaring means it's probably a male. 

So I did! I wouldn't call him aggressive, only very interested. But his behavior isn't what caught my attention. He changed color!







​ 
He got alot darker with much more of that green shimmer, and his stripes disappeared only to be replaced with these thick black bars going vertical. 

Once I took the mirror away he went back to his usual self. I heard that when fish are stressed by other fish they usually get horizontal stripes, so I don't know what these bars are. Any ideas? :question:​


----------



## kvw1988

Well if yours is a boy, the younger ones will do that to show they are submissive. Females will also do that too to show they are ready to mate, but as young as yours is I'm betting its just being submissive.


----------



## Whimsical

So stripes mean stress, and bars mean submission?


----------



## LebronTheBetta

Pretty much, when they're older. But if they're babies, they'll usually have the horizontal stripes as "camouflage".


----------



## lilnaugrim

Whimsical said:


> So stripes mean stress, and bars mean submission?


In babies the "stress" stripes are actually camouflage stripes. That is their natural coloration until their pigment starts to fill in as they get older. They can change from colored to camo stripes to submission stripes in a heartbeat basically depending on their mood. it's very common to see them switch all the time. The reason your baby went to vertical stripes when you showed him the mirror was because he saw another Betta and didn't want any trouble so he put his submission stripes up to tell that other Betta he didn't want any trouble and didn't want to fight.

Also in response to your thing about aggressiveness, both males and females are equally aggressive. The biggest difference is that males fight to kill while females fight to injure and make other submissive. They don't mean to kill but they usually end up wounding the other until death, unless you have enough females to spread around the aggression and that's why sororities work and why you can't have fraternities lol

But basically you really can't tell if it's male or female by the way it flares or anything. Oh and females also have beards, some have very large beards as well just like their male counterparts!


----------



## Whimsical

Ah, I gotcha. Thanks for you help guys


----------



## TiffanyP

I know this is the baby betta thread, but I have news... Alaric got a brother and future tankmate today! And I just had to show him off somewhere, and since I've chatted with some of you, this seemed like a good place 

I saved him from Walmart Betta Hades - despite the fin rot (likely from the terrible water conditions he was in, his poor cup was so filthy!) he looks very healthy. A nice solid orange color, but with pineapple scales (not really sure how to phrase that correctly lol) I'm at my parents house on 'vacation' right now so I have him in a very temporary home. A cheap 3/4 gallon 'pet carrier'. It actually works great though as he needs to be in quarantine for a while to get his fin rot on the road to healing, and to be sure he doesn't have a bug - because when I get home in a week he and Alaric will be sharing a divided larger tank (assuming his fin rot is better). I bought some stress coat today, but completely spaced off buying aquarium salt, so I will be getting some tomorrow to help with his fin rot. Also I have a question: you can see on his ventral fins that they're kind of curly? His dorsal fin has a little of that too. Is that just from the fin rot? Or another problem?

Whimsical - your baby is so cute! I hope he/she ends up that turquoise-y color that shimmers in a couple of the pictures - I think those fish are so pretty! But any color he/she turns out to be will be awesome I'm sure


----------



## JamieL

TiffanyP said:


> I know this is the baby betta thread, but I have news... Alaric got a brother and future tankmate today! And I just had to show him off somewhere, and since I've chatted with some of you, this seemed like a good place
> 
> I saved him from Walmart Betta Hades - despite the fin rot (likely from the terrible water conditions he was in, his poor cup was so filthy!) he looks very healthy. A nice solid orange color, but with pineapple scales (not really sure how to phrase that correctly lol) I'm at my parents house on 'vacation' right now so I have him in a very temporary home. A cheap 3/4 gallon 'pet carrier'. It actually works great though as he needs to be in quarantine for a while to get his fin rot on the road to healing, and to be sure he doesn't have a bug - because when I get home in a week he and Alaric will be sharing a divided larger tank (assuming his fin rot is better). I bought some stress coat today, but completely spaced off buying aquarium salt, so I will be getting some tomorrow to help with his fin rot. Also I have a question: you can see on his ventral fins that they're kind of curly? His dorsal fin has a little of that too. Is that just from the fin rot? Or another problem?
> 
> Whimsical - your baby is so cute! I hope he/she ends up that turquoise-y color that shimmers in a couple of the pictures - I think those fish are so pretty! But any color he/she turns out to be will be awesome I'm sure


Cute! I can't help you with the fins, but congrats on the new fish! I'm going to pick up another one today myself, as the one I rescued from petco didn't make it (he was VERY bad off though, this guy looks great).

What's his name??


----------



## TiffanyP

I've named him Gaston - like from Beauty and the Beast  I lucked out with him I think - aside from dirty water in his cup and his fin issues he seems like a pretty sturdy and healthy fella. Alaric isn't sure what to think of him haha I don't think he can clearly see whats over there since there's some space between their tanks, but he knows something is over there. Once Gaston's fins start getting better I'll put their tanks a bit closer together so they can 'meet'.


----------



## JamieL

Gaston!! Love it


----------



## snowflake311

lilnaugrim said:


> Yes Jeano, you can use Vita-chem for the babies too ^_^ I've been using it and so far Steve has seen quite the growth spurt! So I believe it's pretty beneficial any which way you look at it.
> 
> @Flyby, yeah sorry. Sometimes I just write and I had mini-cycles on the brain from the other post, I know better that doing water changes like that won't cause mini-cycles >.<


I love vita chem I used this to heal up some large cichlids that I rescued. They had bad hole in the head. I think clean water and a little bill of vita chem is what helped them make a quick full recovery.


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I've officially had Phoenix for a whole month! I think she's probably about 2 months old now, but I'm not super familiar with age and size of bettas.

She has this gorgeous periwinkle coloring coming in, so I really have no idea what she's going to look like.

She's been eating smaller adult pellets for a few days now, although I accidentally dropped a bigger one in there that she couldn't eat and she just swam around with it in her mouth for five minutes before I dropped a smaller one in there for her. Even then she tried to grab the smaller one with the big one still in her mouth! Silly girl. She also loves pond snails... she goes into full on hunter mode when I crack them open a bit.

I'm starting to see some branching in her fins, but only two for now.


----------



## lilnaugrim

So cute Canvas!!! She's colored up so much and beautiful too! She looks like she's only at the 1-1.5 month stage which seems right, definitely no more than 2 months at all. Of course she could be that old technically but since stunted, she's still at the 1-1.5 month STAGE. 

Gee, wish Tony would even TRY to go after the pellets >.> crazy fish, he won't even eat the ones I crush up for him now the spoiled brat! lol


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I'll hazard a guess that she's probably closer to two, just because I've had her for a full month. She was probably around 3 or 4 weeks when I got her?

She's been going after pellets since I first brought her home. They'd really trained her to eat them, either before they sent her to the store or while she was in the cup. Sure makes my life easier! Although she'll eat just about anything that moves. She once tried to nibble on a root from the amazon sword that was sticking through the gravel!

Here are pictures of her from when I first got her vs. yesterday (next to Mara, my adult CT, who isn't a particularly big fish, so I think she's probably fairly young too) and she's really not that much smaller


----------



## PetMania

Hey, Canvas, where did you get that white divider? I have seen that one in a ton of pictures.


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I made it myself! There's a tutorial for DIY dividers somewhere on this site... can't remember where. It's basically craft mesh and project report binders, cut to fit the tank.


----------



## TiffanyP

She's getting so big! My little guy is just growing away too  He's building his first rather large bubble nest - probably inspired by his new neighbor haha If you find a link for that tutorial, let me know where it is would you please?  thanks!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Right here: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/diy-aquarium/diy-aquarium-tank-dividers-21866/

It's saved under my DIY for people to view when I talk about things lol My "Fish Ref" bookmark is getting long.


----------



## PetMania

lilnaugrim said:


> Right here: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/diy-aquarium/diy-aquarium-tank-dividers-21866/
> 
> It's saved under my DIY for people to view when I talk about things lol My "Fish Ref" bookmark is getting long.


Thanks! :-D


----------



## TiffanyP

Yes indeed, thank you! Gaston is so happy with his big 5 gallon home that I can't bear to have to split it permanently, so I got another 5 gallon to put Alaric in. But they'll have to share for a couple of days while I run the filter on one tank for a day to get it warmed up, and then the other one. Still figuring out where I'm going to put two 5 gallon tanks haha but I'll make it work. This is a much cheaper alternative for a temporary divider!

Also Canvas, I found this website that gives an idea of how big fry are: http://www.bettatalk.com/fry_growth.htm could possibly give you a better idea 

(Hope it's Kosher that I posted that link since it's from another betta site, sorry if it's not!)


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

That chart has been referenced a lot on the site, actually! You're fine 
Based on that she's around 8 weeks.


----------



## TexasRose

TheOnlyCanvas said:


> I'll hazard a guess that she's probably closer to two, just because I've had her for a full month. She was probably around 3 or 4 weeks when I got her?
> 
> She's been going after pellets since I first brought her home. They'd really trained her to eat them, either before they sent her to the store or while she was in the cup. Sure makes my life easier! Although she'll eat just about anything that moves. She once tried to nibble on a root from the amazon sword that was sticking through the gravel!
> 
> Here are pictures of her from when I first got her vs. yesterday (next to Mara, my adult CT, who isn't a particularly big fish, so I think she's probably fairly young too) and she's really not that much smaller


Wow! Phoenix is growing nicely. Your tank looks so nice!


----------



## logisticsguy

You are all doing great with your baby bettas they look terrific. I think stores sell them too young but if the fish keeper reads here and learns how to take good care its ok. Good work people!


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

For some reason, babyfish has been showing submission bars all day! I can't figure it out! lol










Also, I'm wondering if anyone has a better guess on sex now that s/he is older... I know I can clearly see a little white bite like an egg spot hanging out, but I don't know if it's a true egg spot, or if it's the false one boys will sometimes have while young.


----------



## PetMania

Flyby, 
Is s/he next to another betta tank? Maybe s/he can see the bigger betta and is intimidaded. 
Maybe you can tell his/her sex by the eye size. If the eye is partically large, then maybe it's a male that's still growing his fins.


----------



## lilnaugrim

She could be seeing her reflection and yes I think it's a girl  the body shape is more feminine but that could always change. But for now I'm sticking with girl ^_^


----------



## PetMania

For right now, I'm saying girl, too.


----------



## Flyby Stardancer

PetMania-- Her reflection is the only nearby betta. LOL She's on the opposite side of the room from my boyfish.

lilnaugrim-- I thought boy at first, but the fins just haven't been growing and I can see the eggspot really clearly. lol This little white nubbin that sticks out. But she will be sooo pretty. And is only slightly smaller than some of the females I saw at Petsmart today.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, as had been stated before, egg spots are still not a reliable way to tell and neither is my "her body looks female" technique technically valid lol but it works most of the time! Sometimes you can just look at a fish and be like, that's totally male or that's toootally a female! ;-)


----------



## PetMania

Flyby Stardancer said:


> PetMania-- Her reflection is the only nearby betta. LOL She's on the opposite side of the room from my boyfish.
> 
> lilnaugrim-- I thought boy at first, but the fins just haven't been growing and I can see the eggspot really clearly. lol This little white nubbin that sticks out. But she will be sooo pretty. And is only slightly smaller than some of the females I saw at Petsmart today.


You will not believe how far bettas can see each other. it's crazy. I have a male betta in a 10 gallon tank that looks like a female right now, and my other betta was able to see him even though there's a hutch in between them. so, he made a bubble nest and was waitin for his dream girl


----------



## JamieL

I've had my petco baby for about 9 weeks now, and he's been confirmed male for quite some time, but I can still see a false egg spot...sneaky sneaky.


----------



## PetMania

The weaker males use the egg spot to fool the bigger males. It's really intelligent. Anyone think bettas are the smartest fish?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Heck yes they are!!!! lol

You know what's funny, I've got quite the feminine boy; Jarvis who doesn't like to flare at boy's and today I notice he still has his egg spot too! I'm wondering if he's a trans XD lol


----------



## Viva

My new baby DT...had to get her because she was the worst looking betta there (besides the dead ones)  She either has fin rot or looks like she was in a fight or something. I'm hoping it is a female so I can add her to the sorority:

Here she is right when she got home:


And here she is after eating some blood worms and getting warmed up in her new tank:


----------



## Rosencrantz32

Oh the poor little thing! I'm so glad you brought it home Viva!


----------



## PetMania

lilnaugrim said:


> Heck yes they are!!!! lol
> 
> You know what's funny, I've got quite the feminine boy; Jarvis who doesn't like to flare at boy's and today I notice he still has his egg spot too! I'm wondering if he's a trans XD lol


That's halarious! My HM male, Surf, is on the smaller side, and he looks like a female now, because a platy tore up his fins, and he's always showing submisive signs to his neighbor. I was wondering why Zeus won't flare at him.


----------



## PetMania

It makes me really happy when people save a betta instead of just buying one. 
people like you are awesome Viva :-D


----------



## Mar

She looks extremely sick Viva! Glad to know she's eating. She will be super gorgeous once she gets better. She'll definitely enjoy swimming around with the other pretty ladies! would she be the first DT in your sorority?


----------



## FirstBetta

Sarkura, Thanks for the instructions. (Hope I spelled it right!! I needed to find out how to upload pics and your post did it


----------



## kvw1988

I have a question about feeding, my little guy is almost four months ( I think) and I was wondering when I should start cutting his food back to more adult portions. He has been getting fed two Omega pellets twice a day and one once a day, so five pellets total, but I noticed he's starting to look a little chunky so I cut him back to four total and he looks better. I just wasn't sure if that would be enough for him to keep growing and stay healthy.


----------



## TiffanyP

JamieL said:


> I've had my petco baby for about 9 weeks now, and he's been confirmed male for quite some time, but I can still see a false egg spot...sneaky sneaky.


My little guy has one too - which is why I struggled for so long to firmly decide if he was a boy or not. After his first tiny little bubble nest though I had no doubts, and now that his fins are growing in better and he's built a nice big bubble nest I'm absolutely sure he's a boy


----------



## lilnaugrim

As has been stated before, egg spots are no way of telling male or female apart unfortunately. In fact my year old male; Jarvis, still has his egg spot, it's smaller than most females but definitely visible!


----------



## Viva

Rosencrantz32 said:


> Oh the poor little thing! I'm so glad you brought it home Viva!


I know, she looked so sad in there  The other babies looked to be in pretty good health besides the one that had already lost the battle of survival in those little cups :evil: Sadly I think most little bettas starve to death because they are not fed the proper food...many of the smaller bettas I've gotten didn't eat pellets yet and would only eat frozen foods which I'm sure they don't feed the betta at the pet stores. 



PetMania said:


> It makes me really happy when people save a betta instead of just buying one.
> people like you are awesome Viva :-D


Thank you! I am a sucker for sick, starving bettas now though that I have some extra tanks and meds. It's kinda bad. I also picked up a bloated female CT while there =/



Mar said:


> She looks extremely sick Viva! Glad to know she's eating. She will be super gorgeous once she gets better. She'll definitely enjoy swimming around with the other pretty ladies! would she be the first DT in your sorority?


Thanks Mar! Yes she would be the first lady DT in the sorority, which also made me NOT able to leave her there. If it turns out to be a male I would be happy too, I have yet to get a male baby betta.


----------



## PetMania

Viva said:


> Thank you! I am a sucker for sick, starving bettas now though that I have some extra tanks and meds. It's kinda bad. I also picked up a bloated female CT while there =/.


 Yeah, me too. The hardest thing is seeing the look they give you........:shock:


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## lilnaugrim

Uggg, I get that look even with healthy Betta's and it's so hard to resist!!! I was talking with the owner of my LFS and lol it was so funny because he got some new fish in and he was talking about that look too and how he can never resist and that's why he now owns a fish store XD haha and he's like "well if they don't sell, at least I get to look at the pretty fishies" haha, too funny!!


----------



## PetMania

Why did they have to be so cute?  i was going to get this big, black and white betta. I would have called him cookies n cream.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ohh that's soo cute PetMania!!!

Yeah I was going to get this beautiful blue turquoise DTDS that had white butterfly pattern and a white head, he was so cute and he gave me those darn eyes! If I wasn't downgrading already...I would have bought him! But alas, no space is available :-(


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## TiffanyP

And that's how I acquired both Alaric and Gaston haha 'the look'

My boss is going to think I'm crazy if I keep acquiring new fish


----------



## freeflow246

I might try to give one of those baby bettas a try. My Petco always has about two or three on the shelves, and surprisingly they seem pretty lively and colorful. Teeny tiny things though. I'm sure taking care of them is different than caring for adults. Any advice on what to feed? Should I keep them in a 1gal or 2 gal? How often should I change the water?


----------



## miscanon

I fed Speck two crushed pellets three times a day until s/he was big enough to eat the smallest of pellets.


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## TiffanyP

I found that NLS small fish formula work really well for my baby - he could get his mouth around them and I didn't have to deal with crushing the pellets or the cloudy water that came from crushing the pellets (I did for a while). 

With tanks, I've been told bigger is better. 2 gallon would be good, but they make some pretty cool 3 gallons too if you wanted to consider that too - also a bigger tank is easier to heat. 

Here's some things that I bought/acquired for Alaric in the time I've had him: net, heater, rocks, tank decorations (silk plants and a leaf bed), thermometer, water conditioner, plastic spoons (I use them to measure out his food), aquarium salt and epsom salt (haven't used it and hope I never have to, just have it on hand right now), water testing kit, I grabbed a half gallon plastic milk jug from my parents recycling and rinsed it out well and use that to measure out/store water and conditioner, and a brother haha by all means, not all of that is necessary but I would at minimum get a heater, thermometer, rocks and some kind of plant/hiding spot, water conditioner, and some higher quality food


----------



## freeflow246

TiffanyP said:


> I found that NLS small fish formula work really well for my baby - he could get his mouth around them and I didn't have to deal with crushing the pellets or the cloudy water that came from crushing the pellets (I did for a while).
> 
> With tanks, I've been told bigger is better. 2 gallon would be good, but they make some pretty cool 3 gallons too if you wanted to consider that too - also a bigger tank is easier to heat.
> 
> Here's some things that I bought/acquired for Alaric in the time I've had him: net, heater, rocks, tank decorations (silk plants and a leaf bed), thermometer, water conditioner, plastic spoons (I use them to measure out his food), aquarium salt and epsom salt (haven't used it and hope I never have to, just have it on hand right now), water testing kit, I grabbed a half gallon plastic milk jug from my parents recycling and rinsed it out well and use that to measure out/store water and conditioner, and a brother haha by all means, not all of that is necessary but I would at minimum get a heater, thermometer, rocks and some kind of plant/hiding spot, water conditioner, and some higher quality food


Thanks! I already have two empty tanks, decor, water conditioner, thermometer, and heater. I was just wondering if it would be better for a betta that small to be in the 1 gal rather than the 2 gal. I know baby reptiles aren't supposed to be kept in tanks as large as an adult would use.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Freeflow, you'll want to go bigger for baby Betta's. And water changes are either every day or every other day around 50%-100% being that they excrete a Growth Stunting Hormone which is great for out in the wild but being in a tank, it backfires and effects themselves which can stunt their growth. So you need to get rid of that hormone and you do so by water changes.

Also they feed about every 3-4 hours or you can feed 3 times daily if you can. Small frequent meals are the best thing for them. You can feed frozen or live foods, pellets or flake will be fine as long as they are high quality; NLS or Omega One. Heat of course at 78-80, normal for all Betta's and that's about it. They like to play and swim in plants (fake or real doesn't matter) and hides so it would be good if you provided that too ^_^ I find in the earlier stages that bare bottom tanks are much easier to siphon out or do 100% water changes on so you might consider that for now and then once it get's bigger you can add substrate and whatever you like


----------



## PetMania

I was wondering why my betta was so small when I got him. 
I always seem to go for the small guys. Plus, the big ones can jump farther :shock:


----------



## PetMania

So, yeah. I am going to take in a baby betta for the first time. Exicted to watch him/her grow up!


----------



## Viva

Wish I could upload pics of my new DT baby but my stupid camera won't connect to the PC for some reason  I think either the cable or the mini USB port on my camera is broken, not sure which yet. But she is doing good despite her ragged appearance a few days ago. She's eating frozen blood worms, brine shrimp and even crushed pellets already. She's zooming around the tank right now!


----------



## PetMania

Awesome, Viva! It sounds like she is in the perfect home.


----------



## freeflow246

Got a little baby today! I have him/her in a 2 gal. When cleaning and setting up the decor I went into autopilot mode and didn't realize that I'd added the substrate until hours later when the baby was in the tank. Day after tomorrow I'll do a 100% water change and hold the gravel this time. Haven't had too many issues with dropped food, but I need to be able to see if he/she is pooping right I suppose.

Interestingly, it seems like he/she hasn't seen substrate before. It's been over four hours and the baby is still sticking close to the bottom and intensely scrutinizing the pebbles and gravel, nipping them every once in a while and poking into crevices.

Not the smallest baby at the store, but still a wee thing. Has a hint of a purple-ish sheen but that's all I know. I swear it's the same fish in both pics. For some reason neither captures his/her true color (or lack thereof).

Any theories on what this mystery card might turn into? He/she flared at my Draco when they were within eyeshot so maybe male? But I know females flare also....


----------



## Viva

It does look very much like a small male VT. My female babies had much shorter fins when I got them.


----------



## lilnaugrim

I agree, male VT  such a cutie!

And it's likely that he's never seen substrate before! Generally breeding tanks are bare bottom so it's easier to be cleaned and then off to the store they went!


----------



## TiffanyP

How old appx were your babies when you started weaning them down to a more normal adult feeding routine?


----------



## PetMania

Can you feed a baby betta the smaller NLS pellets until he/she is an adult. Also, what is the recommended feeding schedule? This will be my first baby betta rescue, so I don't want to mess it up. 
Thanks in advance!


----------



## freeflow246

Oh btw I've been feeding the baby the NLS small fish pellets and so far it's been taking them fine. Just the right size.


----------



## Viva

I like to feed crushed pellets or the NLS Grow pellets I hear are really great for baby bettas, though I've never seen them at Petco. Also I feed frozen brine shrimp and blood worms daily for extra protein and fiber. I feed them 4 times a day usually, about every 3 hours.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Generally every 3-4 hours is good to feed them. Feed them small amounts but frequently, same goes for most other babies in the world  But if you can't get every 3-4 hours then 3 times a day will suffice, but still don't gut them (basically feeding until their tummy is REALLY poking out) but get them to a nice rounded belly.

And yes, I've used combinations of NLS flakes which have garlic, NLS pellets the regular ones and frozen BW's. I didn't know much about babies when I started them so I would definitely suggest getting them NLS grow and some frozen BW's right away and/or Frozen Brine Shrimp would be great!

Also as far as weaning them, I go by size not by age since each will get to that stage differently depending on their environment and all that good stuff. I started to feed Steve only twice a day when he was about a full inch in just body size, basically when he looked like a teenage in the Betta world. And I'm going to continue twice a day feedings until he get's to be a regular size that you'd buy a Betta from a store. 

I'm not entirely sure if that's the way to do it or not but it's been working out so far for Steve, Tony is still on the small side though and they're the same age just about and possibly from the same spawn so he's still getting 3 times a day.


----------



## PetMania

Viva said:


> I like to feed crushed pellets or the NLS Grow pellets I hear are really great for baby bettas, though I've never seen them at Petco. Also I feed frozen brine shrimp and blood worms daily for extra protein and fiber. I feed them 4 times a day usually, about every 3 hours.


Thanks!


----------



## PetMania

lilnaugrim said:


> Generally every 3-4 hours is good to feed them. Feed them small amounts but frequently, same goes for most other babies in the world  But if you can't get every 3-4 hours then 3 times a day will suffice, but still don't gut them (basically feeding until their tummy is REALLY poking out) but get them to a nice rounded belly.
> 
> And yes, I've used combinations of NLS flakes which have garlic, NLS pellets the regular ones and frozen BW's. I didn't know much about babies when I started them so I would definitely suggest getting them NLS grow and some frozen BW's right away and/or Frozen Brine Shrimp would be great!
> 
> Also as far as weaning them, I go by size not by age since each will get to that stage differently depending on their environment and all that good stuff. I started to feed Steve only twice a day when he was about a full inch in just body size, basically when he looked like a teenage in the Betta world. And I'm going to continue twice a day feedings until he get's to be a regular size that you'd buy a Betta from a store.
> 
> I'm not entirely sure if that's the way to do it or not but it's been working out so far for Steve, Tony is still on the small side though and they're the same age just about and possibly from the same spawn so he's still getting 3 times a day.


Wow, this is really helpful! :-D Thanks lilnaugrim


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## TiffanyP

I've been feeding Alaric 3 times a day still up until this past week - I think he went through a growth spurt and now feeding him 3x a day makes him look chubby lol So I'm slowly reducing his mid-day feed to get him on a morning and night schedule  He's moving into his mansion on Monday or Tuesday (going to set it up tomorrow when I get back and have the filter run for a day or two before putting him in it). Though I'm still not sure where I'm going to put his tank, let alone two 5 gallon tanks! Might have to keep one on the bathroom counter haha


----------



## PanActress

Well, it's been officially a week and my baby is still around so I thought I would post this!

After coming here to seek help for my betta's fins, I saw this thread and really enjoyed watching how the babies develop into adults. When I went to the pet store to get some things to help my betta, I saw this little baby and couldn't resist!

I've named it Lutece, and it will be either Rosalind or Robert depending on if it is male or female! This thread and forum has been really helpful on knowing just how to care for it. I do water changes everyday, and keep a sharp eye on the temperature. I'm amazed by how much personality this fish has! Every time someone approaches the tank, it zooms out as if to say "Hey, how are you? Whatcha doing? Huh? Hey!" I can see a few differences from when I brought it home, but still don't have an idea what sex or tail type it is. Here are pictures of it through the past week:

Day one:

Day two:

Day Three:
This one really shows the colors I've seen on its fins. When I picked it out at the store, I couldn't tell any color.

Day Four:
These are submission stripes, correct? BTW, the thermometer has been resting right below 80 degrees. I've never seen it below 70, even though it looks that way in this picture.

Day Five:

Day Six:

Day Seven (Today!):
Not sure what is stressing it out, but they didn't last too long!

Right after to show the stripes are gone:


It does get those vertical stripes and color up fairly often. Is this bad for it? Anything I can do to help if it is? When it colors up, the edges of its fins get dark. I'm leaning towards this being its natural coloring. I've only seen the fins growing rather than degrading.

I'm going to have to be very careful next time I go into the pet store... I think I've caught whatever is going around this board!


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## TiffanyP

Haha and welcome to Bettas Anonymous! It might be beneficial to have a support group 

When they're that little their stripes are more for camouflage purposes rather than submissive, though they can double as both I imagine. His/her fins have healed up so nicely! Keep up what you're doing


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## lilnaugrim

Actually vertical stripes are submission and horizontal are for hiding  I want to say male because of the longer fins but I'm pretty darn positive that I just watched ovaries growing so I'm saying female for your baby PanActress! :-D


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## PanActress

Ahhh, thanks for your insight you guys! I won't worry too much about the stripes then. I'm glad to hear that it looks like I'm doing things right.

I want to see what this little baby ends up like, but I also don't want to wish away its youth, haha. I'm going to keep taking pictures everyday. It's easier to see growth when you have the pictures, vs looking everyday. Maybe I'll make a journal thread and keep it updated. It would be nice to have a place where the pictures are all in order.


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah totally make a Journal thread! I did and I love looking back to see how much progress my two lovely boy's have made! It's really amazing to see and watch ^_^


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## simsimclark

I caved went to petco searching for a small heater for 10 dollars and always stop to look at the fish and they had baby bettas only 1.99 and knew i had to try my luck right now i have had her/he for 3 days i am going back to get new food she/he only seems to like flake betta food. she/he has red fins and a white a body with black spots. she/he is either a delta, veil or crown tail don't know which but seems to have points at the end of her tail but that's what i hope for her today. gonna call petco and see when they get shipments in.


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## sydneygamache07

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your replies! My little guy is still in the smaller tank. I do 50% water changes every day and 100% every 3 days, and he is doing great! I don't have a filter in either tank because I worry about the current for him, so I'm not sure how I will cycle the tank. I do have one in my large tank that maybe I could use for a day or two. I am waiting to move him over until I've had him for a month just so I don't stress him out, its going on 3 weeks now, so I'll be moving him over soon.


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## TheOnlyCanvas

Hey guys, so I noticed something off about Phoenix's face tonight. Is the gill cover just bigger because it's growing faster than the rest of her or is this something I need to be concerned about?? It doesn't really look inflamed it just looks... longer? I guess? I just lost one of my boys the other day and I want to be extra sure that nothing is wrong with my baby


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## lilnaugrim

It doesn't look bad to me Canvas, just looks like she's going to flare. (I'm thinking Phoenix may be a boy now, ventral's are much longer now, anal is nice and pointed and at least from this angle, I can't see any ovaries)


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## TheOnlyCanvas

It's been stuck like that for over twelve hours. It doesn't look like there's anything wrong with it, it just sits kinda weird.
And she has very definite ovaries  They're almost impossible to see when she's colored up like this, but when I clean the tank she goes pale and stripey and I can see them super well. You can sort of see them in this picture.


----------



## TiffanyP

She looks so tiny compared to my Alaric! And I think we got them about the same time, didn't we? Crazy how their growth differs (even though she was quite a bit smaller than Alaric) She looks so inquisitive too! 

Alaric gave me what I deemed as a fishy kiss tonight  I was fixing his thermometer in his tank so it would stick on the wall again and I noticed him studying me, so I left my fingers in the water and went really still and he came up and bumped my finger once and swam away  Everyone I talk to (not on this site) thinks I'm absolutely crazy for saying my fish have personalities and that they're intelligent little boogers. At least y'all here know just how true that is lol


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

She's pretty small, but she's almost 2/3 the size of the adult female I rescued (who was bigger than most of the females at the store, but is still fairly small).

I'm glad to hear Alaric is doing well! Yes, we did get them right around the same time  I've gotten Phoenix to eat off of my finger a couple of times, and she always nibbles my finger before she goes for the food. And she is a very inquisitive little fish. She gets super duper excited whenever I come over to the tank and refuses to sit still. Pictures are not easy to take haha


----------



## Glory

Mariah94 said:


> I fell for it. Or, well, my family did. I had mentioned wanting a fish and they came home with this little bitty thing in a bowl. I immediately thought fish abuse and did my research. Now, a week later I have a 5 gallon 8 sided type tank with a heater and filter. I still need to go out and get a thermometer and some good food. But I'm still really new at this and I have a lot of questions. This is also my first post to the thread.
> She looks like she wants more...decieving fish.
> 
> After exams I hope to have everything for her (or him). I know I want to get better food, some blood worms, a thermometer, softer plants...possibly a larger heater (I think mine is for 1-3 gallon?) and a Castle that's softer on the fins. And any thing else she/he needs. Me and this fish have really bonded. Never thought I'd bond with a fish but she/he follows my finger and hangs out on the side of the tank by my bed all the time. She/he is the coolest little fish...
> 
> Thanks!


I am glad you are taking it upon yourself to buy him these things. My betta glory does the same thing acting like he wants more :roll:. My goldfish "mysteriously" died... When ever i leave for the day he always flares at me welcoming me home. he also follows my finger and swims on the side where my bed is :-D... betta fish, like dogs remember faces. your face = food..


----------



## TiffanyP

I wanted to post one last picture of Alaric in here as he's growing out of the baby stage  This picture really shows off his colors nicely. I'm surprised this picture came out focused since he was darting across the tank hoping for food haha


----------



## TexasRose

TiffanyP said:


> I wanted to post one last picture of Alaric in here as he's growing out of the baby stage  This picture really shows off his colors nicely. I'm surprised this picture came out focused since he was darting across the tank hoping for food haha


Alaric is beautiful!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you


----------



## JamieL

Alaric looks great! Here's bubblefishy today:


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## TiffanyP

So handsome!! We all picked some good fish when we fell into the Baby Betta trap didn't we?


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## lilnaugrim

Aww you guy's babies are growing up so well!! :-D everyone here deserves a hug and a round of applause! lol

And I guess I'll jump on the bandwagon too, here's updated pictures of Steve and Tony! Sorry they look droopy, both were stressed out because I was gone for the weekend poor boy's.
Steve:









Tony:









And soon I'll be in the possession of another Baby Betta. A friend can no longer take care of her's after learning proper care from me when she was over one day for the kittens I had. So knowing that I know how, she offered me to take him and I couldn't say no to the poor Baby, he's been through a lot already and I think he'll do well with some good food and clean water every other day lol so don't know when yet but should be soon. I'm crazy I know!


----------



## Mar

Ohmygosh, yes! Post pics of your new baby betta ASAP!

Steve and Tony are total babes ;')


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## lilnaugrim

Mar said:


> Ohmygosh, yes! Post pics of your new baby betta ASAP!
> 
> Steve and Tony are total babes ;')


Lol, I don't have him yet! I'm still awaiting a reply from the girl, she's busy so I'll text again tomorrow to see if we can meet up soon so he doesn't have to suffer a 1 gallon bowl any more...without a heater....or good food....or a water change, well she does them once a week as she was told to do by PetCo so at least he's had something but yeah...CURSE YOU PETCO! lol

I'll get pics up when I get him though, no worries about that! I rule at taking pics! haha


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## TexasRose

*Maximus in new home. Doing well.*

I moved Maximus to his 10 gal. Tank. He was stressed when I had him on the plastic bag to introduce him to the new water. I put an almond leaf in the new planted tank and when I released him he flared at the leaf. He kept flaring, yet he could not stay away from the leaf. This morning I woke up to a dense bubble nest under the leaf. I've never seen his nest so thick. My cell phone could not really capture the density of the nest. I think he is happy in his new home. (The green plant is on the bottom, the nest is under the leaf)


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## lilnaugrim

That's adorable Texas!! I've yet to get my boy's to make a nest! It's about darn time they do! lol they're too busy staring at each other and making kissy faces XD


----------



## TiffanyP

Steve just looks like he's saying "Mom you left me  And I missed you!" Alaric does that to me too lol I went into Petco today and they didn't have one single betta on the shelf! Probably a good thing because since I have an extra tank laying around it would be hard to resist getting another one haha I just love seeing pictures of all your babies growing up


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, they do seem to miss me when I'm gone :-( I wish I never had to leave them but I'm sure they wouldn't like to be toted around all the time back and forth between my parent's house lol normally they're fine with the 3 day's I'm gone but I was gone an additional 3 days so they were quite stressed out, poor dears. I gave them some extra bloodworms to make up for it


----------



## Bettchya

yeah i noticed this too. at my petco in this shanty ass city theyre trying to sell babies" literally fry theyre so tiny. i dont understand who would buy them around here. the betta are neglected enough, but babies...cmon. i feel like they just have too large of a volume of fry and are just trying to sell what they can.


----------



## PanActress

TiffanyP, lilnaugram and JamieL, your babies are so beautiful! Amazing how they transform from colorless and short-finned to rich colors and beautiful fins. I'm so intrigued how mine will turn out!

Here are pictures from today (day 15!)

I've been calling Lutece a she lately, because her shape I feel is pretty feminine. I also feel like when I look up from under her towards the light that I can see ovaries! Just a few days ago, I started being able to search for an egg spot and finding one. It wasn't too noticeable before. I know that's not a reliable way to tell gender, but I was just excited to see it in person! So that's what it looks like... 


Any ideas on her tail-type? I don't see any branching... at times it looks like she could be a crown tail but they next day it looks normal again, so maybe that's just the way the tail grows in... Hmmm. Any observations?

Oh, and a kind of interesting question! Do female bettas/bettas this young make bubble nests? It might just be a naturally-formed grouping of bubbles but I found this in Lutece's tank today:



You can see sort of above her face a conglomeration of bubbles! I've gotten just scattered bubbles over the surface before, but these are grouped together. PS- Pics were taken before waterchange... and I need to remember to polish the outside of the tank before taking photos!

Thanks for any advice on my questions! I can't believe it's been two weeks! I'll have some kind of celebration when we hit the month mark.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Thanks Pan! And yes it does look like it's a girl! Looks to be Plakat since she's got the shape for it and her tail has branched once which means she's 2 rayed at the moment. It's common for tradition PK's to have ray's sticking out like you can see in her fish picture there. She's a beautiful baby!

And yes sometimes females will also make small bubble nest and at other times large ones! Generally they aren't as structurally sound as males's nests are but there have been a few times they make some really nice nests!


----------



## simsimclark

Can you upload photos from an iPhone? Because I take a lot of photos of my mystery baby betta.


----------



## lilnaugrim

I think you can simsimclark but I've never had to do it so I don't know how that goes, usually I know they come on sideways though ahah.


----------



## TiffanyP

So... between my soft heart, lack of self control when it comes to animals, and a 10 year old egging me on... I now own a baby double tail betta. Smaller than Alaric was when I got him... *head hang of shame coupled with a happy dance* Pictures to come!


----------



## lilnaugrim

lol Tiffany!! Well I glad another baby was able to be saved XD


----------



## TiffanyP

He's smaller than Alaric was so I'm hoping he takes well to pellets, I bought some frozen blood worms too so I have those as well as the NLS small fish formula  Wish me luck!


----------



## Viva

Good luck I'm sure you will do fine! I just got my first DT baby female a week or two ago! She was the only DT baby there and was also the worse off of all the babies which is why I took her home!


----------



## TiffanyP

I bought the little guy a 2 gallon tank to start with and he's so small it takes me a few minutes to find him usually lol the slightly crappy LED lighting doesn't help much either... He ate a couple of the NLS small fish pellets earlier - yay! And do you know how hard it is to just pick out like 3 of them? I'm still thinking of a name for him... Here's a picture - he's (at least I think it's a he, I held up a flashlight and saw his stomach but didn't see anything behind it, so I'm assuming it's a he but I've also never seen ovaries to know what those look like...) pretty much colorless at this point, but has a darker tint to him. If you shine the light on him just right he has a nice greeny iridescence though  Still thinking of the name for the little booger, what do you think?


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## JamieL

Cute!!!


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## jeano

*Tony Stewart is growing up!*

OMG, I would have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting a good picture of him! The best I could do. He has really filled out and changes everyday. I remember when it took me forever just to find him in the tank and he had no color at all!


----------



## Quinn

Weeeellll, I went to Petco yesterday to look for something and... well... yeah. They had SO MANY Bettas, I was actually quite shocked at the number. There were some real lookers, and a bunch of gorgeous EE males that I would have LOVED to bring home, but not only were they themselves $20 each, but I don't have another big set up or anything. I DID however have a small kritter keeper (it's like .75 gallons) sitting around with gravel and some plants left over that didn't end up in my boys tank. So one adorable DT baby ended up sneaking home with me. OOPS! I was worried that s/he wouldn't make it through the night as I wasn't sure if the crappy tiny heater would function ok, but thus far its fine! I'll have to figure out uploading pictures to a hosting site from my phone, but I'll try to get some pictures up soon of the little bugger.


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## lilnaugrim

Quinn said:


> Weeeellll, I went to Petco yesterday to look for something and... well... yeah. They had SO MANY Bettas, I was actually quite shocked at the number. There were some real lookers, and a bunch of gorgeous EE males that I would have LOVED to bring home, but not only were they themselves $20 each, but I don't have another big set up or anything. I DID however have a small kritter keeper (it's like .75 gallons) sitting around with gravel and some plants left over that didn't end up in my boys tank. So one adorable DT baby ended up sneaking home with me. OOPS! I was worried that s/he wouldn't make it through the night as I wasn't sure if the crappy tiny heater would function ok, but thus far its fine! I'll have to figure out uploading pictures to a hosting site from my phone, but I'll try to get some pictures up soon of the little bugger.


Just remember that with a tank that small, the little one will need water changes every day. You should really look into getting a bigger tank, there will be less chance of you stunting your Betta's growth since the smaller the tank, the more it will effect them.


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## Quinn

lilnaugrim said:


> Just remember that with a tank that small, the little one will need water changes every day. You should really look into getting a bigger tank, there will be less chance of you stunting your Betta's growth since the smaller the tank, the more it will effect them.


Yes I know. I will be getting a larger one, but my 3 gallon keeper doesnt hold water, and it's certainly way more spacious than the cup s/he was in, so upgrade nonetheless. It was what I had at home, and at least this guy has a chance now!


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## lilnaugrim

Just wanted to make sure you knew and all Quinn ^_^ I'm glad you're taking the time to take care of him and give him a better life! :-D


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## TiffanyP

I've got my midget (his current nickname til I figure out his real name lol) in a 2 gallon, I'm doing a 50% water change every other day and a 100% once a week as well. Is that enough for him? (second guessing myself lol)


----------



## lilnaugrim

TiffanyP said:


> I've got my midget (his current nickname til I figure out his real name lol) in a 2 gallon, I'm doing a 50% water change every other day and a 100% once a week as well. Is that enough for him? (second guessing myself lol)


Yeah! That's totally fine. You can do more than 50% though if you feel the need, it definitely won't hurt him at all and can only help :-D Just make sure to slowly add the water back in afterwards so you don't shock him or anything.


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## TiffanyP

Duly noted  thank you!


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## Viva

TiffanyP said:


> I bought the little guy a 2 gallon tank to start with and he's so small it takes me a few minutes to find him usually lol the slightly crappy LED lighting doesn't help much either... He ate a couple of the NLS small fish pellets earlier - yay! And do you know how hard it is to just pick out like 3 of them? I'm still thinking of a name for him... Here's a picture - he's (at least I think it's a he, I held up a flashlight and saw his stomach but didn't see anything behind it, so I'm assuming it's a he but I've also never seen ovaries to know what those look like...) pretty much colorless at this point, but has a darker tint to him. If you shine the light on him just right he has a nice greeny iridescence though  Still thinking of the name for the little booger, what do you think?


Omg so cute! I got my first DT baby about a month or so ago I think, I love her! I think yours may be female too but its hard to tell right now. The ovaries take time to develop and sometimes you still can't see them through a dark or thickly-scaled fish.


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## TiffanyP

He's definitely see-through, but he just has a darkness about him, which makes me feel that he'll probably be blue once he starts getting colored up  I can see his stomach pretty clearly when the light is behind him. I guess I'm just calling him a 'he' for right now until he for sure becomes a 'she' or not haha Midget seems to be the nickname for right now since he's so much smaller than my other 2 boys


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## Trippshep

I actually got mine from petsmart. 
When I first got her she was maybe the size of the first knuckle in my pinky finger. Meaning where the first out of two lines hit.








Thats her. Before I did any reading or anything, I saw she was becoming pregnant, so I put her in with my male, Tyco. I felt so bad because her fens are now tore up and she is still very very little for a betta.


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## lilnaugrim

Trippshep said:


> I actually got mine from petsmart.
> When I first got her she was maybe the size of the first knuckle in my pinky finger. Meaning where the first out of two lines hit.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thats her. Before I did any reading or anything, I saw she was becoming pregnant, so I put her in with my male, Tyco. I felt so bad because her fens are now tore up and she is still very very little for a betta.


Uhhh yeah, Betta's aren't livebearer's so they don't become pregnant and she was probably not even mature yet. But seems you know this now?

The reason she's probably still small is because of growth stunting since they give off a hormone when they're growing up that, in the wild is used as a defense mechanism and they try to stunt each other's growth. But in the aquarium it backfires on them so that's why they need water changes once every day or every other. So if you bump up her water changes to more frequently, she can still grow


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## TiffanyP

Because no one can resist a cute picture... Here's the little stink next to his best buddy the thermometer. He's almost always by the silly thing haha and he is so tiny!


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## lilnaugrim

And here's the new boy I promised everyone pictures. His original name was Mr. Fish from his previous owner but I'm taking a pole; Maverick, Ricochet or Hawkeye?

He's aprox. 4 months old and only about an inch, last owners had him for 3 months in a 1 gallon bowl with water changes once a week. Once she learned about the growth hormone and all she felt really bad and knew she couldn't keep up so she offered me him since she knew I could take care of him. I accepted and here he is!

He's a little dull here since he was just brought home but I should have some more pictures later today of him being colored up really nice since he spent the night in complete darkness!


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## TiffanyP

Well, being from Iowa my vote has to go for Hawkeye for his name  He's lucky to have you! (I acquired another betta yesterday... he's in the most literal sense of the word, a rainbow betta... I'm going to post his pic under Betta Pics)


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## lilnaugrim

TiffanyP said:


> Well, being from Iowa my vote has to go for Hawkeye for his name  He's lucky to have you! (I acquired another betta yesterday... he's in the most literal sense of the word, a rainbow betta... I'm going to post his pic under Betta Pics)


What about Hawkeye makes you like it? I don't know what you're refering to lol so I ask.

Okay so far, 3 votes for Hawkeye, 2 for Ricochet and 2 for Maverick...


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## TiffanyP

Iowa is the Hawkeye state! Gotta represent lol


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## lilnaugrim

ooh okay lol, that I did not know but I'm not from there so it's acceptable haha


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## Quinn

Little "Tails" (nickname for now, as s/he is a DT) was upgraded yesterday to a 1.5 gallon kritter keeper. I'll have a bigger tank coming in, but it's not worth it to buy anything but kritter keepers locally because all my nearby stores are SO over priced for supplies. Will still be doing daily changes no worries  I still need to figure out posting from my phone for pictures. S/he is maybe a cambodian, or just slow to color up, we will see I guess! Looks like Tails has grown, or at least had fin growth, since coming home on Sunday as well.
As for your new guy lilnaugrim, congrats! I used to ride a horse named Ricochet as a kid, so I'm partial to that name, but I sorta think he looks like a Maverick!


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## lilnaugrim

Thanks Quinn!

But now I'm wondering if it's not a girl or maybe a PK boy....Same body size as Steve but he fins are less than half of what he has! I can't see through her so difficult to tell....we'll have to see. I think Maverick could go both male/female...right? lol it does look like a Maverick to me though, I do have to agree. As much as I like Hawkeye and Ricochet...I think I will have to go with Maverick. Thanks all for voting though haha


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## Quinn

So I finally got some pictures uploaded. My computer has pretty much kicked the bucket so I can't use a camera, just my phone, so the pictures aren't great, but oh well! I think I'll maybe start a journal, or at least try to post frequent pictures.

"Tails" is doing great! S/He has been here for just over a week now and definitely appears to have grown. S/He also is getting some blue/teal iridescence on his fins over the past several days. I'm so curious to see what this baby ends up looking like! Seems happy, active, hopefully will be getting moved into the 3 gal kritter keeper from the 1.5 this week when my other newer boy (was being neglected in a 1 gal bowl) moves into a new 5 gal hex tank that I'm hopefully getting off craigslist with some java moss and hornwort. Since moving into the 1.5gal I've been doing a 3 liter change daily (a little over half) and then a 100% change every few days.
Also, being such a newbie, I have no idea about sexing a fish. I mean I've read about it here, but in reality I can't tell. Do you guys have an idea so I can stop going S/He? Haha Also, guesstimate on age? Came home on Sunday Aug, 18th. Cup was pretty clean and there were SO MANY bettas, it was probably a new shipment as well. I assume they ship out as babies around a certain age right?

"Where am I..?"


DAY 4 (Such an icky topline. I think s/he may also have a slightly bent spine, though it's hard to tell. Don't care, still SO CUTE!)


"Who are YOU?!"


"No touch! My heater!"


Starting to see tiny bit of teal starting on fins


DAY 6
(blurry but look how much more color! Also seems to be reddening in body possibly)


"Helloooo up there! Got noms?"




DAY 7


And totally out of focus, because the camera decided to focus instead on Silas creeping in the background!:lol:


----------



## Quinn

And I just walked over and WE HAVE BUBBLE NEST! Too cute! In the far back corner closest to Silas' tank. They've definitely been actively noticing each other a lot this morning, more than usual. Baby is growing up


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah Double Tails are known for having bad top lines, i.e. crooked spines and bent spines since the tail formation is a deformation in and of itself. Baby's looking good tho Quinn! And that teal you see is just her regular blue iridescence :-D looks like she's got some cellophane ends going on now too, that's adorable!


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## Quinn

Yes the blue iridescence just developed over the past few days like wildfire. It's so awesome to see the changes. Every morning I wake up and there's a lot more iridescence than the night before! The cellophane edging has been there the whole time, but I've definitely seen a lot of growth over the past week+ over all, so it's just easier to see everything. S/He is doing really well I think, active, curious, coloring up, eats well, and seems happy. I'm thrilled. And interesting to hear that most have spinal deformities. Is breeding DT something somewhat frowned upon in the Betta world, or are the good breeders working hard to eliminate the other kinks? 
How is your newest little one coming along?
Do you think "Tails" is a she? I kept going back and forth, but ultimately landed on male, after seeing the recent fin growth, no egg spot (that I can spot), the recent bubble nest (I know females do too, but not as much/often right? S/He is set up next to Silas though, so I'm aware it could just be spawning naughty thoughts - no pun intended), and I THINK the big chunk I see inside is all just one unit (the stomach) but I can't find any really good pictures that show comparison of M/F at this age. I'd be happy either way, though originally I was hoping for a female.


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## lilnaugrim

Oh no, breeding DT's is totally fine, just not DTxDT, you can do any other tail type though; CTxDT, VTxDT, HMxDT, etc. It's just a deformity in and of itself as I mentioned before so most of them will have bent and/or crooked spines  also most of them have very stubby first ray's on their dorsal. But yes, there are breeder's trying to perfect every tail type we've got out there including DT! Will we ever get rid of the bent spine issue? I'll never know. While you can have a spawn with half of them with really nice spines, the other half might still have the regular bent/crooked DT spine so either way, we'll still probably end up with spine issues. But for the most part, they don't hinder swimming or their life, they just aren't Show Quality and you wouldn't want to breed them either if getting rid of bent spines is your goal 

And my little ones are great! Steve, Tony and Hawkeye are all growing and having a blast with each other it seems! haha But Hawkeye has immediately warmed up to be and is eating like a pig now, and he's actually bigger than Steve but fins are still shorter than Tony but he's most certainly a boy since there are no shapes of ovaries in him, he also acts like a boy. But he's not PK I'm sure because he looks VT, already drooping a bit so IDK! We shall see!!

I don't really know, hard to see since there aren't many good recent pictures of Tails from the side. I was looking at the earlier ones but the ovaries might not have fully developed yet so it's a bit hard to say. It's not that females don't do it often because they do and they could work on them all day long if they wanted, it is that they lack structure. So females nests tend to be smaller and spotty, usually not as tall and broad.

But I think I'm going with guy for Tails, I just see no evidence of ovaries unless you can get me a sort of clear picture of the side, preferably with a light behind her/him.


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## Quinn

Glad to hear all your little babies are thriving! And thanks for the details on the genetics side. I'm not considering breeding, but I just love to know the general "rules" of the breeds so to speak in all dog things I do, so it's apparently transferring here too! And interesting that its just a structure difference with the nesting. I figured the nest wasn't a good indicator, but it sure is cute! He built another after his first broke apart, my boyfriend thinks I'm crazy for how into these fish I suddenly am.
I'll try to get a side picture at the next 100% change when he's cupped. It's tricky! I *THINK* I finally saw an egg spot yesterday, but I still think male too anyway. I have no REAL idea what I'm looking at, however I don't believe I have seen the triangular ovary lump, I think I just see stomach. Plus his ventrals seem to be longer, and he's just been feeling more boyish to me as well. I guess time will tell!


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## Torla

Oh my dog, those baby pictures are SOOOOOO cute...makes me want to run out to PetSmart and scoop up a baby I saw yesterday.


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## TiffanyP

Just wanted to post an upated picture of the little guy I got 2 weeks ago. He's still pretty small, but definitely growing and gaining a LOT of color 

This is Fiyero


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## Quinn

Fiyero has really colored up! Looks great!


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## Viva

He looks awesome! I LOVE male DT's, they are my favorite!


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## PetMania

Amazing colour!


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## TiffanyP

Thank you  I feel so much more confident the second time around with a baby.


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## Quinn

I couldn't really get great pictures, but here are a few sort of lit side shots.
Gender?








And here's just a few more because he's cute!

Starting to color up in body a lot more









Tomorrow will be 2 weeks home! :-D


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## lilnaugrim

@Quinn; Male. :-D


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## ncguppy830

how do you upload pics?


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## Quinn

Thanks lilnaugrim, that's what I thought, but wanted to be sure! Would impact my tank buying plans - I want a sorority but I'm not going to set it up right now, but if he was a she then I would get a large tank and get it set for one.
Can babies (or in my case is Tails large enough to) be put with other fish/critters? If I set up a ten gal what friends could I add in there? Id like to try RCS but not until after the tank has been cycled for a bit. 

Ncguppy- I uploaded my photos to photobucket an then inserted the IMG code into my post.


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## lilnaugrim

Yup, but it depends on the fish. One of my little ones; Tony was totally fine with shrimp in his tank for quite a while. I had him in with an Amano for about a month and then switched the Amano to the 10 because of algae issues but it died because I didn't realize my pH was at 5.5 in the tank with the driftwood....whoops. And then When Steve and Tony went over to the 10, I had bought Red Rili shrimp thinking they were bigger but they were tiny, Tony only killed one and was fine with the 8 others....that is until I left for a weekend and he took it out on the shrimp and now has killed both his small pond snails as well.....so just be careful is all lol.

Small fish are fine, nothing that can fit your baby in it's mouth of course and visa versa. Snails are generally fine unless you've got a snail killer like I do....most Rasboras, and fish like Cherry Barbs or Ember Tetra's are great with Betta's! Microrasboras are awesome too, most Nano fish also. Just think about what will happen when Tails grows up more as well, will he be able to fit whatever tankmates you have in his mouth by then? If so, I wouldn't get it.


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## ncguppy830

ok thanks for the help.


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## Quinn

Yes, I made the mistake of ghost shrimp in a not cycled tank already stupidly. I thought Silas killed them, but now think it was my prams, so I wanted to try again the right way. This far the baby seems most docile of my boys, and I thought maybe growing up with others might help the adaptation of being a little more welcoming to guests. We will see if I end up with a 10! And certainly nothing that can eat baby!


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## Viva

Ghost shrimp are not very hardy to begin with...at least all the ones I got died within a week  My Amanos I'm absolutely in LOVE with though . I need to upload some pics of my baby DT girl here, she's so cute! I keep forgetting though and right now I'm at work ;(


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah ghosties really aren't that hardy just because, like goldfish, they're used as feeder's a lot so that leads to poor upbringings even for those who will be sold in the store as regular shrimp. If you can find a reputable breeder, then sure! Ghosties are awesome, no good for cleaning algae, but good for picking up after the babies haha

Yeah I'm sure if I tried Amano's again, Tony would be fine with it because they're so big but I also don't feel like spending 4.99 on ONE Amano >.> 

Yeah I'll update on Steve, Tony and Hawkeye soon :-D


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## Viva

Yeah I think around here the Amanos are $4 a pop. I remember once I got like 3 amanos and one plant and it was $20 at Petco. I was like O_O


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## lilnaugrim

Ugg, same here Viva! I got mine at a LFS but same deal and I actually didn't have enough money for the driftwood I wanted so I had to put the driftwood back and just get the two Amano's and the bunch of Elodea lol whoops.


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## islandtime317

*Any guesses on gender?*

Just picked up this little baby a few days ago. It is currently in a 5 gal tank with a heater, sponge filter, a few live plants, and 2 otochinus (the really small algae eaters). Still has very dark stress stripes on it, but fins are showing purple/blue in the light and body is starting to show some blue hues. Wondering if anyone would know how old (it is right around an inch long, maybe a litle smaller) and possibly have a guess as to what gender this little baby is?


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## lilnaugrim

islandtime317 said:


> Just picked up this little baby a few days ago. It is currently in a 5 gal tank with a heater, sponge filter, a few live plants, and 2 otochinus (the really small algae eaters). Still has very dark stress stripes on it, but fins are showing purple/blue in the light and body is starting to show some blue hues. Wondering if anyone would know how old (it is right around an inch long, maybe a litle smaller) and possibly have a guess as to what gender this little baby is?


It's still a little too early to tell but my educated guess falls on PK male. Probably no more than 4-5 weeks old, maaayyybee 6 weeks. But super hard to tell when I have nothing to compare it to lol


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## islandtime317

Thanks! I was hoping it was a male, only time will tell though. I measured him/her this morning and its only .75 in long from nose to tip of tail! Very active little baby, loves swimming around its tank and comes out when anyone walks by and "follows you". Should I be feeding it anything special? I'm feeding it betta flakes (2 small flakes) twice a day and every now and then putting in a dried or frozen bloodworm.


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah when measuring Betta's you don't measure the tail, you measure from nose to peduncle which is the beginning of the tail since each tail type varies in size so that's no good way of telling size. 

For food I'd get something high quality, NLS flakes will do or you can get NLS Small Fish formula for him or Omega One and crush it up. He'll need to eat about 3 times a day but every 3-4 hours is what they would "normally" eat. Small but frequent meals. Stay away from freeze dried blood worms if you can and only frozen bloodworms if he can take them and once, maybe twice a week should be fine. BW's in general can cause some constipation issues so just be careful is all. With their high metabolism though, it shouldn't be as much of an issue as an adult fish would be though.


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## tabby

So, I relize this is a old thread, but it still seems to be going strong...

I went to Petco last night and felt so bad for the baby bettas I ended up bringing one home. She's about 3/4 inch long and has a bit of red showing on her fins. She seemed to have stripes last night, but I'm not noticing them today.

My biggest issue atm is where to keep her. Right now she's in my 10 gallon fry tank, off on her own in a decent size breeding net. My platy and molly fry are about 3 months old right now and I wasn't sure if they would be ok together, although they seem to just be ignoring each other.I was going to be getting new homes for my other fry later this week, but I wasn't sure if she would be intimidated having a the big tank mostly to herself at her size. I do have some pygmy corys in there, and a few assassin snails, some of them bigger then her...It stays a good temp of around 82, but the plants are plastic and I don't want to move them out because they have assassin snail eggs that I'm waiting to hatch. It's also filtered for a 20 gallon, so the current may be to strong.

My other options are my 2 gallon or my extra 10, both currenty sitting empty. With my 10 I have a sponge filter and heater I can use, but I have nothing for the 2 gallon right now. Should I set something up in that for her so she may be more comfortable?

My Beowulf is the only betta I've ever owned and he's not exactly giving me advice, I'm sure he just wants to eat the baby...


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## TiffanyP

You could always set the 10 gallon up and only fill it up half way or so? If not, a 2 gallon wouldn't hurt til she got bigger if you kept up with the water changes


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## lilnaugrim

Oh she'll be fine in all the 10 gallons, as long as you've got some plant cover (real or fake doesn't matter) then she'll be happier than a peach! :-D


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## Viva

Here's a pic of Gem, my little DT girl! Today is her 35th day in my home. She's a cutie! She will be joining my sorority tank eventually.


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## trixie55555

I've got one just like her from Petco. I've been trying to figure out if mine was a male DT plakat or female DT. Mine has that same white spot, too, and I've been trying to also figure out if it was an egg spot. I guess I've got all my answers right here  ...a female DT with an egg spot!!


----------



## Viva

trixie55555 said:


> I've got one just like her from Petco. I've been trying to figure out if mine was a male DT plakat or female DT. Mine has that same white spot, too, and I've been trying to also figure out if it was an egg spot. I guess I've got all my answers right here  ...a female DT with an egg spot!!


Cool! Do you have pics?


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## lilnaugrim

She's so cute Viva!!!

@trixie: Yeah, egg spots are not a reliable way to tell male or female. Young males also have an egg spot as a disguise basically to help in the wild. One of my older males still has his Egg Spot so hence, no good way to tell. The only way is to look for the ovaries which are a triangular object behind the circle-ish stomach which is generally right above the egg spot.


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## madyjane

im thinking abut getting more baby bettas because my first baby betta tinker-bell turned out so pretty and in my sorority I think she might be the alpha
might go to petco and am thinking I might get 3 if I can find a replacement divider and a new female if I have money left over from buying decore divider silk plants and breeder box


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## trixie55555

I just got some good pics today. I have rescued several babies recently and all are doing quite well. Here are pics of 2 of them. Both these babies are looking very similar in color. The first 3 pics are the one that looks like Viva's, and the last couple of pics are a different fish but it has similar color & also looks like it's tail will split into a DT though you can't really tell from the pics.

Any input on possible sex & fin type would be appreciated. I am also VERY curious about what the white spot is behind the ventrals on the first fish.


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## lilnaugrim

Both are female, first is a double tail and second looks like she might be able to get to Delta, Super Delta or even HM but depends on genetics and how much flaring she does to stretch her fins.


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## trixie55555

Great!! Thanks! So the white spot is an egg spot??
The first fish is very aggressive, but the second is very calm. I do have one other small female that I was thinking of putting into the tank with the calm one. What should I be cautious of if I do this?


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## lilnaugrim

trixie55555 said:


> Great!! Thanks! So the white spot is an egg spot??
> The first fish is very aggressive, but the second is very calm. I do have one other small female that I was thinking of putting into the tank with the calm one. What should I be cautious of if I do this?


Yes the white spot is an egg spot aka the Ovipositer.

do NOT put two fish together, you will end up with either one or two very DEAD fishies. If you want to do a sorority tank you need to do extensive research on it as they are NOT easy to do. You need at least 4 or more females but I always like to start with at least 6 if not more in a tank since they can and will kill each other if they don't have enough girls to spread the aggression around. So NEVER put two females or males or male/females (unless breeding and you know what you're doing) together in the Betta world and actually in much of the fish world as well.


----------



## indig0

So I've been eyeing this thread for a while now. Took me a few days to read the entire thread, but I've learned a lot! Just wanted to share some pics of my baby Bettas. I got Penelope (the purplish one) last Tuesday and on that Friday went back to get a rowdy looking male;-). Named him Pyro  Here are some before and afters, even though it hasn't been long at all:








Penelope 









Pyro









Pyro day 4









Two of them side by side


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## indig0

Its funny, the two of them see each other through the glass and although Pyro's beard is bigger, Penelope recently started flaring at him and he darts away to add to his growing bubble nest.


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## lilnaugrim

They're both super cute indig0! I'm loving Pyro ^_^ he's going to be a real nice looker when he's full grown! :-D


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## trixie55555

lilnaugrim said:


> Yes the white spot is an egg spot aka the Ovipositer.
> 
> do NOT put two fish together, you will end up with either one or two very DEAD fishies. If you want to do a sorority tank you need to do extensive research on it as they are NOT easy to do. You need at least 4 or more females but I always like to start with at least 6 if not more in a tank since they can and will kill each other if they don't have enough girls to spread the aggression around. So NEVER put two females or males or male/females (unless breeding and you know what you're doing) together in the Betta world and actually in much of the fish world as well.


Yeah, I would NEVER put a male & female together. I know that much. Was just curious about the sorority. I've been seeing a lot of threads around here about them. 

You had also commented about the second fish in the pics I posted..."second looks like she might be able to get to Delta, Super Delta or even HM" It isn't visible in the pics, and it's even hard for me to see in person, but I do see 2 or 3 rays at least. I can't wait to see how she turns out. The ONLY good thing about getting these as babies is that their fins can stretch out and develop properly, as opposed to having it ruined being cramped up in a tiny bowl.

Anyway...thanks for your help )


----------



## lilnaugrim

trixie55555 said:


> Yeah, I would NEVER put a male & female together. I know that much. Was just curious about the sorority. I've been seeing a lot of threads around here about them.
> 
> You had also commented about the second fish in the pics I posted..."second looks like she might be able to get to Delta, Super Delta or even HM" It isn't visible in the pics, and it's even hard for me to see in person, but I do see 2 or 3 rays at least. I can't wait to see how she turns out. The ONLY good thing about getting these as babies is that their fins can stretch out and develop properly, as opposed to having it ruined being cramped up in a tiny bowl.
> 
> Anyway...thanks for your help )


Okay, that's fine. Sorry, when people say they might want to put two females together it just sends up an instant red flag for me lol But if you want a sorority you could definitely do it, just ask lots of questions and research plenty before you do it 

And it still depends on their genetics of if she will be HM or DeT but the stretching only goes so far and only if they flare as well. I have two babies who have been with each other since they were in the store and most likely from the same spawn but they no longer flare at each other which means no stretching lol so it only goes so far. So really the only good thing is that they get good water and many more meals than if they were in the store.


----------



## Quinn

Aww all these babies are so cute! 
I just moved my little guy into a 10 gallon yesterday, sometimes I panic because it takes a while to find him! He was pretty interested in messing around in the current from his sponge filter at first, and he does seem to be using a lot of the space. He's currently got a Nerite in there who he has paid no mind to, maybe not even noticed, and a Mystery snail will be coming (and more plants), and I'd like to add some RCS and maybe some other fish, I just have to research and see


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh boy, a Mystery AND a Nerite? That's going to be quite the bio-load just so you know. The Nerite will be fine but the Mysteries are one of the bigger poop machines. RCS would be fine but it's all up to your Betta ^_^


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh and I forgot to give updated pictures of my boys lol. Hawkeye has settled in amazingly well and is already growing quite a bit!

First here's Tony my baby boy:

























And Steve:

























And Hawkeye:

























And all three together:


----------



## indig0

They're all so beautiful!!


Would it be safe to assume my little ones are VT?


----------



## sushiisaboss75

This is my new boy


----------



## lilnaugrim

indig0 said:


> They're all so beautiful!!
> 
> 
> Would it be safe to assume my little ones are VT?


Penelope looks VT but I think Pyro might be a DeT when he grows up more, but if he retains only two ray's then he could be PK or VT. The dorsal isn't the normal VT dorsal so I dont' think he's VT, but perhaps PK! :-D


----------



## Quinn

lilnaugrim said:


> Oh boy, a Mystery AND a Nerite? That's going to be quite the bio-load just so you know. The Nerite will be fine but the Mysteries are one of the bigger poop machines. RCS would be fine but it's all up to your Betta ^_^


Really? Hmm, I know snails are messy, but I didn't think it would be that bad? Aq advisor also only had the stocking level around 60 even with all the things I want to add. It will also be heavily planted! I'll see how it comes along as time progresses and decide. Worst case some get rehomed or moved, or I just decide never to get them to begin with! I'm just figuring out what I like and what works


----------



## lilnaugrim

Quinn said:


> Really? Hmm, I know snails are messy, but I didn't think it would be that bad? Aq advisor also only had the stocking level around 60 even with all the things I want to add. It will also be heavily planted! I'll see how it comes along as time progresses and decide. Worst case some get rehomed or moved, or I just decide never to get them to begin with! I'm just figuring out what I like and what works


It's also not just the bio-load either, you have to account for how much bio-film they'll eat, algae and all. Of course you can still supplement them but their natural algae diet amoung other plant matter will be best for them. Usually it's just 1 snail per 10 gallons of water, varies depending on the snail and what they do like Mysteries vs. MTS. But you can try and if it happens to not work out you can find homes but I'm sure if you keep them supplemented and whatnot it should be fine.


----------



## Viva

trixie55555 said:


> I just got some good pics today. I have rescued several babies recently and all are doing quite well. Here are pics of 2 of them. Both these babies are looking very similar in color. The first 3 pics are the one that looks like Viva's, and the last couple of pics are a different fish but it has similar color & also looks like it's tail will split into a DT though you can't really tell from the pics.
> 
> Any input on possible sex & fin type would be appreciated. I am also VERY curious about what the white spot is behind the ventrals on the first fish.



Omg she does look almost identical to my little one! SO ADORABLE!


----------



## trixie55555

lilnaugrim said:


> Penelope looks VT but I think Pyro might be a DeT when he grows up more, but if he retains only two ray's then he could be PK or VT. The dorsal isn't the normal VT dorsal so I dont' think he's VT, but perhaps PK! :-D


You have gorgeous fish, and I LOVE their names!!! Also, what are you using as a separator in the tank?


----------



## lilnaugrim

trixie55555 said:


> You have gorgeous fish, and I LOVE their names!!! Also, what are you using as a separator in the tank?


Thank you! Yeah, I'm loving my Marvel theme ;-)

For dividers I have one Lee's Divider for 10 gallon and the white one is just plastic mesh from Wal-Mart. Here's a tut on making cool dividers for cheap: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/diy-aquarium/diy-aquarium-tank-dividers-21866/


----------



## Fe26

*My little betta*

I also saw a baby betta at petco and instantly fell in love with her and had to protect her, I mean even with the conditions she was in she still had spunk! I'm pretty sure she's female but that all I can guess...I've never had a betta before. I've had her about two weeks now and she's still alive, and I hope she's healthy and happy. (I am worried I stress her out, she always has those marks it seems......)http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/843/h67l.jpg/
If anyone can sort of see what she is I'd appreciate knowing more about my Monoke.


----------



## miscanon

My baby's growing up! Pretty sure Speck's a girl- her fins grew in over night but haven't gotten any bigger since then. She makes little bubble nests sometimes too! She stays blue with a little bit of pink/purple for the most part, but when I do maintenance on her aquarium she tends to go back to her stripes!

I was planning to take her to college with me, but my mom didn't want to subject her to the 1000 mile+ car ride, so she's keeping speck and I'll save another fish (maybe a baby, maybe not)~


----------



## lilnaugrim

She's beautiful mscanon! And yep, she's a girl ^_^ I think she's PK as well, indicative by the ray's poking out from her tail and the shape of her dorsal and over all body shape ^_^


----------



## Fe26

that's a better photo


----------



## Glory

ok so i think my betta is still a baby what do you think?








he looked way smaller than the rest of them


----------



## lilnaugrim

Glory said:


> ok so i think my betta is still a baby what do you think?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> he looked way smaller than the rest of them


He looks young adult now, sort of an older teenager if you will ;-) he's grown up beautifully!


----------



## Glory

i have no idea what to name him :\


----------



## TiffanyP

I'd name him River  That's just me though. He sure is pretty! I'm going to get another betta on Friday since my Gaston died this past weekend... I may get another baby


----------



## Torla

^ Whoa, too weird. I had a betta named Gaston who just died today. :shock:


----------



## Quinn

So many cute babies!
Here are some updated pictures of my little guy.
His new digs - 10 gal.


His den. Propped up new driftwood piece to make a cave area and he LOVES it. Sometimes I have trouble finding him he's so well hidden.


Little man with his half frown








He seems to be battling some type of parasite right now, we are currently medicating, but otherwise seems super happy and healthy. He's very active, curious, and seems to have such a blast in his tank playing around all the plants and wood. He *superquickly* flared at me a few times today when I came around to the other side of his tank (on my kitchen island, so we "hang out" when I'm on the couch too). So cute!


----------



## JamieL

TiffanyP said:


> I'd name him River  That's just me though. He sure is pretty! I'm going to get another betta on Friday since my Gaston died this past weekend... I may get another baby


Oh no, what happened??


----------



## TiffanyP

I'm really not sure  I had to run home on an emergency visit and when I got back he was gone.


----------



## JamieL

sorry to hear!


----------



## vikingchick12

I've had 2 fairly small females from Petco recently. The first girl was tiny and ended up never eating and not being active  My second girl however, she was bigger to begin with, has a lot of spunk and seems to be doing just fine. She has gotten a little bit of a belly though :3 I think she will be around 8 weeks old now!


----------



## Viva

Quinn said:


> So many cute babies!
> Here are some updated pictures of my little guy.
> His new digs - 10 gal.
> 
> 
> His den. Propped up new driftwood piece to make a cave area and he LOVES it. Sometimes I have trouble finding him he's so well hidden.
> 
> 
> Little man with his half frown
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> He seems to be battling some type of parasite right now, we are currently medicating, but otherwise seems super happy and healthy. He's very active, curious, and seems to have such a blast in his tank playing around all the plants and wood. He *superquickly* flared at me a few times today when I came around to the other side of his tank (on my kitchen island, so we "hang out" when I'm on the couch too). So cute!



OMG HE IS SOOOOOO CUUUUUUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He looks healthy and happy to me! Adorable little guy!


----------



## Quinn

Viva said:


> OMG HE IS SOOOOOO CUUUUUUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He looks healthy and happy to me! Adorable little guy!


Thanks Viva! He is pretty cute :-D 
I need to get a picture showing his full half frown. It always makes me giggle, he's so serious on one side and all innocent looking on the other. It's just really tricky to get clear pics of him on my phone


----------



## Viva

Quinn said:


> Thanks Viva! He is pretty cute :-D
> I need to get a picture showing his full half frown. It always makes me giggle, he's so serious on one side and all innocent looking on the other. It's just really tricky to get clear pics of him on my phone


Hahahah, yeah I can imagine it'd be almost impossible to get a clear picture on phone. I can hardly do it with a regular digital camera. Although some phones now have like AMAZING quality cameras on them now.


----------



## Quinn

Viva said:


> Hahahah, yeah I can imagine it'd be almost impossible to get a clear picture on phone. I can hardly do it with a regular digital camera. Although some phones now have like AMAZING quality cameras on them now.


Yeah the iphone camera quality isn't too bad, but its slow to focus, so by the time I've focused he's moved!


In other news for anyone reading, I can't figure out if I'm paranoid about the parasite thing or if he does have them. Have a post in the med section already though it didn't really get any attention.
Basically long story short is:
Bought at Petco 8/18.
Always did a lot of glass surfing, though it did seem he was rubbing against the glass, particularly his head, but I thought he was just doing it for whatever reason non health related.

On 9/1 I set up a new 10 gal and put him in. He still did(does) a lot of glass surfing, but he's very happy, explores his home, etc etc.

9/7 I noticed him starting to very quickly *super speed* rub off of his driftwood, (is this glancing or flashing or are they the same thing?  )
9/8 I gave him his first dose of API General Cure after big water change. I also dosed my other fish as I shared supplies between them. The next day I saw HIM rubbing on the driftwood, too, which I had never seen. 

48 hours later re-dosed both of them. I haven't seen any more of the quick movements, however still the usual rubbing on glass. Oh right and I had also upped the temps, the baby has been at 86-88, the other guy however I think his tank has fallen below 86 at night when we have the AC on all night, but I turned it up in the hopes of it staying high! 

That brings us to today, and what should be the last of the treatment. I'm supposed to do a 25% water change today and all is well, according to the API directions. However I don't know that he's actually better. He has had these white spots near his gills however they haven't changed, they aren't fuzzy and they just look shiny and like iridescence, so I don't know if they are indicative of an illness. He also has some red marks on his face in front of his gills, they almost look like veins but I imagine fish veins wouldn't be so big? They haven't changed at all either, but I don't know if they indicate an issue or just his coloration/self. Will try really hard to get pictures. 
It seems like the closest guess would be gill flukes, which general cure is supposed to cure. But did it? Can I treat him with another round? Should I try a different medication? How the heck do I tell what behavior and appearance is normal when he has acted and looked this way for all of the time I've had him (well no he's colored up and grown obviously). I FEEL LIKE he is itching himself on the glass, and I feel like something is still bothering him in that sense, but his behavior has always been very active, curious, healthy.

I've also got my snails in QT who can't go in the tanks while being treated for parasites, which is an annoyance and space eater, so I'd love to just be done with the hassle and worrying!


----------



## Viva

I wish I could help you but I have no experience with parasites. If it is internal, I know the infected fish will have white, stringy-looking poop and will probably be lethargic and lose appetite. External parasites I think you would see what you are describing...the fish will rub on decor, etc. to get the parasites off. External parasites I think are easily treated with aquarium salt but the General Cure should work also. Ich is easily treated by raising the temperature of the water to at least 86 F for 2 weeks because they cannot thrive at temperatures that high.


----------



## trixie55555

lilnaugrim said:


> She's beautiful mscanon! And yep, she's a girl ^_^ I think she's PK as well, indicative by the ray's poking out from her tail and the shape of her dorsal and over all body shape ^_^


 
What rays?


----------



## lilnaugrim

trixie55555 said:


> What rays?


This is an explanation of ray's and branching: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=87438&page=139#post2613201


----------



## islandtime317

Hey everyone! I posted about my baby betta a while back. Heres some new pics! I think my little guy/gal is about 6-8 weeks old now. Still having trouble figuring out gender. His/her color is starting to develop more tho! Fins are outlined in blue and the base of the fins are starting to show red! The body in good lighting is starting to look purplish, but still has those stress stripes. Anybody have any guesses as to what type of betta and gender? 

Also, my little guy/gal is in a 5 gallon tank. Could this be split in the middle with a divider? I was thinking of "rescuing" another baby but dont want to have to set up another tank. Thoughts?


----------



## lilnaugrim

islandtime317 said:


> Hey everyone! I posted about my baby betta a while back. Heres some new pics! I think my little guy/gal is about 6-8 weeks old now. Still having trouble figuring out gender. His/her color is starting to develop more tho! Fins are outlined in blue and the base of the fins are starting to show red! The body in good lighting is starting to look purplish, but still has those stress stripes. Anybody have any guesses as to what type of betta and gender?
> 
> Also, my little guy/gal is in a 5 gallon tank. Could this be split in the middle with a divider? I was thinking of "rescuing" another baby but dont want to have to set up another tank. Thoughts?


It's a Boy! Congratulations! lol

Stress stripes in babies actually aren't stress stripes all the time, they are camouflage stripes to make it easier for them to hide in the wild. You'll often see babies switch from horizontal stripes to solid colors and then sometimes even to submission stripes which are vertical. In adult fish vertical stripes are breeding stripes but since these babies are not sexually mature, they cannot want to "breed" but it is submission. I also see this happen in some of my girls in my sorority, they put up their submission stripes to tell the other fish "whoa, hey there! I don't want any trouble!" and usually swim away 

And yes! You can split your 5! I had my two boy's in my 5.5 at one point and now I have my 10 split into three for three babies to make it easier on me with the water changes to get rid of the growth stunting hormone :-D So it'd be easier on you as well. Even though a tank is split, it doesn't necessarily mean that they only have that side of the tank. What I mean is: they have 2.75 gallons of swimming room but technically with the water flow, both of them have all 5 gallons if that makes sense. So just do your every other day/daily water changes for them and they'll be happy and healthy!


----------



## islandtime317

Thank you!! Very exciting to hear it's a boy! Can't wait to see what color he turns out. I was holding off on the name until i knew for sure but his name is now officially Picasso! 
Definitely going to go over to petco today and see if they have any more babies in need of some TLC.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Very welcome! It looks like he might turn out with a black body but blue laid over top and mostly blue fins, some red wash most likely running through them 

Rembrandt (in my avatar pic) approves of Picasso ;-)


----------



## Quinn

I say boy too. Hi Picasso!


----------



## PetMania

Hey y'all! I recently lost all of my community fish, and I now have a lone betta in a 10 gallon tank. He seems to stay on one side all the time. I have decided that I will divide it into 3 sections. I will then have an empty tank available. I thought it would be fun to rescue a baby betta. 
ANYWAYS, I would appreciate any suggestions you have for me. I would like to know the specific diet a baby requires. 
Thanks in advance!! :-D


----------



## PetMania

islandtime317 said:


> Thank you!! Very exciting to hear it's a boy! Can't wait to see what color he turns out. I was holding off on the name until i knew for sure but his name is now officially Picasso!
> Definitely going to go over to petco today and see if they have any more babies in need of some TLC.


I think it is fun not knowing the gender of a betta. :-D
I don't know if this is true or not, but if the eyes on a baby betta are relatively large, that it is a boy. Smaller eyes mean girl. That's how I have guessed the gender.


----------



## Marlow

My new babies, Sam and Dean ^^

























So far I think that Sam female, turquoise and plakat, and that Dean is male, royal blue and either plakat or veil.. What do you think? x)


----------



## PetMania

I think that Same is a girl. With Dean, I'm heading towards male. That royal blue is beautiful!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Both Sam and Dean look boys, looks like they'll be PK's too


----------



## PetMania

Sam could either be a VT or Pk. Dean might be either HM or PK. To early to tell I guess.


----------



## megaredize

Here is my baby betta. I dont have a Petco she is from my LFS. ALl the females they get seem to be this small. I didn't even notice untill i brought her home that she is a double tail. which made me happy because i have never seen a double tail from my LFS until now. Now they got 3 beautiful adult male DT in lol. I'm hoping she colour ups. other than that she looks like she is in good condition and eats all her pellets.


----------



## Marlow

She's cute!
Heh, I can't wait to see what mine turn into *.*


----------



## PetMania

Does anyone else go to PetCo and just want to buy all of the babies? That wouldn't be too hard for me as my PetCos have only 3-5 at a time. :evil: Ugh I want them ALL!!!


----------



## PetMania

I wonder if PetSmart will ever sell baby bettas.


----------



## megaredize

I think i saw baby bettas at Petsmart last time i was there. But im Canadian where i live there is no petsmart but when i go back to the city there are petsmarts there and i think i saw them there.


----------



## PetMania

Okay. I am going to PetSmart tomorrow and I want a baby betta, so hopefully I can rescue one.


----------



## TiffanyP

Well guys - I had to stop at Petco to get my mom some better fish food than the stuff you can get at Walmart, as I'm delivering her fish to her that I've been caring for for the past 3-4 weeks. And there were about 8 baby bettas, 6 were dead, 2 were alive but not looking great. The tiniest one there just spoke to me with his big ole bug eyes and said "Love me!"... so I grabbed him. He's acclimating to new water right now and after he gets settled in his tank and I monitor him for a half hour I have to run out of town for about 24 hours. That'll give him time to settle in and hopefully he'll eat a little something for me tonight before I leave. I'll post pictures tomorrow when I have more time  He's barely a half inch long and has no color to speak of right now, no stripes either, though. Send him good thoughts!


----------



## megaredize

awww poor little guy or girl. Glad you saved him. I bet he/she is adorable


----------



## Chachi

Glad you got him/her. I got two babies from there a week ago and they are already growing and have gained so much color. Good luck! Can't wait to see pics!


----------



## PetMania

I just got my new rescue/baby betta. I believe it's a girl. I got him/her from Wal-Mart. You would not believe what I am about to tell you:
Two guys working there starting playing with the cups and cursing and they said they aren't going to feed them. :evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:


----------



## megaredize

bah, its not surprising. im so happy my walmart stopped selling fish before i got into the hobby so i dont really remember the fish there because i never cared to look at the time.


----------



## PetMania

lucky you


----------



## TiffanyP

So forgive the bad quality of these pictures, I was in a hurry and he was darting all around  I don't remember if I said earlier, but he's barely half an inch long, so maybe around 5 weeks old? I'll get better ones tomorrow, or at least try lol He was doing very well when I left, I can't wait to get back and see him! I'm in the process of naming him... Want to help? 

A. Magnus (mag-niss) - Latin for "great"
-or-
B. Icarus (ick-ah-riss) - is from Greek mythology. His father Daedalus, a great craftsman, built two sets of wings out of wax and feathers. On the test flight, he warned Icarus to not fly too close to the sun, nor too close to the sea. But upon flying, Icarus got very excited and flew too close to the sun, which melted his wings, so he fell to the sea.


----------



## PetMania

Icarius; it sounds more aquatic.


----------



## lainaxoberst

Earlier this summer I also discovered the PetCo babies and I fell into the cuteness trap as well. I picked out a tiny white baby with blue fins, because he looked much healthier than the others. I kept him in a 1 gallon tank at 78 degrees and changed his water almost ever other day. Unfortunately I only had the little guy - or girl, who knows - for a little less than a month. His fins started clamping and it looked like he had fin rot towards the end, despite my best efforts to keep his little tank clean. 
Maybe it was just my inexperience as a fish keeper at the time, but I wouldn't risk buying another baby any time soon. :/


----------



## Marlow

TiffanyP said:


> So forgive the bad quality of these pictures, I was in a hurry and he was darting all around  I don't remember if I said earlier, but he's barely half an inch long, so maybe around 5 weeks old? I'll get better ones tomorrow, or at least try lol He was doing very well when I left, I can't wait to get back and see him! I'm in the process of naming him... Want to help?
> 
> A. Magnus (mag-niss) - Latin for "great"
> -or-
> B. Icarus (ick-ah-riss) - is from Greek mythology. His father Daedalus, a great craftsman, built two sets of wings out of wax and feathers. On the test flight, he warned Icarus to not fly too close to the sun, nor too close to the sea. But upon flying, Icarus got very excited and flew too close to the sun, which melted his wings, so he fell to the sea.



So adorable pfskfsj I'd definitely go with Icarus, I think it sounds better lol

@lainaxoberst I wouldn't let one bad experience discourage you too much. These little guys are adorable ;3;


----------



## Chachi

Love the babies!!


----------



## PetMania

I know that that baby is clear, but s/he is so adorbs


----------



## Davina

Hello,

I joined this forum a while ago when I first got my baby betta. I named her Dart. Here's the thread I started about her: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=93689

I didn't keep up that thread, but she's been with me all this time. She'll be two years old in January, I believe.

Unfortunately, her health is now failing her. I'm not sure if it's an illness or if life expectancy is just lower for these babies, since they're put under strenuous conditions at such a tender age. Does anyone else have any ideas about this? I'll post about her symptoms and living conditions in the disease and emergency thread.


----------



## PetMania

Welcome back to the forum!


----------



## TiffanyP

Thank you  I can't wait til he develops some color!!


----------



## PetMania

Welcome back to the forum Davina!


----------



## Davina

Thank you, PetMania! It's good to be back.


----------



## Soph7244

I have a question, i have a 3 and a half month old baby betta who is alittle over 2 inches. (Mars is a boy) when will he start to flare? and if he cant, do i have to teach him or is it a natural instinct? 

thanks in advance


----------



## lilnaugrim

Soph7244 said:


> I have a question, i have a 3 and a half month old baby betta who is alittle over 2 inches. (Mars is a boy) when will he start to flare? and if he cant, do i have to teach him or is it a natural instinct?
> 
> thanks in advance


When you measure a Betta or any fish except Angelfish, you do not include their tails. So in body size only, he's probably just about an inch.

Some fish just don't want to flare and won't ever flare. I have a very passive boy that hates other fish being in his tank but won't flare at them, he'll chase and bite but never flare. I've showed him other males and females and won't flare for either. So you could just have a boy that doesn't want to flare.

Have you tried holding a mirror up to him?


----------



## Soph7244

Mars is super friendly and loves whenever i come over and say hi. I tried the mirror trick about a month ago and he was more curious on me than the mirror. hes basicly curious about anything. I just tried it! i cant believe it worked! he is the most beautiful betta ever!!! hes spreading out his fins like a true betta!thanks alot!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Well spreading fins isn't fully flaring, if he's fully flaring you'll see his beard as well that pops out from under his chin.


----------



## trixie55555

PetMania said:


> Does anyone else go to PetCo and just want to buy all of the babies? That wouldn't be too hard for me as my PetCos have only 3-5 at a time. :evil: Ugh I want them ALL!!!


I thought I was the only one..LOL!! Right now I have 7...2 adults & 5 babies...all rescued from Petco


----------



## PetMania

Good for you  I have to hold myself together. But I do consider babies abused fish as they are too young to be sold in a pet store. I will accept any babies as rescues...but I might end up with 300 tanks lol


----------



## Soph7244

I saw that he was trying to but his beard out! He was sooo cute! Just like his daddy


----------



## fidget

So. I went into Petco fully planning on buying a young betta. What I didn't count on is that they didn't get a betta shipment in last week and all they had left from 2 weeks ago were babies and kings. 
And...... now I have two baby bettas!
Can anyone guess the sex? And any tips on feeding/care would be appreciated. I have them in two kk's with heaters and a little java moss right now. 
We named already named them.
Thing One:

















Thing Two


----------



## fidget

Thing Two again-


----------



## megaredize

awww they are sooo cute. I have no idea what gender they are but they so adorable


----------



## PetMania

I can't believe how small Thing Two is. So small. Definetly too early to determine gender. feed them 2-3 times a day. Clean, warm water daily, and plenty of places to hide and explore are a must.


----------



## fidget

Yeah- maybe a half inch long? I couldn't resist buying them- esp knowing they were in those petco cups for two weeks. It's no wonder they didn't get bought- they must have been specks. They are so cute!
What should I feed them? I'm googling right now. On hand, I have frozen bloodworms I can mash up, a shrimp garlic mash in I made the other fish a couple days ago, nls pellets I can mash up (are they too little for that??), and I read something about egg yolks somewhere? Also, I just bought frozen brine shrimp cubes today. I'm picking up extra shifts to pay for these guys fyi. :-D


----------



## PetMania

For Thing One, I would feed it pre-soaked NLS pellets. Thing Two: mashed bloodworms. I have never had a betta that small before. Give'm to me, hah lol.


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## fidget

hahahaha! No way! I might be willing to part with my tail biter though. Kidding!


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## lilnaugrim

Actually don't soak pellets, they lose all their nutrients if you do. You can instead grind it up until a power or you can use NLS/Omega Flakes as well. Both can eat crushed bloodworms for the extra protein. Frozen are always better than freeze-dried so I'm glad you have those ^_^

Also, both of them are males


----------



## Chachi

Awww.....cute! I have two babies myself that I got 2 weeks ago and they are doing great! You'll be amazed at how fast they grow and how much personality they have!


----------



## Quinn

Aww so tiny! 
I have been raising my guy on crushed NLS pellets and he has done great! I didn't crush them completely into a powder, but I did make the peices very fine. Usually just break it up with my finger nail (clean hands). Now at around 3 months he still gets them broken in half for feedings as the betta formula is still too large, in fact sometimes I break it up for my older male as well!


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah I just split my NLS in half for my little baby who I've had for about 4 months now and his growth is still stunted unfortunately. I didn't do as many water changes as I should have when they were younger.

Yes, baby Betta's excrete a growth stunting hormone that, in the wild helps them grow up to be the biggest, baddest Betta around. But in the home aquarium, that backfire's and that's why you need to do daily/every other day water changes for babies so they don't get stunted so much. Even still, they won't generally grow like a breeder would have them grow since they've already been through so much and are already stunted by being in those cups so you just have to do your best. Eventually they will grow up, it just takes a lot longer and more care than normal.


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## fidget

I love all the baby betta threads. It's so cool to see how fast everyone's babies are growing! 
I crushed up pellets and gave it to them. Feeding them really makes you grasp how small they are. I also gave them a couple of tiny pieces of a blood worm. Thing Two may look small, but he eats like crazy!


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## TiffanyP

So - my double tail baby Fiyero hasn't eaten in a week. He'll take a pellet in his mouth and spit it right back out. Its not abnormal for him to do it for a day or two while he's constipated, but it's lasted a week this time. This time around his color is fading and he's frequently found resting in his cave... He isn't bloated or swollen and he still gets excited when I put my face up by the tank - he also hasn't pooped in about 6 days. Do you think he's acting like this because he's constipated? (he won't eat daphnia either, I've tried) Or do you think it's something else?


----------



## lilnaugrim

TiffanyP said:


> So - my double tail baby Fiyero hasn't eaten in a week. He'll take a pellet in his mouth and spit it right back out. Its not abnormal for him to do it for a day or two while he's constipated, but it's lasted a week this time. This time around his color is fading and he's frequently found resting in his cave... He isn't bloated or swollen and he still gets excited when I put my face up by the tank - he also hasn't pooped in about 6 days. Do you think he's acting like this because he's constipated? (he won't eat daphnia either, I've tried) Or do you think it's something else?


I had this happen with my boy Tony as well. It seemed to be a phase where he would easily get constipated, most likely from a deformity inside him or something. I also tried everything but he wouldn't take anything except frozen bloodworms which don't help constipation at all so I basically didn't feed him for about two weeks or so when he'd refuse other foods. He's fine now though, so I think it's more of just a phase or something :-/


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## TiffanyP

I hope it's just a phase, the silly little fish is worrying me lol He's giving his BFF, the thermometer, the evil eye and darting at it haha so I know he's feeling halfway okay at least


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## TiffanyP

Today is day 10 or 11 of no eating and no pooping for Fiyero, and he's really starting to worry me. There's no white fuzzy stuff on him and he's not pineconing, no visible issues except for color loss. He's lost a vast majority of his color though, he's a dull brown now instead of vivid blue and his stress stripes are back. He's mainly laying at the bottom of his tank and not swimming around much, and in the past couple of hours he's been laying on his side at the bottom. I see him swim to the top to get air every so often still, but then it's right back down to the bottom. I know he's constipated, he hasn't pooped in close to 2 weeks, but he won't eat anything - not even daphnia. Lilnaugrim, did your guy do this? Anyone have any thoughts of what I should do?


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## lilnaugrim

No, Tony got bad but he never laid on the bottom, if anything he just floated a lot. Have you tried Epsom Salt to maybe get his bowel's moving? You can lower the water line as well if you haven't done so, so he can reach the top easier.


----------



## TiffanyP

I haven't used epsom salt yet - but I might give it a go. Thank you


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## lilnaugrim

If he's still under an inch, I would start off with .25 teaspoon per gallon to just start to make sure he can handle it since they are still babies. If he's still having trouble after roughly 3-4 day's on .25 tsp/gal then bump up to .50 tsp/gal. Make sure when you do a water change, you re-add whatever you took out and always dissolve before putting it in


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## Marlow

Updates on my little 'guys'. I think..they look more like girls now..Oh boy, betta babies. Someday I will have even the slightest clue on how to tell genders apart..hopefully


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## lilnaugrim

Oh...yeah they are both girls lol. The ventral's seem really long but look at the anal fins, very short and very rounded. Also I can see the shape of the ovaries behind the stomach as well, if they were boy's you would just see a round stomach after they're fed and nothing else behind it.  Sammie and Dean could still work for girls though haha ;-)


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## Marlow

Heh, I think i'll name them something else x33 
I've been trying to figure out what betta ovaries look like since I have this really strong light that I can almost 'candle' my fish with lol. Basically just a bump behind the stomach, or?

Maybe if I got a few more female babies of similar size I could start a sorority with my soon-to-be NPT 10gallon tank..But i'm not sure if i'm brave enough, honestly @[email protected]


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## hollyk

I just bought one of the poor little saps today. I got the smallest, saddest looking little bugger in the store- it's less than 3/4 inch long. He (for some reason I think it's a he, although there's really not a good way to tell) is looking pretty happy in his new home, though, and is enjoying the silk plants! He's darting around happily right now, so hopefully he'll be okay.


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## lilnaugrim

This is actually Chachi's baby but the image works. I've outlined the stomach and where the ovaries would be if he was a girl, both are in red.


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## Chica023xx

*Petco "baby Bettas" Victim!!*

I live in Danvers Mass, and the Peabody petco sells baby bettas. Most of the time they live in small terrible conditions such as there water is always dirty. I buy them because some are really bad and I just want to save them. I have had 6 baby bettas in total and I now have 4 left and 1 is now on its way out! I cry every time one dies because I ask myself what am I doing wrong! They are extremely sensitive! 

The one I am losing now is a female who was so beautiful (white body, with red fins) and when the light from the sun hit her she would have a green shine to her. She did well for a year until I got a male betta and put him in the empty side of my 50 gallon tank. She got really stressed so I took the male out and now she has tried recovering ever since but just still not doing good. 

Baby bettas from Petco are a bust. Every time I buy one it dies on me and I become heartbroken and depressed! These guys are extremely delicate it seems like. I just found out that my oldest "baby betta" now has a tumor and she is only 2 in a half yrs old.


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## Marlow

Thanks for the pic! 

I'm really sorry to hear about your baby bettas. When I got my first I had no idea they needed special care apart from smaller food- I have no idea how he survived to become the nice big fish he is today. Sheer dumb luck I suppose :/

I'm really tempted to grab a few more 'girls'. Do you think putting them in Sterilite Shoeboxes such as these http://www.sterilite.com/productfiles/images/PD1_16428012.jpg would be safe until it was time to move them? I can get bigger sizes than my regular tanks if I buy those, but i'm not sure if any trace elements from the plastic would harm a fry  I have a rack-ish setup so the heat and such is taken care off. I suppose I could toss a few guppy fry in and test it myself, but why make sacrifices when someone else could have the answer..:<


----------



## JadeSparrow

So I went to get crickets and this little one ended up coming home with me. S/he was just so active that I couldn't leave him/her there in the store. S/he is named Sundance


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## Marlow

Wow, that's a lot of colours in a fry. Really nice little guy ^^


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## JadeSparrow

thanks ^^ there is also a blueish green shine to the body when sun swims through the light.


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## TiffanyP

Here's an updated pic on my other baby Icarus  He's doing very well - eating like a lil piggy and enjoying life, and I am LOVING having him around  He's gaining a little red on his tail, but nowhere else yet.


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## megaredize

omg incredibly cute


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## TiffanyP

Thank you  Proud mama right here


----------



## Maddybelle

Well, I've fallen victim once again to the cuteness of these tiny creatures. I got a baby betta last year, when I tried breeding the first time. Unfortunately, neither the spawn nor the baby (I named him Ood) made it.:-(
So yesterday I had to go to Petco to get fruit flies for my grey tree frog froglets. I did not plan on getting any more pets for a while, but when I saw this little one, I knew he had to come home with me.
As far as I can tell, he's a male crowntail, about 7 weeks old. He's looking a little bloated, but otherwise healthy and very feisty! I'm currently feeding him GP, Omega One flakes, frozen cyclops, and chopped bloodworms. I've really missed having little ones around.


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## Maddybelle

Oops! Forgot to add pics of his home! He's in a 1 gallon mason jar, in my nice warm bed room, with a silk plant, a moss ball, blue and silver glass gravel, and some giant duckweed.


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## trixie55555

Marlow said:


> Thanks for the pic!
> 
> I'm really sorry to hear about your baby bettas. When I got my first I had no idea they needed special care apart from smaller food- I have no idea how he survived to become the nice big fish he is today. Sheer dumb luck I suppose :/
> 
> I'm really tempted to grab a few more 'girls'. Do you think putting them in Sterilite Shoeboxes such as these http://www.sterilite.com/productfiles/images/PD1_16428012.jpg would be safe until it was time to move them? I can get bigger sizes than my regular tanks if I buy those, but i'm not sure if any trace elements from the plastic would harm a fry  I have a rack-ish setup so the heat and such is taken care off. I suppose I could toss a few guppy fry in and test it myself, but why make sacrifices when someone else could have the answer..:<


 
IME/O anything that you keep fish in needs to be "food safe" or "food grade", so you might be better off using a large food storage container like Rubbermaid or Glad. You can also check to see if the Sterite is made of a safe plastic...I had the same question a few years ago and I found that all plastic has numbers on the bottom. We've all seen them, but most of us have no idea what they mean. They are the numbers inside a triangle on the bottom of a container. Those numbers range from 1-7 and identify the type of plastic that is used in making the item. Here's a link...it's a list and explanation of those numbers. If you want more info just google "food safe plastic" or "food grade plastic"
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/which-plastics-are-safe.html


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## Marlow

D'aw, cute little guy. I keep new guppy fry in 1 gallon jars, works great 

Woah, thank you about the information on the plastic! Very informative. Here is the Sterilite Containers - i've checked several of them. They are grade 5

5 Polypropylene (PP)
Some ketchup bottles and yogurt and margarine tubs.
OK: Hazardous during production, but not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones. Not as widely recycled as #1 and #2.

So they are fine apparently.


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## tanthalos

*First Time Betta Owner*

I wanted to say hi to everyone since I'm new. I've been hanging around the forum for the last week learning everything I can. I fell victim to the cuteness last Sunday and bought one of the baby bettas at my petco. When I got my baby I didn't realize what all I needed for the little guy. At the moment I have him in a small .5 gal tank until the larger tank I ordered arrives. I also have a heater coming as well as some nice silk plants. (S)he eats like its the end of the world. I've got him on 3 feedings a day. I've been changing the water 75-50% every other day and I plan to change the water 100% today. 

This is my fifth day with the little guy and I can say that I never knew a betta could be so active. (S)he darts around the little tank, plays chase and try to bit my finger, always begs for more food, and yesterday was trying to jump. I'm just adoring the little guy. As of yesterday I'm calling the little one Psycho. I wanted a autumn/Halloween name for the crazy little guy. 

I figured I'd share him/her with you guys. I don't know if the little guy would be doing as well with out all the information I've gotten from here 

I took the pictures yesterday. (S)he has gotten darker since I brought him/her home. You can't see it in the pictures but (s)he has a little blue/teal on the body and little red/teal fins. 
Any ideas on type or sex would be awesome. (S)he may still be to little.

Any other advice is greatly appreciated or if I'm not doing something properly or often enough. This little guy is my first betta and I'd like to give him/her as happy and health a life as I can. 

Forgive me if my pictures don't work I've never loaded pictures to a forum before


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## lilnaugrim

Welcome to the forum tanthalos ;-) looks like you've got yourself a cute little boy there! Although, I might be wrong. Seems like sexing these little ones has gotten harder lately, or I'm just second guessing myself too much >.< But pictures with a light behind the tank so it's shining at the camera and you can see through the baby will help!

Looks like you've got the card down to a T though! I'm glad you did you research to give this baby the best you can ^_^ you should see growth in no time!


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## fawx

I've got two of these little puppies and mine are an absolute riot.
I have them together in a 3 gallon with a ton of hidey places, live plants, and nice heater (Temp roughly 80-82) I've watched them closely and besides one incident, they don't bite each other. I'm pretty sure that incident was because one of them was swimming close to the other to check out who they were. This was when they first were introduced. They keep to themselves now. Still, bad or good idea? I want the best for my fish. I figured they're technically fry and show no signs of having a gender yet, so no aggression? PM me or reply, I wanna know! The only interaction they have is one follows around the other occasionally. I want someone to tell me what to do, cause I'm pretty much winging it, finding out as much information as I can, and observing.

Well, here's the pictures! The white one is Ying and the dark one is Yang.
Is the red healthy on him/her at this age? It looks like organs..









The pictures don't do Yang justice. In reality, Yang is wild type color so far with some purple-red pigment on the fins.


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, I would separate them soon just in case. You really don't want to come home to one, maybe two dead babies :-( they should be okay for maybe a week or so more but eventually they really do need either a divider or their own tanks.

Both look to be boys and yes Yin's red is fine, those are organs. However some of it does look like ammonia burns from being in those cups most likely.

So you know about the growth stunting hormone and how often to feed them and what, right? Feel free to PM me if you've got questions, or any breeder really ^_^


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## TiffanyP

I should really be banned from Petco haha Or from letting 10 year olds guilt trip me  My boss's daughter was here this weekend and, as per usual, wanted to visit the two pet stores in town. So we went to Petco and she made a beeline for the bettas. Since I have 6 and she helps me care for them on weekends she's here, she's taken quite an interest in them. I showed her one of the veiltails that had been there for the past 3 weeks (along with the one I just got Thursday) and then a baby betta, who I think may end up being a dragon scale? Anyway - we left without buying anything which is good. But after we got home she goes "You know? Those fish are probably going to die if no one buys them. You'd make them feel better if you bought them and you'd love them too." *knife to the heart* So I said, "Yes, I know, but I don't have room for them right now, you know that." So she said, "You just have to scootch some stuff closer together and you can fit your two tiny tanks in where you don't think you can now." And that was the end of the conversation for then... but, thanks to a 10 year old, the seed had been planted. She went back to her mom's around noon today, and by 6 I couldn't fight it anymore. I went back to Petco with the intent of getting one of them... Walked out of the store with both *headdesk* So I have two new guys who I'm going to nurse back to health  This is my baby, who has yet to be named. What do you think of his scales? He's in a very temporary .75 gallon tank with a heater. I'm going to split one of my 5 gallons between two boys, and if I can get the calcium deposits off of the other tank, I'll split that one too. If not I just plan on buying a new one. And then everyone will be comfy and cozy


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## lilnaugrim

Awesome story Tiffany, made me giggle honestly. Kids are the cutest sometimes and the worst enablers! haha

Yes! That baby looks DS to me!! I've always wanted a DS baby, too cool! Looks like male DSPK ^_^


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## TiffanyP

Once he unclamps a bit I'll get a better picture of him  I have a picture of the other guy I picked up over in my journal, too, if anyone's interested in seeing him too. Also feel free to toss out name suggestions


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## TiffanyP

Little man is for the most part unclamped this morning, yay! He's still 'tense' I think is what I would call it, but not as bad as yesterday. I got a good look at his tail when he was eating and I saw at least 4 rays! Does that mean he could potentially be a halfmoon? Or do plakats have 4 rays? I'm really not good with this tail type stuff haha


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## lilnaugrim

PK's can have anything from 2 ray's and up to 8 sometimes more if the person breeding is doing something weird lol. But generally traditional PK's have 2-4 ray's, sometimes 6 and then HMPK will have anything from 2-8 ray's generally. Of course there are exceptions but that's the general thing with them ^_^

Most likely your boy will be HMPK since his fins are so short! He's so cute! Can't wait to see more pics of him when he's feeling a little more friendly!


----------



## TiffanyP

I played another round of musical aquariums today and reduced from 8 tanks to 7. I split a 5 gallon tank and now both babies are in there 

Here's Icarus tonight. It's an awkward picture, but I'm glad it turned out how it did. 1. Because you can see a tiny bit of iridescence! and 2. Do you see ovaries? Is he really a she? Haha I've been watching the area behind 'his' stomach for about a week now and I can't tell if it's growing or if it's just part of his innards or if I'm just seeing things.









And here's Yoshi  He reminds me of a frog in this first picture!









Lookit his adorable little face! <3









One more 









And this is their new home! It has a sponge filter in it with an extender tube so the bubbles go to the top and don't push them around since they're so small. Their new heater should be here Wednesday or Thursday and then that will replace the one that's in there


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## PetMania

Perfect set-up


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## TiffanyP

Thank you! It's my first attempt at a divided tank. I actually ended up putting them in the wrong sides haha the purple side was meant to be Icarus's side and the orange was supposed to be Yoshi's but I plopped them in the wrong sides... and I'm kind of glad I did  I like Icarus with the orange and Yoshi with the purple.


----------



## fidget

Super cute!! Their new home is great.
How are you doing water changes? How often? I have my babies in two 2.5g kks. I'd love to put them in a divided 5g.....


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## TiffanyP

Well I just put them in there today, but I'm planning on doing 50% water changes every 2 days, M/W/F and then none on the weekends. I'll probably do that through December at least - not solely for cycling purposes, though it will help (which I'm trying to do, I have some API Quick Start that I added in today), but more to remove the growth stunting hormone.

As for how - I'll probably use the vacuum I have... do one side Monday, maybe just a water only change on Wednesday and then the other side with the vacuum again Friday?


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## Niece

Guys would a 1.6 gallon be fine for a baby betta til I can get a bigger tank? It's an extra tank I had and I thought it would be easy to do the water changes til it's get old enough to go in a bigger tank.


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## hollyk

I think a 1.6 gallon would be just fine until you can get him/her a bigger one. The only concern I would have would be temperature- baby bettas seem particularly sensitive to cold temps, and usually like their tanks a little warmer (82 degrees). Temperature can be harder to regulate on smaller tanks, but there are small heaters that work for them. Just keep an eye on the temp to make sure s/he's okay. Also, smaller tanks need to be cleaned and have their water changed more often to prevent ammonia poisoning, but it sounds like you're aware of the need for frequent water changes with a baby betta. Good luck with your little one!


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## Niece

Well I haven't got one yet just thinking about it.
And I would probably buy another hydor adjustable heater for the tank. 
And maybe just one silk plant in there so it doesn't get stressed ehh idk I really want one though lol.


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## hollyk

Well, I think that as long as you're willing to go the extra mile to provide the proper care for it, a baby betta would be better off with you than at least 90% of other Petco shoppers, who may have good intentions but not the knowledge to back it up. I'd say go for it! :-D


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## alyymarie

I can't wait to get a baby betta, they have fascinated me ever since my PetCo first started carrying them. Plus the PetCo by my house takes such horrible care of their fish that I always want to bring them all home 

I'm waiting until my 3 gallon tank frees up. I currently have a female betta in there that I'll be introducing into my community tank.

She and my last female were both almost babies too, but they were just being sold as regular females - their small size made me fall for them immediately. And they're so sweet. Unfortunately I lost one female last week, so this is my only girl. She's tiny and energetic though, I have high hopes for her in the big tank!


----------



## Viva

Two of the females I've gotten from Petco were still babies...they were so tiny. Luckily they made it through with proper diet. It seems like most of the babies and smaller bettas die of starvation because they are unable to eat the large pellets they feed them at the petstores  Lucky you saved them Aly! It's sad that one didn't make it but you can't always save them from the stress they experience in transportation and just being at the pet store for a long period of time without proper care.

I just was at Petco yesterday and they had at least 2 dozen babies, one was severley clamped and skinny, and had at least 20 rotting pellets in the bottom of it's cup. It was really sad  After losing two of my aquabid sorority girls in the last week, I decided to adopt another DT baby who I THINK is a male. I saw some that were definitely male VT's and I'm hoping this is a male DT. My other DT baby who turned out to be female is still doing great and so I split her 5.5g tank to make room for the new baby. He's a real cutie! Pics later. The DT female will join the sorority when I'm sure the columnaris has been defeated in there D:


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## TiffanyP

I love the colors on your little one Aly, very light and pastel 


I have some new pics of my babies for you all  I'll do a then pic and a now pic.

Icarus when I got him:


Icarus now:


Yoshi a week ago:


Yoshi now:


And Alaric isn't a baby anymore, but here's his then and now pictures too 

The day I got him:


Now:


What a change!!


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## Viva

Wow, Alaric looks amazing!!! I hope my new baby turns out to be a male so I can watch him grow! Icarus is soooooooooo cute! I instantly fall in love with any small, lightly-colored bettas. Icarus is so SHINY too! Adorable! She looks a lot better since you've gotten him, poor fella was all clamped from being at the pet store I'm sure  Icarus looks like a young female, but it's hard for me to tell.


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## TiffanyP

Thanks  I'm so excited that I finally got a clear picture that shows off his colors so well!

Icarus doesn't have any ovaries that I can see, though that picture would sure suggest otherwise. It's just the intestinal area of his stomach  I've wondered though and been watching him closely for the past few weeks and it just seems to be his stomach and the area around it. I do have a fallback name if for whatever reason some ovaries do end up growing in haha

If I could have 80 more babies I absolutely would  Someday when I win the lottery I will haha I love watching them grow and bonding with them


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## fidget

Adorable!! Is Icarus a girl? I've never seen a ds baby!

Two questions for you guys: Does anyone have any idea how long they excrete the growth stunting hormone? And two, I read in someone's thread that a female will become egg bound if kept near a male- I was thinking about putting my babies in a 10g divided, but I think one is a male, one is a female. When would that become a concern?


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## fidget

Just saw your no ovaries post, Tiffany.


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## lilnaugrim

Actually Tif, Icarus is a girl, those are ovaries you see; the little yellow triangles  Females also have varying sizes of ovaries, like Huffle_Puffle's Mysti has very large ovaries and a few of my females have very small ovaries like your "Icarus" as well. They will grow as she does.

But they all look fantastic! Alaric looks amazing now!!


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## lilnaugrim

And I guess I'll post an update on my boy's as well! It's Day 176 for Steve and Tony and Day 62 for Hawkeye. Tony still has lots of growing to do but he's getting there! Steve is the in between child, half grown and Hawkeye is just growing like a ridiculous weed!

Tony when I first brought him home:


Tony as just a few day's ago:









Hawkeye when I took him in from a friend:









Hawkeye as just a few day's ago! He's grown since this picture as well! Mostly in fins but still!









Steve when I first brought him home:


And Steve, a few day's ago as well.


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## TiffanyP

Are you sure?  I took a few more shots just to be certain lol bc in person, he's pretty much entirely see through - I know what ovaries look like, and it just looks like the encasing of his intestines. Also, sorry about the poo haha it wouldn't fall off.


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## lilnaugrim

Hmm okay yeah, I see it. Yeah just organs. From the other view it looked like definite ovaries, but yeah, okay boy ^_^


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## TiffanyP

I agree that it looked like ovaries in the first picture I posted haha that's why I had a disclaimer  But I have wondered if he wasn't a girl previously so it's nice to have another opinion - thanks!


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## Viva

Here's my new little DT baby. When I first got him/her yesterday they were almost totally cellophane like this:


But after being in some warm water, they wanted to show off their true colors! ADORABLE!:
Last night:

This morning:


For some reason the temp in the tank was 90 degrees when I got home today! Idk what the heck is going on with that thing all of a sudden, I gotta sort it out. 

What do you guys think, male or female for the new baby? I'm in love already either way, but I am leaning toward male right now.


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## lilnaugrim

Looks like you've got a little boy as well Viva ^_^


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## Viva

Yay!


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## alyymarie

That's so cool to see how much they change! I'm excited to see how my little female will look all grown up. I've taken to calling her Rainbow cause of how colorful her fins look in the light.
Haha I wish I could take all the baby bettas home! They always look so sad xp


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## DerangedUnicorn

fidget said:


> Adorable!! Is Icarus a girl? I've never seen a ds baby!
> 
> Two questions for you guys: Does anyone have any idea how long they excrete the growth stunting hormone? And two, I read in someone's thread that a female will become egg bound if kept near a male- I was thinking about putting my babies in a 10g divided, but I think one is a male, one is a female. When would that become a concern?


I have the same exact questions. Anyone know?


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## lilnaugrim

Regarding the egg-bound part, that's actually not completely true. The only way a female can become egg-bound is if she is unhealthy. Males and females can live together no problem in a divided tank, sometimes you'll get a lot of flaring but flaring is healthy for the baby anyway, at least to an extend. So you can have the babies live fine together in a divided tank, separate of course.

As far as the growth hormone, I don't know the exact age or anything but I assume once they become fully mature they stop excreting the hormone and just continue to grow. You'll know when males are sexually mature because they will start constructing real bubble nests, not just a few bubbles here and there but a full on, large bubble next. Females are a little more difficult to tell IMHO but they will show signs of wanting to mate if around a male, like breeding bars, flaring, dancing and flirting. Otherwise, you may just need to tell from the size of the fish.


----------



## tanthalos

Though I might show updated pictures of my little one. I've had him/her for two weeks now. (S)he's one hard fish to get a picture of. I swear (s)he doesn't like to stay still for anything but eating.


----------



## summnd

As far as my experience with the Betta fry at PetCo (mine is all about the 'baby bettas') most have passed withing 24hrs of purchase, a handful passed within 1wk of purchase. A couple made it to adulthood. I expected that going into the purchases though, knowing fry are hard to keep. Most of the 'baby bettas' are smaller than my pinky nail and have little to no colour when they go on the shelf. My local PetCo is probably in the bottom 5 of PetCos, and most of their Bettas don't last 24hr on the shelf, fry or adult. I actually got told a couple months ago (when trying to buy a 5gallon for fry & having to settle for a 2.5gal) that the amount of space I wanted was "just ridiculous" because even ADULT Bettas will live "happily, for the rest of their lives, in the bowl they're sold in." Are you kidding!?

Anyway, that's my take/experience on PetCos Betta fry.


----------



## Quinn

Everyone is so cute!
Viva your little guy looks similar to my boy did when I brought him home. Although with a more normal topline, hahaha.

Here are my guys comparison pics. Came home on August 18th
Then


A few weeks later he colored up red


Now


----------



## Viva

Omg Quinn he does look like my little guy! So cute! I definitely see red in his fins now but so far his body is colorless...it's crazy how your guy turned out to have blue in him, I would have never guessed that from his baby pics!


----------



## Quinn

Yeah he has next to no red anywhere on him now! He does have a small red dot on each pec, but that is pretty much it It's pretty wild the changes they go through. I'd love to see him go through another, but he seems to be holding steady for the past 2-3 weeks in this naked state right now, with a touch of blue near his tail (he's got a little lumpy area, part of his weirdo spine, that sticks out right before his tail, and is blue. His button!) and with a black patch on each, erm, would be shouldery area? haha


----------



## Viva

Hahaha, I think he looks like he'll gain more color or perhaps continue to change his whole life...lucky! A touch of black would be gorgeous on him


----------



## galtgirl

*My New Baby*

After reading all the posts on the Petco babies, I decided to try and raise one. I am new to Bettas....got my first one in early Sept and my second two weeks later. 

This baby was the only one they had...it's really little...less than 1" in length but is active. It stays pretty much up at the top of the water. It's in a 1 gal, heated (82deg) unfiltered tank with a silk plant, a hidey hole and a marino moss ball. I've got gravel on the bottom but I'm going to take it out when I change the water tomorrow. 

I'm a little worried because it hasn't eaten anything since I put it in the tank 24hrs ago. I've tried Omega micro pellets and frozen baby brine shrimp. I can't find daphnia anywhere. Should I order some freeze dried daphnia? I can't find frozen. 

IF this little one makes it I plan to put he/she in a 3 gallon filtered tank. 

For now I'll keep it warm and offer food 3 times a day. Anything else I should be doing?


----------



## PetMania

kudos for taking in a baby!


----------



## galtgirl

Thanks. It's a bitty thing so I hope it survives.


----------



## PetMania

PetCo is pretty ridiculous. I've seen babies there the size of my thumbnail.


----------



## Viva

galtgirl said:


> After reading all the posts on the Petco babies, I decided to try and raise one. I am new to Bettas....got my first one in early Sept and my second two weeks later.
> 
> This baby was the only one they had...it's really little...less than 1" in length but is active. It stays pretty much up at the top of the water. It's in a 1 gal, heated (82deg) unfiltered tank with a silk plant, a hidey hole and a marino moss ball. I've got gravel on the bottom but I'm going to take it out when I change the water tomorrow.
> 
> I'm a little worried because it hasn't eaten anything since I put it in the tank 24hrs ago. I've tried Omega micro pellets and frozen baby brine shrimp. I can't find daphnia anywhere. Should I order some freeze dried daphnia? I can't find frozen.
> 
> IF this little one makes it I plan to put he/she in a 3 gallon filtered tank.
> 
> For now I'll keep it warm and offer food 3 times a day. Anything else I should be doing?



I hope the little baby eats, she might just be stressed from the new environment. Most of my little bettas would eat frozen blood worms as long as the pieces were chopped up a bit so they can fit it in their mouth. It looks like your baby is clamped up, probably from the horrible conditions and chilly temperatures at the pet store. I try to feed my babies at least 3 - 4 times per day and change 50% of their water every day so they don't get stunted growth.



Here's the little guy I picked up a week ago. He's still so small and cute, I love him! I LOVE the pic of him with his little mouth open looking right at the camera, haha!


----------



## PetMania

Good luck, Viva! He's so cute!


----------



## Viva

Thanks PetMania!


----------



## PetMania

I've only 'raised' one baby (got her from Wal-Mart), and I look forward to rescuing more


----------



## galtgirl

My baby looks terrible this morning. It's just staying at the top of the water and it's body is hanging lower than it's head. It hasn't eaten...I've tried chopping up brine shrimp and also ground up the micro pellets into a fine powder. The water temp is 82. 
I don't know what else to do. I don't think it's going to make it.


----------



## TiffanyP

My newest baby Yoshi decided that he wanted to gain some color overnight  The pictures really don't do him justice - he is SO dark now! I think he's going to be black!!!

10/24


10/26


10/27


Viva - your double tail boy is so adorable! 

Galtgirl - I wish you the best  hope he/she comes around soon and eats for you.


----------



## Viva

galtgirl said:


> My baby looks terrible this morning. It's just staying at the top of the water and it's body is hanging lower than it's head. It hasn't eaten...I've tried chopping up brine shrimp and also ground up the micro pellets into a fine powder. The water temp is 82.
> I don't know what else to do. I don't think it's going to make it.



So sorry to hear that  Does she seem interested in the food at all? I used small pipettes (eye-droppers) to suck up a few small pieces of frozen food and squirt it right in front of their mouth to basically force-feed them. I've had to do this with a couple bettas who were basically on the brink of starving to death because they don't eat anything the pet stores feed them  You can try soaking the pellets in garlic juice, I've heard that makes them more appetizing for them. Good luck!


----------



## Viva

TiffanyP said:


> My newest baby Yoshi decided that he wanted to gain some color overnight  The pictures really don't do him justice - he is SO dark now! I think he's going to be black!!!
> 
> 10/24
> 
> 
> 10/26
> 
> 
> 10/27
> 
> 
> Viva - your double tail boy is so adorable!
> 
> Galtgirl - I wish you the best  hope he/she comes around soon and eats for you.



Omg your baby is soooo cute! Very interesting colors...it must be a dragonscale?

Also I absolutely LOVE the name! Yoshi is my favorite  Also if your baby is a dragonscale it kinda fits perfect, Yoshi being a dinosaur and all


----------



## TiffanyP

I believe so yes  I hope so anyway! I'm wondering if he will turn out like a black orchid I saw on Aquabid... Something similar in coloring to this, but with dragon scaling:










I think he'll probably be a plakat, perhaps halfmoon? His body is super long and I already see 4 rays in his tail, there may be more but he's so small and doesn't like to sit still so its hard to tell lol


----------



## Rosencrantz32

Yoshi is adorable! I'm jealous that he's a dragonscale. I LOVE dragons!!

I picked up a baby doubletail... 3 weeks ago now I think. But I've been so busy I haven't been able to post about him or get any pictures of him. He's being such a picky eater though. My last baby ate everything I gave him, but this little guy likes to spit almost everything out. It frustrates me...


----------



## Viva

Rosencrantz32 said:


> Yoshi is adorable! I'm jealous that he's a dragonscale. I LOVE dragons!!
> 
> I picked up a baby doubletail... 3 weeks ago now I think. But I've been so busy I haven't been able to post about him or get any pictures of him. He's being such a picky eater though. My last baby ate everything I gave him, but this little guy likes to spit almost everything out. It frustrates me...


Hahaha, I had a baby like that before...well she was marketed as a female VT but she was basically still a baby...tiny and malnourished. She would ONLY eat frozen food and would chew pellets and spit them out. I had to not feed her for an entire day or so before she would eat a pellet. From then on out she ate them


----------



## alyymarie

My last 2 female juvies I got each took 1-2 weeks to start eating normally, it can be worrying and frustrating, just have to find what works for them.

I put my little Rainbow in my community tank, and she's doing so great! Much better than I expected. Her and the other fish pretty much stay out of each other's way. The only thing is she's eating way too much! Because there's so much food sitting around when I feed everyone. Haha I guess it'll help her grow faster, if anything.

So her old tank is almost ready for a new baby! Just need to get a better heater. I'm so excited though 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## galtgirl

Well my baby didn't make it. I changed the water and very gently transitioned it to the clean water over about an hour, but when I came home from shopping I found it had died.
They really should be ashamed for selling these tiny babies. I won't be getting another one that small.


----------



## fidget

Oh no. I'm so sorry!  Your baby was lucky to have been able to go home with you for a little while.


----------



## fidget

lilnaugrim said:


> Regarding the egg-bound part, that's actually not completely true. The only way a female can become egg-bound is if she is unhealthy. Males and females can live together no problem in a divided tank, sometimes you'll get a lot of flaring but flaring is healthy for the baby anyway, at least to an extend. So you can have the babies live fine together in a divided tank, separate of course.
> 
> As far as the growth hormone, I don't know the exact age or anything but I assume once they become fully mature they stop excreting the hormone and just continue to grow. You'll know when males are sexually mature because they will start constructing real bubble nests, not just a few bubbles here and there but a full on, large bubble next. Females are a little more difficult to tell IMHO but they will show signs of wanting to mate if around a male, like breeding bars, flaring, dancing and flirting. Otherwise, you may just need to tell from the size of the fish.


Thank you lilnaugrim!! I can't wait to put together a divided tank for Thing One and Thing Two. Keep em from getting bored. 

Is it ok to feed Thing One exclusively daphnia for a little while? It seems to be the only thing not giving him swim bladder issues. Thing Two has no problems and will eat everything...


----------



## fidget

Ugh. I have to take that back. Little Thing One is having issues with the daphnia too. He seems healthy and active despite floating to the top of the tank.
Is there a possibility of an internal infection or am I over reacting?


----------



## PetMania

I'm so sorry for your loss


----------



## Niece

You guys are making me want to get one! lol
They're so cute.
How often and what percent of water changes do you have to do for them?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Niece said:


> You guys are making me want to get one! lol
> They're so cute.
> How often and what percent of water changes do you have to do for them?


They're quite a lot to take care of! But very worth it if you ask me ^_^

They will need at least 50% done every day if the tank is under 5 gallons, You can get away with doing a 100% every other day but if you can do every day that's going to be much healthier for them and better for them in the end; they'll grow faster since the growth hormone won't stunt their growth. And then they need to be fed preferably every 3-4 hours but 2-3 times a day will suffice. Small but frequent meals are the key to growth!


----------



## PetMania

+1 well worth the time and money


----------



## TiffanyP

I agree  I have LOVED having my babies around - I love my older boys too, but I think I've bonded more with the babies


----------



## Viva

I LOVED taking care of all three of my babies and just got a fourth last week! I find that 50% water changes on any unfiltered tank (or less than 5 gallons) daily works best. If it's 5+ gallons and cycled and filtered, you can do 50% every other day like I did with the first baby I got (and she grew like a weed!).


----------



## fawx

I change mine every day, it's a pain, but then I see those giant eyes and realize it's worth it. haha


----------



## hollyk

New baby! Anyone have any guesses what s/he is? (Besides a baby with ammonia burns? :-( ) Thanks!


----------



## PetMania

My guess is female.  I'm sure s/he will recover. I need another baby. 

So, how many babies should I start out with........hint, hint LOL 
^_^ 
l
l
V


----------



## hollyk

PetMania said:


> My guess is female.  I'm sure s/he will recover. I need another baby.
> 
> So, how many babies should I start out with........hint, hint LOL
> ^_^
> l
> l
> V


Now when you say "guess," is that guess based on the way this baby looks? Or just a random guess? lol I was thinking male because I didn't see an ovipostor and the ventral fins seem long, although s/he has them tucked up in this photo. But I really don't know... Just curious about what makes this baby look like a female. Any idea what color s/he will end up being? :-D


----------



## PetMania

Hmm, I though I saw ovaries at first. Now that I have stared at it for 2 mintues...I reconsider my guess. :lol:


----------



## hollyk

I don't really know how to spot ovaries on a betta this small. You may be right! :dunno:


----------



## Viva

hollyk said:


> New baby! Anyone have any guesses what s/he is? (Besides a baby with ammonia burns? :-( ) Thanks!


Judging by the fins it looks like a female VT


----------



## lilnaugrim

hollyk said:


> New baby! Anyone have any guesses what s/he is? (Besides a baby with ammonia burns? :-( ) Thanks!


I actually want to say male and possibly PK but you really won't know until it get's older and fills out. It is hard to tell if there are ovaries or not or if it's too young yet. Try shining a light behind the fish, like a flashlight so that it's basically shining you in the face and then take a picture of the side of the baby. If you just see a round object behind the head, it's a boy, if you see the round object plus a triangular object, it's a girl ^_^ girls can have long fins as well, I had one that my LFS who is really good at sexing Betta's thought was a boy but yeah, turned out to be a girl lol


----------



## hollyk

Ok, thanks! It'll be interesting to find out. I have to find a flashlight and get him/her to hold still long enough to shine it. lol


----------



## Niece

lilnaugrim said:


> They're quite a lot to take care of! But very worth it if you ask me ^_^
> 
> They will need at least 50% done every day if the tank is under 5 gallons, You can get away with doing a 100% every other day but if you can do every day that's going to be much healthier for them and better for them in the end; they'll grow faster since the growth hormone won't stunt their growth. And then they need to be fed preferably every 3-4 hours but 2-3 times a day will suffice. Small but frequent meals are the key to growth!


 

Ok thank you. =]
I had one before but it was when I didn't know about bettas lol and she's two now and I think I just got lucky with her. But I was thinking about getting another but I wanted to make sure I knew what to do this time.


----------



## galtgirl

After losing my baby, I cleaned out the tank and put in fresh water and then got this little girl. Not a baby but still little and looks very healthy. That baby was just sad....maybe I will try again later. 
Meet Angel. I have no experience with females; what kind is she?


----------



## lilnaugrim

She looks like a VT to me galtgirl ^_^ turquoise as well, almost fully green! she's super cute :-D and sorry about your other baby as well, but this girl does look very healthy I agree.


----------



## fawx

I got my two little devils on October 6th, and wow, they've visibly grown. :O I was having trouble finding food, but I bought some fry food (which is kinda sucky, but it's all they had..) and now I'm crushing up pellets cause they can eat the pieces. Ying and Yang are there names, one's white, one's dark colored. Ying's gonna be a double tail, the split has been there since i've had him. They're like wolves at feeding time!


----------



## Player 2

My petco has them. Most show absolutely no signs of color, and are so small they disappear in their cups. I would love to have one but I hove very little experience with bettas. I would have to start a new tank for it and would not put something that little through such a hard thing. Everyday I realize that all my years of owning fish and there are still a lot of things I don't know.


----------



## alyymarie

I finally got my first baby today! The PetCo by my house ran out of them so I went across town. And that PetCo was way nicer, the one by my house takes such terrible care of their fish.

But here she is! I'm assuming it's a "she" so far. They only had one baby there who was obviously male.
Her colors look funky in the picture, but she's very dark and has a green metallic sheen. 
I can't wait to see her develop, so far she seems very active and healthy. Her belly's round so I haven't tried feeding her yet.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Actually it looks like a male to me ^_^ Looks healthy though either way! :-D Congrats on the baby :-D


----------



## Viva

So I think my new baby may be a girl -naugrim? hehe. Are those ovaries or intestines?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh wow, can see right through her! Up those are ovaries ^_^ Viva, you really need to slow down on your baby rescuing! haha j/k, love her! Does she have a tentative name yet? She does have a bent spine as you can see but it shouldn't effect her too badly, perhaps some swim bladder issues here and there but doesn't look like it will be anything too serious ^_^


----------



## Soph7244

looks like a double tail! shes very pretty viva


----------



## Viva

LOL I do need to stop! I just had to get this one because a) its a Dt b) it looked like a male to me at the time c)I just needed a baby betta to cheer me up after all these deaths in the sorority tank =/ And now I'll hopefully be able to add her to the sorority tank once I feel confident it's safe.

I noticed her bent spine in that pic, it's so cool that you can see right through her though! All my other babies were completely opaque...wondering if her body will stay white or what will happen with her colors 

Thanks Soph! She is a little cutie


----------



## mkdean95

I have two baby bettas. One is almost full grown and ive had him for atleast a month now, the other ive had for maybe two weeks now. Both turned out to be males and are great fish! My older one is a nice double tail, the other a really pretty crowntail. Love them both. Its alot of fun to watch them grow and change colors as their fins develop. If anyone has questions ask me. Id be willing to answer. 

This was Charles when I got him 2 months ago. 
http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/charles.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
This is Charles today
http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/20131102_102909.jpg.html
This is Murphy when I got him
http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/20131020_203324.jpg.html
This is Murphy today
http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/20131102_103307.jpg.html


Let me know what you think. Ive had really good luck with my baby bettas, I have alot of fun watching them grow and change colors as they grow. Its alot of fun.


----------



## PetMania

lilnaugrim said:


> Viva, you really need to slow down on your baby rescuing! haha j/k, love her!


 
Hehe, lol. THAT'S MY JOB!!! Jk


----------



## PetMania

mkdean95 said:


> I have two baby bettas. One is almost full grown and ive had him for atleast a month now, the other ive had for maybe two weeks now. Both turned out to be males and are great fish! My older one is a nice double tail, the other a really pretty crowntail. Love them both. Its alot of fun to watch them grow and change colors as their fins develop. If anyone has questions ask me. Id be willing to answer.
> 
> This was Charles when I got him 2 months ago.
> http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/charles.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
> This is Charles today
> http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/20131102_102909.jpg.html
> This is Murphy when I got him
> http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/20131020_203324.jpg.html
> This is Murphy today
> http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/20131102_103307.jpg.html
> 
> 
> Let me know what you think. Ive had really good luck with my baby bettas, I have alot of fun watching them grow and change colors as they grow. Its alot of fun.


 Wow, you did an amazing job! And, welcome to the forum.


----------



## Viva

mkdean95 said:


> I have two baby bettas. One is almost full grown and ive had him for atleast a month now, the other ive had for maybe two weeks now. Both turned out to be males and are great fish! My older one is a nice double tail, the other a really pretty crowntail. Love them both. Its alot of fun to watch them grow and change colors as their fins develop. If anyone has questions ask me. Id be willing to answer.
> 
> This was Charles when I got him 2 months ago.
> http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/charles.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
> This is Charles today
> http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/20131102_102909.jpg.html
> This is Murphy when I got him
> http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/20131020_203324.jpg.html
> This is Murphy today
> http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/horselovermkdm/media/20131102_103307.jpg.html
> 
> 
> Let me know what you think. Ive had really good luck with my baby bettas, I have alot of fun watching them grow and change colors as they grow. Its alot of fun.


Those babies are so adorable! They look amazing! Good job!


----------



## alyymarie

My baby's doing very well so far! I figured out that he likes flakes, he wasn't interested in the pellets. So I've been giving him Omega One flakes, do you guys think that's nutritious enough for him?
And I guess I'll have to wait and see if he's a boy or girl (I just say "he" as a default) before I try naming him


----------



## Mashiro

Here's my new baby that I just picked up tonight!


----------



## fawx

Cute baby!


----------



## TiffanyP

So cute! My little guys are growing like weeds  I need to take a new picture of Yoshi, he's SO black now!


----------



## Maddybelle

*More baby pictures!!*

My baby now has a name: Phoenix. He's gotten bigger and darker, and is developing some blue iridescence. I even got a tiny little flare out of him the other day!


----------



## Viva

Phoenix is adorable! He looks happy and healthy


----------



## TiffanyP

I finally got a good picture of Yoshi! Look at how dark he is!!


----------



## sponge1234

Can I float a 3/4 gallon critter keeper in my 20 gallon that is kept at ~80°F? Then put a baby in there until I can het a heater for my 2.5 gallon? All of the baby's look like cuties!


----------



## lilnaugrim

I love Yoshi!!! So cute! I love the little dragonscaling!

And @sponge1234, yes you can do that but you'll need to do daily water changes so just remember that ^_^


----------



## sponge1234

What % wc should I do?


----------



## redthebetta

Try drilling some holes in it. Water flow=no WCs.


----------



## sponge1234

Hmm. Ok my dad has a pretty good sized shop so I can drill holes. But before I get the baby I will have the water tested at my LFS to make sure it's ok.


----------



## redthebetta

Okey dokey! Make sure the holes are really small though.


----------



## sponge1234

Yup:-D


----------



## fidget

Do you guys use filters in your baby tanks? I bought a ten gallon kit and divided it. I haven't put the filter in it yet because I wasn't going to be home to watch the baby whose side it will be on.
It's a tetra 10i, internal filter. I'm a little worried the suction will be too strong. Do you guys have any experience with this filter or something similar?


----------



## alyymarie

I don't have a filter in my baby's tank yet since he's so small and I do a water change everyday anyway. I just have an airstone to move the water for the heater. I'll probably put the filter in once he gets bigger.


----------



## lilnaugrim

You can use filter's but I would throw caution for the tetra 10i. I used to have it and I hated it, way too much flow and intake suction, it would just pull a baby right in :-( HOB (hang on back) filters are generally much better and gives you more room in the tank which I like


----------



## fidget

Great- thank you! Yeah, it is huge. I thought I might give it a shot since it came with the tank (which was a great deal even without the filter btw). I'll get another hob. 

Oh- and Thing One is doing great! Thanks so much for your help. You were right about everything.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Glad I could help!


----------



## TheOnlyCanvas

I haven't posted in this thread in quite some time, but here are some before and after pictures of my baby, Phoenix! It's been nearly 5 months since I brought home this itty bitty, freezing and starved baby home. She's become the sweetest and most curious of my bettas.


----------



## alyymarie

Aww she's so pretty! 
I just saw an egg spot on my baby so I can finally guess it's a she! It's so cool watching them grow, I feel like she gets bigger everyday.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Welcome back TOC! Phoenix has grown up beautifully!!! Congratulations!! :-D

And @alyymarie, egg spots do not denote a male from a female in the Betta world. Male betta's often have imitator ovipositer's or false egg spots to confuse us basically. Some lose them after maturity but there's actually quite a bit who keep them past maturity and forever. So you have to look for the ovaries behind the stomach, they will be a triangular shape, usually yellow-ish in color.


----------



## alyymarie

Yeah I know it's not a definite indicator, it's still just a guess so far. She's way too dark for me to check for ovaries xp


----------



## Bethany

About a month ago my beautiful 6yr old king betta (King Bob) died  leaving is well establish 10gal realm and two algae eaters without a ruler. What was I to do? I knew I wanted another betta but I was willing to wait for the right one to come along. Then while getting dog food at Petco yesterday I decided to swing by the bettas. That is when I was struck in the heart by beauty, cuteness, and love! A beautiful baby boy (pretty sure he is a boy) black with red fin and black tips. He is big and I am pretty sure he will be another king! I now have Kind Fishy in the well established 10gal tank. First thing he did was establish his dominance over the algae eaters (who submissive clean the opposite side of the tank then the one he is on now) and settled in nice and cozy. After reading up on the care of babies I turned the tank up to a toasty 82 degrees and am feeding him crushed pellets 3x a day. I couldn't be happier with my little angle <3


----------



## Zooxe

I wish my petco selled babies :\ I love the thought of buying a baby betta and having it for 6 years, that is a kind of bond that i dont think most people would understand


----------



## lilnaugrim

Bethany, congrats on the new boy and sorry to hear about your King boy! However, I do doubt that your new boy is a King, just an older boy than the other's who were there. They aren't all from the same spawn and he could have been there a lot longer so he just grew a little bit.

And Zooxe, unfortunately PetCo babies don't last as long. Yes they can live up to 2 years maybe 3 if started out right. But depending on which baby you get, they've already gone through a huge trauma being shipped and then depending on how long they've been in the PetCo cups, they are severely stunted which often leads to early deaths. But you still get the satisfaction of growing some animal on your own if your baby is luck enough to make it to adulthood


----------



## Zooxe

We should all band together then and steal all the bettas :X. VIVA LA REVOLUCION!


----------



## lilnaugrim

lol


----------



## Bethany

lilnaugrim- True He may not be a king, and I wouldn't be sad if he isn't. I just think it would be really cool if he is. Thank you for the congrats and the condolences


----------



## alyymarie

Does anyone have an opinion on Omega One Betta Buffet flakes for babies? This is what my baby seems to like the most, not very interested in pellets. I also throw in some veggie flakes and bloodworms for variety, but flakes is what he mostly eats.


----------



## lilnaugrim

The flakes will be fine. I would try to get NLS flakes instead though. Finding out that Omega isn't all it's cracked up to be, it's still a good food compared to many other's, NLS is just better ;-) but yes, Omega will be fine for the baby. Veggie flakes are not needed as Betta's are insectivores which means basically carnivores so no need for veggies. Bloodworms are good though, crush them if you need.


----------



## alyymarie

Okay good, I'd just rather avoid having to buy more fish food because I have so much already! Lol. The veggie flakes I just give to everyone once in a while cause I'm trying to get rid of them, they're Omega One as well and they have a lot of protein, so I figure why not, better than throwing them away. Stupid LFS employees recommending the wrong food :/


----------



## DerangedUnicorn

lilnaugrim said:


> The flakes will be fine. I would try to get NLS flakes instead though. Finding out that Omega isn't all it's cracked up to be, it's still a good food compared to many other's, NLS is just better ;-) but yes, Omega will be fine for the baby. Veggie flakes are not needed as Betta's are insectivores which means basically carnivores so no need for veggies. Bloodworms are good though, crush them if you need.


Seriously? What's wrong with Omega? My pet store doesn't sell NLS & I have two little jars of Omega & it will take me forever just to use one! & I have no monies! What is this world coming to!?!? Help, lilnaugrim!


----------



## lilnaugrim

lol Deranged, it's still fine to use, it's just not as "pure" as we thought it was I guess. let me see if I can find the thread.....here it is. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=300897&page=0#post3387065 jaysee's comment #7 and we continue the convo on the next page.


----------



## DerangedUnicorn

Okay. Well, you let me know what jaysee comes back with about NLS. Thanks for the new info!


----------



## Mashiro

Just wanted to show everyone the 1 week progress of my baby betta, Merlin!

He's so feisty!


----------



## alyymarie

Aww Merlin is a cutie 
Thought I'd give an update on my baby, it's been two weeks now since I brought him/her home! I'm still not sure on the sex lol. 
But he's a little piggy and growing well, he's maybe 1.5 inches now. The red and blue in his fins is very defined now.

It was hard to get a decent picture as he's always zooming around.
Plus I can't use his tank light in pics because it's blue xp


----------



## BettaBoy51

my female crown tail i got yesterday


----------



## galtgirl

*My new Petco Baby*

I decided to try again to raise a baby from Petco. I went today and picked the healthiest one I could find. He/She is pretty small but very active and has a healthy appetite....ate some brine shrimp and has been exploring their new space. :lol:


----------



## lilnaugrim

alyymarie said:


> Aww Merlin is a cutie
> Thought I'd give an update on my baby, it's been two weeks now since I brought him/her home! I'm still not sure on the sex lol.
> But he's a little piggy and growing well, he's maybe 1.5 inches now. The red and blue in his fins is very defined now.
> 
> It was hard to get a decent picture as he's always zooming around.
> Plus I can't use his tank light in pics because it's blue xp


Looks like a baby girl to me! ^_^




BettaBoy51 said:


> my female crown tail i got yesterday



Aww the pics aren't showing up!


----------



## Bethany

They are all so cute!! I can't get a none blurry picture of King Fishy (king because he has a castle and my kids say he is king of the tank, to early to tell how big he is going to get) he won't stop moving LOL But he is SO smart. I have already trained him to follow my finger. And one of his favorite games is to play hide and seek with his tank mates. They hid, he goes and finds them, puffs out his gills, and then they go hide somewhere else, all over the tank it is so cute. (there is no aggression involved they are twice his size and there is no nipping. Just pure clean fun):lol:


----------



## apm2013

Hey guys! I also decided to purchase a baby betta from petco. Any ideas on gender? His/her name is egg. I bought him/her tuesday! Adorable little thing.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Adorable apm! Still too young for gender to be told for certain but for now my vote is on male ^_^


----------



## BettaBoy51

here she is


----------



## galtgirl

*Petco Baby Day 2*

My Petco Baby is doing great....he/she is active and exploring the tank, hiding in the little castle decoration and eating like a little piggy. It's a nice and toasty 80 deg in the one gallon which is sitting on the kitchen counter where I can keep an eye on it. It's very entertaining to watch it dart around the tank. It's favorite place is hiding under the floating IA leaf. 
I have high hopes that this baby will grow into a healthy adult. 
I'm still thinking about a name. 

Carol
Big Bob, Little Bob, Angel & ?


----------



## lilnaugrim

galtgirl said:


> My Petco Baby is doing great....he/she is active and exploring the tank, hiding in the little castle decoration and eating like a little piggy. It's a nice and toasty 80 deg in the one gallon which is sitting on the kitchen counter where I can keep an eye on it. It's very entertaining to watch it dart around the tank. It's favorite place is hiding under the floating IA leaf.
> I have high hopes that this baby will grow into a healthy adult.
> I'm still thinking about a name.
> 
> Carol
> Big Bob, Little Bob, Angel & ?


It's a little girl! So I like Angel :-D


----------



## galtgirl

I'm happy she's a girl. I hope to start a sorority tank one of these days. I already have one girl...Angel....so I'll have to think of a girl name for this baby.


----------



## hollyk

In spite of the best care I could possibly provide, I just lost my baby. :-( He was fine the other night, and dead yesterday. No idea why. Poor little guy. But no more baby bettas for me!


----------



## Bethany

*King Fishy*

I was able to clean up a pick of him from the first day... still burry but not as bad. Ain't he cute!


----------



## Bethany

hollyk said:


> In spite of the best care I could possibly provide, I just lost my baby. :-( He was fine the other night, and dead yesterday. No idea why. Poor little guy. But no more baby bettas for me!


 so, so sorry to hear that


----------



## TiffanyP

Aw I'm sorry Holly


----------



## TiffanyP

Well guys - Icarus isn't an Icarus anymore lol I've been watching since I got him for ovaries, and there's been a see through area behind his stomach, but nothing ever there... until today. Bright yellow ovaries grew in quite literally overnight lol So... I guess I have a lady fish on my hands now! A couple of questions with that.

1. She shares a split tank with Yoshi, who is absolutely 100% male lol will that cause any problems? Should I play musical tanks and switch her out with one of the other boys?

2. What should I name her? 

Thanks everyone


----------



## Bethany

Tiffany- as long as they are getting along it works fine :-D As for names, I don't know what she looks like so I don't know how to help. I've always wanted to name a female betta "Cherry Blossom" because it is such a pretty Japanese flower, but I don't know if that name will fit your little girl. You are free to use it if it does and you like it ;-)


----------



## bettasareawesome

As long as they get along it shouldn't be a problem, unfortunately I'm bad at names, sorry.


----------



## lilnaugrim

They don't necessarily need to get along. But yes males and females can live together in a divided tank. She may get eggy often when she's sexually mature but that won't hurt her. She'll expel the eggs or reabsorb them ^_^ and likewise he will just build bubblenests all the time and try to get her to come to his side haha. But nothing will hurt them.

If you get me some pics I should be able to help out.


----------



## Stormykitty

Darn it! I want one so bad! *sigh* But here's a thought, out of sheer curiosity is it possible to put two together in the same tank if they're young enough? I would never ever put two adults together, but I'm a tad curious about the babies. Or are they too old by the time they get to the shop?

*guh* I want one and my local petco always has tons of DT babies in stock. I can tell because they have that distinctive divide.


----------



## alyymarie

I think they may be too old by the time they're in the store, or they would be very soon after you put them in the tank. My little guy is feisty even at his small size, I'd be afraid to try that.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah they're too old by that point. If they had never been separated in the first place they could spend nearly two more months together but once you separate them, all bets are off. Same goes for Sorority girl's, if you ever take one out completely, if you want to put her back in you have to reintroduce her all over again with her floating in a cup in the tank for a few more day's until everyone's used to her again.

EDIT: however, if two babies happened to get into the same side of the tank they generally won't kill each other. They will play fight and flare but either way, it's not good to chance it anyway because you could get very aggressive one that wants to kill everything and then you'd only have one baby...yeah


----------



## Stormykitty

It's such a shame you can't have two males together. They're so pretty. 

Has anyone gotten an actual halfmoon out of one of these? That's really the only temptation for me honestly, is the thought of getting one for like two dollars instead of like... 15-25. They're kinda expensive at my pet shop here.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Stormykitty said:


> It's such a shame you can't have two males together. They're so pretty.
> 
> Has anyone gotten an actual halfmoon out of one of these? That's really the only temptation for me honestly, is the thought of getting one for like two dollars instead of like... 15-25. They're kinda expensive at my pet shop here.


You can keep them together in a divided tank, just not on one side is all. But they'll do fine sharing a divided tank, almost all my males to


----------



## Rosencrantz32

I think most of the babies are veiltails, but TiffanyP's little Yoshi is looking like he'll be a Superdelta, maybe a halfmoon!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Some have come out CT's and PK's but I haven't seen any HM's yet or at least none that anyone has shown really. I'm sure they're there though.


----------



## TiffanyP

I made a really good before and after picture of Yoshi last night. This is how much he changed in just a month! It's crazy! The top pic was 10.13.13, bottom pic was last night 11.18.13.


And here's a good shot of his tail, even tho he's not flared up.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh geez Tiffany, you've had him for a MONTH already?!?! Wooooow, where did time go?!?!? He looks absolutely fantastic! He might even be a DeT or HM! Love him :-D


----------



## TiffanyP

Right?! I was just thinking about it last night and I was like... I've had this fish for a month! What?! I'm so tickled with him though and how he's turning out  I would have been happy however he turned out but I think I got a rare gem!


----------



## lilnaugrim

I do believe you did! He's so beautiful! :-D


----------



## Bethany

So beautiful!! Have you thought of a name for baby girl yet?


----------



## TiffanyP

Thank you  I can't get enough of him lol

I just caught him flaring at Icarus! (really need a new name for her haha) I've never seen him fully flare before  (I need to get a mirror lol) and in comparison to the pictures in the tails and colors sticky, his spread is definitely bigger than a delta, so super delta at least, with potential for halfmoon?

And no, no name for the lil lady yet. I'm so used to calling her Icarus lol I might just keep her name that... It's not very lady like, so maybe Lady Icarus? Ooh i like that!


----------



## lilnaugrim

lol that's what I did to Lady Deathstrike ;-) and then just called her Lady. I like Lady Icarus! Sounds like her last name would be Icarus then instead of first :-D


----------



## Stormykitty

O_O Your fish! He's soooooo pretty!


----------



## TiffanyP

D'aww thank you!


----------



## galtgirl

My baby girl is really growing. She is starting to show color in her fins and tail. She is darting everywhere and loves brine shrimp. I'm going to move her into a divided 5 gallon tomorrow which will be an upgrade from her 1 gallon. 

It's really fun to watch her growing. That's a bloodworm she's getting ready to devour. She bites pieces off until she's eaten the whole thing. :-D


----------



## Bethany

*1 week ago today!*

I can't believe I got my baby a week ago! He has grown so much! here is an updated picture taken today.


----------



## Bethany

Here is one of him full flare! Anyone have a guess as to what kind of tail he will have yet?


----------



## galtgirl

*Baby at one week*

I've had my baby girl, Nugget, a week now. Here's pictures from day 1 and today. She's in a one gallon with a heater and IAL and silk plant. I change her water every 2 days.


----------



## Bethany

SO ADORABLE!!! She is getting big


----------



## lilnaugrim

Well I never posted it on here but sadly, Steve and Tony have passed away. They lived a good long six months with me but their stunt just caught up with Tony and I do believe Steve died of stunt but also loneliness. But they are together again under the Rainbow bridge.
SIP Steve








SIP Tony









And I forgot to introduce her, she's not a PetCo baby but she's a PetSmart female which is basically the same thing as a PetCo baby haha. She's not even sexually mature yet! But here is present Kit-Kat!
Day I got her:









Already growing only a week and a half later!









And Hawkeye has become a beautiful adult now!
Day I got him:









Yesterday!


----------



## Bethany

Love them ALL! Sorry about the two you lost :-( but the others are beautiful! you're such a loving mommy I can tell :-D


----------



## lilnaugrim

Thank you Bethany!  I appreciate that.


----------



## TiffanyP

Aw  I'm sorry about Tony and Steve! Many hugs!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Thanks, they passed within two weeks of each other. Funny thing is that Kit-Kat is what I thought Tony was going to more or less turn out to be but he did surprise me for sure!


----------



## fidget

Gatgirl, Nugget is so pretty!
lilnaugrim, sorry about your Tony and Steve. I liked looking in on your thread and seeing their progress.
How does being stunted kill them, do you know?


----------



## Stormykitty

+ 1 I'd like to know that one too.


----------



## alyymarie

I wonder, how can you tell if they're stunted? My grown male that I've had for months has always seemed very small to me, compared to other adults.


----------



## woodstock85

I'm going to be reading this thread later because it all seems very interesting. But I need to know this now. What should I feed the baby beta I just got. The pellets I gave him seem too big for him, and should I feed him more than an adult beta? When should I start seeing some growth?


----------



## TiffanyP

A good quality pellet is good for a staple - New Life Spectrum seems to be the most recommended, they have a .5mm pellet NLS Grow that a lot of people recommend. NLS small fish formula works well too. I feed my babies 3 times a day. A selection of live/frozen foods helps too - bloodworms, brine shrimp, etc. And they'll grow so fast after they start being in clean warm water with a good diet  I posted a picture a couple of pages back of my newest baby betta and it's crazy how much he's changed in a month!


----------



## Bethany

I use the pellets and they are too big for my little guy so I crush them under the lid and then give him the crushed pellets. I also feed three times a day and have the heater up to 82 degrees (baby's like it worm and cozy) and the higher temp will help them grow faster too. Make sure to do regular water changes. How much and how often depends on the size of tank. I have a 10gal filtered tank, with algae eaters who keep the tank clean, and I do a 1/3 water change twice a month. If you have less then a 5gal tank you will want to do at least a 1/2 every week to keep it clean and help him grow.


----------



## hollyk

Alas, I caved. So much for my "no more baby bettas" rant! lol I decided to get another one. My 1 became 2 when I couldn't decide between them. Wish me luck with these little ones! :lol:


----------



## Bethany

haha wasn't that rant less then a week ago? LOL. Seriously though, good luck. I hope these to make it to a nice old age


----------



## hollyk

Haha, yup, it sure was! I want to breed a couple of my show-quality bettas in the spring, but I'm afraid to do it if I can't even keep a single baby betta alive. Especially because he died so suddenly and unexpectedly. I wanted to try again and make sure I can handle one (now two!) before I have 200+! :-D


----------



## hollyk

And, they're just really cute and I can't resist them! ;-)


----------



## TiffanyP

As for water changes Bethany, I would suggest more than 50% a week. I do 3 50% changes on my babies every week (M/W/F, they're in a split 5 gallon, filtered/cycled), and I'd still do that many even if I just had one baby in there. The reason is, they release a growth stunting hormone (GSH) that does just that - stunts their growth. In the wild it's a defense mechanism, but it backfires when they're in a tank. The only way to remove it is with frequent water changes 

And yay Holly! I love having my babies  One of my adults died last night  So I have an extra tank sitting around... I might just have to go get another baby for it!  (after I clean it up real good that is lol)


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, with baby's you need to do water changes daily or at the minimum every other day with the hormone. Even if it's a filter/cycled/heated tank and it's 20 gallons, it doesn't matter. You need to get that hormone out so you don't go stunting your fish and that can lead to death :-( which, is obviously no good!


----------



## Bethany

Thanks! Good to know!


----------



## Bethany

Ok so all the research I could do and find on the GSH of fish is that it only happens if they don't have enough room to grow naturally and feel treated by other babies taking up there space so they relies the hormone in order to stunt the growth of the other fish. It happens in ponds that are over populated all the time. It is natural and is only bad if the fish is over crowded... say less then 5 gal or if you have lots of other fish in the tank. Does anyone have any research that proves that more frequent changes would be needed for a baby growing in a large enough space by themselves? I only ask because I have my tank well balanced and frequent changes would easily screw up that balance (I potently only need to do a 1/3 water change every 2mos when I change the filter.). I will do the changes if I can see proof that they are necessary in such a large tank. Thank you for any help you can provide in this area.


----------



## fidget

PM'ing you some interesting stuff I found. It's kinda long to quote here and I'm not sure if it's ok to link...?


----------



## Bethany

fascinating read Fidget! Thank you so much for the link.


----------



## Bethany

Great link on all the science and stuff behind this allusive hormone and how it works! I have determined that I don't need to do any extra water changes because I have a large space with plants and another species of fish, which according to the research neutralizes the hormone. He has almost doubled in size since I got him just over a week ago. Since he is growing so well I am going to continue on with the limited water changes and see how it goes. I will keep you all up to date as time goes on and if you would like the link, let me know and I will PM it to you.


----------



## DerangedUnicorn

Bethany said:


> Great link on all the science and stuff behind this allusive hormone and how it works! I have determined that I don't need to do any extra water changes because I have a large space with plants and another species of fish, which according to the research neutralizes the hormone. He has almost doubled in size since I got him just over a week ago. Since he is growing so well I am going to continue on with the limited water changes and see how it goes. I will keep you all up to date as time goes on and if you would like the link, let me know and I will PM it to you.


I would like the link, please. Thank you!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yes, I know there's been some info going around about the stunt hormone as a half myth. It's still true the part if you put a Common Pleco in a 10 gallon, yeah it's going to die because it's stunted of course. But it might not happen like we think it does to the babies.

However, I know with my Steve and Tony that I didn't do half as much water changes as I should until I got Hawkeye and I amped them up more and he grew while they didn't. Logisticsguy is currently experimenting with the hormone to see what he can find. So it's all up in the air right now but feel free to try it out Bethany.

With a cycled tank though, it won't hurt it if you change water more frequently than twice a week, three times at most really. You do want to keep the ammonia in there so you can siphon out water but not poo and that will keep your cycle nice and healthy. As long as you don't let the filter dry out or do a 100% change, you won't hurt your cycle.

Also, I'd like to the link as well if anyone else has it. I asked Hallyx and she hasn't gotten back yet lol


----------



## Bethany

Ok so apparently I am a dunce LOL I can't figure out how to PM a link. Figdet would you mind sending the link out, or if someone could tell me how to do it. It keeps telling me the link is not aloud.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Haha no worries! If you click on my user name to the side here it comes down with some options, click "Send a Private Message to lilnaugrim" and that is PM'ing. Then you just copy and paste the link into the text box reply


----------



## Alcemistnv

Here is the newest pic of my petco baby that I adopted in early March c:


----------



## Bethany

So pretty! Love the long tail  I am not a breeder and don't care to be so VT have a special place in my heart LOL. Kind of like all my other pets: runts, mutts, and misfits


----------



## lilnaugrim

So far what I've gathered through the article is that if you have a heavily planted tank, other fish, cycled filter and all that jazz, then yes you don't need to do the frequent water changes. but for the majority here that don't have that and keep the baby in it's own tank with no live plants, the best thing to do is frequent partial water changes, not full but partial so 50% is always good.

So what we call the Growth Stunting Hormone is not a hormone but a chemical, we haven't actually figured out what it really is though. But it's possible released through their slime coat, anus or gills. It's part of their metabolism system if I'm reading that correctly.

Something that they found that helps is adding a different species of fish to the tank that lessens the chemical, so adding a guppy to the tank will help. Having corydoras in a 10 gallon with a baby will help but other Betta's will not help. 

So in all, we are thinking about this the wrong way, however there is still _something_ in the water that we can take out with water changes and that WILL help your fish grow. So while we may not need daily water changes, still doing every other day for the non planted, community tank will be the best bet. Especially if it's under 10 gallons or isn't cycled.

EDIT: here is a quote from one of the people talking. They are talking about raising an entire spawn so he sort of gives a simplified explanation of the Growth Inhibitating Substance:

"So, I'm thinking that the large fish excretes a exocrine compound (Growth Inhibiting Substance) that states to the others "Its MY food...ALL of it!!!!! signed Bubba!!!! The rest become nervous, don't eat and expand energy. He is not affected because its his "message". Keeping in mind we have an aggressive species, it could be a very scarey message. By WATER CHANGES we reduce the message to "It's my food" to which the rest can respond with a quick look around and say "Not over here". By adding another species with their own message, it could be all mixed up and the fry only hear "Food" Once jarred, no competition, no expanse of energy. endless available food and NO chemical messages."

Hope this helps anyone who hasn't seen the article


----------



## Bethany

Very well summarized Lilnaugrim! Thank you, and yes please do NOT stop doing water changes if you have your fish in an unplanted not cycled tank. It is still very important for their health even if we don't know why it happens.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Thanks ^_^ I'm going to go ahead and quote a few more replies to that topic so they bounce off my other quote there.

"I'm not sure it's entirely a feeding/eating issue ... reason being, I'm looking in my fry tank, and after feeding, yes, I do see a few more aggressively eating Betta. However, ALL the fry will have swollen (full) bellies, even down to the smallest fry in the tank (unless they're just dumb, and don't have sense enough to find and eat the food), therefore my conclusion is that they are ALL eating, but something is preventing the smaller ones from growing as fast as the larger ones.
In tanks that I perform massive water changes, the fry grow faster, and more uniformly ... while tanks that I perform minimal water changes in grow at a much slower pace.
So, I can only summize that ... "it's something in the water""

"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 the are so stressed. It would be like trying to work with someone yelling at you all the time! Poor babies."


----------



## woodstock85

Are the babies sold all male or a mix of male and female? Because I think mine may be female.


----------



## DatBetta

These babies are so cute I need to stop looking at this thread before I buy one...


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yes the babies are a mix of male or female. If you give me some good pics I can tell you the sex  I'm pretty good at determining that :-D Sometimes it's too early to tell though, it all depends.


----------



## UhmAmber

Here's my little guy (girl?)
When we first got it:








about 4 days later:
















Little "Shao-Lin" is swimming around much more now that we got him a bigger (slightly, he's in a temporary 2L tank right now) tank and a heater.

Should I be worried about his (her?) fins? Is it normal to look like they've had a couple bites taken out of them when they're this small?


----------



## Crowntails

I need to stop looking at this thread because I really want to take a baby home.


----------



## Bethany

*King Fishy after 2wks*

here is the progress. The first picture is the day I brought him home, then a week later, now today two weeks later


----------



## cassifish

Hi Guys, I just seem to be faced with problem after problem. 
I noticed this little spot on my baby Adonis and I want to know what I should think about it. Do you think it could be bad? 














Thanks for any advice!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Looks like she might be a marble, so that spot might expand and her fins might be clear in the end and change again. It doesn't look like anything disease related though so you're fine.


----------



## cassifish

Thank you so much!


----------



## woodstock85

Ok here are photos of my baby when i was changing his water. I have had it for a week. They're not the greatest pictures because I know nothing about cameras but it's the best I could get. Can anyone tell me if it looks like a boy or a girl?

http://imageshack.com/a/img819/2060/wur8.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img31/4378/h4tq.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img849/965/fykb.jpg

edit: excuse my hair in that third pic lol


----------



## jsgossamer

I have no idea what everyone is talking about with this hormone thing. I have a male betta I got about a year and a half ago as a tiny, all black petco baby the length of my fingernail. He grew up in a 2 gallon, unfiltered, unheated critter keeper. I did a full change every other week when he was tiny. He is huge. The largest of my 5 bettas. I also have a female gotten as a baby who is huge also. She is in a 2 1/2 heated and filtered planted tank that I do a 25% change weekly. Total myth where my fish are concerned.


----------



## lilnaugrim

woodstock85 said:


> Ok here are photos of my baby when i was changing his water. I have had it for a week. They're not the greatest pictures because I know nothing about cameras but it's the best I could get. Can anyone tell me if it looks like a boy or a girl?
> 
> http://imageshack.com/a/img819/2060/wur8.jpg
> http://imageshack.com/a/img31/4378/h4tq.jpg
> http://imageshack.com/a/img849/965/fykb.jpg
> 
> edit: excuse my hair in that third pic lol


Oh lol nice hair!

Looks like a little baby boy to me ^_^

If you've got a digital, switch to the P setting (Program) and then on your camera somewhere in the buttons, there should be one with a little flower looking symbol, looks like a tulip. Click that and press to the left, that should say Macro under it. Macro setting will allow you to take really close pictures of anything and be in focus! You have to fiddle with it a little bit to get to know it, but you'll take great pics in no time! Also, get a flash light or something to give you nice bright lights and shine it on the fish and that will help your camera focus. Instead of just pressing the button, hold the button down halfway and it will focus your camera, once you see it's in focus then press the button fully down and it should snap a great picture that's in focus!

It usually takes a few tries to get one good, in focus picture but it's worth it to sit there and do a photo shoot ^_^


----------



## kittenfish

This is Nibbles, day 1:










Day 2:










Day 3:










He looked like that until about two weeks after I got him, when this happened:










Here he is today, in his big boy tank. I've had him for about a month. He's so dark now that he's hard to photograph. He spends his days hilariously wooing his neighbor, Princess Bubblegum, the lady in my avatar.


----------



## kittenfish

And this is my new baby, Chicken.

He was stupid small when I got him:










And after a week he is still pretty tiny:


----------



## lilnaugrim

Cuteness kittenfish! I love Nibbles massive bubbleness! My Hawkeye does the same thing! lol


----------



## TiffanyP

Another update on my two babies 

Yoshi is growing like a little weed - he's so handsome and I just stinking love him!

Here's a great, clear shot of his tail. The two tears in his anal fin have been there since it started growing out, so I think it's just how his fin is going to turn out.


And I was picking on him by touching my finger to his tank lol


Lady Icarus finally stood still for a picture!


----------



## kittenfish

Question - Is it normal for Petco babies to be smaller than other bettas of the same age? Nibbles started making bubble nests about 3 weeks ago so I'd guess he's at least 3-4 months old, but he's still less than an inch long.


----------



## lilnaugrim

kittenfish, he will still grow. Even though they've matured, they still have a long way of growing. When I got Rembrandt (avatar pic) he was very small and now he's huge, his fins doubled in size and his body grew from roughly an inch to 1.4 inches, not much but in the Betta world it is. So yes, it's normal for them to grow at different rates and sizes, he could be the "runt of the litter" but he will grow 

Tiffany, Yoshi looks amazing!!!! I'm so envious of him right now!!! lol I wish Hawkeye was a pretty DS like Yoshi!


----------



## Sally M

*Baby Betta sorority - I hope!*

I decided to start a sorority using babies so I brought home 6 babies a week ago. I chose them based on the advice of the lady at Petco who seemed reasonably knowledgeable and had even bred bettas a few times. Now, it's time to watch and see. I'm fairly confident on two females and still undecided on the rest of them. So if anyone has an educated guess, please let me know!

And here they are! No names yet, still waiting to give them appropriate ones


----------



## Sabina88

I was wondering, when you get a baby from petco. How long until they grow to the size that you would find of the males from petco? sorry if my question was confusing


----------



## lilnaugrim

Sabina, it depends on the care and if they were already stunted badly from trauma and cups at the store. Hawkeye took roughly four months which is average, Steve and Tony never made it to adulthood and I had them for 6 months.

And Sally, well looks like the majority of them are boy's. Only definite female I see is the middle right one.


----------



## Sabina88

I plan on starting a sorority soon, and I had wanted to get a baby betta. Do you think it would be better to just get the sorority as all babies or would another option be to grow the baby until a adult then add her to the tank?

Also to Lilnaugrim- sorry to hear about steve and tony


----------



## lilnaugrim

Sabina88 said:


> I plan on starting a sorority soon, and I had wanted to get a baby betta. Do you think it would be better to just get the sorority as all babies or would another option be to grow the baby until a adult then add her to the tank?
> 
> Also to Lilnaugrim- sorry to hear about steve and tony


Well with the babies, if you get them too young you won't be able to tell the sexes so it's a guessing game for the most part so that's up to you.

And thanks, they're together again, it pained me most when they were separate (Tony left first and Steve died two weeks later) so I'm just happy they're together again up in Fishy Heaven


----------



## Sally M

lilnaugrim - thanks for the input. What is it that you look at to determine? I'm pretty sure the top right one is also a female. Those two both have really obvious egg spots (although not in these pics)


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, egg spots are not a good way. Males also generally have false egg spots just to trick us and other fish in the sea lol. But sometimes they keep them after they're grown up and sometimes they don't. I look for the shape of the ovaries which is a cone shape behind the round stomach. Top right is very much a male, see the round tummy? There's no cone shape behind it like there is on the one underneath him. Also look at the length of the fins after, females generally have shorter fins and less pointed fins too.


----------



## Sally M

Will more pictures turn them into girls?:lol:


----------



## lilnaugrim

lmao, it's possible. Best if you have fed them just before and if you can get them in a smaller container and then shine a light behind it (basically blinding you and the camera) so we can see through them if they're more translucent. If you don't see cone shapes behind their stomach's, they're boy's. I'm pretty sure the last two pictures on the bottom (can't tell if it's the same fish) are boy's.


----------



## Sally M

I can't tell if those last two are the same fish either:lol: Two are very close to the same size, both have horizontal stripes but one is more turquoise and one is more pinkish. By the time I get the pictures sorted, between the lighting and the bad photography, I can't tell who's who anymore!


----------



## zombieaddict

kittenfish said:


> And this is my new baby, Chicken.
> 
> He was stupid small when I got him:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And after a week he is still pretty tiny:


That is just ridiculously cute... If I saw a little baby fish like that, it would definitely be going home with me.


----------



## kittenfish

Right?? He(/she) was sort of an impulse buy. That face!


----------



## zombieaddict

I definitely wouldn't be able to resist a face like that. It's that way with Sushi, the baby goldfish fry that materialized randomly in my mother's fish tank. Every time I see that cute, tiny little face I want to steal him away. But I know fry are very sensitive to their environment and would never forgive myself if I fishnapped him and it didn't end well. So he stays in his birth tank until he gets bigger.


----------



## fidget

Whoa! Those are some pretty babies!
Tiffany, Yoshi is really beautiful!


----------



## justkate

Hi everyone . I've been lurking for a while but specifically registered because of this thread. I've learned so much and it's been a great help to me in raising my little baby, Scout.
Anyway, I wanted to share some pictures of his progress from when he came home with me until today..if this works.. 
The first is from October 9 after he came home with me and was settling into his 10gal mansion. He was the smallest one out of a handful of babies, and completely transparent. (The zip tie here has since been replaced with fishing line)







The second is about a week later.







The third is two weeks after that. This is when he started coloring up.







The fourth and fifth are from November 20th. See his beautiful fins? 















Aaand the sixth and seventh are from tonight! These are the best pictures I've gotten of him so far. He never stays still long enough for my phone to focus lol. (Please pardon the little diatom bloom thing I've got goin on)















He's constantly surfing the glass and every time I come close he does his wiggle dance. He has a golden apple snail friend who he pretty much ignores, and a ghost shrimp who sometimes follows him around. If I press his tiny pellets (still not big enough for big boy pellets) on my finger he will jump up to get them off, it's his only cute trick lol. He can swallow one whole bloodworm. I call him my little piggy fish sometimes.
I'm pretty proud of myself for raising such a cute and spunky little guy with so much personality for a little fish.
Thanks for your help along the way through reading almost every post here, and letting me share.


----------



## Chachi

Wow, he's beautiful! Wish my babies were growing that quickly!


----------



## justkate

Thank you! It felt like it was taking forever for him to develop and then all of a sudden it was like BOOM and he's all sorts of colors and those fins. I guess it's kind of like waiting for water to boil in a way.


----------



## zombieaddict

How gorgeous, Fidget! Glad that you registered to share the awesome photo time lapse! He's a very pretty guy.


----------



## Stormykitty

How does one train a betta to eat out of their hands? I do so want to train my guy. 

And I do so want a baby betta! But my room mate insists on leaving the window open and even with a heater I just can't trust her to not kill a precious fish.


----------



## alyymarie

All of my bettas have learned that hands=food pretty effortlessly. My female has ended up being the boldest so far, she isn't scared of my hands at all


----------



## justkate

Scout just sees the food and goes for it. I hold my finger close enough to the water so it's just a little jump for him. My other betta, Blue, sometimes jumps around before I feed him, and he's bitten my finger a couple times. I think he gets super excited lol.


----------



## kittenfish

Oh man, I would be afraid to feed them from my finger. I feed them frozen foods from a dropper and when I don't squirt the food out quickly enough for them, they bite the plastic HARD. My girl also viciously attacks her pellets.


----------



## TiffanyP

Haha kittenfish it doesn't hurt when they bite you  My full grown boys bite my finger all the time - it kind of tickles, but doesn't hurt one bit


----------



## PetMania

*My current mission/goal: *
Rescue 3 babies from PetCo 
(need to raise $$ for that)

There is usually 20 babies at this one PetCo, so it will be almost impossible to rescue them all.


----------



## zombieaddict

You do realize that "rescuing" the babies by handing money over to the company just encourages them to bring more of them in because they're making a profit, right? If you buy 20 babies, they'll order 30 more. Supply and demand. As long as you put out the money to save the fish, they'll bring more in to get more of your cash.


----------



## Pois

Zombie, while I can understand that, I'd be heartless to walk in and see these poor little things with velvet, ick, ect, dying and not save them. Just Saturday, actually, I brought home a little guy with severe velvet. With me, it's unbelievably rare to find me angry with my Petco because they take excellent care of their fish and hardly ever have sick or dead fish. Plus, the fish people and I there are friends and they all know me by name, so just walking in is a homey feeling. But I cannot believe they didn't notice that at least three babies were covered with velvet. The one I brought home was given to me half off with medicine included, and this is another reason I love my Petco. They help me with the issue and if I have a sick fish, they discount it and give me medication. It helps a ton. And besides, even if they didn't, I'd still save them. I'm not the type of person who can just walk away from a creature that needs my help. Though I can understand your point, I stand to make the point of those of us who insist on saving the poor little things just starting out life who really have no chance at all without us.


----------



## zombieaddict

I actually was talking with some other members in a different topic about buying sick fish from Walmart because you feel bad about them. The thing is that if you see a sick and dying fish on the shelf, you should /not/ give the company money for that fish. Apparently with Walmart, if you stand your ground on the subject you can get the fish at a very low discount or free because selling the fish doesn't bring in as much money as selling the supplies that goes along with it does.

Personally, I would not give a store any money whatsoever for their mistreated fish but if I was able to take it home and nurse it for free I would certainly do what I could to rescue it. Because paying full price for sick/poorly treated animals just tells the people selling them that they can continue with their current methods and policies and still move that "product". It sounds like you have a great relationship with your local Petco though Pois, so that's good.


----------



## alyymarie

I'm glad you have a good PetCo at least! All the petstore chains where I live are really bad :/
As for the supply and demand thing, someone on another thread made a very good point. They don't make much money off the bettas themselves, it's the accessories they want you to buy. If you only go in to rescue a betta, and especially if you were to get a sick one for free/cheap, and you don't buy anything else, then you're still not supporting them.


----------



## kittenfish

For the babies, I figure those are the ones that would have been culled anyway, and by selling them cheaply they at least have a chance to survive. But I could be totally wrong about this.


----------



## PetMania

They are usually culled or defects from the farms that PetCo buys their bettas from. Around 75-90% of the babies don't make the trip to the store...


----------



## Kiara1125

TiffanyP said:


> Another update on my two babies
> 
> Yoshi is growing like a little weed - he's so handsome and I just stinking love him!
> 
> Here's a great, clear shot of his tail. The two tears in his anal fin have been there since it started growing out, so I think it's just how his fin is going to turn out.
> 
> 
> And I was picking on him by touching my finger to his tank lol
> 
> 
> Lady Icarus finally stood still for a picture!


Quick question, did Yoshi look like a normal baby betta when you got him or did you see some dragonscaling starting to pop up? I just wanna know if you got lucky with how his colors/scales turned out. lol

He's gorgeous! So is Lady Icarus. I had a CT female that looked like her.


----------



## TiffanyP

I got him as a little colorless blob, but he did have a few blue scales on him, so I suspected he'd be a dragon scale  Here's a before and after of him:

October 13th is the top pic, Nov 18 is the bottom pic


----------



## zombieaddict

alyymarie said:


> If you only go in to rescue a betta, and especially if you were to get a sick one for free/cheap, and you don't buy anything else, then you're still not supporting them.


I agree that if you take home a sick fish for free or at a discount because of its condition then you're doing something for the fish without supporting the company. I wholeheartedly support going that route to rescue fish. It might not do much for the grand scheme but it does make a huge difference in the lives of those individual fish. 

But if you pay full price, even if it's just a small profit, you are still supporting the sale of the baby fish. Let me be clear though, I don't mean that statement to be in any way an accusation. But it seems to me that most people are concerned about the welfare of the little fishies, so I wanted to do my part to help them be knowledgeable consumers. Fight for your bettas! Don't pay full price just because you want to save the sick little guys, let the store know what's wrong and tell them you want to help. Then not only do you help the fishies, but you might teach the employees a lesson or two along the way.


----------



## Kiara1125

TiffanyP said:


> I got him as a little colorless blob, but he did have a few blue scales on him, so I suspected he'd be a dragon scale  Here's a before and after of him:
> 
> October 13th is the top pic, Nov 18 is the bottom pic


He's gorgeous!! I REALLY want to find one now. Great find!


----------



## atlas

Here is my girl. Name pending as "Daisy".
I am estimating that she is roughly 12 weeks.

I'm thinking she is cellophane. Not sure about tail type. But probably VT?


----------



## Kiara1125

She's yellow, not cellophane. She might darken up with age. Her tail seems quite big, so I would guess VT if not Delta. It's nice that you're actually able to see the ovaries. Now there's no doubt in gender!


----------



## atlas

Kiara1125 said:


> She's yellow, not cellophane. She might darken up with age. Her tail seems quite big, so I would guess VT if not Delta. It's nice that you're actually able to see the ovaries. Now there's no doubt in gender!


I know very little about color. Why do you say yellow and not cellophane?


----------



## Kiara1125

atlas said:


> I know very little about color. Why do you say yellow and not cellophane?


I say yellow because that's the color of her body. You can see the yellow more clearly at the base of her tail. Cellophane is where everything is transparent with no traces of any color.

This is a yellow betta, like yours.









This is a cellophane betta. Notice how cellophane bettas can still show iridescence.


----------



## atlas

Thank you  

I guess then the name Daisy will stick!


----------



## Kiara1125

Hehe, yep! And you're welcome.


----------



## winniethebetta

Hi guys! I bought two babies from Petco a year ago. I made a post right here asking if anybody knew whether they were a male or female (both found to be females). There's baby pics of them both on there. 

One of the girls (Moon) passed away a couple months ago. Bora is still alive and healthy. She should be around a year or 2 now. 

I thought that the growth was going to be stunted since they were sold as babies at PetCo and I heard that a lot of them don't make it to fullsize but Bora made it to full size. Moon was a teensy bit smaller than the average size of a female betta. 

I am proud to say that my babies made it to their adulthood. Even though Moon died a couple months ago .

I am attached to Bora! She is the cutest little thing! And has her own personality! Never did i think i would get attached to fish. I'll try to post updated pics of that cutie. Shes really active even to this day.


----------



## Otterfun

Hi all,

my baby betta is still going strong after I picked him up back in Feb. One question, I do not see Petco selling them anymore, did they stop selling babies ? Thanks.


----------



## Betta Nut

The Petco by me still does, I had been considering getting one, til I did a rescue yesterday from a Clarks pet store. Hope the little guy makes it, he's a tiny little guy all clamped up and staying still on the surface.


----------



## lilnaugrim

It could just be your PetCo, mine still carries them as well unfortunately.


----------



## Rosencrantz32

Betta Nut said:


> The Petco by me still does, I had been considering getting one, til I did a rescue yesterday from a Clarks pet store. Hope the little guy makes it, he's a tiny little guy all clamped up and staying still on the surface.


AHHHH!!! Someone else from New Mexico!!!   And near a Clarks no less!
Good luck with your rescue!!


----------



## alyymarie

Haha I'm from NM as well, I always go to Clark's!


----------



## Rosencrantz32

Yay!! More New Mexicans!! 
I used to go to Clarks all the time, but one day I saw they were selling painted fish and I've never gone back... >.>


----------



## alyymarie

Painted fish?? Never heard of that.
I've gotten all my fish there, I have a PetCo and Petsmart right by my house but their fish are always sick and dying


----------



## redthebetta

Painted fish??? What do you mean by that?


----------



## Rosencrantz32

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_fish

specifically they looked like this (pretty sure I remember seeing pink, blue, green and purple):
http://bluegrassaquatics.com/cichlid-parrot-jellybean-pink-regular.html

It made me too angry and upset to ever go back and see if the fish were still there...


----------



## Soph7244

its really just sick. painting fish like that. especially the neon ones


----------



## marieanotinette

I just bought a baby betta a month ago from petco. Any recommendations for a heater for a 1.5 gallon tank. Where do I find microworms. This little guy is a picky eater. My other baby eats everything. Poor little guys fins are clamped and I'm not sure what to do. Anyone had this issue with their baby betta.


----------



## alyymarie

bigalspets.com has a good selection of heaters.
My baby betta eats crushed-up flakes, she likes frozen bloodworms too, you may have to cut them up though.


----------



## lilnaugrim

I like to use the Hydor Theo 25 Watt for 1-8 gallon tanks ^_^ you just have to set it lower than 80 degree's because it over compensates like all adjustable heaters ;-)


----------



## Sabina88

Today I finally got my sorority girls. There not technically babies, or at least not labeled as such, but there not "adult size" like you find with the males at pet stores. Anyways these girls are all from petsmart since there the only place that sells females around me, and also crowntails. Anyways here they are: (also sorry about the bad pics, ill try to get some better ones soon)

Tamsin:
http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=15794&pictureid=99458

Bo:
http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=15802&pictureid=99466

Arwen:
http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=15810&pictureid=99474

Kenzie:
http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=15818&pictureid=99482

K:
http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=15826&pictureid=99490

Tauriel:
http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?albumid=15834&pictureid=99498


(Let me know if the links don't work, but there all in my albums if you want to look there instead)


----------



## carrohason

I got my first baby today. . Their name is Jupiter, and I'm thinking they're a boy, but I'm not sure just yet.


----------



## alyymarie

Aww what a cutie! Looks like he'll color up nicely


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yup he's a boy! Looking pretty good!


----------



## galtgirl

*Nugget has a new home*

My baby Nugget graduated to a 2.6 gal Marina 360 that I got for Christmas. She is twice the size she was when I got her in early Nov. She still hasn't much color except for her tail.


----------



## galtgirl

Sorry about the sideways picture.


----------



## TiffanyP

Looking good


----------



## galtgirl

Thanks Tiffany. She's not the prettiest fish but she is very entertaining. She darts around the tank and comes right to the top as soon as I get near the tank. She is a real foodie and will eat anything. My boys are both picky about their food but the two girls will devour everything. I try to give them a variety of food.


----------



## alyymarie

Nugget is super cute 
That's funny, my boy and girl will both eat ANYTHING haha, my baby is not fond of pellets at all though.
I need to get a new pic of my baby girl, she's grown a lot the last month - still need to think of a name though


----------



## rawxy

my fourth addition to the betta family


----------



## lilnaugrim

rawxy said:


> my fourth addition to the betta family


Cutie! Does he have name?


----------



## rawxy

lilnaugrim said:


> Cutie! Does he have name?


not yet, i got him/her two days ago  i'm not sure what gender the little stinker is


----------



## lilnaugrim

rawxy said:


> not yet, i got him/her two days ago  i'm not sure what gender the little stinker is


Its a boy ^_^


----------



## marieanotinette

I would like to get another baby. Tell me how much maintenance it is and what I have to do. I bought a baby who had something wrong with it. It lasted a month more before it died. I was hoping to nurse it back to health.


----------



## lilnaugrim

marieanotinette said:


> I would like to get another baby. Tell me how much maintenance it is and what I have to do. I bought a baby who had something wrong with it. It lasted a month more before it died. I was hoping to nurse it back to health.


Well, there's lots of maintenance.

Water changes must be done daily optimally, every other day will suffice but won't be as good. Baby will be better if it's in a heavily planted tank but otherwise you'll have to do daily, at least 50% water changes.

Babies eat every 3-4 hours so 3 times a day is great, if you can only get twice that's okay but better if they get 3 meals. Small but frequent meals is what you want. They need high protein foods, NLS grow formula is wonderful. Any frozen foods like bloodworms (avoid if it's a DT), daphnia, and brine shrimp are wonderful and can be fed daily. Try to avoid bloodworms daily though if you notice your baby having issues with its swim bladder, bloodworms tend to cause constipation as do flakes. Avoid flakes if you can but they will suffice if you must.

Keep the temperature around 82 degrees, 84 is great. The higher the temp the faster their metabolism works which means the more they will eat. Same goes for adults.


----------



## Ceruleanblue

I just recently (like two weeks ago) got two baby bettas from Petco! They were so cute and while most were VT i managed to find not one but two DT!!:lol: Talk about happy! But my bluer baby Cobalt died in the first week by a types of fungal infection, so that was a sad day, it all happened quite suddenly really... One the good side though i still have one beautiful boy that i havent named yet and his is chubby when i comes to food! anyway, here they are.
Mr. No Name suggestions?)








S.I.P Cobalt


----------



## NikiD

A baby betta picked me out today when I made a trip to Petco for some supplies. I have called him/her Itsy 




So very tiny!!!


----------



## NikiD

Itsy is sooo stinkin' cute! I have Him/her in a smaller critter keeper floating in the heated cube while I'm waiting on the sand substrate I put in the new 3g to settle. I'm guessing that floating sand bubbles would be a bit overwhelming for Itsy. So S/he will probably stay in the floating keeper for a few days. I do want to get some more plants to put in the tank before I put him in. I keep shining a flashlight through him to see if I can see ovaries, but I can't make a definitive answer. Last night I was convinced he was a boy, this morning I swear I saw ovaries. S/he's just so tiny it's hard to see lol.

S/he is very active and curious. There are bubbles on the outside of her tank and she is constantly prodding at them.. Just a few minutes ago, she discovered a bubble on the top of her water and leaped completely out of the water to destroy the evil bubble lol. I can't wait to see what S/he grows into


----------



## lilnaugrim

Itsy is a boy! He's going to be amazing looking when he gets older!! :-D


----------



## Heifzilla

TiffanyP said:


> Another update on my two babies
> 
> Yoshi is growing like a little weed - he's so handsome and I just stinking love him!
> 
> Here's a great, clear shot of his tail. The two tears in his anal fin have been there since it started growing out, so I think it's just how his fin is going to turn out.
> 
> 
> And I was picking on him by touching my finger to his tank lol


Wow, he's gorgeous!


----------



## WorriedFishMom

*Bought a Baby...*

My poor Teddy Salad was purchased as a baby Betta from PetCo. I was interested in buying a baby because I wanted to raise a fish. Of the many things that I think may have gone wrong, that led to his untimely and extremely tragic death, putting a baby fish in the hands of a complete amateur might have been part of it. 
I still have no idea what type of Betta or what sex Mr. Salad was. Though he did die young  he helped me learn a lot about Betta keeping--he went from a vase with a few rocks to a larger tank with the old rocks as well as fish furniture, two plants, filter, and heater. I just got a Betta from AquaBid, I am getting healthier food, and looking into proper water treatments.
I currently wonder if maybe the tank I have now is wrong for a Betta. It is two gallons but kind of on the vertical and tall side. I think I might take the chance to get a bigger, shallower tank because I have to get a new bookshelf. I bought the tank I have now because it fit on my available surfaces. That is the major restricting factor I have for tank size. 
Oops, sorry, that went way off topic.
On topic: Bought a baby, didn't know what I was doing, and won't ever buy another chain pet store fish!


----------



## aliceapathy

I also recently bought 2 baby bettas from PetCo. I've been trying to do a little research, as I'm very new to betta's. I put them in a divided 5 gallon with a heater but the heater doesn't let me adjust the heat and is only up to 74. Is this okay? Will it stunt their growth or something? Also, I'm feeding them "Baby Betta Pellets". If anyone can respond and give suggestions, that'd be great, TY!!


----------



## TiffanyP

Thank you Heifzilla  He's quite a gem to have gotten him from Petco!

aliceapathy - I have my 2 babies in a split 5 gallon. You'll need to do every day, or every other day water changes though, about 50% or more each time. I would definitely get a heater that works better as babies like warmer temperatures about 82-84F. I've not heard of Baby Betta Pellets, but any good quality pellet will work so long as the pieces are small enough that they can eat them. I use New Life Spectrum small fish formula personally, but if you can get your hands on NLS Grow, that's a great choice as well. Be sure to feed them at least 2 times a day, 3 if you can get to it. Small but frequent meals  Hope that helps!


----------



## apm2013

lilnaugrim said:


> Its a boy ^_^


How can you tell?


----------



## lilnaugrim

apm2013 said:


> How can you tell?


Lack of ovaries is what i look for first then, body shape and fin length just reinforce it.


----------



## alyymarie

*Baby number 1 update*

I just took some new shots of my 2 babies - they're not really babies anymore! 
But I thought it was really cool to see how much they've changed, so I wanted to share them with you guys!

This first one is my girl Rainbow - she wasn't labeled a 'baby' when I got her, but she was definitely very young and tiny, a colorless little white/pastel thing.
She has now gotten big and fat in her community tank, where she eats EVERYthing lol. I just adore her color-blocks.
A before and after:


----------



## alyymarie

*Baby number 2 update*

And this is my 2nd baby that I got on Halloween, still haven't named her yet!
She's still growing out in her 3 gallon, being a little piggy.

She's very dark so it's hard to see her colors, but she has turned from fairly colorless into a dark blue, with the prettiest red fins.
A before and after of her:
And let me know if you have any name suggestions


----------



## rawxy

Top picture is from two weeks ago and the bottom picture is now! He was in a cup so he looks a little curved but he did grow a tad bit and he's orange yellow with green iridescence! Oh yeah, his eye's are blue now too! :redyay:


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

Hello. Today my boyfriend and I went to Petco in search of getting a fish. We went in with expectations of just getting a full grown Betta fish but came across little baby Betta fish and wanted to take one home. We expect and want to raise it to a full healthy Betta. 

The photos attached above (sorry if they are low quality) are of his tank, which we are running a filter on and waiting a full 24 hours before putting him into his new home. Another photo is of the baby Betta itself. We aren't sure of the sex of it yet, but I am assuming it is a female? I'm unsure. His/her colors seem vibrant in the light but he looks dark when there is no light shining directly on him and I read that color standing out is a good thing as of now which means he is healthy. I am also unsure of how old it is. We fed him some small pellets that came with his tank and he actually ate them right away which I wasn't expecting but I am super glad he did. He is actively swimming around his little cup and seems like he's happy. 

I am nervous about the fact that we got him from Petco, and it seems like their representation of caring for the Betta fish aren't very high or okay. Also the fact that he is so young scares me a little bit. He seems okay for now. I am also nervous about transferring him to his tank tomorrow.

I have had experience with a Betta fish before but he was a full grown male and he lived +2 years so I have high hopes for this little one. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated such as things he may need, what he should be eating, how much he should be eating, is a heater for his tank absolutely necessary, and how old he may be. Thank you for the help!!! I can't wait to raise this little baby up and make sure he has an awesome life.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Juiceboxjesus said:


> Hello. Today my boyfriend and I went to Petco in search of getting a fish. We went in with expectations of just getting a full grown Betta fish but came across little baby Betta fish and wanted to take one home. We expect and want to raise it to a full healthy Betta.
> 
> The photos attached above (sorry if they are low quality) are of his tank, which we are running a filter on and waiting a full 24 hours before putting him into his new home. Another photo is of the baby Betta itself. We aren't sure of the sex of it yet, but I am assuming it is a female? I'm unsure. His/her colors seem vibrant in the light but he looks dark when there is no light shining directly on him and I read that color standing out is a good thing as of now which means he is healthy. I am also unsure of how old it is. We fed him some small pellets that came with his tank and he actually ate them right away which I wasn't expecting but I am super glad he did. He is actively swimming around his little cup and seems like he's happy.
> 
> I am nervous about the fact that we got him from Petco, and it seems like their representation of caring for the Betta fish aren't very high or okay. Also the fact that he is so young scares me a little bit. He seems okay for now. I am also nervous about transferring him to his tank tomorrow.
> 
> I have had experience with a Betta fish before but he was a full grown male and he lived +2 years so I have high hopes for this little one. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated such as things he may need, what he should be eating, how much he should be eating, is a heater for his tank absolutely necessary, and how old he may be. Thank you for the help!!! I can't wait to raise this little baby up and make sure he has an awesome life.


Congratulations on the new little one! Here's some help I've quoted myself on so I don't have to rewrite it lol. Let me know if anything needs to be elaborated on.



lilnaugrim said:


> Well, there's lots of maintenance.
> 
> Water changes must be done daily optimally, every other day will suffice but won't be as good. Baby will be better if it's in a heavily planted tank but otherwise you'll have to do daily, at least 50% water changes.
> 
> Babies eat every 3-4 hours so 3 times a day is great, if you can only get twice that's okay but better if they get 3 meals. Small but frequent meals is what you want. They need high protein foods, NLS grow formula is wonderful. Any frozen foods like bloodworms (avoid if it's a DT), daphnia, and brine shrimp are wonderful and can be fed daily. Try to avoid bloodworms daily though if you notice your baby having issues with its swim bladder, bloodworms tend to cause constipation as do flakes. Avoid flakes if you can but they will suffice if you must.
> 
> Keep the temperature around 82 degrees, 84 is great. The higher the temp the faster their metabolism works which means the more they will eat. Same goes for adults.


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

lilnaugrim said:


> Congratulations on the new little one! Here's some help I've quoted myself on so I don't have to rewrite it lol. Let me know if anything needs to be elaborated on.


Do you think baby is a boy or girl? My boyfriend thinks it's a boy, mainly because he wants to name it after someone from Game Of Thrones, but I think it is a girl.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Juiceboxjesus said:


> Do you think baby is a boy or girl? My boyfriend thinks it's a boy, mainly because he wants to name it after someone from Game Of Thrones, but I think it is a girl.


Sorry hun, it's a boy lol. Most likely VT as well ^_^


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

lilnaugrim said:


> Sorry hun, it's a boy lol. Most likely VT as well ^_^



Aww shucks! Well, I guess my boyfriend gets to choose the name. At least we ended up buying the baby I picked out. I am kinda glad he is a boy because I was telling my boyfriend about how my previous male Betta would blow his happy bubble nests and how cute it was because it meant he was happy. My boyfriend wants to see it happen. What does VT mean?

The name will be Tyrion and he is a little piggy. He follows our fingers around too. I think he will do great. Can't wait to put him in his tank tomorrow night.


----------



## NikiD

Aren't the babies just the cutest? Itsy will flare at my fingers when I get in his tank, he's not at all afraid of me. When I go over to say hi, he comes to the front of his tank and begs


----------



## TiffanyP

When you put him in the tank, keep an eye on the filter intake. It may be a bit strong for him yet and you may have to baffle it a little


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

NikiD said:


> Aren't the babies just the cutest? Itsy will flare at my fingers when I get in his tank, he's not at all afraid of me. When I go over to say hi, he comes to the front of his tank and begs


He is so cute. So is yours. Does anyone happen to know how many weeks he might be? I think he is almost an inch or an inch.


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

TiffanyP said:


> When you put him in the tank, keep an eye on the filter intake. It may be a bit strong for him yet and you may have to baffle it a little


His filter seems pretty mellow but will do. We are going to get him a heater tomorrow. How do you baffle a filter? 

Thank you everyone for your help, also!


----------



## Tikibirds

picked this one up tonight











> How do you baffle a filter?


There are a few ways and it depends on the filter type. I stuff my filter with aquarium foam and stick some more where the water flows out of the tank. I also have tall silk plants in front of the filter to break up the current even more


----------



## lilnaugrim

VT means veiltail, thats the type of tail he will have.

Also do you know about the nitrogen cycle? Sounds like you're doing the normal "petstore cycle" which does absolutely nothing for your tank except says everything can run fine. Since you will be doing daily water changes for him, you can put him in right away.


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

lilnaugrim said:


> VT means veiltail, thats the type of tail he will have.
> 
> Also do you know about the nitrogen cycle? Sounds like you're doing the normal "petstore cycle" which does absolutely nothing for your tank except says everything can run fine. Since you will be doing daily water changes for him, you can put him in right away.



Yes I think I read about the Nitrogen Cycle but I'm going to have to read it again to refresh my memory. We went back to the store today and got him some Hikari first bites, which I don't really like how it's a powdery form that explodes all over the place once you drop it in the water. We also got him a heater, some tropical fish flakes, a plant, and a Marimo ball!!!!

We just put him in his tank and he seems really happy. He's swimming all over the place and I think he really likes it and his Marimo ball. I am kinda worried about the filter though because I see him going around it a lot, maybe he is just curious but I am also paranoid. He sits right under the filter. We didn't put his heater in yet, but I am thinking next time we change the water (tomorrow?) we will because I am also paranoid about him not having it. I don't want my fish to be cold? See, paranoid. I'm not sure why we didn't do it immediately in the first place. My boyfriend is also contributing to my paranoia by pointing out something could be wrong every one minute and he is driving me nuts. He loves his fish son, though.

So far so good, I hope. I think he likes it! Here's some pictures of him in his new home.


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

Tikibirds said:


> picked this one up tonight
> 
> 
> There are a few ways and it depends on the filter type. I stuff my filter with aquarium foam and stick some more where the water flows out of the tank. I also have tall silk plants in front of the filter to break up the current even more


Maybe I should have put his plant on the left side in front of the filter instead of the right. It's not silk though. Will that matter? Thank you for you help! Your new baby is so cuttttte.


----------



## lilnaugrim

You can also use filer sponges for AquaClear filers to stuff in there and reduce the flow. Add the heater tonight? Was there a point in not adding it? Babies need the steady or near steady temp, if it gets too low it won't be good for him. He won't die but it's still damaging. Beta babies aren't as fragile as we think, they can stand up to a lot of stuff, doesn't mean you should take liberties with them but they aren't going to break if you touch them lol


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

lilnaugrim said:


> You can also use filer sponges for AquaClear filers to stuff in there and reduce the flow. Add the heater tonight? Was there a point in not adding it? Babies need the steady or near steady temp, if it gets too low it won't be good for him. He won't die but it's still damaging. Beta babies aren't as fragile as we think, they can stand up to a lot of stuff, doesn't mean you should take liberties with them but they aren't going to break if you touch them lol



Well, sad news Betta fish forum friends, he did not make it. He was really happy, exploring the tank the first hour and then he disappeared for about thirty minutes or more. We couldn't find him. We went to lay in bed and watch TV and when we looked up we saw him come around to the front of the tank from out of no where and he wasn't really moving. We watched him for about five minutes and then I transferred him back into his original little bowl that we bought him in. His little side fins weren't moving but every once in a while he would wiggle his tail but you could see he was slowly kinda leaving us. It took about twenty minutes and we noticed he wasn't doing anything at all. Pretty depressing and super sad. We were looking forward to watching him grow.

RIP baby Betta son Tyrion. I'm not sure what we did wrong, I feel like we were super cautious. We went and bought a new full grown Betta. He's red Delta tale. Tyrion #2. I have faith in this one because I've had an adult Betta before and it lived happily and healthy for two years. Here he is...


----------



## alyymarie

I'm so sorry!! 
I'm sure it wasn't your fault, those poor babies in the stores are so unhealthy and stressed out - I usually only see dead ones at my local PetCo. At least you tried<3
And congrats on the new boy, he is very pretty.


----------



## NikiD

Here's an updated pic of Itsy. He's been with us for a week now


----------



## NikiD

Juicebox, so sorry about Tyrion 

Your new boy is very handsome! Love the red!


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

NikiD said:


> Juicebox, so sorry about Tyrion
> 
> Your new boy is very handsome! Love the red!


Thank you!!! He has been in his tank for a good thirty minutes exploring his new place. I think he likes it, but I said that about Tyrion #1 too. Heh. Keep doing what you're doing for Itsy. Looking good!

Ready to see Tyrion #2 blow some happy bubbles. He is a handsome Betta boy.


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

Seems like #2 was acting a little funny for a minute but back to me being paranoid. I'm gonna chill out til morning. Anyone have a thread you can send me to for questions about the new fish or tank stuff? Or possible issues? Sorry for bombarding this thread by the way. You are all so helpful.


----------



## fidget

Little Itsy is so cute!


----------



## NikiD

fidget said:


> Little Itsy is so cute!


Thanks!!


----------



## Heifzilla

*New baby! Boy or girl?*

I know this pic is huge, and not super clear, but this is the best I could get as the little one was darting all over the tank.

Can someone more knowledgeable than I take a look and let me know if this is a male or female? And then explain how you know? 

S/he is about 1 inch long right now.

Thanks


----------



## Tree

EDIT!

Ooops wrong thread. XD


----------



## Juiceboxjesus

Juiceboxjesus said:


>


RIP Tyrion #2. We are going to try cycling our tank and try again in a little while.
I am so sad.


----------



## apm2013

*Alfie*

This is Alfira. I bought her back on November the 12th. Can anyone predict what color my girl is turning? She looks yellow to me but she has the little black flecks too. She did have some iridescent on her caudal, anal and dorsal but only a little and its faded since.


----------



## apm2013

@Heifzilla It's kind of hard to tell. I'd say male for the time being, but my girl developed enormous ovaries over night. (heres a link to a crappy quality photo of her http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=3415401#post3415401) and here she is now (http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=87438&page=204).


----------



## lilnaugrim

Heifzilla said:


> I know this pic is huge, and not super clear, but this is the best I could get as the little one was darting all over the tank.
> 
> Can someone more knowledgeable than I take a look and let me know if this is a male or female? And then explain how you know?
> 
> S/he is about 1 inch long right now.
> 
> Thanks


Looks to me like he'll be a boy. Mostly right now I'm looking at fin lengths, females would have a shorter, more rounded anal while he has a longer, morepointed one. But yes, they can fool us well sometimes so you'llhave to wait and see!


----------



## Heifzilla

Thanks 

I do have another question, too.

I have my baby in a cycled, well decorated 3 gallon tank. S/he likes to spend the majority of time at the bottom, picking through the gravel. I am assuming s/he is looking for food. I did crush up some betta pellets and a bottom feeder pellet and have been sprinkling that into the tank but s/he never comes up to eat at the top like my adult betta (in another tank!) does. I am currently waiting for some brine shrimp eggs to hatch and I am curious how to feed the hatched brineys to my baby. Do I just squirt them near the baby with a dropper? The tank is so big I am worried the baby betta won't find them on its own. I'd like it to have some good live food. Thanks


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Here's an updated picture of the double tail baby I bought back in May (see page 99 for pics). Thought it might be a male at first but now I'm pretty sure it's a female...she's still pretty small, probably stunted. Unfortunately the other baby I bought at the same time passed away about a month ago. She had a big tumor on her gill...but I found another DT baby that looked almost just like her! Haven't taken any pictures of that one yet, she's growing out nicely in my sorority tank though!


----------



## Heifzilla

Cutest thing ever was watching my little baby chase down baby brineys today. Adorable!


----------



## carbonxxkidd

That's one thing I haven't fed...but I bet it's equally as fun as live daphnia! Little predators


----------



## Twilight Bettas

I got this little one Saturday at my Petco.... any idea on sex????
Kinda a irradecent color though it doesn't show well in pic! 
Haven't picked name yet....


----------



## lilnaugrim

Twilight Bettas said:


> I got this little one Saturday at my Petco.... any idea on sex????
> Kinda a irradecent color though it doesn't show well in pic!
> Haven't picked name yet....


Looks like a little male VT, most likely will be blue-ish purple when he grows up


----------



## Heifzilla

My little one tonight. S/he really enjoyed those brineys  I can't wait to see what this one grows up to look like. Definitely a lot of blue iridescence there.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Heifzilla said:


> My little one tonight. S/he really enjoyed those brineys  I can't wait to see what this one grows up to look like. Definitely a lot of blue iridescence there.


Glad he enjoyed them! It's a great food to feed for them! And yes, he is a boy now ^_^ looking better already!


----------



## konstargirl

It says picture not avaliable.


----------



## lilnaugrim

konstargirl said:


> It says picture not avaliable.


Hmm, it's showing for me. Try x'ing out of your browser and coming back on, that usually works for me


----------



## Acheron

Picked this little guy up two weeks ago, while getting food for my danios.

I thought he'd be blue/turquoise when I first got him, but he surprised me with reddish fins after a few days.

At first it seemed as though he wasn't sure how to eat the baby food and frozen BBS I was putting in there, so he was having a bit of time adjusting. I'm happy to say he eats very well now though :]

He's much more active now than when he first came, and definitely growing rapidly. I'm trying to place a finger on what type he is - can anyone tell me if he's a Veiltail or Delta? In my experience, even Veiltail babies can have wide, fan-shaped tails, til the fins grow out and can no longer be spread out quite so widely.

(Pic on the left is of his first day, while the two on the right are those taken today. I'll attempt to take a better shape of his tail and body once I can catch him staying still for more than a second..)










*Edit:

*A bit blurry, but here's a better picture of his body and tail.
*








*


----------



## Kiara1125

Gorgeous boy! He's going to be a delta or a plakat. I think plakat because of his dorsal, but delta because of his tail and anal fin. So, he'll probably be a delta with a very nice dorsal!


----------



## kittenfish

Juiceboxjesus said:


> RIP Tyrion #2. We are going to try cycling our tank and try again in a little while.
> I am so sad.


I'm sorry. That's so strange, he looks very healthy in those photos. I don't think the tank being uncycled was the problem, since plenty of people have bettas in uncycled tanks with frequent water changes. Did you clean the tank between the fish? Perhaps the baby had some disease that spread to the new fish. You did use water conditioner, right?


----------



## ThetaSigma

*New Babies*

I got a baby betta a couple weeks ago, and s/he is doing really well. There was a little hiccup when moving to a new tank, but s/he's eating again now. But being really picky... only wants freeze-dried blood worms, which isn't a good staple.

Today I went back into PetCo and purchased another little baby.
Does anyone have any clue about gender for the older one?

Here's the one I got two weeks ago:










Here's the little guy I got today:










I'm hoping for girls to add to my sorority, but I'll be happy either way.


----------



## ThetaSigma

Okay, here's a better picture of the new baby.


----------



## lilnaugrim

The first looks like a girl and the second is a boy ThetaSigma  I love your first baby, so cute!


----------



## Heifzilla

Today's pic of my baby. Trying to get a clear picture of this little one is like trying to juggle jello. S/he darts around like crazy and is apparently camera shy 

Darkening up for sure, and showing a lot more color than just 6 days ago when it came home with me. S/he's actually a lot more colorful in person, with a lot of reds in the finnage.

Very interested to see what I have here.


----------



## Heifzilla

konstargirl said:


> It says picture not avaliable.


----------



## Twilight Bettas

So I did it again went back to petco came home with another Baby. THIS IS THE NEW BABY! Any idea male or female??? WHAT KIND OF TAIL? maybe crown? Looks identical to my other baby a tad bigger. Both have bluish purple bodies and red starting to show on fins. IF male names Odin....Female names Luna



This is my baby from last week both needs names. This one I think is male. If male names is Vudu! For now...if Female names Ana....


----------



## lilnaugrim

Heifzilla said:


> Today's pic of my baby. Trying to get a clear picture of this little one is like trying to juggle jello. S/he darts around like crazy and is apparently camera shy
> 
> Darkening up for sure, and showing a lot more color than just 6 days ago when it came home with me. S/he's actually a lot more colorful in person, with a lot of reds in the finnage.
> 
> Very interested to see what I have here.


Definitely a boy ^_^ he's really cute, reminds me of my past baby; Steve 



Twilight Bettas said:


> So I did it again went back to petco came home with another Baby. THIS IS THE NEW BABY! Any idea male or female??? WHAT KIND OF TAIL? maybe crown? Looks identical to my other baby a tad bigger. Both have bluish purple bodies and red starting to show on fins. IF male names Odin....Female names Luna
> 
> 
> 
> This is my baby from last week both needs names. This one I think is male. If male names is Vudu! For now...if Female names Ana....


Both look to be males to me, especially the first baby there; Odin. And he'll most likely be a VT, it looks like he's got crowns but that's often because the tail doesn't grow out in all the same rates so you'll get some spikey areas and then it will grow in within two weeks or so and then you'll get lopsided tails and sometimes you'll get a nice even tail, but that's all just part of growing up.


----------



## G26okie

Looking at this thread makes me wish I got a baby.


----------



## ThetaSigma

I probably should wait, but yesterday when I bought my new baby, there was another little one there. S/he had ammonia burns and I want to go back and get him/her...


----------



## Heifzilla

lilnaugrim said:


> Definitely a boy ^_^ he's really cute, reminds me of my past baby; Steve


He's super active, interested in everything, and comes right up to me when I feed him now 

And, A BABY BUBBLE NEST!!!! 

*dies of cute*


----------



## SunshineSulie

Ok, so, I did it... I was silly and I did it.  I got a betta! I have only had it for about 4 days. I have been trying to document his/her growth to the best of my ability.  

When I got the little one, it was about the size of the first section of my pinky finger. I love it. Lol ol. It is in my ten gallon tank, happy as a clam.  Here are a couple pictures...

There are many more in this album...
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/...694.1073741844.1120013603&type=1&l=79e205cd7d


----------



## fidget

Heifzilla said:


> He's super active, interested in everything, and comes right up to me when I feed him now
> 
> And, A BABY BUBBLE NEST!!!!
> 
> *dies of cute*


OHMYGOSH how cute!!


----------



## SunshineSulie

If anyone has input about tail type or gender or any of those things, let me know.


----------



## Sabina88

Such cute little babies, 
I think there adorable but my petcos don't sell as far as I know baby bettas or females, wich I gues techniqly isn't a bad thing.

Good luck every one with your little ones


----------



## dollshyne

*My baby betta*

Here is the baby beta I got from PetCo about a week ago. He now lives in a 10 gallon tank with 4 ghost shrimp. When I feed him, I can see blue, red, and purple in his fins. The little fins under his head are always red. He looks kind of colorless the rest of the time. Last night I noticed he started to show dots/spots on his top fin. He is active & flares at everything - plants, the mirror, & the ghost shrimp (although he doesn't really mess with the shrimp more than that).

I am calling him a "he," but I dont know if he is a boy or girl. I don't know what color he will be & I don't know what type of beta he is. Any ideas?


----------



## lilnaugrim

dollshyne said:


> Here is the baby beta I got from PetCo about a week ago. He now lives in a 10 gallon tank with 4 ghost shrimp. When I feed him, I can see blue, red, and purple in his fins. The little fins under his head are always red. He looks kind of colorless the rest of the time. Last night I noticed he started to show dots/spots on his top fin. He is active & flares at everything - plants, the mirror, & the ghost shrimp (although he doesn't really mess with the shrimp more than that).
> 
> I am calling him a "he," but I dont know if he is a boy or girl. I don't know what color he will be & I don't know what type of beta he is. Any ideas?


You've got yourself a little male VT! Most likely will be blue with a red wash over his fins like most blue VT's


----------



## dollshyne

Great! Thank you!! =)


----------



## Ashthemutt

Here s my baby betta. im positive she is a girl, because she has an egg spot. She has gotten to much bigger since ive had her and her colors are going in very nicely! 

you can see the egg spot in the last picture


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah that's a girl Ash but not because of the egg spot. Many young males often have fake egg spots that half the time don't go away after they mature either. Egg spots are not reliable way to tell gender, the only real way is to find the ovaries which in most dark fish you can't see unless you know what you're looking for. I look for the shape of them and I can see she's got them.


----------



## Ashthemutt

Ive never had a young male.. But thats interesting to know


----------



## TiffanyP

I can vouch for lilnaugrim - I've had my first baby for SEVEN months now, which seems crazy to me lol and he still has his "egg spot", but he's most definitely male!

My babies are growing up! Probably to the point where they can't be considered babies anymore  Yoshi built his first bubble nest today  He's in his own 5 gallon tank now and I think he's just loving it! Here's a pic I took of him yesterday  I was gone for the weekend a couple of weeks ago and he got so hungry he took a bite right of the middle of his tail lol so that's what the lil missing spot is 


And the other baby, Lady Icarus is doing well too - she's healthy as a horse and growing beautifully.


I'm so jealous of all of you who have gone out and gotten new babies recently lol I'm dying to get another baby bc they're just so fun to watch grow! But I have no more room right now


----------



## lilnaugrim

My god Tiffany, it's been seven months since you've had Yoshi??? Seriously?? Holy mackerel! How time flies! He looks beautiful, as does Lady! ^_^ I really think the name fits her so well too! :-D


----------



## TiffanyP

No, since I got Alaric - he's my first baby lol I've had Yoshi for just over 3 months now  Same with Lady Icarus. Doesn't seem like that long though!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ohh! Right right, misread that then. Still crazy to think about that though :-D


----------



## Heifzilla

Yoshi is just so stunning


----------



## Rana

My little Viola grew up from a tiny speck to a beautiful monster of a girl!

Day one (Sorry for the bad quality, I really wanted to show how teeny she was):









About two months ago:










And today, I caved and brought home a new one! I'm 90% sure I can see ovaries, which is great since if it grows up to be a boy I probably can't keep it. Pretty sure she's a VT, and looks like she'll grow up to be reddish-blue. :3


----------



## jfred313

Just got my first baby betta 6 days ago from petco. Wondering if anyone could guess the gender? His/her name is Ollie either way

This is day one:









And this is today:









Sorry if the pics aren't that great...


----------



## lilnaugrim

Looks like Ollie may be a little male  I'll need a clearer pic of the side to look for ovaries but for now I see none, they can still grow in later. But judging by the all around form, I'm sticking with male.


----------



## rylovesriska

*Luna*

Just got my Luna a little bit ago. She is so little and so cute  any ideas on gender and tail type? i know its too early but i still like contemplation
On the first picture you can see the red on her fins, when i brought her home i didn't even see any color now i see some and she has only been home for a couple hours


----------



## christymiller0912

*My Baby Betta Experience*

I got my first ever betta at my local Petco. He was a baby and I just fell in love with him. I was told he wouldn't be too much more work than a regular adult and since I couldn't find much information on these guys on the internet so I decided to give it a go. I bought him a tank and some food and betta water to keep him happy. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl and it was the tiniest of all the babies. I put him in his tank and was so excited to see him grow up. I quickly named him Bronte after researching good and meaningful names. I truly fell in love with him. I was always checking up on him made sure I cleaned his tank on schedule and feed him precisely a set amount of food a couple times a day. He grew a little bit and I knew his color was a deep blue and I was so excited. Then one day tragedy struck. My heart was crushed when I did my nightly check on him and I found he had gone to fishy heaven. I was a wreck for awhile and was slightly scared to get another fish, but after a little bit of thinking and wanting to try again. 
Currently, I am a proud parents to three bettas that are happy and healthy. I know alot more now than I did back then. One of the three is a baby betta. He was a bit bigger than Bronte when I got him and he seems to be doing quite well and I cant wait to see what kind of betta he will be. I will try and post pictures of them at a later date. Bettas rule!


----------



## Heifzilla

Such a cutey tonight (my still as of yet unnamed baby boy). I put a mirror up to the tank for him for the first time and whoa did he he flare! So adorable. Even brought out a little bit of baby beard. The most awesome part was how his color changed. He has been showing the typical juvie stripes this whole time I've had him, but slowly starting to darken and color up. When I brought the mirror up, his stripes totally faded. His coloring is reds, with turquoise blue washes, and this really neat coppery-gold color. I can't wait to see what his adult colors are. I am thinking he's probably getting close to 8 weeks now.


----------



## Heifzilla

Baby flaring  Does it look like he is a VT?




Right after flaring


----------



## lilnaugrim

Heifzilla said:


> Baby flaring  Does it look like he is a VT?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Right after flaring


So cute! Yeah, he does look like a VT but he's going to have great form! :-D Keep up flaring exercises and hopefully it will stretch out his fins more to get up to 180 degrees :-D


----------



## Quinn

Should not have come back to this thread! It's giving me baby feverrrrrr. Everyone is so cute!
I'm constantly debating another tank. I really should NOT be spending my money on fish, but its so hard not to. I keep toying with the idea of a 20 long sorority, or a divided 20 long, with holes big enough to keep shrimp, pygmy cories, etc who can roam the whole thing. Buuuut then I'd have to buy a rack or other strong shelving to support the weight of a few tanks... ADDICTED!

Here are some recent pic of Bauer, my DT baby I bought back in mid August, so its been a bit over 5 months now.


----------



## Heifzilla

Bauer is beautiful


----------



## zoetaco27

Hi guys!
I'm new here to this website but I've been fishkeeping for a while now 
I've recently jumped into bettas when I went to petco to get a heater and saw this baby betta. I had to get him/her, it was the only one there and I couldn't resist. It's super small, maybe a little bigger than half an inch. It has pretty long red ventral fins but that's about it for color. I have it in a 1 gallon heated and filtered tank until I can get my 5 gallon split and baby guppies out of there, but he's thriving. He's loving the warm temperature and he's eating very well.
I've just sort of stuck to calling it a 'he' since his ventral fins are so long.
I will try to get a picture up soon though


----------



## lilnaugrim

zoetaco27 said:


> Hi guys!
> I'm new here to this website but I've been fishkeeping for a while now
> I've recently jumped into bettas when I went to petco to get a heater and saw this baby betta. I had to get him/her, it was the only one there and I couldn't resist. It's super small, maybe a little bigger than half an inch. It has pretty long red ventral fins but that's about it for color. I have it in a 1 gallon heated and filtered tank until I can get my 5 gallon split and baby guppies out of there, but he's thriving. He's loving the warm temperature and he's eating very well.
> I've just sort of stuck to calling it a 'he' since his ventral fins are so long.
> I will try to get a picture up soon though


Actualy you can put your baby in with the baby guppies and let them grow up together, this will help the baby betta with his growth stunting hormone. There are three things that help get rid of it or dilute it; raising along side another species of fish, having a heavily planted tank or daily water changes. Most of us do the last one since its easiest and most reliable, the second is the next one most done in conjunction with the water changes.


----------



## Alphahelix

So I grabbed one about a week ago and didn't post because I was SURE he was not going to make it. Totally a pity buy because he was bent and wasn't swimming right and the babies can be fragile..

He literally laid in that wierd bend shape
apparently he was thinking SUCKER

he eats 4x a day, gets frequent WC and high temps (80-84)
He's starting to show color but he was nothing but a head when I found him so no idea how big he will get:

I say "He" because of the bubble nests he builds and the lack of ovaries from what I can see? Nicknamed Siren in case its a girl lol


----------



## lilnaugrim

Alphahelix said:


> So I grabbed one about a week ago and didn't post because I was SURE he was not going to make it. Totally a pity buy because he was bent and wasn't swimming right and the babies can be fragile..
> 
> He literally laid in that wierd bend shape
> apparently he was thinking SUCKER
> 
> he eats 4x a day, gets frequent WC and high temps (80-84)
> He's starting to show color but he was nothing but a head when I found him so no idea how big he will get:
> 
> I say "He" because of the bubble nests he builds and the lack of ovaries from what I can see? Nicknamed Siren in case its a girl lol


Looks like a baby male VT to me! And there's no way he's building bubble nests yet, at least not real ones. They don't build those until they are sexually mature. Also, have you got him in an actual tank or was the cup just for the photo's? I know you know your stuff but just wanted to make sure and all!


----------



## NikiD

Cute babies! I think little Itsy switched genders on me overnight lol...I'm going to try to get a pic, but s/he's so active it's hard to get one. I SWEAR there are ovaries now and s/he showed an ovipositor for the first time today (which I know isn't a sure-fire way to tell since boys get them too) and the fins haven't really grown anymore. I've had her/him for 3 weeks now. but will try to get a new pic uploaded.


----------



## NikiD

""Cute babies! I think little Itsy switched genders on me overnight lol...I'm going to try to get a pic, but s/he's so active it's hard to get one. I SWEAR there are ovaries now and s/he showed an ovipositor for the first time today (which I know isn't a sure-fire way to tell since boys get them too) and the fins haven't really grown anymore. I've had her/him for 3 weeks now. but will try to get a new pic uploaded.""


OK, got the pics...tell me if you are seeing what I am! (or if I'm just crazy lol) Thanks


----------



## lilnaugrim

Okay yeah, there are ovaries there. The ovaries do grow in, they aren't there at birth so it's possible they did grow in overnight lol.


----------



## NikiD

lilnaugrim said:


> Okay yeah, there are ovaries there. The ovaries do grow in, they aren't there at birth so it's possible they did grow in overnight lol.


Thanks Lil' 

They must have grown in since she's darkened up, cause they weren't there in the last pics just 2 weeks ago.


----------



## NikiD

And I'm guessing she's a VT?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Looks to be so.


----------



## NikiD

lilnaugrim said:


> Looks to be so.


Thanks  I always appreciate the opinion of someone more experienced than myself.


----------



## ThetaSigma

Got to pick up some water conditioner and fish meds today. Hopefully I can resist buying another baby. Would it be alright to temporarily put a new baby in the thing I have my smallest baby floating in as log as they're the same size? It's in my sorority and has warm water for the girls.
I can always float the cup and do daily water changes though. It may be a better idea. Sometimes I do two water changes a day since there's only a liter in the floating keeper. I use them for quarantine and the babies I have now.


----------



## NikiD

I'm in the process of setting up a new 5gal for Itsy. My oldest daughter wants to replace her betta Squishy (SIP he passed away last week). I don't want to put him back in the 20gal with her Mollies, they are big meanies lol. So I just happened to have a 5gal that I was already planning on using as a fully planted tank  My plants have shipped and I should get them by Friday if not sooner. 

This is Itsy in her current 3gal cube. My daughter's new betta will be going in there when we get him.



This is the 5gal I'm currently in the process of setting up. Hardscape is in, waiting on plants. I bought this light ( http://tinyurl.com/n7o7tqo ) to replace the led one that came with it.


----------



## TiffanyP

NikiD - on my baby Lady Icarus, I thought she was a boy for the longest time as she didn't have ovaries and was completely see thru. There was a triangle shape but it didn't have any color to it and also was see thru, and I just figured it was some space behind the stomach... Woke up one morning and BAM bright yellow ovaries were there lol Hence the "Lady" before Icarus!

I had one of my older boys pass away on me earlier this week  Some kind of rapid moving, aggressive fungal infection I think. Anyway, I know I really shouldn't, but I have the space, and I'm DYING to get another baby betta... I fell in love with one today while at Petco getting food for the dog. I didn't get him but now I'm wishing I had lol I'm really trying to downsize as 6 would be the ideal number right now and I have 7. I'll keep you posted as I have very little self-control when it comes to bettas haha


----------



## Kiara1125

IS that black sand or gravel? The white rocks look awesome! Definitely should have live plants to fill out the corners. Maybe some crypts.


----------



## NikiD

Kiara1125 said:


> IS that black sand or gravel? The white rocks look awesome! Definitely should have live plants to fill out the corners. Maybe some crypts.


The 3gal is black sand, the 5gal is flourite black. I have a nice package of live plants i got on Aquabid headed my way, I'm very excited  I do have a smaller amazon sword and some anacharis in our 20gal that I can put in there too.

Tiffany - It all started out with one 3gal tank as a gift for Christmas, now it's morphed into two 3gals, one 5gal and a 20gal. I want to do more, but have to take it easy for a while or my hubby will have an aneurism lol. To be fair, the 20gal is my oldest daughter's, and one of the 3 gallons is my youngest daughters. But you know how it goes with pets and kids


----------



## zoetaco27

I took your advice and put my little one in my five gallon nursery!
He seems to get along well with everybody and is much happier 
It looks like something is on his tail but it's actually a bubble 
I'm calling him Ralph even though I'm not positive on the gender. Any ideas?


----------



## ThetaSigma

I did it....

I bought another baby from PetCo and also another female for my sorority... I'll post pics sometime today.


----------



## rylovesriska

zoetaco27 said:


> I took your advice and put my little one in my five gallon nursery!
> He seems to get along well with everybody and is much happier
> It looks like something is on his tail but it's actually a bubble
> I'm calling him Ralph even though I'm not positive on the gender. Any ideas?


I would say male because I see no ovaries but it could be too early to tell, he is adorable!


----------



## zoetaco27

Thank you!
I was thinking male too, and since I got him he's been showing a bit of blue iridescence on his fins!
I'm really not sure how old he is, he's only about 3/4 of an inch so I don't think that he can be too old...


----------



## rylovesriska

zoetaco27 said:


> Thank you!
> I was thinking male too, and since I got him he's been showing a bit of blue iridescence on his fins!
> I'm really not sure how old he is, he's only about 3/4 of an inch so I don't think that he can be too old...


My baby is showing red iridescence 
Here is a chart on baby age compared to size:

http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/bettagrowth.html


----------



## panthers24

zoetaco27 said:


> Thank you!
> I was thinking male too, and since I got him he's been showing a bit of blue iridescence on his fins!
> I'm really not sure how old he is, he's only about 3/4 of an inch so I don't think that he can be too old...



Do you have a picture of him?


----------



## zoetaco27

It's on the last page


----------



## Marvel

I'm thinking about picking one up tomorrow to put in my empty heated bowl. Will the baby eat betta flake food? I feed that to my other betta because it's the only food I've found that doesn't make him sick while being small enough for the neon tetras in his tank to eat.


----------



## rylovesriska

Marvel said:


> I'm thinking about picking one up tomorrow to put in my empty heated bowl. Will the baby eat betta flake food? I feed that to my other betta because it's the only food I've found that doesn't make him sick while being small enough for the neon tetras in his tank to eat.


Maybe? Baby's can be picky and typically people feed them frozen but I have seen some people give them frozen, I don't personally feed my baby flakes.


----------



## ThetaSigma

So, I'm finally able to sit down at my computer and post some pics of the new baby I got today, and also spam you with pics of the other three fish I got.

So here's the baby, first off...



S/he has longish ventrals so I'm a bit stumped on the gender... Any guesses out there?


Next are my new crowntail females:

I only have a picture of one of them.




The other girl is a brownish color for now (still pretty small) with pale pink fins.


The new boy I got today was a doubltail, and here's a picture of him. He was real pretty, so I had to get him.




It's hard to see in this icture,but he's really pretty in person.


Any guesses on the baby's fin type and gender?


----------



## Alphahelix

lilnaugrim said:


> Looks like a baby male VT to me! And there's no way he's building bubble nests yet, at least not real ones. They don't build those until they are sexually mature. Also, have you got him in an actual tank or was the cup just for the photo's? I know you know your stuff but just wanted to make sure and all!


Interesting! Well there are lots of tiny bubbles along the edge of his tank- and he has built quite large little collections of them! The bubbles are so tiny but it looks a lot like what the big boys do and the bubbles can't be coming from anywhere else haha. I cleaned out his masterpiece but he already started up something else:



I kept him in that tiny cup for a week with some guppy grass and 2x a day water changes- he couldn't swim properly and I wanted to make sure he was eating. He's grown a noticeable bit now and is in a 1 gallon baby tank- when he gets a bit larger ill move him up to the big boy 10 gallon tank


----------



## lilnaugrim

Alphahelix said:


> Interesting! Well there are lots of tiny bubbles along the edge of his tank- and he has built quite large little collections of them! The bubbles are so tiny but it looks a lot like what the big boys do and the bubbles can't be coming from anywhere else haha. I cleaned out his masterpiece but he already started up something else:


Actually those bubbles are normal if you're doing 100% changes or close to it. Bubbles form under the water, you see them cling to the sides of the tank for a while at first and eventually they either pop or float up to the surface to collect there as we see. So yes lol, they do come from somewhere else ;-) Also plants create oxygen if there is enough CO2 in the water (could be there naturally) so it could also come from the plants. Babies aren't capable of doing that quite yet although males will attempt occasionally I've seen. But for the most part they just enjoy being babies and will wait until they are sexually matured before they start worrying about bubble nests and when to make them.


----------



## Alphahelix

How interesting! I had no idea haha. Thank you. I'll keep posted as he grows


----------



## ThetaSigma

My newest baby, the one with the pink fins keeps jumping into the sorority. It hadn't bothered anyone, so I guess I'll just leave him/her for now. S/he is getting fed the smallest bits while I keep the other girls away so s/he can eat. I'll be watching carefully for any fighting, but the girls don't seem to care at all.


----------



## ktmrox11

I got my Petco baby about 5 months ago, he's doing just fine. He turned out to be a nice reddish blue veiltail and he has never been sick or anything. I have really enjoyed raising him since he was a baby and watching him grow!


----------



## Ashthemutt

My baby betta has changed her color ALOT! This was taken with the flash to help show exactly what she looks like now. Very interesting. She went from grey, to purple, to this!


----------



## Heifzilla

My little guy today, I think he's around 8 weeks old now. He darts around so much it's pretty hard to get a good picture.


----------



## Alphahelix

Just double checking again, but after feeing my little buddy again tonight I watched him blow bubbles. Like suck up air and release tiny bubbles over and over wherever he swam. Just like I've seen my big males do. He wasn't working in a best or anything, do you mean they don't build nests or blow bubbles period? 

I could probably get video of him doing it- it's adorable!


----------



## fidget

oohhhmyyyygosh do it! Please, I mean? :-D


----------



## lilnaugrim

Alphahelix said:


> Just double checking again, but after feeing my little buddy again tonight I watched him blow bubbles. Like suck up air and release tiny bubbles over and over wherever he swam. Just like I've seen my big males do. He wasn't working in a best or anything, do you mean they don't build nests or blow bubbles period?
> 
> I could probably get video of him doing it- it's adorable!


Oh, he can blow bubbles, but he can't build extragevant nests. Sorry if that was confusing before, so the bubbles could have come from him, probably not all of them though. Females at this stage will sometimes do the same thing as well. Occasionally you get that female with the extra pump of male hormones and they'll go ahead and build the whole nest themselves lol And again you do have cases where the males will build small nests, it just won't normally be like the larger ones their adult selves will make, occasionally though you do get the baby that is "ahead of it's class" so to speak, like yours


----------



## Twilight Bettas

Here is Vudu! He's grown a lot over 2 weeks, bout 8 wks old now. Hoping he still looks like a male. Getting red on his head and fins. I wonder what color he will be?


----------



## kittenfish

Updates!

2 months ago:









Now:









She is less than an inch long and doesn't seem very interested in growing bigger.

3 months ago:









2 months ago:









Now:


----------



## Sabina88

Wow Kittenfish, they have both grown so much


----------



## Heifzilla

kittenfish said:


> Updates!
> 
> Now:


Veiltail?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Heifzilla said:


> Veiltail?


No, he's a delta


----------



## Heifzilla

lilnaugrim said:


> No, he's a delta


Ah, ok. I just thought he was a young VT without the full tail grown in yet


----------



## Kiara1125

VTs usually don't have such round tails. They tend to be pointed. A dragonscale delta (with beautiful coloring at that?) ... gorgeous! Great job!


----------



## kittenfish

He looks real awkward with the flash on him though:










Heh.


----------



## fidget

Wow. He is beautiful!


----------



## ThetaSigma

kittenfish said:


> He looks real awkward with the flash on him though:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Heh.




Yeah, he does look a bit awkward. Cute still, though.


----------



## Kiara1125

His red fins are gorgeous. Very dense and solid. It might deepen into a maroon color as he gets older. That's what happened with my HMDT.


----------



## zoetaco27

Hi!
So the other day I ended up coming home with three new babies... I couldn't help it yet again!
They had just arrived in these tiny little bags and they were so clamped and sad looking I had to get at least some of them. 
I have them sharing a 5 gallon heated tank with my other baby betta and they all get along much better than I thought than they would. I'll put some pictures up as soon as I can get them


----------



## zoetaco27

Alright, so here are my three new babies 
Sorry about the tank, I'm cleaning it tonight after my friend comes and picks up all of the guppies. 
The first one is Elmo, the second is Mowgli {the DT} and the last one is Eeyore


----------



## NikiD

Cute babies! We got ourselves a new baby today too 

This is the new little guy:


And here is a 3.5 week comparison of Itsy's changes. She's chillin in her new 5gallon tonight since we put the new little guy in the 3gal cube.


----------



## Hazel24

*male or female*

What gender might this fish Be ?


----------



## Heifzilla

Was trying to get a pic of my new, very shy blue mystery snail, and...baby betta photobomb!



:lol:


----------



## lilnaugrim

Hazel24 said:


> What gender might this fish Be ?


looks male to me


----------



## NikiD

Heifzilla said:


> Was trying to get a pic of my new, very shy blue mystery snail, and...baby betta photobomb!
> 
> 
> 
> :lol:


Lol, so cute


----------



## Joey Fish

Wow, taking care of babies looks so fun! I had no idea that fish could be cute. I want to get one now!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Joey Fish said:


> Wow, taking care of babies looks so fun! I had no idea that fish could be cute. I want to get one now!


It is fun but it is also a lot of work. Make sure you do enough research and know your stuff before getting a baby.


----------



## Joey Fish

Yeah I definetely have been doing research, but I would need a tank that could hold one. For sure I will keep reading until I am ready


----------



## Kiara1125

This is my late baby, Dipstick. I was keeping him in a 10g that was heavily planted and he just randomly grayed out and died one day. I don't know what happened. I wonder what he would've looked like though. What color he would be considered. Also, do you think it was a male or female? I was guessing male with how much he flared. I can't find any other pictures right now ... sorry. :-(


----------



## Sabina88

Sorry to hear that Kiara1125


----------



## rylovesriska

Kiara1125 said:


> This is my late baby, Dipstick. I was keeping him in a 10g that was heavily planted and he just randomly grayed out and died one day. I don't know what happened. I wonder what he would've looked like though. What color he would be considered. Also, do you think it was a male or female? I was guessing male with how much he flared. I can't find any other pictures right now ... sorry. :-(


Sorry for your lose, it's really hard to tell at this age... Do you have any clearer pictures? On color If you just have pictures the fins might of turned out red but it's hard to tell


----------



## Hazel24

lilnaugrim said:


> looks male to me


Thank I Was Hoping For Male , :-? How Can You Tell Though? Thanks Anyways Also .


----------



## lilnaugrim

Hazel24 said:


> Thank I Was Hoping For Male , :-? How Can You Tell Though? Thanks Anyways Also .


Lack of ovaries (thus far lol), larger eyes, also just seems more boyish. Also he's got longer fins, if he were a girl at this age his fins would be shorter.


----------



## alyymarie

*New baby!*

Just picked up a new little baby, since my now-grown baby has been upgraded to a bigger tank 
I forgot how tiny they are! It's always so hard to choose. I'm hoping for a boy but I have no idea what it is yet, we'll see. He/she is a pretty purple color.


----------



## lilnaugrim

alyymarie said:


> Just picked up a new little baby, since my now-grown baby has been upgraded to a bigger tank
> I forgot how tiny they are! It's always so hard to choose. I'm hoping for a boy but I have no idea what it is yet, we'll see. He/she is a pretty purple color.


Looks like a boy so far but hard to tell with these pictures yet ^_^


----------



## rawxy

Can someone tell me what type of tail he has ?


----------



## Joey Fish

He looks Veilteil ish, but it is kinda hard to tell.


----------



## isntanything

He looks like what used to be called a roundtail. I dunno if people still use that term.

Might end up being a VT.


----------



## lilnaugrim

He'll become a VT as he ages, many young VT's go through the stage where they look like they'll be a Delta and then a Round tail, then maybe a Spade tail and then finally the VT lol, it's a long wait but it's worth it ^_^

Here's my late boy Steve who was a VT, this was when he was looking more like a Roundtail, not as much as your boy rawxy but he was at that stage once too.


And here he is later


----------



## zoetaco27

What do clamped fins mean with baby bettas?
I know it's a bit of a stupid question but I guess I want to know what to worry about.
I have 4 baby bettas living peacefully together in a 5 gallon heated filtered tank. I've been monitoring them all of the time trying to see if they pick on each other, sometimes it seems like they flare but theres never any chasing or nipping. My tank tends to run warm (mostly between 82-88) but it doesn't have an adjustment setting so I can't really change the heat. I think part of it is my light, it's an led light that came with the tank and it seems to produce heat a bit. But I have them house with some of my guppy fry, its a bare bottom tank with lots of plants to hide in as well. My double tail baby and the first baby I got I suspected to be males, and they swim around happily and completely normally, they eat from the surface when I put the food in (crushed up omega one flakes and pellets). But the two that I suspected to be female are hiding a lot more. Well the one that I got was the smallest one in the store, he had the clamped fins since I got them and hasn't unclamped, although he acts very happy and likes to swim around in the plants, he always eats the leftovers but he eats like a little pig. My other suspected female was always very energetic, all over the tank like the other two but now she sort of stays by the heater with her fins clamped. They've never been clamped before, even in the cup I bought her in. 

My guppies are getting rehomed sometime this week, and once they do I'm going to the store to get some gravel and decorations, I've been doing about %25 water changes every other day and they get fed 2-3 times a day. Does anybody know what could be wrong?


----------



## ThetaSigma

zoetaco27 said:


> What do clamped fins mean with baby bettas?
> I know it's a bit of a stupid question but I guess I want to know what to worry about.
> I have 4 baby bettas living peacefully together in a 5 gallon heated filtered tank. I've been monitoring them all of the time trying to see if they pick on each other, sometimes it seems like they flare but theres never any chasing or nipping. My tank tends to run warm (mostly between 82-88) but it doesn't have an adjustment setting so I can't really change the heat. I think part of it is my light, it's an led light that came with the tank and it seems to produce heat a bit. But I have them house with some of my guppy fry, its a bare bottom tank with lots of plants to hide in as well. My double tail baby and the first baby I got I suspected to be males, and they swim around happily and completely normally, they eat from the surface when I put the food in (crushed up omega one flakes and pellets). But the two that I suspected to be female are hiding a lot more. Well the one that I got was the smallest one in the store, he had the clamped fins since I got them and hasn't unclamped, although he acts very happy and likes to swim around in the plants, he always eats the leftovers but he eats like a little pig. My other suspected female was always very energetic, all over the tank like the other two but now she sort of stays by the heater with her fins clamped. They've never been clamped before, even in the cup I bought her in.
> 
> My guppies are getting rehomed sometime this week, and once they do I'm going to the store to get some gravel and decorations, I've been doing about %25 water changes every other day and they get fed 2-3 times a day. Does anybody know what could be wrong?





Have you tested the water parameters? Perhaps the ammonia is too high? I'm not expert, but that's what I would do. Also, you probably know, but feed them 3-4 times a day if you can (I've heard at least). I feed small and frequent meals, but usually only 2 times on tueday and thursday because of college...

One of the babies in my tank (who always jumps into the sorority) has clamped fins sometimes, not sure why. They do open up a bit more after a water change. Some of my adult bettas get stressed really easily and clamp up and get stress stripes.

Also, a baby betta releases a growth stunting hormone, so the water needs to be changed more often. If I'm keeping them in containers of only a few liters, I do a 50% everyday. Don't forget water conditioner, and get your regular tap water tested too. Hopefully someone more experienced can help you, though, as I'm by no means the most knowledgeable.


----------



## lilnaugrim

As for clamping, it's most likely just stress. Even at this age baby Bettas can be harmful to each other, you may not see it from flaring or nipping but they can approach each other in threatening manners which can cause stress. Just like humans, we can talk to each other in threatening and annoying ways but it's not physical like throwing a punch at someone which could be equivalent to flaring.

@ThetaSigma, it's every 3-4 HOURS which is roughly 3 times a day, 4 times a day is fine as well but not overly necessary if they are getting nutritional food 3 times a day. It's up to the feeder really.

25% every other day is okay....but not ideal for the amount of babies you have. The guppies are fine to stay in as well, it actually helps dilute the growth stunting hormone. But 25-50% daily is optimal, perhaps even more since you have more babies in one space.


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## riorider

*My 3 baby bettas!*

Charles is my oldest. He is about 5 months old now. 
When I got him. 

Now. 


This is Murphy. He is about 4 months old. 
When I got him. 

Murphy now. 


This is my new guy that I got yesterday. Not sure what he is yet.


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## lilnaugrim

riorider, looks like your new one is also a boy, could end up being a DeT or a PK since his anal fin is pretty short.


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## riorider

Id love for him to be a plakat!


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## zoetaco27

Ok so I did a %50 water change this morning and she perked up a bit, but won't eat. 
No signs of anything bad with the parameters though.
If it is stress because of others, what would you suggest me doing?
I could separate her but the only other tank that I have is a 1 gallon, and it doesn't have a heater... I have a half gallon tank too but I never use it and I wouldn't put her in it, I just thought I would mention it incase it can be used. I do have a six gallon qt tank, but I have a dwarf gourami in there...
I'm going out tonight so if there's anything I should get, let me know


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## TiffanyP

Well you can't keep them all in the same tank forever, you know, unless they're all females. I'd start getting tanks now and getting them set up so you can put them in their own homes pretty soon. If one suddenly starts getting violent you'll have quite the issue if you don't have a place to put it.


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## lilnaugrim

+1 to Tiffany. I suggest taking her out and into the 1 gallon but float the 1 gallon in the bigger tank if you can. That's how I generally keep my fish in quarantine warm. Make sure she can't get out or anything though, cling wrap is pretty good for keeping a cover on the tank


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## zoetaco27

I was aware of that and sort of planned ahead as far as homes go. I am going to split my 5 gallon in the future to how the two that I suspect are males. If I have a third male I will house that one in my 6 gallon tank since my gourami will be good by then hopefully, and a fourth male, I am going to get a 3 or 5 gallon critter keeper (tomorrow since the store I went to tonight had none) And I'm going to then put the suspected girl in that tank with a heater 

I tried floating the 1 gallon in my 20 gallon community and it sank :-(
Any other suggestions?


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## lilnaugrim

Did you fill up the tank all the way? Is it acrylic or glass? If it's glass then it's not going to work lol, sorry about that! If it's plastic or acrylic then don't fill it up all the way and try that. You can also use plastic food ware like stuff you'd buy to store food in the fridge with. You can get all sorts of different sizes, it won't be good forever but it's good for a temporary pinch or when quarantining a fish. Just make sure to do a water change on it every day, if it's just a fish that you're separating from a group and not quarantining for sick use then you can literally dump the fish back into the tank and quickly scoop him back up again with fresh water. Or you can use another cup, fill that with tank water so there's no acclimation time needed and then net him or however into the new cup and float


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## tisci

Hey everyone! I've been a lurker for AWHILE & just registered as a user so I could post in here. I went to Petco to see if they had a smallish female to quarantine & hopefully add to a sorority, but then I saw the babies. I still got my female, but I also ended up with this little one. I can't get a good pic because he/she is a curious little 
bugger. 

I really should know better. I used to work at Petco & would end up taking home animals that had issues & couldn't be sold. I really educated myself more than the store required, so I promise I wasn't that "moron in the fish department." I'm no longer allowing myself to go anywhere but the dog food & aquarium aisles.


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## Sabina88

Aww (s)he is so cute tisci.
I love her/his coloration from what I can see 
good luck


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## Kiara1125

It's a female. Gorgeous cambodian marble!


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## tisci

Really? That's awesome! I tried to feed her, but I think she's still a little out of sorts because I gave her a water change right away.

Thanks for the warm welcome!


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## Joey Fish

She looks great!


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## tisci

Thank you!! I have a quick question.. I've had her for less than 24 hours, so I know she still needs time to adjust, but is it normal for her to not be eating yet? I have Omega Small Fish pellets because the female I picked up previously was too small for my ZooMed Betta pellets. I don't know if I'm just overly paranoid or if there is legitimate concern here. I pop them in & about 5 mins later, I use a pipette so suck them back out so they're not messing up her water. She seems INCREDIBLY curious & has no issues with the pipette being in her cup (I will be moving her), but she doesn't seem interested in eating.

I was going to grab some frozen food this afternoon. Either brine shrimp or bloodworms. Is one more preferred than the other for these little ones?


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## Kiara1125

Baby brine shrimp or bloodworms will work fine. When fish are stressed, it's normal for them not to eat for a few days. I'm just concerned because baby bettas need plenty of food frequently. I would try feeding her frozen baby brine shrimp.


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## gretaalison

*My Baby Betta*

Hi everyone! I posted a bunch of my questions in another thread before I realized that this is where I should be! I too fell for the baby betta at Petco. I haven't owned a betta in years and don't know much about them, but I got many of my questions answered in the other thread I posted. I just wanted to post in here to see if anyone could tell me if mine is a male or female and what type of betta it is? I can't figure out how to get the picture into this post, but my avatar is of my betta. 
Thanks! 
-Greta


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## tisci

Thanks Kiara. My Petco & Petsmart were out of Baby Brine, but I bought regular brine to hold me over til Tuesday. I figure that it's better than nothing. I just spent the last half hour getting her to eat a couple of the smallest pieces. I have to suck it in & out of a pipette to make it move enough for her to be interested, but at least she ate something.


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## lilnaugrim

Kiara1125 said:


> It's a female. Gorgeous cambodian marble!


I actually disagree and say VT male, but yes a partial cambodian


----------



## Alphahelix

Siren now he's so pretty! Still wondering if he is a veil tail as he looks like his find will be closer to delta than veil but I know nothing about babies

I'm super hopeful he MIGHT be dragon scale esque as his scales are brightening while the 'skin' remains black

Imagine the change from this:

I only grabbed him cause I thought he was dying and he couldn't swim straight lol


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## Heifzilla

Siren is so pretty!


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## Cotton19

I hate to be the latest with bad news here, but my 4 month odyssey with my baby betta has come to a sudden sad ending. little KC was roughly 6 months old, and I thought she would fit in well with my new sorority, seeing as she was probably the second biggest girl I had, but the stress of it wound up escalating quickly, and within 48 hours she was swollen with stringy white poop. I got her into the hospital tank quickly, and thought I had a chance, because there was no pine coning of her scales, but it was likely dropsy anyways, and mercifully it was quick at least. I have medicated the rest of the sorority tank, and thus far everyone else is doing well. I did well with feeding, temperature, and water quality, but the major factor I underestimated was stress. I was more concerned with keeping the constant temperature with my good heaters than the fact that other fish could see and intimidate her with her bowl inside their tanks. I tried getting plants in front of it, moved the bowl a couple times in hopes my others might not stress as much about it until I felt she was big enough to be in a divided tank. This is a challenging experience, and I was really enjoying it, but now I know first hand how quickly it can change. Best of luck to everyone else, SIP KC


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## Kiara1125

lilnaugrim said:


> I actually disagree and say VT male, but yes a partial cambodian


I guess it was hard for me to tell with the position of the baby and the lighting. I thought I saw ovaries.


----------



## tisci

This is the clearest picture I can get. He or she would really rather figure out what I'm doing than stay still. This is the most inquisitive betta I've ever had.


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## Kiara1125

tisci said:


> This is the clearest picture I can get. He or she would really rather figure out what I'm doing than stay still. This is the most inquisitive betta I've ever had.


Ok, I see now - the lack of ovaries. It's a male. Gorgeous boy though.


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## tisci

Thank you! He's still only eating brine shrimp, couldn't care less for pellets. I'm just glad it looks like I'm doing ok w/him. A little sad he's a boy, I had hoped to pop him in my sorority once he grows, but I guess he'll be the king of his own castle instead


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## Tikibirds

I got this one not that long ago. Im feeding him Omega one betta flakes, broken up. To small for pellets atm. 










He has a 10G all to himself - -minus some snails.


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## tisci

He's adorable! Did you train him to go in the cup for food or do you just scoop him up? I think I might want to cup train mine, I've just never done it before


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## Tikibirds

I scoop him up. Since he is so small, I am afraid of siphoning him up when I gravel vaccume. He can be hard to spot at times.


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## Poleren

CalvinWill said:


> I've seen several threads regarding "Baby Betta" for sale at PetCo. I wanted to start this thread for all discussion about PetCo selling Baby Betta, pictures of your new fish or what you've seen at your local stores, and stories of our success and failures.
> 
> I am really not sure how I feel about Betta being sold so small. I know that in the hands of your average fish keeper most do not have a chance. Those that do survive to adulthood will probably spend the rest of their lives in cold water in the 1/4 gallon "tank" they have stocked with them in the display.
> 
> Regardless, after hearing about petco selling true "baby" betta, I had to go take a look. Sure enough, I saw no less then 30 colorless, unsexable almost-fry less then the size of my thumbnail, fins included.
> 
> I had no intention of actually buying one of these poor fish, but then I saw one that was slightly larger then the rest in the baby cups. This one had started to show a blue and red mix of color and was clearly a double tail. Sure enough I walked out of the store with a miniscule but potentially beautiful new fish at the low low cost of $1.99.
> 
> I brought him home on Saturday. He is in M1's old 1 gallon corner tank. My apartment is running at a cool 80 degrees and his tank is holding solid at a comfortable 78. If he makes it to be large enough, I will add him to the empty section of my divided 10 gallon. He currently eats crushed hikari and frozen bloodworms.
> 
> Not going to get too attached to his fragile little guy just yet, but my fingers are crossed.
> 
> Anyone else fall victim to this cuteness trap? Post your pictures and tell your stories.


Some of the baby bettas are real babies and some are just very tiny females. It's sort of a gamble.


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## Sabina88

This is my very first baby betta
(s)he doesn't have a name yet, and I just got him/her today


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## tisci

So cute Sabina! Make sure to keep us updated.

My little guy just realized today that the pipette means food & he'll swim over to it & bump it if I can't get the shrimp out fast enough. Today is the first day since I got him last Thursday that he's eaten like a little pig & I'm so excited. I'm currently cycling a 5 gallon for him & he'll go in there as soon as it's safe.


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## Sabina88

That's cute and good to hear tisci, good luck with your baby betta
Also thank you , Ive unfortunetly had a small glitch with my baby, the tank I got for him/her had a hole so it leaked  luckily I had a mesh breeder which he/she is hanging out in for the moment, but on a better note my baby seems active and very interested in the flash light light lol, I left a pellet in there to see if she/he could eat it and for a little bit she/he decided to carry around it around in his/her mouth


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## tisci

Stinks about the tank. That's pretty awesome that he/she seems interested in the pellet.


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## Sabina88

Deffinitly it was really cute and funny to watch I wish I could have gotten a pic but it would never have come out.
Ya and it was one of those holes that you don't noticed till its filed and theres a small puddle on the table (luckily nothing large).


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## Valentino14

Mine has been doing excellent for four months... in a 1/2 gallon bowl with water changes every other day and a high protein pellet. His color really came out in early January... I am going to get him a gallon tank tomorrow, and a heater when I find a good one for the size.


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## NikiD

Sad to say, but the last baby betta my daughter got lasted only 10 days. Looking back, he was deformed and I believe that caused some digestive problems. SIP little unnamed fishy.... 



On a positive note, we went to find a replacement baby today (DD's science fair project is to observe and document the growth of her baby betta) and found this handsome little guy:



Any ideas for names?


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## NikiD

Oh, and here is the current pic of my little Itsy girl <3





Here is her newborn pic:


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## Kiara1125

*Questions ...*

I'm going to Petco on Sunday to get a baby betta. I have a 10g community for it, but there's already 2 female bettas in the tank. I was wondering if the baby could live safely with the females (full grown) or if I can grow it up in a breeder net. So, it would be in the breeder net, but have enough water (not space) that's equal to 10 gallons. There's tons of plants in the tank, a filter, a heater, and along with the two female bettas there's 3 platies (one is a fry). So, main point is can I grow a baby betta up in a breeder net into a 10g?


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## lilnaugrim

You successfully have two females alone Kiara? Whew, you must have some luck there lol.

The baby should be fine, I would introduce it in the breeder net or something clear for around a week or so so that the girls can interact with it without hurting it until they all get used to each other. It may take longer than a week, I would go two weeks just to be certain. Just like in a sorority of more, when you introduce more fish you want them to acclimate to each other by seeing but not touching until they get used to the others' presence.

Also, if you can, I would find the biggest baby you can. Size usually doesn't matter for attitudes in Betta's, but if you happen to get a very small baby, it could be eaten or killed by the females if it isn't strong enough to stand up on it's own. I would even keep it in a smaller tank, like a 1 or 2 gallon for a month to make sure it doesn't have disease and will be strong enough to enter in with the girls if by then it hasn't come out to be a boy yet.

Be warned though, if it happens to be a boy, the girls could gang up on him or vice versa when he becomes sexually mature and wants to mate. They could also decide early that they don't want him/her as well so I would just keep a keen eye out. It is possible that if it is a male, they will accept him for the time being but Bettas attitude can turn on dimes as I'm sure most of us have seen. LittleBettaFish tells a story of when she had a sorority, one of them turned out to be male and for a year they lived in peace. One day, the girls turned on him and out of the blue nearly killed him. She was able to get him out but if I remember correctly, he didn't live much longer since they had done some serious damage.

Just wanted to warn you is all. But the flip side can also happen where if it's a girl, they will grow up together and be happy! I would just keep watch is all ^_^ lots of plants to hide in of course and lots of food for all of them should keep their hunger for baby Betta's down ;-)


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## Kiara1125

Yep, they're all fine. It's how I started my 20gL sorority. Anyway, I have a platy fry (about 1/4") that the females don't bother, so I think the size should be fine. There's tons of hiding places and multiple food sources for the fry. I have another place if it's a male, and it will just stay in there if it's a female. My boyfriend started a 29g sorority by adding baby bettas with the adult females. There weren't any problems and the fry grew up. I talked to him and he thinks that the 2 week see-through QT will be a good idea. So, hopefully we can do that. Thanks!


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## lilnaugrim

Great! Yeah, that's another thing; Bettas will react slightly different I find, to baby Bettas rather than other baby fish. While they may not harm the platy fry, they may want to kick the baby betta out of their territory. But that shouldn't be an issue if you do the two week QT see-through thing  That's what I did with my sorority and with trouble makers, always worked out very well! I had issues though when I didn't do the whole two week thing, both with hierarchy problems and disease of course. But your baby should be fine! Good luck with him/her ^_^


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## Kiara1125

Thanks! I'll definitely do the see-through QT. Very helpful!


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## Sabina88

Just a quick update on my very first/brand new baby, who still has no name (ill probably come up with a name once he gets more color. 
Right know ive been feeding him 2 crushed omega 1 betta buffet pellets a day about 6 hours apart, until I can find some frozen BS (95% of the time the freezer at my petsmart is out of order or theres barely anything in it), does this sound like a ok feeding?
So in these pics you cant really tell due to the lighting, but this is the fourth day with my little baby, and (s)he has gotten a second stripe and a slight red tint to his fins.
Does he look ok to you guys?
Also my guess is a male veil tail, what do you think he is if you can tell?

This is him/her the first day (s)he came home:








These 2 are from today:


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## lilnaugrim

That is the tiniest baby ever Sabina lol. Food sounds fine, could you possibly amp it up to 3 times a day? Sounds like you're feeding twice? Is the baby eating the pellets fine?

At this age it's still very hard to tell, based on fins I want to say male VT but we'll have to wait until it is a little older.


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## Sabina88

Ikr, i was really surprised how little (s)he was when (s)he came home on Tuesday. 
And yup I feed him when i get up in the morning and sometime in the late afternoon.
Whell he eats the pellets pretty good but i have to make sure to crush it small enough so it fits in his mouth. Ill try feeding him 3 times a day today (do you mean 3 pellets or 2 pellets spread out and feed 3 times during the day?) 

Do you know what age (s)he is around?, my guess is about 5 weeks at this point.


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## Kiara1125

I wonder how young (s)he is. I saw ones at my Petco that were about the same size or smaller ... they were so tiny. I'm hoping that I can get a slightly bigger one tomorrow.


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## lilnaugrim

I am uncertain about age, haven't really talked about age much passed the 3.5-4 month old Bettas in the stores, telling age on these Babies are even more difficult since they've already been stunted so they could range anywhere but I am quite certain most come in around 1.5 months old, so it's possible yours is around 5 weeks, probably 6 though.

And you can feed him/her anything as long as it is three times a day. If you want you can do 2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and 2 at night. You want your baby to look full but you don't want the gut to be sticking out crazy like s/he will explode lol, they won't but still.


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## NikiD

Here is a better pic of our new baby. His/her name is Phantom. I'm guessing s/he's about 7 weeks old based on size. I absolulutely love Phantom's coloring


----------



## Sabina88

Aww how cute, (s)he looks like my female Tamsin in pattern (tamsin is more of a blue green though). I love the blue coloration  is it very simaler to what she looks like in person?


----------



## NikiD

Sabina88 said:


> Aww how cute, (s)he looks like my female Tamsin in pattern (tamsin is more of a blue green though). I love the blue coloration  is it very simaler to what she looks like in person?


Without the flash s/he is very dark, the body looks black and the fins look blue. The yellow on the ventral and anal fins has become more apparent since we brought him home. There also appears to be a small amount of red coloring on the ventral fins.


----------



## Valentino14

I am still not sure if Zeus is a boy or girl! lol but idk how to upload pics to this site... so, for now, after 3 months, he's still a cute little mystery! I'm pretty sure it's a he because his tail keeps growing and his colors are superb but i know some females can have these characteristics too!


----------



## NikiD

Valentino14 said:


> I am still not sure if Zeus is a boy or girl! lol but idk how to upload pics to this site... so, for now, after 3 months, he's still a cute little mystery! I'm pretty sure it's a he because his tail keeps growing and his colors are superb but i know some females can have these characteristics too!


I use a photobucket account. Once you upload the pics to photobucket, it will provide you with a IMG link you can paste in your post for each picture.


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## Valentino14

Good luck with that little one! They can be tricky... 
Before I joined this forum, I had my baby in a .5 gallon bowl for a long time. He has never had any problems... but now he's in a gallon tank with a heater, because i'm getting impatient waiting for him to grow!! 
I still don't know if I have a he or she


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## lilnaugrim

If you get some side profile pictures for us Valentino we can help you out. If the baby is see-through or sort of see through, you can shine a light behind the fish so it is pointing at you. From there you should either be able to see the round stomach with cone shaped ovaries behind them for girl or just the stomach for the boys. If s/he is not easily seen through then you might try to find the shape of the ovaries, feed the fish and just after it has eaten take some pictures under good light and I should be able to help you out from there. Some fish continue to be tricky even passed sexual maturity haha but we should be able to help out.


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## rylovesriska

Here is the best picture I could get of my baby betta Sully, does anyone have any ideas on type or gender yet?


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## lilnaugrim

rylovesriska said:


> Here is the best picture I could get of my baby betta Sully, does anyone have any ideas on type or gender yet?


Male! He's a little cutie! Love his dorsal fin, looks like he'll be a VT ^_^


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## rylovesriska

lilnaugrim said:


> Male! He's a little cutie! Love his dorsal fin, looks like he'll be a VT ^_^


Thank you


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## Valentino14

<a href="http://s1361.photobucket.com/user/sldank94/media/Zeus1_zpsb76b3578.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r675/sldank94/Zeus1_zpsb76b3578.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Zeus1_zpsb76b3578.jpg"/></a>

First try of uploading a pic... this is Zeus's old bowl. He has a 1 gallon and a heater now!


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## lilnaugrim

Valentino14 said:


> <a href="http://s1361.photobucket.com/user/sldank94/media/Zeus1_zpsb76b3578.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r675/sldank94/Zeus1_zpsb76b3578.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Zeus1_zpsb76b3578.jpg"/></a>
> 
> First try of uploading a pic... this is Zeus's old bowl. He has a 1 gallon and a heater now!


Oh, wrong link. Make sure to copy the IMG Coding link ^_^


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## Valentino14

Did I do it right?!


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## Valentino14

WAHOOOO!!!!! Look at me, almost 20 and figuring out how to work photobucket! Lol this is a pic of Zeus in his bowl before I put him in his 1 gallon... male or female??


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## lilnaugrim

Lol, congrats to you Valentino! I did the same thing last year while trying to figure out all the coding stuff!

Well....since the picture is pretty far away, I can only say based on fin length that he looks like a boy. We'd need a close up picture of him to really say for sure but I'm around 95% sure it is a he.


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## Valentino14

Lol thank you! He moves WAY too much to get a clear shot... but he's growing fast and I have never seen an ovary spot on him! I wish I had gotten a heater and a bigger tank a long time ago... the heater more than anything.


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## Valentino14

So, for anyone caring for little store bought fry, my first suggestion would be to get a heater! You don't need a huge tank or a filter necessarily. But i'm the only person I know who has successfully kept a baby alive for a number of months. For the majority of that time, Zeus was in just a bowl and recieved a water change every two days. They like their water around 80... I convinced my roommates to turn the heat way up!
I feed him a simple diet called "the smallest damn pellets you can find"- live food isn't necessary, but something with a higher protein would make em grow a little faster. DON'T OVERFEED THEM!!!! Yes, they are babies. But they still have teeny tiny stomachs! three pellets 2-3 times a day is plenty. Modify the diet when their color comes in to 2 feedings a day. DO NOT get impatient and try to add hormones to the water to get them to grow faster. Your result will be a tiny dead fish 
I can't stress the water changes enough. It is the number one thing that would stunt growth... in the wild, these little guys are competing with their 500 siblings to survive, so they excrete a hormone to stop the growth of the other babies. But in a tank, that hormone only negatively impacts your fish!


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## mart

He looks like my Buddy.


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## tisci

I'm just wondering if any of the veterans here might have any ideas on how to attempt to pick out a female baby. If their ovaries haven't shown up get & they're just little grey babies, can you try to tell by their fins? My baby boy is doing SO well, I'd like to try & get a female. I have a sorority & could eventually add her in there. I could always put a divider in the little dude's 5 gallon if it ended up a boy, but I'd rather try to get a girl. I do realize it may be completely impossible, but figured I'd ask for any advice.


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## lilnaugrim

Valentino14 said:


> So, for anyone caring for little store bought fry, my first suggestion would be to get a heater! You don't need a huge tank or a filter necessarily. But i'm the only person I know who has successfully kept a baby alive for a number of months. For the majority of that time, Zeus was in just a bowl and recieved a water change every two days. They like their water around 80... I convinced my roommates to turn the heat way up!
> I feed him a simple diet called "the smallest damn pellets you can find"- live food isn't necessary, but something with a higher protein would make em grow a little faster. DON'T OVERFEED THEM!!!! Yes, they are babies. But they still have teeny tiny stomachs! three pellets 2-3 times a day is plenty. Modify the diet when their color comes in to 2 feedings a day. DO NOT get impatient and try to add hormones to the water to get them to grow faster. Your result will be a tiny dead fish
> I can't stress the water changes enough. It is the number one thing that would stunt growth... in the wild, these little guys are competing with their 500 siblings to survive, so they excrete a hormone to stop the growth of the other babies. But in a tank, that hormone only negatively impacts your fish!


While I admire your want to write this up, you do have a few information that is wrong here, some of it almost right though lol.

Babies should be fed every 3-4 hours which is roughly 3 times a day but four times a day is great as well. You are right, overfeeding isn't very healthy so you want small but frequent meals. Feed your baby until their tummy is nice and round but definitely stop feeding if their tummy becomes excessively bulging and looking like it will pop. I will try to find pictures to reference the difference later. I am currently writing up a care sheet for Baby Bettas so I will make sure to include that since we all have differing ideas of what 'fat' looks like.

Do not stop feeding three times a day until the baby is sexually mature, not just when their color comes in. Basically feed them like this until they are adults. Frozen foods are one of the best things but is not a complete diet, I recommend New Life Spectrum Grow formula for optimal results, however any NLS pellet will work fine. Grow is a .5 mm pellet just like the Small Fish Formula so that can be used as well. Yes, live food isn't necessary but it is surely a step up from everything else they are being fed and it is one of the best things for them if you are feeding the right things like BBS and Daphnia.

In the wild, 500 fish do not survive lol, they have predators both in the water and out of the water so I really doubt more than 50 or so fish will survive at a given time, not counting when the father or mother may eat their babies as well. I cannot say for sure what their numbers are in the wild of course, sometimes their spawns and large and sometimes they are small, sometimes all of them survive by miracle and other times the entire spawn is eaten or destroyed. So these fish aren't competing with large amounts of siblings there, at least not that I could ever really think of. I could be wrong about that though.

If the baby is alone in the tank or at least has no other Betta fish even through a divider, the baby won't excrete as much growth stunting hormone as it would being with its siblings.

And as for temp babies would like temps up around 82-84 ideally, this will run their metabolism faster and so they will be hungrier more often and actually use the nutrients given to them in their food. The faster their metabolism as well, the faster they will grow more or less. However babies can survive in temps from 70-90, yep that's a big range and baby Betta's arent exactly as delicate as we think they are, however keeping the temperature stable will be very beneficial to your baby. The lower the temperature though, the slower your baby will grow and he will become more lethargic, same as an adult Betta.



tisci said:


> I'm just wondering if any of the veterans here might have any ideas on how to attempt to pick out a female baby. If their ovaries haven't shown up get & they're just little grey babies, can you try to tell by their fins? My baby boy is doing SO well, I'd like to try & get a female. I have a sorority & could eventually add her in there. I could always put a divider in the little dude's 5 gallon if it ended up a boy, but I'd rather try to get a girl. I do realize it may be completely impossible, but figured I'd ask for any advice.


Look for the larger babies first and see if you can spot any ovaries. If not then fins will be much shorter, ventral's shorter. As a general rule, baby boy eyes are larger than female eyes, this isn't always true but mostly it is.


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## Zachsmom

I got my baby a couple weeks ago. She was in a small bowl tank and I moved her to a 10 gal. I'm thinking it's too big as she seems to have stress stripes. Should I put her back in the smaller bowl? I have a heater but I'm thinking that with the big tank and the filter it's stressing her out. I feed her BettaMin which is suppose to be for babies. I'm a new baby betta mom and want her/him to live and be happy. She has plants and rocks she hides in but I don't think she's happy. Advise please.


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## Zachsmom

Just took pics and I'll try to upload them here. I put her back in the one gallon. Tell me if you think this is sufficient and if you believe it's a girl. I do believe so.


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## tisci

Thanks lilnaugrim.

Also, I've accidentally created a monster. When I got my baby betta, he didn't understand how to eat pellets. So I fed him frozen brine shrimp with a pipette, as directed here. Now that he's thriving & a bit bigger, I'm trying to get him to eat tiny little pellets & he ignores them. I even tried to push them towards him w/the pipette & he just hungrily attacked the pipette, looking for shrimp. If he were an adult, I'd just let him go hungry until he ate the pellets, but I'm worried about doing that with a guy that little.


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## Valentino14

Zachsmom- Try a 2.5 gallon tank. There's one at petsmart for 12 bucks. You're right- she's probably overwhelmed and a little scared. this size is almost always recommended for babies because they can still grow into adults but also feel secure. Save the 10 gal. for a second betta or for when your baby is older! This is just my advice. My baby has been doing pretty good in this size


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## Zachsmom

Thanks Valentino14. I guesstimate her age at about 7 weeks according to a chart on here. I'm thinking a girl, what do you think?


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## tisci

Literally just picked up this little one!! Gonna head home now & get him/her settled in. There were only 2 & this one was very active when I picked up the cups. Figured that was a sign to pick him/her.


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## Sabina88

(s)he looks just like the baby I have who I got on Tuesday 
Good luck with him/her


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## tisci

Thanks Sabina!! I'm so excited to start with a smaller one. My little dude already had some coloring & people on here were able to tell me right away that e was a boy. This will be a fun surprise to see what this baby turns out to be. Can't wait to see the fins all unclamped.


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## Valentino14

Zachsmom said:


> Thanks Valentino14. I guesstimate her age at about 7 weeks according to a chart on here. I'm thinking a girl, what do you think?


 If you have a pic of all of him/her, it'll be easier to tell... that one you put on here earlier is a little blurry and we can't see the back fins! lol
It you see a small white dot on the belly, it very well may be a girl- they have ovary "patches".
But boys sometimes have fake ones! My baby was almost impossible to identify for a long time!


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## lilnaugrim

Zachsmom said:


> View attachment 299314
> 
> 
> View attachment 299322
> Just took pics and I'll try to upload them here. I put her back in the one gallon. Tell me if you think this is sufficient and if you believe it's a girl. I do believe so.


Yup, it's a baby girl!

And don't worry, she'll be totally fine the 10 gallon and I would recommend you keep her there actually. The more space she has, the more the growth stunting hormone won't effect her so she'll grow faster. Also for her stripes, these are normal baby stripes. Babies will maintain their stripes for quite some time, they are just camouflage stripes though, not always indicative of stress. I find in most situations they aren't really stressed anyway! They are hardy little beasts! ^_^

Also BettaMin is NOT for babies and should not be fed to any fish. 

In foods, look at the first three ingredients and list them off. You want to watch out for things called Fillers, these are; Wheat, Corn and Soybean. Ingredients in food are listed by weight so the more good stuff the food has like Whole Atlantic Salmon Meal or Whole Krill Meal the better the food is. If they have fillers in the first three ingredients or 2 out of 3 then the food is no good.

I recommend New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula or Betta Fish Formula. The Betta formula is larger at 1mm pellet size and Small Fish is .5mm pellet size so it's half the size and usually pretty easy for the babies to eat. I also grind my pellets against each other in the container to make even smaller pellets, I do this with both my .5mm pellets and the 1mm pellets to really make more like .25-.3mm pellets and .7 mm pellets. You can also invest in the Grow Formula which you can really only get online, it's a bit expensive especially if you are only raising a baby Betta every now and then and might not be worth it; go with the Small Fish formula instead.


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## KristyKhaos162

*New owner advice?*

Hey! So I'm new to the world of fish, and this site looked like the most helpful place to turn to. 
Last week I found out I have a heart condition, so I will be undergoing surgery in about two weeks. With that comes being stuck in bed for a month recovering. Since that'll suck, my friend got me a baby Betta from Petco. We took him(?) home yesterday under the instructions from an employee of "all you need to do is keep it in a small tank and feed it tinier food".
Boy was that an understatement. He's in a tiny tank right now; it holds about 5 cups of water. I'm moving him to a bigger tank this weekend. But he wasn't acting very well. Worried, I looked up a lot and bought a heater today (which is struggling to keep the water above 74 >___> )
I'm feeding him Hikari Tropical Baby Betta Micro Pellets? They look promising. 
In the day he's been home though he's grown much more active and what looked like stress stripes faded away. 
But in the end I'm looking to learn more? I don't know what I'm doing really haha. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks <3


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## KristyKhaos162

His name is Thor btw


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## Valentino14

Good call getting a heater! Do water changes about every other day... 74 is pretty chilly for babies, 80 is ideal! what protein content does the food have?


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## KristyKhaos162

Valentino14 said:


> Good call getting a heater! Do water changes about every other day... 74 is pretty chilly for babies, 80 is ideal! what protein content does the food have?


Crude Protein is 43%, Crude Fat is 7%, and Crude Fiber is 7%
Also first two ingredients are Fish Meal and Krill Meal. Was told that was good because it wasn't wheat? 
And heater is reading 76 now. Better but it's being janky. Hopefully it'll sort itself out. It's better then the 68 degree water he came in! Broke my heart.


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## jaysee

What is far more important than the protein percentage is the quality of the protein. "Whole ____ meal" is the best source of protein, where the source is actually identified. Otherwise, it can be just a grab bag of miscellaneous fish of varying quality. Too, you WANT to see it listed as a meal. It's the only way the fish makes it into the food. If it doesn't say meal then they are likely counting the weight of the whole unprocessed fish with regards to their ingredient list. 80% is lost in the mealing process so the actual abundance of the ingredient in the fish food is misrepresented. 

Salmon and herring are the two best fish proteins, while krill is perhaps the best overall. NLS uses Antarctic krill and herring as their primary protein sources. Vegetable matter is also very important and like fish, quality varies. Like the proteins, you want to see a few high quality sources, one of which being an algae. Spirulina is a terrific source of plant matter for fish food.

Fillers are required in fish food, but some are better than others. And the number of fillers is important. Like with our own food, you want to see whole sources, like whole wheat. There also should only be a couple of these ingredients. One of the ways they can misrepresent the quantity of filler is to break them up, so instead of listing wheat as the second ingredient, they can split it up as wheat germ and wheat and a few others. As individual components they are all less abundant and therefor can be placed further down the list.


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## Valentino14

ideally you want to see whole krill, or even whole salmon. Omega 1 betta buffet is the best dry food you can give em, but you have to crush up the pellets for a baby! Petsmart sells the brand as well as amazon. The 43% is okay, he will do just fine on that food for the most part. but a variety is also good! if you have access you can try frozen food- i haven't used it in years thogh and my baby is almost fully grown! This is probably a little confusing lol but I hope it helps!


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## tisci

Hi Kristy. Like Jaysee said, NLS is a really good food. I've been having a really hard time getting my babies to eat pellets & the BBS I got is WAAAY too small for them to even see it. It's like adding a fine powder to the water. I've been cutting up frozen cubes of brine shrimp into fourths & then thawing a piece out two or three times a day & feeding it to them with a pipette. I'm still trying to get them to eat pellets as well, but it's not working yet.


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## KristyKhaos162

Thanks! I hadn't heard that there even were things I could feed him besides flakes and pellets till today haha. I've got lots to learn. I'm planning on going back to Petco on Friday and looking at frozen foods and asking them a few questions. Luckily I haven't had any issues feeding Thor! He's actually a little piggy and eats his pellets super fast. It's hard to not over feed him.


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## lilnaugrim

KristyKhaos162 said:


> Thanks! I hadn't heard that there even were things I could feed him besides flakes and pellets till today haha. I've got lots to learn. I'm planning on going back to Petco on Friday and looking at frozen foods and asking them a few questions. Luckily I haven't had any issues feeding Thor! He's actually a little piggy and eats his pellets super fast. It's hard to not over feed him.


Well first, congrats on your new baby! And sorry to hear about your heart condition!

+1 to everything Jaysee said, omega one is an okay food but I would prefer you find New Life Spectrum (NLS) since it is better than Omega and healthier all around. And don't worry, it's kind of hard to overfeed the babies IMHO, I mean, you can do it but for the most part they'll just metabolize it fairly quickly if the heat is able to be bumped up.

Water changes daily will be necessary for him to grow, just be careful of yourself is all, I wouldn't want this to stress out your heart any more than it needs to! If you need, have someone help you  there's no shame in asking for help when we need it ^_^ 50% water change daily will suffice, more is better but always be careful when putting the baby back. Acclimate him by letting him float in the tank in a cup if you do a large water change and take him out, add a little of the new water to his cup every 10-15 minutes or so for an hour and then slowly let him back into the tank so you don't cause stress.

Hikari food used to be good but they've since changed their formula over the last few years and have gotten cheaper with it which is unfortunate. Frozen Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms and Daphnia are the usual things to feed the babies. With frozen foods you can place a cube (they come in little cubes) on a plate and carefully chop up the cube into smaller pieces so you don't have to thaw an entire cube and only feed him a few worms, that'd be pretty wasteful! 

So you can throw the rest of the pieces back into the container and let it back into the freezer. I then take a small cup, use a bit of the fishes tank water and plop the smaller piece into it to let it thaw out for around 10 minutes or so! And then I use my long plant tweezers to feed them the individual worm. You can refrigerate the remaining worms in the fridge for a few days, 3-5 at tops. There's no good information about what time you can leave it in the fridge for but I just don't risk it passed 5 days just to be on the safe side 

Also, asking most PetCo employee's about fish is practically useless. I know there are a few good employees out there (my friend is one of them) but for the most part, none of them really know anything. You'd be better off just asking us here for things you need and we can advise  You are certainly welcome to talk to them! don't mean that you can't lol, but just letting you know!


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## KurisuYamato

Well, hello everyone!

Last week I purchased one of those PetCo baby betta. I am quite certain it's too young for the gender to be determined, so i have yet to pick a name.

I have the little one in one of those half gallon cube tanks, but I will probably be purchasing a larger tank soon. I just hope a 5 or 10 gallon tank wouldn't be too much for the baby, as it's all of just under an inch long.

I am feeding it, currently, Hikari micro pellets, which from what I have read on here, are pretty much filler, so I would need to find something a little better for the baby, but small enough for him / her to eat.

I want to give the baby the best he can have, but I am between jobs right now, so I can't go as exorbitant as I want to. I would like to be able to set up a decent sized tank, with lid, with enough stuff for the fish to be happy and warm.

On the topic of warmth, I do keep my room rather toasty, but last night I did purchase a small 8 watt heater. I checked the temp an hour later and it had gone up to, according to an external thermometer, about 90. I removed the heater worked to cool down to tank, and the fish is FINE, but I am somewhat scared to use heaters, especially considering the idea of putting something electrical into the tank itself. I know it would be better with a 5 gallon tank, that heater, but as it stands right now, like I said, I keep the room so toasty, the fish seems okay. Perhaps in the summer, though, when I crank up the AC I will need to use the heater, as my room will be much colder than it is now. Who knows.

Attached is a picture of the little bit. :3


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## Valentino14

M baby was fine for 4 months before I got him a heater... don't worry! And just make sure you do enough water changes


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## KurisuYamato

Valentino14 said:


> M baby was fine for 4 months before I got him a heater... don't worry! And just make sure you do enough water changes


Oh yes, I am trying to keep a good water change regime going on. That's part of why I want to get a larger tank, so the little one can have more space, for less drastic water changes. Don't want to hurt em after all, right?


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## lilnaugrim

Valentino14 said:


> M baby was fine for 4 months before I got him a heater... don't worry! And just make sure you do enough water changes


In 4 months your baby should have been an Adult....


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## Valentino14

The babies at petco are at a disadvantage because they are living in those cups for a while before they are sold. They're usually in the store around 3-4 weeks before someone gets em. 
He's growing but it took a while to reverse the damage that was done.


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## lilnaugrim

Valentino14 said:


> The babies at petco are at a disadvantage because they are living in those cups for a while before they are sold. They're usually in the store around 3-4 weeks before someone gets em.
> He's growing but it took a while to reverse the damage that was done.


Not always true, you can get them right as they come in from the shipment and they will barely have had a day in the cup. Even babies that do spend lots of time in the cup, they will either end up dead anyways or yes, they will be stunted some but if you are taking care of them properly then they would have been grown up by this point.

I had been given a baby (Hawkeye) who had spent a month in a 1 gallon bowl with water changes done only weekly and fed maybe every other day. I got him and had him in a divided 10 and he instantly started to grow, he was an adult in less than 2 months making him roughly 5 months old at that point when he become an adult.


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## apachywarrior

I bought a baby betta there and he's made it about....6-8 months how can I tell if hes a male or female or if hes even old enough...


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## lilnaugrim

apachywarrior said:


> I bought a baby betta there and he's made it about....6-8 months how can I tell if hes a male or female or if hes even old enough...


If you give us a few pictures of it on the side we can help you out.


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## apachywarrior

ill post pictures as soon as I get home...and also whats good plant life for it it...id like to put live plants I have a 5 gallon tank


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## lilnaugrim

apachywarrior said:


> ill post pictures as soon as I get home...and also whats good plant life for it it...id like to put live plants I have a 5 gallon tank


Anything basically, easy plants to keep alive are; Anubias, Java Fern, Java Moss, Anacharis, Water Wisteria, Green Cryptocoryne, any floating plant really like Hornwort, duckweed (although very difficult to remove if you ever want to get rid of it). Also make sure you have the right lights for plants, I recommend you finding a CFL if you don't already have one (compact fluorescent light) like the spiral ones. A light around 6,500K is good, that's the color of the bulb and the sun at it's peak in the afternoon sky, best time to grow plants. 5,000K is okay too but it's more like a cloudy day and doesn't do a lot for the plants so the 6,500K is the best way to go. They are also called Daylights, but always check the Kelvin rating to make sure you have the right color!


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## KurisuYamato

For my little runt what would be better, a 5 or a 10 gallon? I really don't want to buy an additional tank anytime soon, but I want some space for it to grow and live and be happy. :3


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## Valentino14

lilnaugrim said:


> Not always true, you can get them right as they come in from the shipment and they will barely have had a day in the cup. Even babies that do spend lots of time in the cup, they will either end up dead anyways or yes, they will be stunted some but if you are taking care of them properly then they would have been grown up by this point.
> 
> I had been given a baby (Hawkeye) who had spent a month in a 1 gallon bowl with water changes done only weekly and fed maybe every other day. I got him and had him in a divided 10 and he instantly started to grow, he was an adult in less than 2 months making him roughly 5 months old at that point when he become an adult.


Lil- He's healthy and happy. He has always been active. In my opinion, i've done a very good job with him. I'm damn proud. I know i'm not as "experienced" as you but that doesn't mean im bad at taking care of my fish. Some of your comments have gotten a bit offensive lately and I really don't appreciate it. I was taught to stand up for myself, so I am not the kind of person who is going to sit here and let someone else make me feel stupid. Please don't tell other people that they are failing at taking care of their pets... obviously if he has been alive this long i've been doing something right. He is growing. He has never been sick. He's fine. Some of your advice is very helpful, and you've helped me alot in the past. But please don't tell me i'm raising my fish poorly.


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## apachywarrior

male?


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## Ickbeth

Nice fish I love the colors&#55357;&#56351;


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## apachywarrior

thank You  Do You Know If Is A Make Or A female


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## KristyKhaos162

*New tank.*

Got a new tank and Thor seems much happier than he was in that teeny 4 cup tank. Also got some baby brine shrimp for him ^__^


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## KristyKhaos162

*Gender?*

Also, if possible, could anyone help me figure out if Thor is indeed a male? Or what type of Betta he is for that matter. I'm super curious but he's hard to get a photo of. But he's a grey-brown with light red fins that have a very thin blue around the edges.


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## KurisuYamato

Well, I went out and got a 4 gallon tank today. "Marineland Classic 4 gallon" is what it's called. got some gravel as well. Still using the same tiny heater, but like I said before, considering how I keep my room, I would hope that would be acceptable to keep the water a little warmer than normal (it was a heater designed for a tank about half as big... :\ ).

A few friends online said, from the picture, it looks like a female, and I would think so as well, but I would still like a few of you guys to judge, if you can from the pic I provided this morning.

I'll try to get some video of him / her later, but I do wonder one thing now...

The tank has a filter, which to me seems a little, well, rough. The little thing seems to have to fight against it whenever it is on, but the only way to have the lights on in the tank is to have the filter running. I could take out the impeller system, but then that leaves the motor coil running till it would naturally fry, and I sure don't want that.

Spent a good bit on this tank, so I wonder what ideas you guys have. I am thinking maybe getting some kind of filtering sponge and fitting it into the intake cover, to lower the flow of the water, but I don't know. I'm kind of creative like that, but of course, I don't want to break anything or endanger my fish.

Thoughts? Comments?


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## kittenfish

lilnaugrim said:


> Not always true, you can get them right as they come in from the shipment and they will barely have had a day in the cup. Even babies that do spend lots of time in the cup, they will either end up dead anyways or yes, they will be stunted some but if you are taking care of them properly then they would have been grown up by this point.
> 
> I had been given a baby (Hawkeye) who had spent a month in a 1 gallon bowl with water changes done only weekly and fed maybe every other day. I got him and had him in a divided 10 and he instantly started to grow, he was an adult in less than 2 months making him roughly 5 months old at that point when he become an adult.


I've got a girl in my divided 10 gallon who, after 3 months, is less than 1 inch long. She is definitely an adult, just tiny. Wonder if I have growth stunting hormone in my tap water, all of my fish are pretty miniature.


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## Valentino14

KurisuYamato said:


> Well, I went out and got a 4 gallon tank today. "Marineland Classic 4 gallon" is what it's called. got some gravel as well. Still using the same tiny heater, but like I said before, considering how I keep my room, I would hope that would be acceptable to keep the water a little warmer than normal (it was a heater designed for a tank about half as big... :\ ).
> 
> A few friends online said, from the picture, it looks like a female, and I would think so as well, but I would still like a few of you guys to judge, if you can from the pic I provided this morning.
> 
> I'll try to get some video of him / her later, but I do wonder one thing now...
> 
> The tank has a filter, which to me seems a little, well, rough. The little thing seems to have to fight against it whenever it is on, but the only way to have the lights on in the tank is to have the filter running. I could take out the impeller system, but then that leaves the motor coil running till it would naturally fry, and I sure don't want that.
> 
> Spent a good bit on this tank, so I wonder what ideas you guys have. I am thinking maybe getting some kind of filtering sponge and fitting it into the intake cover, to lower the flow of the water, but I don't know. I'm kind of creative like that, but of course, I don't want to break anything or endanger my fish.
> 
> Thoughts? Comments?


 All you really need is a baffle... there are DIY instructions somewhere on here! You make it out of a water bottle


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## jaysee

Valentino14 said:


> Lil- He's healthy and happy. He has always been active. In my opinion, i've done a very good job with him. I'm damn proud. I know i'm not as "experienced" as you but that doesn't mean im bad at taking care of my fish. Some of your comments have gotten a bit offensive lately and I really don't appreciate it. I was taught to stand up for myself, so I am not the kind of person who is going to sit here and let someone else make me feel stupid. Please don't tell other people that they are failing at taking care of their pets... obviously if he has been alive this long i've been doing something right. He is growing. He has never been sick. He's fine. Some of your advice is very helpful, and you've helped me alot in the past. But please don't tell me i'm raising my fish poorly.



There is absolutely nothing wrong with what she said. Nothing offensive. I can't even figure out what you took issue with - that she said it's not true and that you can get fish when they show up at the store?? That's absolutely true. Don't take everything so personally.


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## lilnaugrim

Valentino14 said:


> Lil- He's healthy and happy. He has always been active. In my opinion, i've done a very good job with him. I'm damn proud. I know i'm not as "experienced" as you but that doesn't mean im bad at taking care of my fish. Some of your comments have gotten a bit offensive lately and I really don't appreciate it. I was taught to stand up for myself, so I am not the kind of person who is going to sit here and let someone else make me feel stupid. Please don't tell other people that they are failing at taking care of their pets... obviously if he has been alive this long i've been doing something right. He is growing. He has never been sick. He's fine. Some of your advice is very helpful, and you've helped me alot in the past. But please don't tell me i'm raising my fish poorly.


I'm sorry, I don't mean to be offensive, the internet is a hard place to convey thoughts and emotions so I apologize if you feel offended. I've been totally guilty of spreading wrong information around or things that might be true and might not be. I don't want other people to make the mistake I did and I know it's all a viscous cycle that I can't prevent, I only want to help.

That's fine that your baby is alive and well but I'm just saying he should be bigger than he is right now, sometimes it's not our fault and I know that, I've been there myself. But babies are supposed to grow at a certain rate and if they don't, there are just more issues for him/her in the long run, most of the time ending in death....I've been there too. My first two babies, Steve and Tony were amazing. Steve grew like a normal baby even with me still learning about Betta's and what the heck I was doing, Tony on the other hand was severely stunted. He died within 5 months and Steve died two weeks later from depression, yeah, fish can get attached to something or someone. I just don't want everyone to go through that, I know, I know that it isn't avoidable and there is only so much that we can do as fish keepers, but I can still hope.

So again, I'm sorry if I offended you, it was not my intention.



apachywarrior said:


> male?


Looks like a long finned VT female! I believe I see ovaries there but it is a little hard to tell. *Also....is that metal in the tank??*



KristyKhaos162 said:


> Also, if possible, could anyone help me figure out if Thor is indeed a male? Or what type of Betta he is for that matter. I'm super curious but he's hard to get a photo of. But he's a grey-brown with light red fins that have a very thin blue around the edges.


Hmm, hard to tell, looks like a VT from the anal fin and the droop in the tail already, looks male but I would need a clearer picture is all.



kittenfish said:


> I've got a girl in my divided 10 gallon who, after 3 months, is less than 1 inch long. She is definitely an adult, just tiny. Wonder if I have growth stunting hormone in my tap water, all of my fish are pretty miniature.


lol, that would be horrible if the hormone was in the tap water!!!!! I don't think it is possible since you know....it comes from fish...unless your water comes from a pond or lake or something lol. 



KurisuYamato said:


> Well, I went out and got a 4 gallon tank today. "Marineland Classic 4 gallon" is what it's called. got some gravel as well. Still using the same tiny heater, but like I said before, considering how I keep my room, I would hope that would be acceptable to keep the water a little warmer than normal (it was a heater designed for a tank about half as big... :\ ).
> 
> A few friends online said, from the picture, it looks like a female, and I would think so as well, but I would still like a few of you guys to judge, if you can from the pic I provided this morning.
> 
> I'll try to get some video of him / her later, but I do wonder one thing now...
> 
> The tank has a filter, which to me seems a little, well, rough. The little thing seems to have to fight against it whenever it is on, but the only way to have the lights on in the tank is to have the filter running. I could take out the impeller system, but then that leaves the motor coil running till it would naturally fry, and I sure don't want that.
> 
> Spent a good bit on this tank, so I wonder what ideas you guys have. I am thinking maybe getting some kind of filtering sponge and fitting it into the intake cover, to lower the flow of the water, but I don't know. I'm kind of creative like that, but of course, I don't want to break anything or endanger my fish.
> 
> Thoughts? Comments?


Here is the filter water bottle baffle: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=30139
And a sponge baffle! It's not a step by step but if you read the comments you can get an idea! http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=56100


----------



## KurisuYamato

Valentino14 said:


> All you really need is a baffle... there are DIY instructions somewhere on here! You make it out of a water bottle


Cool! I'll look into that. Thanks!


----------



## tisci

When I woke up early this morning, this little one had red fins. A few hours later, the fins are back to the drab baby fish color & the head/face is the color the fins were. They're fascinating to watch. Hard to get a pic because he/she likes to turn when I come into view so I get a face forward pic almost everytime.

I'm really crossing my fingers for a girl. I'll be happy w/a male as well, I just hope if it's a boy it doesn't end up being a red cambodian, just like my other baby fish.


----------



## Valentino14

Lil- thank you for that explanation, now I understand exactly where you were coming from. I'm so sorry to hear about your babies! As a petco employee, I do think that these baby fish are at a big disadvantage than the adults, because they are sold so young and often to people who don't realize all of the extra care they really require. Like I said before, I only just got my baby a heater last week when I discovered how important it is. Now he is really set up for success... and, to tell the truth, I am proud I have kept him alive this long because I really didn't have any experience to begin with.

Jaysee- why does it matter? My post was intended for Lil. I won't tolerate someone outrightly telling me or anyone else that we are bad with our fish, that was the part that I was originally offended from. Clearly, we just solved that. Please take your attitude elsewhere, these forums are supposed to be knowledgable, not a place to argue. Stop trying to start something.


----------



## KurisuYamato

Well, I cut a few bottles and made a baffle setup for my little one. Named her Aki last night, since I am generally certain it is a female.

Water still is a little rough, as the "bio-wheel" on this kind of filter makes installation a little odd. The water flow is redirected more to the surface, rather than low, but particles still move around at about 1 inch per second, give or take.

Perhaps I should have gotten a different tank, but this was the best option for what I wanted to do.

Does that amount of water flow sound like an acceptable amount for Aki? Whenever the water is flowing, she hangs out more towards the bottom of the tank. She CAN swim upwards, against the water flow, but I don't want her to be too stressed.


----------



## lilnaugrim

KurisuYamato said:


> Well, I cut a few bottles and made a baffle setup for my little one. Named her Aki last night, since I am generally certain it is a female.
> 
> Water still is a little rough, as the "bio-wheel" on this kind of filter makes installation a little odd. The water flow is redirected more to the surface, rather than low, but particles still move around at about 1 inch per second, give or take.
> 
> Perhaps I should have gotten a different tank, but this was the best option for what I wanted to do.
> 
> Does that amount of water flow sound like an acceptable amount for Aki? Whenever the water is flowing, she hangs out more towards the bottom of the tank. She CAN swim upwards, against the water flow, but I don't want her to be too stressed.


Hmm, looks more like a boy to me, a side pictures will help me determine more.


----------



## KurisuYamato

lilnaugrim said:


> Hmm, looks more like a boy to me, a side pictures will help me determine more.


Here's the best I could do at current.

Note that the bright pink to the lower right of Aki is a stone, and not fins. Confused me when I first looked at the pictures, and I'm the one with the fish. XD


----------



## lilnaugrim

KurisuYamato said:


> Here's the best I could do at current.
> 
> Note that the bright pink to the lower right of Aki is a stone, and not fins. Confused me when I first looked at the pictures, and I'm the one with the fish. XD


Yeah, still looks male to me; fin lengths and the shape of the body. It could still turn out to be female but I'm still betting male.


----------



## KurisuYamato

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, still looks male to me; fin lengths and the shape of the body. It could still turn out to be female but I'm still betting male.


With a few other friends saying female, it should be fun to see how Aki develops.

Certianly not doubting your identifying skill, I just find it funny that everyone else says "female" and you are like "nah, male". Time will tell who is correct. :3

If it is male, though, I might want to pick a better name. :\


----------



## lilnaugrim

KurisuYamato said:


> With a few other friends saying female, it should be fun to see how Aki develops.
> 
> Certianly not doubting your identifying skill, I just find it funny that everyone else says "female" and you are like "nah, male". Time will tell who is correct. :3
> 
> If it is male, though, I might want to pick a better name. :\


lol, that's fine, but how many babies have they sexed before? ;-)


----------



## KurisuYamato

lilnaugrim said:


> lol, that's fine, but how many babies have they sexed before? ;-)


That's what I mean. I know what to look for in male and female, and they know too, but exactly as you said: how many have they sexed.

I look at Aki and I see quite a bit of male behaviour, but some traits that are female. I'm no expert though, and certainly trust people like you, on here, over others.


----------



## Ickbeth

I have a baby betta from petco I don't have any pictures from when I first got him but I can show u a picture of what he looks like now


----------



## alyymarie

I've had my little guy for 3 weeks now - just in the last few days, his fins have really started growing! And they're developing a lot of red, he was just a purple/blue when I got him. But I'm glad I was successful in picking a boy 
Does he look like a veiltail? I assume that's what most of the babies will be. I'm no good at fin types though. And I haven't seen him flare yet.


----------



## TiffanyP

Aw all of your babies are so cute! I think once I'm settled in in my new place in Colorado I'm going to get a new baby to raise 

*Note* I'm moving to Colorado (more details in my journal). I'm keeping 2 of the 3 babies I raised - Yoshi and Alaric  Lady Icarus went to my niece as a birthday present. It's always sad parting with something you raised from just a tiny little thing but I'm pleased with her growth and I know my brother/niece will take good care of her. I'm also keeping 2 of my grown fish - Gilligan and Nemo!


----------



## lilnaugrim

alyymarie said:


> I've had my little guy for 3 weeks now - just in the last few days, his fins have really started growing! And they're developing a lot of red, he was just a purple/blue when I got him. But I'm glad I was successful in picking a boy
> Does he look like a veiltail? I assume that's what most of the babies will be. I'm no good at fin types though. And I haven't seen him flare yet.


Yup! Looks like a little boy VT! So cute :-D I love the stage when their fins are growing out and they don't grow evenly lol, I don't know why but I always fine it so adorable ^_^


----------



## Valentino14

Lil- I completely agree!! i'm starting to think I got a halfmoon... his tail is very round


----------



## lilnaugrim

Valentino14 said:


> Lil- I completely agree!! i'm starting to think I got a halfmoon... his tail is very round


Veiltails will also go through a stage where their tails end up looking a little round, not all of them will but most of them. There was a time where both Steve and Tony's tails were very round and I thought they were going to at least be DeT's but they both ended up VT's.

Steve:


----------



## Valentino14

Goregous!! I finally got a good pic of Zeus, so i'll upload the pic and let you help me judge lol


----------



## Valentino14

Tell me what you think if you can!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Valentino14 said:


> Tell me what you think if you can!


Are you using a phone camera or a real camera? Just wondering, if it's a real camera I could help you get closer pictures is all. He still looks like VT to me but without being able to see his ray's and how he is branching I won't be able to tell for sure.


----------



## turtle10

I caved today and bought two baby bettas from petco, they were the last two. How long can they stay in a divided, planted 2.5g with daily water changes?


----------



## dramaqueen

Until they outgrow it, I suppose.


----------



## kittenfish

Valentino14 said:


> Tell me what you think if you can!


Can't really see much in that pic, but here's a photo of my delta tail at about the same size for comparison:










You can see where the rays are splitting for the second time at the very end.


----------



## Twilight Bettas

1st pic baby Vudu.... Present pic...baby Vudu


----------



## Tikibirds

I was hoping for a male but I think its a female. Its grown quite a bit in the past 2 weeks


----------



## Kiara1125

With the ventrals, it looks like you got a female. Pretty though!


----------



## Kiara1125

Valentino14 said:


> Tell me what you think if you can!


The round dorsal makes me think delta, but he might be a veiltail.


----------



## tisci

Wow, this little one is hard to get a picture of because he/she is always ZOOMING. Grown a lot in the last week. Hanging out during a water change.


----------



## Sabina88

Just checking is it ok to feed my baby about 3 pellets and some BBS spread out through the day or is that too much?


----------



## Tikibirds

it does indeed appear to be a girl.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Sabina88 said:


> Just checking is it ok to feed my baby about 3 pellets and some BBS spread out through the day or is that too much?


Certainly!



Tikibirds said:


> it does indeed appear to be a girl.


Yep, that's a girl for sure! She's super cute though!!


----------



## Sabina88

Thanks lilnaugrim 
He seems to be doing well on this diet too. I just measured my baby and hes a little under .5 so im pretty sure that hes about 4 weeks, meaning that he was only about 3 when I got him. I also just discovered today that he is starting to get some color in, he has some red along the part where his fins meet his body (not sure what its called).Ill try to get a pic of him soon, if my camera decideds to be nice lol

Also Tikibirds you do have a really cute female


----------



## mart

I got my baby. Well, it isn't the one I wanted, she was gone.
This one seems healthy, she is a veil tail. 
I have her in a 1 gal right now, filtered, heated, a little castle and a live plant.

She is happier than a pig in slop. Swimming around and going through her castle, and even playing in the waterfall.

So, this is my first female. I'll take some pics after she settles in. Don't want to scare her.


----------



## Valentino14

So, I just got my moss balls yesterday, and Zeus LOVES his! He uses it as a bed and a little hide in front of his terra cotta pot. I got 3 from Ebay for 15 bucks, after shipping cost. The actual moss wa about a dollar per ball. It took forever to get here but it was worth it!


----------



## Sabina88

So today marks the second week ive had my baby  He still doesn't have a name yet since its hard for me to name them when im not really sure what he looks like, but im pretty sure he will be some form of a red CT. Ive also found out that hes about 4 weeks old at this point if I measured him right. Unfortunetly meaning that he was only 3 weeks or younger sitting in the yucky cold cup at petco :-(
I finally decided to take some updated photos of the little guy, but it didn't go quite as planed lol. In recent days he has decided that theres no need to stay still unless your getting air or food and that cuppled with my camera not wanting to focus I only ended up with a few ok photos. But he is starting to slowly fill in with the usual black stripes and tanish/skinish color that baby bettas tend to have and he is starting to get some color in his fins (although I cant tell if its red or a "chocolate brown" since his fins are still pretty opaque)
So without further ado here he is 

This is him the day he came home:








I think this from a few days after: 








And here are the two from today:


----------



## lilnaugrim

Sabina88 said:


> So today marks the second week ive had my baby  He still doesn't have a name yet since its hard for me to name them when im not really sure what he looks like, but im pretty sure he will be some form of a red CT. Ive also found out that hes about 4 weeks old at this point if I measured him right. Unfortunetly meaning that he was only 3 weeks or younger sitting in the yucky cold cup at petco :-(
> I finally decided to take some updated photos of the little guy, but it didn't go quite as planed lol. In recent days he has decided that theres no need to stay still unless your getting air or food and that cuppled with my camera not wanting to focus I only ended up with a few ok photos. But he is starting to slowly fill in with the usual black stripes and tanish/skinish color that baby bettas tend to have and he is starting to get some color in his fins (although I cant tell if its red or a "chocolate brown" since his fins are still pretty opaque)
> So without further ado here he is
> 
> This is him the day he came home:
> View attachment 303418
> 
> 
> I think this from a few days after:
> View attachment 303426
> 
> 
> And here are the two from today:
> View attachment 303434
> 
> View attachment 303442


The anal fin screams VT to me with the way it is slanted, normal form for a VT  he looks like he's growing well though ^_^


----------



## Sabina88

That's good to here . I actually thought he was a VT too, but I discovered if you look really close you can see little branching rays, so I think he may be a CT, I think you can slightly see them in the second pic.


----------



## Valentino14

I THINK MY BABY MIGHT BE A CROWNTAIL!!!!!! When I was feeding him today I noticed the faint edges of his tail fin separating!!! I cant even explain how excited I am right now! I've always wanted a CT but never had the chance... I can't get a good pic to ask you fine people though... if it becomes more prominent we shall see!


----------



## Sabina88

Just curous but is more common the end up with a VT baby betta then say a CT or DT or HM?


----------



## TiffanyP

I've had 2 babies who ended up being VTs though they had extended rays for a while and I thought they'd probably be CTs. 

I think the majority of baby bettas end up being VTs, though I lucked out with one of mine and ended up with a black with blue dragon scales halfmoon ^_^

I hope yours is a CT though since you want one so badly


----------



## Sabina88

Really? I didn't know that their tails could branch but still become VT's, maybe they had some CT genes in them. Im really carouse to find out now


----------



## flickaroo

My mom fell for it, definitely, and I'm currently watching her baby while she is a way. Poor guy's already been through a lot as we try and to work through food and heating problems.

They told us to just feed him regular betta food, and while I'm still skeptical about that, we're feeding him what we feed our adult fish. Except, of course, he's too tiny to properly eat it -- he tried, it was actually hilarious to watch. So I've been breaking the food into smaller pieces with a spoon.

Our biggest problem so far has been heating. First we didn't have one for about a week due to money, (but we kept him near light which kept his tank a least a bit warmer, and she pulled out a heater we usually have in the bathroom to warm the air, and that worked relatively well, but it was difficult to keep it consistent and kept an eye on) then I convinced her to get one but she wanted something affordable so we got was one of the clerks recommended. 

Lo and behold, this 11$ heater turned on us. This week I've been taking care of him -- well we assume it's a him right now and his name is Nico -- and right now he is hanging out in his cup which I refill with warm water every now and then.

First the heater wasn't working. Kept the water cold. It's one of the ones I can't change, either. But THEN it started heating it up way too much, and my friggin thermometer missed it somehow. I felt the water inside when I noticed Nico was at the bottom, struggling to breathe, and it was far hotter than my other tanks. So emergency cooling down later, and he's better, but so far he's either been too cold or too hot and often the poor guy is just looking like he's hibernating. 

I can't tell you how angry I am about the heater and the thermometer almost killing him like that. People say we're supposed to trust consumer products? Bull.

So now I'm trying to hunt down another of the heaters I use for my fish and scrounge up money for one for this fish. Until then, I'm planning on making my adult fish suffer a bit in colder water and put my heater in Nico's tank.

So yeah. Fish drama!

Still, he's a cute guy and already grown twice his size, if not more, since we got him.

My fish is cooler tho, just for the record 

We also brought him in to show my preschool class, as how many people can say they've seen a baby betta? Brought mom's adult -- Magnus -- for comparison. They loved it!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Sabina88 said:


> That's good to here . I actually thought he was a VT too, but I discovered if you look really close you can see little branching rays, so I think he may be a CT, I think you can slightly see them in the second pic.





Valentino14 said:


> I THINK MY BABY MIGHT BE A CROWNTAIL!!!!!! When I was feeding him today I noticed the faint edges of his tail fin separating!!! I cant even explain how excited I am right now! I've always wanted a CT but never had the chance... I can't get a good pic to ask you fine people though... if it becomes more prominent we shall see!





Sabina88 said:


> Just curous but is more common the end up with a VT baby betta then say a CT or DT or HM?





Sabina88 said:


> Really? I didn't know that their tails could branch but still become VT's, maybe they had some CT genes in them. Im really carouse to find out now


As I said, the ends of the tail will separate and grow unevenly making it look like they are branching but they really aren't. It's kind of like hair, half the time it doesn't grow evenly, some parts are longer than others.

Most common are VT babies since it is easier for the breeders to sell their "unwanted" VT's earlier when most people don't know they are actually VT's. Depending on your area there is a nice mix, my area are all VT's regardless of the time of year or anything. I've yet to see anyone here recently get a HM or CT, mostly DT's and VT's with the occasional DeT.


----------



## Sabina88

That makes sense, 
well what ever he turns out im happy he now has a nice warm home, 
same with every one elses babies


----------



## Valentino14

Yeah VT is definitely the most common type... he has the little fin "spikes" on the ends of his tail and dorsal... i'll love him no matter what though!


----------



## Alphahelix

Ok, time for a baby check!
For reference, I grabbed "Siren" off the counter as he was the tiniest one there, couldn't swim straight and was bent odd:

And now:



Is he a dragonscale? He has defined outlines around his scales and black "skin" underneath despite the green. Is he a baby veiltail? I've never seen them so young but his tail makes an almost perfect circle


----------



## Sabina88

What an amazing difference, your doing a really good job with him Alphahelix 
I love his coloration.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Alphahelix said:


> Ok, time for a baby check!
> For reference, I grabbed "Siren" off the counter as he was the tiniest one there, couldn't swim straight and was bent odd:
> 
> And now:
> 
> 
> 
> Is he a dragonscale? He has defined outlines around his scales and black "skin" underneath despite the green. Is he a baby veiltail? I've never seen them so young but his tail makes an almost perfect circle


Not a dragon scale but definitely a VT, they go through that stage where their tails make a great circle like yours does and he will begin to droop soon. Lovely coloration!!


----------



## Alphahelix

^ aha thank you! What makes the difference between dragon scale/not? I have a half moon that is a dragon scale but I'm not sure where the line is


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ooh I wish I saved my explanation for DS being lol

So Dragon scale are named from this design here for armor: http://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5432389/il_fullxfull.345944850.jpg?ref=l2 the scales are very thick and because they are thick they generally have a lot of pigment to them (hence why they can get pigment build-ups or scaling over their eyes), but it is the thickness of the scales not whether they are defined or not. You can see it well in this boy here, the red line up his back is called a Skunk Stripe which many DS have, over time this often fills in.


One of my Dragon boy's; Aero used to have the partial skunk stripe:


But now he's filled in as he's gotten older. There is about 6 months difference in these pictures.


Isis here is also a partial Dragon, notice the copper scaling and how thick it is?


And my regular boy, notice how his scales look more flat, they don't look raised as Isis's scales do, they aren't as bold.


Do these pictures help?


----------



## tisci

tisci said:


> This is the clearest picture I can get. He or she would really rather figure out what I'm doing than stay still. This is the most inquisitive betta I've ever had.



So this little guy has turned into this fish! He's looking great!





Still waiting on the newer baby to get some color & look like a betta


----------



## socallmenothing

Okay, guys. I have been lurking/admiring since getting my baby betta nearly a month ago. Since then, s/he has grown quite a bit! However, while I'm pretty sure I've got a pretty little girl on my hands (though, I've wondered if I might have a 
male PK as well), I am having a bit of a hard time determining what variety. Help? lol

Day 1 (2/7/14):


Day 6 (2/13/14):



Day 20 (2/27/14):



Day 24 (3/3/14):



I was originally thinking I might have a VT girl on my hands, but that dorsal fin is just too big. S/he's also pretty aggressive, which makes me second guess the gender (but with the breeding stripes, the ovipositor, and the shorter pectoral fins, I think I might be right on that count)

Since I am not in any way an expert, and though this is not my first betta, it's definitely my first (and youngest) baby (--my other baby is CLEARLY a male VT). Any help would be appreciated!


----------



## Sabina88

Your betta is very pretty socallmenothing 
I agree that you have a female, due to the size of the ventrals, also surprisingly females can be aggressive just like males. But im no expert, hopefully some one with more experience can help you out


----------



## bettafish404

Awwww I really want one of these baby bettas! Their all so cute!


----------



## Valentino14

So I was in NYC this weekend and while I was gone, Zeus accelerated in size! That frozen food really did the trick


----------



## lilnaugrim

socallmenothing: definitely a little girl and looks like she's a Super DeT! Very beautiful!


----------



## BETTAbeBETTA

I got Squirtlee two days ago. He is my second PETCO baby betta. My first Fry made it only three days  But Squirtlee seems to be in better shape and much more healthy.  I tried to post a picture but don't know how


----------



## darlingbudofmay

I know that it's early (I'm guessing around 6 weeks because his/her body length is absolutely no more than 0.9 inches, but does anyone have any guesses? The only reason I lean towards male is that the color is getting brighter and brighter every day.

EDIT: This picture is enlarged...not life size whatsoever!


----------



## BETTAbeBETTA

the late FRY.

My new rescue Squirtlee


----------



## lilnaugrim

darlingbudofmay said:


> I know that it's early (I'm guessing around 6 weeks because his/her body length is absolutely no more than 0.9 inches, but does anyone have any guesses? The only reason I lean towards male is that the color is getting brighter and brighter every day.
> 
> EDIT: This picture is enlarged...not life size whatsoever!


Looks like a little girly to me! I see ovaries there ^_^ and color has nothing to do for male vs. female, we've bred them over the years to be more colorful and whatnot so the only real way to tell male from female is to spot ovaries or not ;-)


----------



## Poleren

lilnaugrim said:


> Looks like a little girly to me! I see ovaries there ^_^ and color has nothing to do for male vs. female, we've bred them over the years to be more colorful and whatnot so the only real way to tell male from female is to spot ovaries or not ;-)


Cool fish.


----------



## Lights106

Le sigh! This guy caught my eye as I was just getting a silly silk plant. Now I can't stop thinking of him. To go back and get him or not?


----------



## Sabina88

I vote to go back and get him  lol


----------



## Valentino14

me too! Save him from the 10 year old that will take him home instead


----------



## Lights106

True! I knew I could count on you guys to validate my feelings!!!! I will go get him in the morning!!


----------



## KurisuYamato

That was the same instinct that made me get my little Aki. Gotta save at least one of these babies from a possibly horrible life, then death. 

I need to update you guys on Aki. Been an interesting few weeks. I do believe he had a swim bladder problem last week, as he was being very lethargic, and fitting all the signs of such. After about 2 days he was back to normal.

Now the little guy just likes to pace against the front of the tank when I have the lights on, probably seeing his reflection or something... Otherwise he is fine,but is appetite has changed a bit; he isn't as crazy about bloodworm as he was before he got sick.

Otherwise he is perfectly fine and more energetic than ever. Also, his colors are really starting to show, and his fins are clearly getting bigger. I will have to get some pictures and video the next few days.


----------



## mart

Here's a pic of my Petco baby. I've had her almost two weeks now.


----------



## Artemis

Okay so this is a little off topic but what are the ovaries behind the stomach on a baby female supposed to look like? Like can someone post a picture with them circled or something along those lines?


----------



## Kiara1125

Here's a picture of lilnaugrim's female, Pineapple. She circled the ovaries.

The ovaries are usually a visible yellow through the lighter bettas. They will be more noticeable on darker bettas whenever you are able to identify what they look like. Just the general shape and coloration of the body can be a giveaway. The easiest way to tell with darker bettas is to have them in a cup and hold them up against a light (be sure not to stress them out too much). If you see a dark or light patch that is like a triangle behind the stomach, then those are the ovaries. Be careful not to confuse it with the swim bladder, which is more thin, ovalish, and stretches farther back towards the tail.

Once again, Pineapple here is a great example of what the ovaries and swim bladder look like and where they're positioned.



*Here's a link to the thread.* http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=213858


----------



## Sabina88

This is a newish photo of my baby sorry its not great i took it with my phone , ill take a better one tomorow 
I think hes about or coming up on 6 weeks


----------



## Artemis

Okay, thanks.


----------



## Lights106

So sadly by the time I was able to go back, the guy I had posted about earlier was gone.  But then I got this guy/gal. For some reason my camera wouldn't let me get some close ups. I'll keep trying to get some.


----------



## Lights106

Here is a little clearer of a shot.


----------



## bettas4Eva

I love him he is so cute hopefully u can get him if he is still there but good luck anyways


----------



## Ashthemutt

*Update on my baby*

I adopted this baby from PetCo about 3 months ago. and she has changed and grown up so much! Here is my baby from the day I got her to today 

First day : I honestly thought she wasnt going to make it through the night. She was so tiny and not active..


Today : She is the green one. Hasn't she turned into a beautiful young fishy??


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## Sabina88

Wow Ashthemutt she has grown up so much, good job with her


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## Ashthemutt

Sabina88 said:


> Wow Ashthemutt she has grown up so much, good job with her


Thank you! She's my baby, and now she lives in a sorority


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## Sabina88

Does she have a name?


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## Ashthemutt

Sabina88 said:


> Does she have a name?


Not exactly.. I just call her "baby betta" even though she isn't a baby anymore


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## Sabina88

Haha That's cute


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## Lights106

She is beautiful!!! Back when I had 2 babies, there was baby jr and sr. It worked well for us.

Question. What tanks do you guys have for your babies? Right now mine is in my emergency critter keeper. When she/he gets bigger I obviously want some thing bigger. But what do you guys have?


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## Sabina88

I personaly keep my baby in a petco brand version of the kritter keeper as well.


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## Lights106

I don't have a ton of space anymore too. I already have 2 five gallons and a 2.5 spec.


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## Sabina88

Mine is a medium size, its a little under 2 gallons, if you don't have room I think the kritter keeper is a ok permanent home. I also have a full grown male in another medium and he has plenty of room to move and swim. So I think you should be ok  Ive read that kritter keepers are good permanent homes for bettas,
If you wanted to know a little more about them-
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=41967


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## Lights106

I should get him a bigger one though. I think it's a gallon. I try to stick to 2.5 as my personal minimum. And one that hasn't been used as a hospital. Lol I kind of still need a hospital.


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## Sabina88

I think the largest is 5 gallons if I remember correctly


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## Lights106

Here is a little bit closer of a pic. For a little bit he was showing some blue.


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## Sabina88

(s)He is so tiny! but adorable


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## tisci

Here's my baby that I picked up on Feb 17th. I went hoping to get a female, but I grabbed one that I wasn't sure about because there were only 2 & the other wasn't in good shape, so I felt bad. 



Here he is today. I'm thinking he's a boy. I was hoping for a female, but I don't see ovaries & he just looks male to me. I'm gonna have to get a divider for my 5 gallon & he can live w/my other male baby.


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## Sabina88

Wow he has grown a lot, I would say male too


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## tisci

Thanks!

Yeah, he looks so different. He's so inquisitive. I really enjoy raising them. If I had more space, I'd get more.


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## Ashthemutt

Lights106 said:


> She is beautiful!!! Back when I had 2 babies, there was baby jr and sr. It worked well for us.
> 
> Question. What tanks do you guys have for your babies? Right now mine is in my emergency critter keeper. When she/he gets bigger I obviously want some thing bigger. But what do you guys have?


At first I had her in a 1 gal. Then she moves to my 10 gal. (it was filled halfway) but then i moved her to a 2.5 gal. lol now she is in a sorority in my 10 gal. she moved around a lot, but now is happy


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## Lights106

Sabina88 said:


> I think the largest is 5 gallons if I remember correctly


Yeah s/he is pretty tiny. I'm guessing around 5 weeks.


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## Lights106

Lol oops! Wrong quote!!!


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## Lights106

Ok here he is against the light. I don't see any triangle shape thing or space, but not sure if 5 weeks is to early.


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## lilnaugrim

It's definitely a male Lights, generally thogh I believe ovaries will grow in later if I'm not mistaken but the shape of the body and fin lengths tell me male


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## Lights106

That's what I was thinking! Schweet! I'll do weekly pictures with back light. It would be fun to see when or if they come in.


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## lilnaugrim

Lights106 said:


> That's what I was thinking! Schweet! I'll do weekly pictures with back light. It would be fun to see when or if they come in.


lol, I'm like 95% sure it's a male but if you still want to do that, that's fine! haha


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## Valentino14

Looks like a very pretty male!
I have my baby in a 2.5 standard tank... and that is his permanent home!


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## Kylelouis929

I really want to rescue a baby from Petco! :-( 

But I'd rather give Petsmart my business because the nearest Petco has rude employees.


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## Lights106

Kylelouis929 said:


> I really want to rescue a baby from Petco! :-(
> 
> But I'd rather give Petsmart my business because the nearest Petco has rude employees.


Lame sauce! Have you complained at all?


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## nclnchls

Hi everyone!

On a recent visit to Petco I noticed the babies...I had never seen them at my Petco before so I was really curious! I managed to leave without one...only to return a few days later and buy two!

I've owned a few bettas in the past but never a baby, and I'll be honest I underestimated their care ("great first pets" yeah right! haha) but since I've been lurking a bit on these forums, I'm dedicated to helping these babies out as much as I can! 

Anyway here are my babies! 










This one is bigger than the other and is a reddish color so far. I think it's female, because I think it has an eggspot, but second opinions from you lovely experienced betta owners would be great  This one is very active, chasing its reflection and even my thermometer when I am checking the temperature!










This one is smaller and not as active so I am a bit worried about him/her! But I'm trying very hard to keep it well. It's eating, just not as much as the other, but maybe that's because it's younger? And it swims around, just not as energetically as the other.

(Also please forgive my barren tanks, I'm going to get some decor tomorrow!)


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## lilnaugrim

nclnchls said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> On a recent visit to Petco I noticed the babies...I had never seen them at my Petco before so I was really curious! I managed to leave without one...only to return a few days later and buy two!
> 
> I've owned a few bettas in the past but never a baby, and I'll be honest I underestimated their care ("great first pets" yeah right! haha) but since I've been lurking a bit on these forums, I'm dedicated to helping these babies out as much as I can!
> 
> Anyway here are my babies!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This one is bigger than the other and is a reddish color so far. I think it's female, because I think it has an eggspot, but second opinions from you lovely experienced betta owners would be great  This one is very active, chasing its reflection and even my thermometer when I am checking the temperature!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This one is smaller and not as active so I am a bit worried about him/her! But I'm trying very hard to keep it well. It's eating, just not as much as the other, but maybe that's because it's younger? And it swims around, just not as energetically as the other.
> 
> (Also please forgive my barren tanks, I'm going to get some decor tomorrow!)


Yep, that's how it starts! lol, good luck with your babies! They are very rewarding though if you are able to raise them to adults ^_^

Both are baby boys, egg spots are not reliable way to sex them as many young boys also have fake egg spots to trip us up! Some of them lose them after maturity but many retain them! Make sure your temperature is high enough and that should help with your younger baby; 82-84 is a good temp. The higher the temp the more they need to eat so twice a day is good, three times will be great too but you would use smaller meals if you did three times a day. Clean the tank daily and do around 50% water change if not more. <-that's the basic rundown for baby care ^_^

I really need to finish that article I'm writing for PetCo baby care lol


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## Sabina88

lol yesterday and today my baby betta who is about 7-8 weeks has decided to make his own baby bubble nests. He makes them on the very tip of his silk plants and he losts of detached bubbles around the outside of his tank


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## Lights106

Hmm I have yet to see my guy eat anything. My past babies usually ate near immediately. I've tried a couple options when it comes to flakes or pellets. Thursday I get paid, so if I still haven't seen him eat anything, I'll go and get some frozen foods.


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## Sabina88

Maybe try crushing the pellets?


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## lilnaugrim

Sabina88 said:


> lol yesterday and today my baby betta who is about 7-8 weeks has decided to make his own baby bubble nests. He makes them on the very tip of his silk plants and he losts of detached bubbles around the outside of his tank


Are you sure they are bubble nests? Filters can often make bubbles and then if you've just filled the tank air bubbles still stick to the walls and ornaments and stuff until it dissipates through time


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## Sabina88

Yupp, the tank doesn't have a filter and the "bubble nest" was pretty organized under the tip of the leaf. And all the bubles are gone from his tank from the water change. I think what it was that even though his and Adamntium's (a full grown male) tanks aren't touching each other it was close enough for my baby betta to see him and he got stimulated to make a nest. It looks like ill have a relatively aggressive guy lol. I did put something in between the tanks to minimize sightings.

Just to see if Adamantium could have been the cause I put mr. baby in a cup and floated him him adamantiums tank. Within 2 seconds my baby betta had his gills & fins flared. Now I know ill need to keep a barrier up between the two of them. Especialy as he grows up


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## Lights106

Sabina88 said:


> Maybe try crushing the pellets?


Sorry, yeah I crush the pellets. I get everything to their size.


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## nclnchls

lilnaugrim said:


> Yep, that's how it starts! lol, good luck with your babies! They are very rewarding though if you are able to raise them to adults ^_^
> 
> Both are baby boys, egg spots are not reliable way to sex them as many young boys also have fake egg spots to trip us up! Some of them lose them after maturity but many retain them! Make sure your temperature is high enough and that should help with your younger baby; 82-84 is a good temp. The higher the temp the more they need to eat so twice a day is good, three times will be great too but you would use smaller meals if you did three times a day. Clean the tank daily and do around 50% water change if not more. <-that's the basic rundown for baby care ^_^
> 
> I really need to finish that article I'm writing for PetCo baby care lol


hahaha this helped a lot! Thank you! I've read so many different things about how often and what percentage to change the water...50% daily seems like a good amount though!


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## lilnaugrim

nclnchls said:


> hahaha this helped a lot! Thank you! I've read so many different things about how often and what percentage to change the water...50% daily seems like a good amount though!


Glad I helped! Also if you need help finding good food I can help with that. I can teach you about what's good and what isn't.

For those of you who have cats/dogs and know about fillers in food and animal by-products and stuff, it's the same in fish food; the more fillers the worse the food. Basically, don't buy any fish food from a grocery store like Tetra. TopFin, and Hikari are also not good brands. Hikari used to be good but they switched their formula a few years ago and haven't been the same since. Their frozen foods are still fantastic though since it's kind of hard to mess those up lol

New Life Spectrum (mine and my fishes favorites), Omega One and even Aqueon are the better foods to get. NLS has a small fish formula which has higher protein content than the other foods; that one is great for babies growing up!


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## atlas

Just thought I'd update about my little Daisy who must be four or five months old now..
Here she is just a few weeks after purchase

















And here she is maybe a month or two ago









And now.. This is her third and final tank. A 5.5 gallon I found at the thrift shop, NPT. Please excuse the water temp (70ish) I will be getting a stronger heater in the mail expected to come in tomorrow.


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## Kiara1125

atlas said:


> Just thought I'd update about my little Daisy who must be four or five months old now..
> Here she is just a few weeks after purchase
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here she is maybe a month or two ago
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And now.. This is her third and final tank. A 5.5 gallon I found at the thrift shop, NPT. Please excuse the water temp (70ish) I will be getting a stronger heater in the mail expected to come in tomorrow.


Gorgeous fins! If I didn't see the ovaries, I'd think she was a male!


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## TiffanyP

I'm super jealous that she's so yellow! I've got my eye out for a yellow betta to add to my lil family


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## Heifzilla

Here's my baby, Nameless. He's about 1.75" now, and still has some growing to do. But he's more reliably flaring, and starting to become a real sassypants. I can't wait to see how he looks in a few more months. I'm assuming he's a veiltail.


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## Kiara1125

Definitely a male veiltail. But, Nameless? What about something like Loki or Ergo? :3


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## Heifzilla

Kiara1125 said:


> Definitely a male veiltail. But, Nameless? What about something like Loki or Ergo? :3


I never named him since at first I wasn't sure if it was a male or female. And I just called him Nameless. And it kind of stuck  Of course I could be all weird and say it's actually pronounced Nahmehless. LOL :lol:


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## atlas

Kiara1125 said:


> Gorgeous fins! If I didn't see the ovaries, I'd think she was a male!





TiffanyP said:


> I'm super jealous that she's so yellow! I've got my eye out for a yellow betta to add to my lil family


Thanks guys! I was just thinking yesterday that it would be so neat to find a yellow male vt and breed her..I love everything about Daisy.. but then I was hit with the realization that there are many reasons why I shouldn't do that lol.


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## Kiara1125

Heifzilla said:


> I never named him since at first I wasn't sure if it was a male or female. And I just called him Nameless. And it kind of stuck  Of course I could be all weird and say it's actually pronounced Nahmehless. LOL :lol:


Well, I got a baby whom was nameless until he kept jumping from the breeder net into my sorority of 8 full grown girls.  Therefore, he got the name Dipstick. xD


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## nclnchls

So yesterday I enlisted my brothers to help check on the fish on days I'm away at school for the majority of the day. I just meant checking the temperature and unplugging the heater if it was getting too hot. But I came home today to find 20+ pellets in each tank!! It was such a pain to get out! Did a water change immediately after...haha. I doubt the fish got to eat any of it, my brothers put in the pellets I hadn't crushed up. They said it was an "accident" but they didn't bother to clean it up either...I just think it's funny they assumed the baby bettas would be able to eat that much!



lilnaugrim said:


> Glad I helped! Also if you need help finding good food I can help with that. I can teach you about what's good and what isn't.
> 
> For those of you who have cats/dogs and know about fillers in food and animal by-products and stuff, it's the same in fish food; the more fillers the worse the food. Basically, don't buy any fish food from a grocery store like Tetra. TopFin, and Hikari are also not good brands. Hikari used to be good but they switched their formula a few years ago and haven't been the same since. Their frozen foods are still fantastic though since it's kind of hard to mess those up lol
> 
> New Life Spectrum (mine and my fishes favorites), Omega One and even Aqueon are the better foods to get. NLS has a small fish formula which has higher protein content than the other foods; that one is great for babies growing up!


Thank you so much! I bought Omega One, but of course after I bought it I saw some NLS on sale at my Petco! haha. Do you have any tips on making them smaller? I attempted to crush/cut them using an x-acto knife but pellets were flying everywhere! Should I pre-soak them?


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## Lights106

I took an empty container and used a pen lid to crush a couple at a time. Like a mortar and pestle. 
Good news! Finally saw my baby eat! Speaking of nameless fish. . . Yeah.


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## lilnaugrim

I use my fingernails, I balance the piece on my thumb and use my index nail to chop it in half. That can be painful if you get a particularly pointy piece though! haha. But yeah, mortar and pestle will work as well as Lights's idea too! ^_^


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## Valentino14

Personally my baby REALLY grew even faster when I started giving him frozen food... just a thought!
Lil- that's a really good idea lol


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## lilnaugrim

Valentino14 said:


> Lil- that's a really good idea lol


Although it doesn't really work if you don't have the fingernails for it! haha

Also, when I get new foods, if I deem them a little big I actually do this carefully; I take a pinch full over the container and grind the pellets together so they break up a little bit. I've done this with both containers of NLS that were 1mm pellet size. So it kind of ground them down to .6-.8mm's so just a little bigger than the .5mm pellets for my "intermediate" fish. It takes a while to do sometimes if the food is harder but I do it before each feeding so eventually you've ground down a lot of the food after a few weeks and then once they are to desirable sizes; you don't have to do that any more ^_^


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## nclnchls

Lights106 said:


> I took an empty container and used a pen lid to crush a couple at a time. Like a mortar and pestle.
> Good news! Finally saw my baby eat! Speaking of nameless fish. . . Yeah.


I did this and it worked rather well, thank you! I tried with my fingernails but mine are just too short right now haha. Also yay for your baby eating! 

I took some new pics today hahaha even though I just took some four days ago. Tomorrow will be a week since I've had my babies.

















I don't see much of a change in the little one yet but the bigger one looks more brownish than reddish now. At night I find the little one sleeping on one of the leaves of his plant, so cute! Do you guys think they are veiltails?


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## lilnaugrim

nclnchls said:


> I did this and it worked rather well, thank you! I tried with my fingernails but mine are just too short right now haha. Also yay for your baby eating!
> 
> I took some new pics today hahaha even though I just took some four days ago. Tomorrow will be a week since I've had my babies.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I don't see much of a change in the little one yet but the bigger one looks more brownish than reddish now. At night I find the little one sleeping on one of the leaves of his plant, so cute! Do you guys think they are veiltails?


The tiny guy I can't tell what he'll be, possibly VT though. Your larger boy looks the potential to be a HM! See how straight his anal fin is? VT's will have slanted anal fins most of the time while Delta's and HM's will have straighter ones that are more like rectangles rather than a triangle-ish shape. Also his edges of his caudal are extremely straight which makes me think HM rather than Super DeT or DeT!


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## nclnchls

lilnaugrim said:


> The tiny guy I can't tell what he'll be, possibly VT though. Your larger boy looks the potential to be a HM! See how straight his anal fin is? VT's will have slanted anal fins most of the time while Delta's and HM's will have straighter ones that are more like rectangles rather than a triangle-ish shape. Also his edges of his caudal are extremely straight which makes me think HM rather than Super DeT or DeT!


That's super exciting to hear! I've only ever had VTs and a couple CTs. The HMs are gorgeous. I hope you're right


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## knottymare

Lilnaugrim, what do you see in the first one that says "male?" I was thinking female and male... I can't seem to figure this out!


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## lilnaugrim

knottymare said:


> Lilnaugrim, what do you see in the first one that says "male?" I was thinking female and male... I can't seem to figure this out!


It is difficult to say at this age, I tend to default to "him" if I can't quite tell. From here though, I see longer fins compared to body size for a fish this age, I also see larger eyes which tends to be male; that one isn't always reliable of course. And so far lack of ovaries but even still, they wouldn't be grown in at this point anyway or at least barely visible at most.


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## knottymare

Here is a picture of the very first Petco baby I got. Her name is Ming and she is about 8 months old. She was TINY when I got her. When we got her home and looked at her with a magnifying glass, we could see that she had a bent spine, both a horizontal bend and a hump. I exaggerated her problem by not providing heat for her in the beginning... and also did water changes at the rate for an adult and not a baby. Little thing survives and is feisty in spite of me. She is now in a roomier tank (5 gallon) with lots of plants and heat. I got her some ghost shrimp but she ate them!!!!!!! I am amazed at her resilience.


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## nclnchls

knottymare said:


> Here is a picture of the very first Petco baby I got. Her name is Ming and she is about 8 months old. She was TINY when I got her. When we got her home and looked at her with a magnifying glass, we could see that she had a bent spine, both a horizontal bend and a hump. I exaggerated her problem by not providing heat for her in the beginning... and also did water changes at the rate for an adult and not a baby. Little thing survives and is feisty in spite of me. She is now in a roomier tank (5 gallon) with lots of plants and heat. I got her some ghost shrimp but she ate them!!!!!!! I am amazed at her resilience.


Aw, she is so cute!!


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## mart

*What color will she end up? She has me confused.*

Anyone have any idea what Louise if finally gonna end up looking like?
Her colors have changed dramatically in the past week. She is about 2 1/2 months now. I've had her just slightly over a month.


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## lilnaugrim

mart said:


> Anyone have any idea what Louise if finally gonna end up looking like?
> Her colors have changed dramatically in the past week. She is about 2 1/2 months now. I've had her just slightly over a month.


huh....she looks like a young _he_.....I'd have to see more photos though. She will be a regular turquoise fishy ^_^


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## mart

lilnaugrim said:


> huh....she looks like a young _he_.....I'd have to see more photos though. She will be a regular turquoise fishy ^_^


LOL. It took me 30 pics just to get this one.

Why do you say she looks like a he?


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## bre23

Looking at this thread and others, I think Kaiju may have been sold a bit young as well. His fins and body seem to have grown a lot in the almost week and half (!) since I bought him. Definitely not as small as some of these guys!

First is when I first got him, second is recent picture to show fin and body growth in just a weekish.


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## Sabina88

awww he is so cute, and I love the name Kaiju


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## lilnaugrim

mart said:


> LOL. It took me 30 pics just to get this one.
> 
> Why do you say she looks like a he?


Yeah I know lol, I generally take around 200 pictures in a round just to get 3-5 good pictures! The struggle is real haha

I don't see the ovary shape behind the stomach area so without ovaries it would be a male. But otherwise fins suggest that it is female except the caudal which is still growing out, she could just end up a long finned VT female.



bre23 said:


> Looking at this thread and others, I think Kaiju may have been sold a bit young as well. His fins and body seem to have grown a lot in the almost week and half (!) since I bought him. Definitely not as small as some of these guys!
> 
> First is when I first got him, second is recent picture to show fin and body growth in just a weekish.


Yeah, it's getting to be more standard to sell them at a younger age it seems. PetSmart's females are barely even at maturity! I love that spot on his peduncle though!!! He's absolutely adorable!


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## knottymare

nclnchls said:


> Aw, she is so cute!!


Thanks... Sadly I lost her last week. She only lived about 9 months.


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## scollett

*Petco baby*

Hey guys! I thought I'd post my petco baby "Blackbeard" tentative name. 

First pic is from 3/7 and then the more recent 3/23 so just a couple week later! Oh one with his bubble nest. I am pretty sure he's a veil tail.


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## nclnchls

knottymare said:


> Thanks... Sadly I lost her last week. She only lived about 9 months.


Oh no!! I'm so sorry  SIP


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## mart

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah I know lol, I generally take around 200 pictures in a round just to get 3-5 good pictures! The struggle is real haha
> 
> I don't see the ovary shape behind the stomach area so without ovaries it would be a male. But otherwise fins suggest that it is female except the caudal which is still growing out, she could just end up a long finned VT female.


I've seen that on her. But that pic doesn't show it. She was listed as a female VT. 
I'll try and get more, I do have a video somewhere on the forum that might show it better.


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## Betta Nut

I got my first baby from Petco a few days ago. They had just come in the day before, so there were lots to chose from, and they were all healthy looking. It took me a while to decide, but I settled on a cutie who had quite a lot of color for the size. I didn't care really what color I got, I was just trying to pick out a boy. They are pretty hard to tell at that size, so I figgured a lot of color might be an indicator. It also had fairly long ventrals, and I didn't see an egg spot or ovaries.

Lo and behold, a couple days later, I saw a clear egg spot. I am not convinced though that it's a she, because when I shine a light behind him/her, I can see through fairly well and only see a stomach, no ovary triangle. And boys can still have a spot. I don't know much about it though, like maybe they don't show the ovaries til later.

He/she is about 3/4 of an inch, so it's a lot smaller than the pics seem to make him/her look. All the other ones there were the same size, but were either pale with stripes, or no color at all. This guy/gal has never shown stripes. S/he is also a crowntail, although it doesn't show in the pics.

Gender will probably be obvious in another few weeks, but thought I'd see if an expert eye can see something that screams boy or girl 

Cause I want to name it!
Sorry about horrid quality. This is what you get with a low end webcam, lol.


























His/her belly is much rounder than usual, because s/he got an extra feeding so I could get it to stay in one spot


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## Ghostie

so cute


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## lilnaugrim

Betta Nut said:


> I got my first baby from Petco a few days ago. They had just come in the day before, so there were lots to chose from, and they were all healthy looking. It took me a while to decide, but I settled on a cutie who had quite a lot of color for the size. I didn't care really what color I got, I was just trying to pick out a boy. They are pretty hard to tell at that size, so I figgured a lot of color might be an indicator. It also had fairly long ventrals, and I didn't see an egg spot or ovaries.
> 
> Lo and behold, a couple days later, I saw a clear egg spot. I am not convinced though that it's a she, because when I shine a light behind him/her, I can see through fairly well and only see a stomach, no ovary triangle. And boys can still have a spot. I don't know much about it though, like maybe they don't show the ovaries til later.
> 
> He/she is about 3/4 of an inch, so it's a lot smaller than the pics seem to make him/her look. All the other ones there were the same size, but were either pale with stripes, or no color at all. This guy/gal has never shown stripes. S/he is also a crowntail, although it doesn't show in the pics.
> 
> Gender will probably be obvious in another few weeks, but thought I'd see if an expert eye can see something that screams boy or girl
> 
> Cause I want to name it!
> Sorry about horrid quality. This is what you get with a low end webcam, lol.
> 
> View attachment 325882
> View attachment 325898
> 
> View attachment 325906
> View attachment 325890
> His/her belly is much rounder than usual, because s/he got an extra feeding so I could get it to stay in one spot


Looks like a little VT girlie to me! :-D Pretty sure I see the shape of the ovaries there!! :-D


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## Betta Nut

Well darn. I can never see them if the fishy isn't light, lol. I do think she's crowntail though. My blurry pics don't show the ray extensions, which I know is normal for little babies, but hers have forks at the end, like my other CT girls, not just spikes. Could it still be a VT with the doubled tips?


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## lilnaugrim

Betta Nut said:


> Well darn. I can never see them if the fishy isn't light, lol. I do think she's crowntail though. My blurry pics don't show the ray extensions, which I know is normal for little babies, but hers have forks at the end, like my other CT girls, not just spikes. Could it still be a VT with the doubled tips?


It's possible she is a PK which would account for her nice anal fin but not for the strangly dorsal fin. PK's tend to have some rays that spike out. If she were a Crown though she would have much more reduced webbing between the rays. Since she's still a baby she's going to have some rays stick out like you were saying, that's normal for all tail types so she's just a regular VT I'm quite sure. 

This isn't exactly a baby baby but she was incredibly young when I picked her up, see how she would have reduced webbing like my girl here Kit-Kat?


----------



## Betta Nut

Ok, well that's cool! You are a fountain of knowledge, thanks for clearing things up 

Looking at Kit-Kat, I wonder now if my other girls are really combtail, since they don't have nearly that much web reduction, especially on the anal fin.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Combtail are possible or just very poor CT's but even poor CT's will have decent web reduction. PK's tend to have spiky ray's at times as well, same with some VT's too. It's all on the genetics so it's really only one guess over another as to what they really are.


----------



## BlueLacee

I need to look through all the pictures on this and see what I can find. I got a barley blue (so young he/she was just coloring up) from petco and I haven't seen it since July 2013 (see my "I need help/advice/I don't know what' thread). My brother is a pain and wont send me pics/barely cares for the poor things and ive been so worried about it. But I want to at lease get an idea of what it COULD look like


----------



## BlueLacee

Mariah94 said:


> I think the pic is attached. It's from my ipod so the quality is really bad and i think it's crooked. But after searching around some more...I'm concerned. As you can see in the picture there a parts of she/he that are missing the blue...and I'm not sure if that's because of the age, doensn't have all of the color yet, or is it means the fish is sick? Also on the tail there are tiny little black dots, again I'm not sure if its part of the color or not.
> 
> Very concerned now. Won't be sleeping because of my poor fish!


Looks very similar to the last time I say my baby... I hate brothers/ people who pretend to be my "dad"


----------



## BlueLacee

Viva said:


> Here's a few full res pics so you can see why I think she's a CT (click for large pic):


Omg, this looks so much like mine the day I brought them home


----------



## Kiara1125

Viva, you have such a gorgeous CT girl! Good luck with her!


----------



## Sabina88

Some updated photos of my baby, Ive had him for about a month and 3 weeks. Sorry non of the photos are very good, he doesn't like to sit still any more and my camera doesn't like to focus on him well. 
Does he look ok for aprox. 8-9 weeks?


----------



## lilnaugrim

He looks older than two months Sabina! Looks more like 2.5-3 months  Guessing ages with these babies is the hardest thing to do, harder than sexing them! Because of the possibility of stunted growth, you could have a 3 month baby still look like a 1.5-2 month baby so you can never actually know what age they really are; just guess :-/


----------



## Sabina88

That's true, I hope the red from his scales comes in permently soon, the camera really brings it out on him lol. I cant belive how small he was when I got him, he still is pretty small. I think when I measured him about 2 weeks ago he was almost and inch.


----------



## KlutzyGal

So I work at Petco, and this morning I'm looking at our baby bettas (yes, our store sells them unfortunately), and I notice what looks to definitely be a DT, but could he/she have dragon coloring also?!

(Apologies for the sideways photo, I'm not sure why it keeps doing that with posting from my phone.)


----------



## lilnaugrim

KlutzyGal said:


> So I work at Petco, and this morning I'm looking at our baby bettas (yes, our store sells them unfortunately), and I notice what looks to definitely be a DT, but could he/she have dragon coloring also?!
> 
> (Apologies for the sideways photo, I'm not sure why it keeps doing that with posting from my phone.)


Not dragon but a beautiful Turquoise Metallic bicolor!!! Absolutely beautiful!


----------



## KlutzyGal

I'm debating on snatching him up. At $1.99 that would be a steal, and I have a .5 gal bowl I could raise him in 'til he gets bigger...but then I ask myself, do I really need 3 bettas?! Lol. Decisions, decisions...


----------



## knottymare

Sabina88 said:


> That's true, I hope the red from his scales comes in permently soon, the camera really brings it out on him lol. I cant belive how small he was when I got him, he still is pretty small. I think when I measured him about 2 weeks ago he was almost and inch.
> View attachment 326850


What a difference, Sabina! Love how red he is getting. So fun to watch them grow! I need to take pix of my little guy and gal... Frieda, in my 5 gallon kitchen tank is almost full size now. Neptune, another baby, is now all blue but still small... and I have one that was given to me that needs a home immediately! he's in a divided 2.5 gallon with Neptune but he needs his own home and I can't set up another tank!


----------



## knottymare

KlutzyGal said:


> I'm debating on snatching him up. At $1.99 that would be a steal, and I have a .5 gal bowl I could raise him in 'til he gets bigger...but then I ask myself, do I really need 3 bettas?! Lol. Decisions, decisions...


Resistance is futile... :twisted:


----------



## lilnaugrim

KlutzyGal said:


> I'm debating on snatching him up. At $1.99 that would be a steal, and I have a .5 gal bowl I could raise him in 'til he gets bigger...but then I ask myself, do I really need 3 bettas?! Lol. Decisions, decisions...


As long as you can change the water daily then get him! It's worth it ^_^ lol I've got like 10 Bettas at the moment, not all are listed in my sig but not all are staying with me either.


----------



## Lights106

Sooooo. . . I'm pretty sure I have a crowntail!!! I knoticed his tail looking scraggly a week ago and looked closer and I saw little nubs and held my breath! I really wanted a crowntail! It's now been a week and I for sure have crowntail. I can't good a good pic, but this is the best one.


----------



## DenaTaggart

I bought 3 female babies from PetCo on Saturday and before I got home to put them into my tank they were all dead. I just cannot handle it when they die, it just breaks my heart. These 3 were the first ones that I owned that died but DAMM it stings. PetCo isn't willing to do anything about it. Is that normal?


----------



## nclnchls

DenaTaggart said:


> I bought 3 female babies from PetCo on Saturday and before I got home to put them into my tank they were all dead. I just cannot handle it when they die, it just breaks my heart. These 3 were the first ones that I owned that died but DAMM it stings. PetCo isn't willing to do anything about it. Is that normal?


Sorry about your losses  that is so sad! I think Petco has a 30 day fish return policy. Considering they died before you even put them in your tank, Petco absolutely should refund you.


----------



## Lights106

^^^^ ditto


----------



## knottymare

Update on my little Frodo who appears to be Frieda LOL... grown up and so fast it's hard to get a picture of her:










And here is Neptune who is still quite tiny but getting bigger and very blue!


----------



## DenaTaggart

nclnchls said:


> Sorry about your losses  that is so sad! I think Petco has a 30 day fish return policy. Considering they died before you even put them in your tank, Petco absolutely should refund you.


Thanks for the info. I will call them today. It was so sad. They were so beautiful and I was so excepted to add them to my new community tank.


----------



## knottymare

DenaTaggart said:


> Thanks for the info. I will call them today. It was so sad. They were so beautiful and I was so excepted to add them to my new community tank.


I would be very sad as well. I hope they do the right thing!


----------



## Flint

So is everyone getting a decent survival rate on their babies?


----------



## knottymare

Flint said:


> So is everyone getting a decent survival rate on their babies?


My first Petco baby was Ming. She was a DT and so small you had to get a magnifying glass to see her when we put her in her tank. She had a bad bend in her spine that we discovered when she got big enough to really look at her. She lived 8 months but I believe my lack of knowledge had a lot to do with the shortness of her life.

Freida has been with us so far 4 months and with proper care is growing like a weed. She has her own 5 gallon tank that she shares with a couple of corys, a few shrimp, a snail and 2 Scarlet Badis. The tank is heavily planted and the water is changed 50% once a week and 25% once a week to keep her growth hormones from becoming too concentrated in the tank - something I read about here.

Neptune is more recent, about a month and is doing well and growing. He's in a divided 2 1/2 gallon with another baby who I need to find a home for. They also have a lot of plants in their tank but I still do at least 2 times a week 50% water changes. Their growth has been rapid.

I hope they live long lives.


----------



## Valentino14

I work at petco... it's a 2 week policy on all animals, including fish. We don't like the idea of selling the babies anymore than you do, but it is a corporate trying to make a buck. 
We tell everyone who is buying one they need a 2.5 tank with a heater, and frozen food


----------



## knottymare

Valentino14 said:


> I work at petco... it's a 2 week policy on all animals, including fish. We don't like the idea of selling the babies anymore than you do, but it is a corporate trying to make a buck.
> We tell everyone who is buying one they need a 2.5 tank with a heater, and frozen food


Good for you! The gal who runs the fish department at my local Petsmart is awesome. Very knowledgeable and helpful. She's also a Betta lover!


----------



## TiffanyP

My babies have done really well so far 

Alaric I got last year in June, and he's still alive and kicking - he's had a couple of minor problems but overall is well  He'll be a year old appx May 4!

Lady Icarus is doing well too, though she lives back in Iowa with my nieces. She's always been a healthy lil whipper though! She's going on 7 months I believe.

And Yoshi is also doing well, builds huge bubble nests and is such a handsome little dude! He's also going about 7 months with me.

I did have one little guy die on me, he was a double tail and was perfectly healthy up until about a week before he died.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Flint said:


> So is everyone getting a decent survival rate on their babies?


I've got 2 out of 4 so far but the 2 surviving were bought/adopted when they were larger than most babies. If you want a baby that will survive well and healthy I suggest getting the largest baby they have if you like them; more chances they will actually survive.


----------



## Canis

Got a new baby the other day ^^ Any guesses on gender?


----------



## Kiara1125

Canis said:


> Got a new baby the other day ^^ Any guesses on gender?


I'm guessing that it's a boy due to the lack of ovaries. Might be a VT.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Canis said:


> Got a new baby the other day ^^ Any guesses on gender?


Probably a boy judging by fin lengths. Way too young to see any signs of ovaries as of yet however the eyes are nice and small which generally indicates female but that's not always true.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Going back to August for when I first received Hawkeye from a friend who was previously named Mr. Fish--I had to change his name of course. Here he is roughly 4-5 months of age


I can't get good pictures of him as he's so dark on a black sand and black divider tank lol. All my other fish show up great except him XD I'll have to get him a flare picture. Here he is eight and a half months later!



And my new baby who has been with me just about a week now! Meet Pierce the DT, possibly a PKDT since he seems to be older and his fins are still pretty short. Otherwise, could still be a female but I have yet to see ovaries as of yet.




Here's a comparison picture of Hawkeye to Pierce! Excuse the Female Cherry Barb there lol


----------



## wisker

A few years ago I convinced my mom to get me a betta, of course the guy at the pets tore sold the betta to me with a little .3 gallon tank. The betta stayed in that for a few days while we got a 1.5 gallon bowl ready for him that had a heater in it. When we moved him he immediately brighten upped. Now he swims in his 8 gallon kingdom lol


----------



## scififan523

*Determination pays off*

...and so does having a sister who very recently worked at Petco. Been trying for three weeks to get a baby. Both near me were sold out. Guy informed me that their store was for sure getting 24 more soon. Sis informed me that they get fish shipments on Thursday. Called today and was told that they had just gotten a shipment of bettas in, with half of the babies, so I got pick of the ...shipment? Kylie's (sis) price for the info was that she got to pick the little ONE. So I now have a little double tailed one and a darker body one (couldn't decide on just one). She definitely wanted me to get the DT, but was torn between the Cambodian colored one and the dark bodied one (would have gotten all three if I had another tank. Will post pictures of Little One (dark) and Little Two (DT) tomorrow, after they get time to settle in.


----------



## knottymare

lilnaugrim said:


> Going back to August for when I first received Hawkeye from a friend who was previously named Mr. Fish--I had to change his name of course.


Great comparison photos! You must be doing it right


----------



## lilnaugrim

knottymare said:


> Great comparison photos! You must be doing it right


Thank you! Honestly, I think I was lucky with him. It's unfortunate that half of the time it's only the luck of the draw! But I'm extremely happy I took him and am able to watch him grow! I swear, his fins are STILL growing! He's bigger than all my other fish as well which I think is more of a VT trait.


----------



## knottymare

I need to get better pix of my babies... Frieda really isn't a baby anymore - she's GORGEOUS but I just can't get her to hold still! And Neptune is getting bigger each day. I'm setting up a new Spec V for him this weekend!


----------



## atb224155

I personally think that it's cool that you got the betta when you did. For me, I wouldn't take one so small unless it's guaranteed that he can hold his own.


----------



## scififan523

Okay, got some pics. This is (currently) Little One:





















Think (s)he is going to be a veil tail, already nicely colored, and getting darker as (s)he gets used to the tank.

And here is Little Two :lol:














(S)he is a double tail, but my camera has a hard time finding him/her because of the pale coloring.


----------



## atb224155

He's tiny in the last photo. Is the turtle real as it's gorgeous?


----------



## scififan523

Sadly no, the turtle is Little One's hiding spot, bought it at PetsMart for 5 dollars today when I went to get more frozen brine shrimp. Little Two is very tiny, and (s)he likes hiding in the center of the plants or under the "below gravel" filter thing for the bubble tube. It'll being interesting to see how (s)he colors out.


----------



## atb224155

awesome, the turtle is still cool though. I would laugh so hard if your betta flares up at the turtle.


----------



## scififan523

Well, my adult female Kisa flares at my cat, so I wouldn't be too surprised, lol :lol:


----------



## mart

*Updated Photo*

Updated photo of Louise. She's about 2.5 months now.


----------



## AndreDecasa

Jesus christ, Betta's should nit be sold in a very very young stage. Body is so fragile yet.


----------



## knottymare

I just have to share that my little Neptune flared for the first time (that I've seen). He's only about an inch long now, about twice the size he was when I got him. He's coloring up so nicely and is looking to be a deep blue veil tail! I'll try to get pictures. He is just amazing when he flares!


----------



## scififan523

And... They both survived their first week :-D. Still have no idea as to gender. Both their bodies are too dark now to shine a light clearly through and I didn't think to do it during the first week before their colors came in . As soon as my 5.5 finishes cycling, I'm going to move them in (divided, of course). Most of Little One's growth has been in the tail, Little Two has grown both in length and fin. I noticed a small kink in Little Two's spine (apparently common with DT), very small, just makes her tail rest slightly to her left side (yes, I'm calling LT a her). Anywho, here are their comparison shots (any guesses as to genders are welcome and appreciated [as well as speculations as to Little Two's coloring], really want to give them final names), first day then yesterday (day 8):

Little One:














Little Two:














More pictures to be added to my baby journal


----------



## Betta Nut

I get a sense they will both be boys, although I am the WORST when it comes to guessing baby genders. One thing I am certain of though, is by the colors they have now, they will both be amazing!

Little two looks like s/he'll turn into a mustard-ish gas-ish type to me, which would be awesome.


----------



## scififan523

That would be. If LT is a girl, she'd be perfect for my idea for Momiji


----------



## Kiara1125

I'm not sure on the first one, but the second one looks like a boy. Look at the broad, long ventrals. Colors are coming in gorgeously! It looks like your DT *might* just possibly become a dragonscale.


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## scififan523

Alright, looked long and hard, and I can see LT's stomach, but I don't see anything else, so I'm going with guy. No I'm just waiting on the color to settle, then he'll get a permanent name. Probably either Uo or Akito. Still no idea with LO, but (s)he is looking gorgeous.


----------



## atb224155

scififan, have you tried giving your betta bloodworms? Michonne, my female betta, took those after I got her and the white egg spot started to show.


----------



## scififan523

Everybody get bloodworms for one meal on Tuesdays, with the next meal being Daphnia (and pellets for the girls). And Sunday is an all day BBS feeding for them (pellets and BBS for the girls)


----------



## Kiara1125

scififan523 said:


> Alright, looked long and hard, and I can see LT's stomach, but I don't see anything else, so I'm going with guy. No I'm just waiting on the color to settle, then he'll get a permanent name. Probably either Uo or Akito. Still no idea with LO, but (s)he is looking gorgeous.


Congrats on your little boy! He's gonna be gorgeous when he grows up. Looking at the color of the fins now, I'm going to go with something like a blue dragonscale mustard gas. Can you see him growing into something like this?


----------



## scififan523

yes, yes I can. He definitely has the blue shimmer over his entire body, and his fins are still mostly yellow. Almost looking like a potential for mustard gas butterfly. And if that is his coloring, he's Uo (another fruits basket reference :lol. LO (if coloring stays the same) will either be named Hana (m), Ritsu(fVT) or Kureno(other f).


----------



## Kiara1125

Hatsuharu was my favorite. I love how he proves his true hair color by pulling people into the bathroom. xD I named my goldfish Haru and Rin. I like how you already have a betta name Kisa. You should go with Ritsu, although I would love to name another fish Momiji.


----------



## scififan523

My sorority tank is going to be the Sohma House. Only Sohmas and Tohro allowed :checkedout:. Others from mangas and nonSohma Fruits Baskets (and Kyo ...probably) will be my males. So if LO is a girl, probably Ritsu. I want a Haru, but I'm going to be very picky with her. Must be a black and white, preferably marble :-D. Loved him, Kyo, and Kisa. Oh, and I have a Ha'ri as well, wild colored CT female. Pics on my regular journal and in her album.


----------



## Kiara1125

Haha, awesome! I love it. The Sohma house sorority. xD


----------



## scififan523

Exactly! lol :checkedout:


----------



## Sabina88

I finally got a updated photo of my baby who ive had for about 2 months almost 3. I took it with my camera and its the best updated one ive ever got of him compared to using my canon camera with which I end up with blurry shots because it doesn't want to focus. He still is really tiny compared to what his age is. I think he is only a little over a inch but I haven't measured him in a long time. I hope he wont be premanently stunted, he will be moving soon into a divided 10 gallon so hopfully it will encourage him to grow. 
The first photo is from the day I got him and the last is from today:

2/11/14








2/14/14








2/25/14








3/10/14








4/1/14















4/20/14


----------



## Kiara1125

Lovely combtail! He's definitely a CT x VT cross. Pretty boy though. I love the how the red is highlighted with copper.


----------



## Sabina88

The copper is actually blue lol


----------



## Kiara1125

Oh, well gorgeous boy regardless.


----------



## scififan523

Okay. Moved LT and LO into a divided 5.5.







Both seem happy, although LT was more than happy to point out the flaws in my first DIY divider. No problems with the second.
Little Two (tentitve name Uo(tani)) seems to like the added space :-D 1st with flash, second without













Little One is incredibly curious and refuses to keep still. Any ideas on gender? Anybody? lilnaugrim? Sabina?


















I think I see an egg spot, but that's no guarantee, and I'm no good at sexing through body shape and fins. And the body is too dark to check ovaries.


----------



## lilnaugrim

LO is definitely a boy, LT maaaayyy be a girl but at the moment I'm still sticking with boy.


----------



## Kiara1125

I agree with LO being a boy, but I believe Uotani is a male as well.


----------



## Sabina88

Kiara1125 said:


> Oh, well gorgeous boy regardless.


Thank you very much :-D


----------



## scififan523

I'm going to go with LT being a boy, so his name is Uotani, Uo for short. No egg spot, no ovaries. And until proven otherwise, LO will be considered a boy and be called Hanajima, Hana for short.


----------



## Kiara1125

Very nice! I love Japanese names. My goldfish are Tsubaki, Tanchi, Hatsuharu, and Rin.


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## scififan523

I think all my bettas are going to have manga inspired names  also probably most of my cats. Have a black one named Luna (the freaked out one in my avatar... after Kisa flared at her for trying to drink the aquarium water...again). My boyfriend and I really want to find a little tortoiseshell (preferably munchkin) to call Kishin


----------



## Sabina88

I love all of the Japanese names\manga inspired names


----------



## Rae24

I just got a baby betta and am so excited to watch him (or her) grow. I have a 10 gallon tank filtered with a carbon filter and keep it heated at 82 degrees is this a good environment for the baby??


----------



## southernsweety13

I think I have seen baby bettas at my local Petsmart, but I think they are older then the ones y'all are talking about though do to the fact they all ready have their colors and are a little smaller than an inch.


----------



## scififan523

Sabina, Thanks 
and Rae, I think your set up sounds perfect, as long as there are plants and hidey holes. Then again, I'm still an amateur myself, but that sounds better than what I started with.


----------



## Owlets

They don't sell baby bettas here in Australia! I'm glad, but at the same time, I'd love to watch one grow.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Owlets said:


> They don't sell baby bettas here in Australia! I'm glad, but at the same time, I'd love to watch one grow.


You could find a breeder and ask for one of their fry! You'd actually be better off in that case because they wouldn't go through the trauma of shipping and going into a cold cup. Shipping could probably still be there but IMO, the cup is where most of the stunting comes around along with malnutrition.


----------



## RockChalk

*Broke down - bought a baby*

I bought a baby from PetCo today. I just couldn't leave him (or her). He's still small and greyish brown, so I have no ideas on color yet. He's sooo sooo tiny. I just got him back to my office and I put him in a protected corner on my desk with no foot traffic, movement, or direct sunlight. The good news is he'll eat anything as long as it's small enough, so things are looking good. I have crushed Betta pellets, frozen brine shrimp, some generic flakes, and dried bloodworms. My first try was a pinhead-sized generic flake and he gobbled it right up. Tomorrow we'll try brine shrimp.

I'm planning on doing at least a 50% water change daily until he gets to adulthood. The only decor in his tank right now is just a weighted silk plant for hiding. No gravel or anything (for easy of cleaning). I don't leave my thermometers in the tanks - I measure manually. Just personal preference.

I'm going to take a picture and keep a journal.

He/she doesn't have a name yet.


----------



## TuiAndLa

My baby betta girl I got 2 weeks ago. First time raising one. Name will be decided once she's older and colored up. I'm thinking red cambodian (I hope). lol

When I first got her.










2 weeks later... Baby betta says Hiiii! =)


----------



## jesykababyc

I don't have any photos that came out well from when my little one was a fry. I got her at Petco. I too fell for the cuteness trap and wanted to rescue her from the horrible living conditions she was in. These are the most recent ones of her and she is going to be moving in to her larger tank tomorrow. I had been told that as small as she was (and colorless) a large tank might freak her out and she could die. But now she is beautiful and large enough where she definitely needs her 2 gallon tank so I set it all up. Basically water changes are key and feeding a couple times a day at the young stage until they are a juvie is a good idea from what I was told. The water temperature being constant and in the mid to high 70s/low 80 is also important. As little stress as possible was what everyone stressed for me as being important in helping her to grow and thrive.


----------



## Kiara1125

TuiAndLa said:


> My baby betta girl I got 2 weeks ago. First time raising one. Name will be decided once she's older and colored up. I'm thinking red cambodian (I hope). lol
> 
> When I first got her.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 2 weeks later... Baby betta says Hiiii! =)


She's gonna be a red/blue cambodian. Either combtail or CT. Gorgeous girl.


----------



## TuiAndLa

Kiara1125 said:


> She's gonna be a red/blue cambodian. Either combtail or CT. Gorgeous girl.


Yea, I was thinking crowntail too (combtail would be cool as well tho). =D Thanks!

Been feeding her 3-4 times a day of micro pellets, kept in heated water, water changes every other day or so, and she's spunky as can be. I lover her personality. lol


----------



## IcyFin

I finally gave in and got a baby betta from Petco, as well. Honestly, it came about as an experiment to see if they really ARE that hard to keep alive. From research I did online, s/he is no more than 5-6 weeks old. She is in a 1 gallon tank heated to 79F, with a TON of soft fake plants for hiding in. She is gobbling down crushed betta pellets. I keep calling it a "she" but of course I have no idea yet! I'll have pictures up soon!


----------



## RockChalk

*Pics of new baby*

I'll post these first ones here but I think I'll start a journal in the journal section after this.

Ignore the dirty cup bottom - these were taken as soon as we got home from the store before I moved him/her to the new tank. Also ignore the BM. 

He/she ate brine shrimp today. The food has to be moving for him to be interested, so I use a dropper to hold the food and move it in front of him and he eats it right from the dropper.


Any ideas on age or gender? Also, there appears to be a bit of a dipty-do in his spine behind the dorsal fin. There are ventral fins but they're folded up in the pictures. He later used them as props while resting on the bottom. Looked like a little tripod.


----------



## Kiara1125

RockChalk said:


> I'll post these first ones here but I think I'll start a journal in the journal section after this.
> 
> Ignore the dirty cup bottom - these were taken as soon as we got home from the store before I moved him/her to the new tank. Also ignore the BM.
> 
> He/she ate brine shrimp today. The food has to be moving for him to be interested, so I use a dropper to hold the food and move it in front of him and he eats it right from the dropper.
> 
> 
> Any ideas on age or gender? Also, there appears to be a bit of a dipty-do in his spine behind the dorsal fin. There are ventral fins but they're folded up in the pictures. He later used them as props while resting on the bottom. Looked like a little tripod.


Hopefully the little one will straighten out as it ages. It's hard to tell if there are ovaries, I see a red mark behind the stomach, but I've never seen anything like that before. The long fins makes me guess a male.

Anyway, looks like they've got some fin rot and maybe some internal parasites. I would feed them baby brine shrimp and watch them carefully. They're in rough shape, but some good TLC will get them back on the high road again.


----------



## jesykababyc

RockChalk said:


> I bought a baby from PetCo today. I just couldn't leave him (or her). He's still small and greyish brown, so I have no ideas on color yet. He's sooo sooo tiny. I just got him back to my office and I put him in a protected corner on my desk with no foot traffic, movement, or direct sunlight. The good news is he'll eat anything as long as it's small enough, so things are looking good. I have crushed Betta pellets, frozen brine shrimp, some generic flakes, and dried bloodworms. My first try was a pinhead-sized generic flake and he gobbled it right up. Tomorrow we'll try brine shrimp.
> 
> I'm planning on doing at least a 50% water change daily until he gets to adulthood. The only decor in his tank right now is just a weighted silk plant for hiding. No gravel or anything (for easy of cleaning). I don't leave my thermometers in the tanks - I measure manually. Just personal preference.
> 
> I'm going to take a picture and keep a journal.
> 
> He/she doesn't have a name yet.


That is how I ended up with my lil Rose. I went into Petco to rescue another adult betta as I've been doing for a number of years now and when I saw these poor lil clear specks in those filthy plastic cups my heart broke and I brought one home instead. 
Most important things I learned while raising my fry to adulthood:
-do those water changes like you said. I did partial every day and a full every other day until mine reached the juvie stage and then I still did them every other day til adulthood. I also was changing her gradually from a small tank that she started in (a large tank can sometimes shock a fry because it is so big) to the 2.5 gallon one she is in now. the smaller that tank the more frequent water changes needed
-keep that temp above 80 F, the fry really need the warm temps to survive while they are so fragile
-feed 3-4 times a day, in small amounts of course and a variety of food as long as it is very tiny so the fry can eat and digest it. they have very fast metabolisms so they tend to not get bloated like the adults do so you can feed them very small amounts 3-4 times a day every day. 

And the best thing I learned: They are so darn cute to watch grow up and gain their colors and fins. So worth it to when they reach maturity and you can find out if you have a male or a female. so fun.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Larger tanks will not "shock" fry, they are raised generally in 20 gallon tanks. The larger the tank is actually less work, 5.5 gallons is fantastic for a single baby betta. If you keep more than one baby in the tank though divided, you'll have to increase your water changes to definitely daily to get rid of the growth stunting hormone they will be giving off. 

Also, these fish are not fry but they are in the juvie stage. Feeding should be 2-3, 4 times is fine but it's not necessary.

I really need to finish my PetCo Baby Care Thread...I'll try to do that later if I have time.


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## jesykababyc

I just know what I've read and what has been taught to me. And I am aware that when they are born they are in huge tanks with tons of others. I was just taught that they can have shock from being taken from that huge tank and transported to the store where they are placed in tiny cups of cold dirty water until they are bought. Then being placed back in a huge tank but now instead of all the others its just you in this big tank. That could be another stressor. Again, just what I was told.


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## lilnaugrim

That's fine but it's just not true is all.

Yes, big spaces can be a stressor for Bettas but that's why you should fill it with plants and decor. The more the better. Even for babies, you can easily fill it with silk/fabric plants so there are no large open spaces.


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## ihatemynameheather22

*Rittz - Petco*

wow how pretty! I love that tail! I have one, Rittz 
Just posted a thread about his illness /:
anyone care to take a look?


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## lilnaugrim

I believe I commented on it ihatemynameheater22


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## Kiara1125

I'm sorry, but I agree with jesy. Larger tanks can shock fry, even adults if they're going into the tank straight from the cup. I would bump them up gradually. 2.5g, 5g, 10g, then a 20g if that's where the final destination is. My bettas have died within a week after going from a cup into a large (20g+) tank. If I put them into a bowl first or a 2.5g, then they adjust well and they don't die.


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## lilnaugrim

I've never had that issue and I've put them in 29's and 33's before.


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## Pocketmew

hmn I put my baby betta straight into a 5g and she didn't get shock from it. Same with my male betta. Put him straight into a 10g.


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## lilnaugrim

I'm sure it probably depends on the fish. Sure I wouldn't throw a sickly baby into a 29 but you don't need to work up from 1g, 2.5g and so on if you acclimate them properly. It also depends on how planted/decorated the tank was. Yes I'm sure if the 10 gallon was completely bare it would shock them some more but if it was planted there shouldn't be an issue, otherwise there's another underlying cause for death.


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## Pocketmew

lilnaugrim said:


> I'm sure it probably depends on the fish. Sure I wouldn't throw a sickly baby into a 29 but you don't need to work up from 1g, 2.5g and so on if you acclimate them properly. It also depends on how planted/decorated the tank was. Yes I'm sure if the 10 gallon was completely bare it would shock them some more but if it was planted there shouldn't be an issue, otherwise there's another underlying cause for death.


Yeah I agree there. My tanks are both fully planted. When I got my baby betta as well she was abit on the larger side compared to the other babies and very healthy.


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## nclnchls

RockChalk said:


> Any ideas on age or gender? Also, there appears to be a bit of a dipty-do in his spine behind the dorsal fin. There are ventral fins but they're folded up in the pictures. He later used them as props while resting on the bottom. Looked like a little tripod.


He/she is cute! Mine also had a bit of a bend in his spine, but it's straightened out.

Also I have an updated pic of my smallest one--can anyone see any ovaries? My eye isn't trained well enough to tell, lol.


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## Kiara1125

Most of my male bettas experience shock, the females don't. I would agree with being super safe with a sickly baby though. Plus, bettas can also have other types of shock, IMO. I downgraded my male betta from a 10g into a 1g (all I have and he was being super aggressive) and now he's being all moody and acting lethargic. He's super active and acts like a pig when the food comes out, but he mopes for the rest of the day.


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## lilnaugrim

nclnchls said:


> He/she is cute! Mine also had a bit of a bend in his spine, but it's straightened out.
> 
> Also I have an updated pic of my smallest one--can anyone see any ovaries? My eye isn't trained well enough to tell, lol.


looks like a possible female but it looks a little too young at the moment; needs a little more growing up! ^_^


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## nclnchls

lilnaugrim said:


> looks like a possible female but it looks a little too young at the moment; needs a little more growing up! ^_^


Figured so! Ah I'm so eager for him/her to grow!


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## lilnaugrim

So here's an update on my baby Pierce at the moment. I've had him just over two weeks now.
First day home:


And from this past Tuesday


I also found this beautiful girl Easter Sunday. No name as of yet but she's doing fantastic! This is the FIRST girl I've ever seen at our PetCo! I always look for them but it's always boys for some reason.






Also my poor baby Radar died completely unexpectedly, poor boy.


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## Kiara1125

Sorry for your loss, lil. He was a gorgeous boy. I wanna say Iblis or something exotic like Xanadu or Orchid for the little girl.


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## lilnaugrim

Thanks Kiara, I was looking forward to watching him grow up as he's also a rarity around here, it's always regular blue VT males that we get. We've just started getting Double tails for real, they'd pop up every few months or so but never this many before! Lucillia also has one we got the same day I got Radar. But alas, it just wasn't meant to be. I'm glad the girl and Pierce are still happy and healthy as ever!

I'm actually amazed since she's not a VT but a DeT or possibly a HM if she continues to flare at herself in the reflection lol. I like Orchid, I'll have to see if it fits! I was going to stick with my two main themes but I really don't mind breaking away from them


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## Kiara1125

Well, good luck with her. She's a beauty. My Petco doesn't carry DT babies, just VTs. Hopefully I can snag a nice one if I can convince my boyfriend. He's raised almost 10 babies now and I only had 1 baby before and he died unexpectedly after 3 months. He won't let me buy any more and it's SO frustrating ...


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## Sabina88

lilnaugrim said:


> So here's an update on my baby Pierce at the moment. I've had him just over two weeks now.
> First day home:
> 
> 
> And from this past Tuesday
> 
> 
> I also found this beautiful girl Easter Sunday. No name as of yet but she's doing fantastic! This is the FIRST girl I've ever seen at our PetCo! I always look for them but it's always boys for some reason.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also my poor baby Radar died completely unexpectedly, poor boy.


Sorry to hear about Radar :-(, im glad he got to spend his final days with you though 

Also wow Pierce has grown so much in only 2 weeks! 
I always thought that my petco didn't sell females at all but I recently discovered that they keep them in the back towards the fish tank walk with a bunch of other males. Im not sure if your petco is set up differently but maybe that's were they have them.


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## Kiara1125

My Petco has the fish up front and the betta rack as soon as you walk in the door. Any extras are back by the turtles, but that's rare.


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## jesykababyc

lilnaugrim said:


> That's fine but it's just not true is all.
> 
> Yes, big spaces can be a stressor for Bettas but that's why you should fill it with plants and decor. The more the better. Even for babies, you can easily fill it with silk/fabric plants so there are no large open spaces.


Glad to learn that so next time I won't have to do so much work!


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## TheBlur

Here's my baby~ I got her last week at my PetCo. They have LOTS of baby betas, but non look too great :T They're all wilted and clamped, some with obvious issues like bent spines or SBD. I picked her out cos she was nipping and flaring at the bottom of her cup ; u ; When she swims into the light her body lights up blue/purple. Can't wait to find out what she'll be~

PS the pot behind her is magnified due to round bowl + water. Baby can't even fit her nose in the little hole on the bottom. I made sure  She's about 3/4 of an inch long now.


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## Cara

Hello! I'm new to the forum and new to betta's. I was suckered in by the babies at Petco and immediately began researching after my admitted impulse buy. I currently have George my little guy/gal set up in a 5 gallon newly planted tank. I did add a cave and artificial plant for more hiding spots. After some initial filter issues (too strong of current) I have a 1-3 gallon filter with a baffle for now. It seems to be working out pretty well in keeping the current super super low. I also bought a heater which is currently remaining unplugged as my water is holding steady at 82 without the heater and I'm currently feeding ground flakes (they had better ingredients than the pellets my Petco actually had in stock). Any other tips to help make George successful?


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## Sabina88

I'm still pretty new to babies too but from what I've learned and read
Its a good idea to give them a variety in their diet, try getting some bbs, there small enough for your baby to eat and good for them. Also as a suggested food look for omega one betta buffet pellets. This brand was recomended to me by a memeber on here, and all of my betta love it, I crush up a pellet or two for my baby since he isn't big enough yet to eat a full pellet.


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## scififan523

3 week mark, and Hanajima made his first bubble net while I was at work! :-D






. It was a lot more impressive before I messed with it to check if it was a bubble nest, or if something was wrong with the heater or filter.


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## lilnaugrim

Depending on his age, that may actually just be from the filter; this often happens. Sorry to rain on your parade >.< but if he's actually old enough then congrats lol


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## scififan523

That's what I was thinking, but it's on the other side of the outlet, it's just in that one area, and it's also formed around the top of the heater, so idk. I'm guessing that he is between 8 weeks and 10 weeks. Also, none of the bubbles were there before, and I do water changes on sundays (tank is cycled) with a spot cleaning every day. Nothing has changed in a couple days.


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, that sounds like the normal bubble from the filter. Besides, Betta's don't make their nests near water flow. Also that's too young, they sexually mature right around 3 months to 3.5 months so he still has a few more weeks to go.


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## Pocketmew

This is my baby I got recently~ He was clamped and stress striped when I got him.. :c Now his tummy is all full and he is happy enough










not really sure if male or female actually XD


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## lilnaugrim

Pocketmew said:


> This is my baby I got recently~ He was clamped and stress striped when I got him.. :c Now his tummy is all full and he is happy enough
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> not really sure if male or female actually XD


male ^_^


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## Pocketmew

lilnaugrim said:


> male ^_^


That is what I figured! I actually tried to look for ovaries when I was looking at the babies. This time around all of them were looking pretty darn sick, same with the adults. Its a bad week at my petco :C. I didn't want to get another baby until the tank was done cycling but I caved. So he is in a kritter keeper with a heater until the 5g is done cycling -w-


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## Taylor9424

*Itsy and Mystery!*

Hi all! I'm new to these forums, but not so new to betta keeping :-D After looking through all the pics of the babies on here, I got baby fever! Off to PetCo I went...

This is Itsy. I fell in love with him/her! It is the smallest betta I have ever seen! I can tell that it is a double tail and a blue/green iridescence. Anyone have any ideas on gender?








This is Mystery. When I picked up the container, I saw the most gorgeous purple/red iridescence on the fins and had to get him/her! Also, the cup it was in was horribly disgusting, so I had to come to the rescue! Any ideas on gender?


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## petlover

do you know if Petsmart has any baby bettas


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## CalebH

Petlover: I have a petsmart and petco about 30 - 40 minutes away in the nearest cuty, i live in the country. I bought 2 baby bettas from petco about a week and half ago havn't seen any at petsmart though. 

On to my story now lol:
Had to stop at petsmart yesterday and get a large bottle of conditioner since im bout to transfer my babies from a divided 1.5 gallon tank to a 5 gallon for each. Couple more days and my heater, thermometer, etc will be in for one tank. Gotta wait a few days till i get paid then i can order everything for second tank to get set up. all they are right now is gravel, a whisper filter and conditioned water i got cycling to get the filter cartridge rolling and all. My babies still doing well. Very energetic and will swim in their small are so sad atm but all is changing quickly i can't wait to see how they gonna react in thieir own 5 gallon tanks lol. Them boys getting expensive, close to 150 dollars so far just on one tank and 40 dollars so far on the the other. Little guys better be happy lol. Still havn't gotten a new camera so the pics are of course still fuzzy but i will post some of them here hope they not too bad. As for their names Cosmo is the larger one and Fin Fin is the smaller one . Cosmo likes to play Shark as i call it. He will go to top of water and swim laps with his top fin sticking out to water kinda like a shark lol. Fin likes doing laps bout midways in water where his columns and pillars are he swim through them one after the other like a obstacle course. The picks look fuzzy but their tank is clean fresh water change last night so its all clear just bag camera on my phone.


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## labetta

well I recently bought three little guys/gals in south Louisiana After wanting to get back into raising bettas. I wanted a surprise so I chose three lively small fish in cups that were clean and brought them home. I knew the blue one was a male and I am almost positive that the other two are girls so. I thought that I would show them to you and see what you think.


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## labetta

Here are the pictures of the fish just 2 days after purchase.


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## labetta

the questions now are what types are they?


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## Kiara1125

Probably both VTs. The blue is a boy and the red looks to be a girl. Hopefully the girl will grow her fins back well.


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## labetta

Kiara1125 said:


> Probably both VTs. The blue is a boy and the red looks to be a girl. Hopefully the girl will grow her fins back well.


the blue one is very rowdy and flares at everything showing a small beard.
that's the reason it think its a male


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## lilnaugrim

All are VT, blue is a boy, the one with red fins is a girl and the straggly looking one is also a boy. 

Females can also be very rowdy and flare at everything too! I'll try to get a video of my girl Pierce to show you that not all females are "prim and proper"!


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## labetta

Thanks for the input. I would really like to see your girl flare like that. My older female does not flare at all. She is pretty mellow there in the guppy tank with the baby guppies. she pretty much leaves them alone and they her. Now my 2 adult males in the office (our mascots) they are another story. they will kill anything alive that goes in the tank with them. so they are in their own 2.5 gallon glass jars and they are perfectly content to stay that way. It is interesting to see their personalities show through this early already. It is also amazing to see them change so much since saturday.


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## TheBlur

Here's a little update on my PetCo female... I'v had her just about 3 weeks now. lilnaugrim sexed her for me :3 She'll be going into my 10g when she's big enough.
First signs of color!!! Also her tail fin has started branching into little forked segments~ Think I might have a combtail/crowntail on my hands!? (photos are a little blurry/poorly lit so its hard to see...)


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## StrangeDejavu

Here's my Petco baby, "Mako". He's a turquoise Elephant Ear, and he's shaping up to be the perfect fish. He isn't picky with food, and is very relaxed during water changes. While arranging the tank, he swims between my fingers and has shown no aggression so far. He lives in a 80°F heated 5.5 gallon, and will likely move to a planted 10 gallon within the next few months.


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## lilnaugrim

TheBlur said:


> Here's a little update on my PetCo female... I'v had her just about 3 weeks now. lilnaugrim sexed her for me :3 She'll be going into my 10g when she's big enough.
> First signs of color!!! Also her tail fin has started branching into little forked segments~ Think I might have a combtail/crowntail on my hands!? (photos are a little blurry/poorly lit so its hard to see...)


She's adorable! But alas, no CT/Combtail. When fins grow out they do not grow all at the same rate and then the ray's of the fins do not grow at the same rate either. So the top of the tail fin could grow faster than the bottom and then the rays do grow faster than the membrane. The rays will extend and then the membrane will catch up with it later. If she were a CT then ALL of her fins would already be branched out and she'd have some web reduction where the web no longer grows out, it would be equal on all fins not just the tail fin.



StrangeDejavu said:


> Here's my Petco baby, "Mako". He's a turquoise Elephant Ear, and he's shaping up to be the perfect fish. He isn't picky with food, and is very relaxed during water changes. While arranging the tank, he swims between my fingers and has shown no aggression so far. He lives in a 80°F heated 5.5 gallon, and will likely move to a planted 10 gallon within the next few months.


While he is adorable, I do not believe he is one of PetCo's Baby Bettas. Unless you are in an exceptionally rare area where they sell Dumbo Fry, then this boy was already grown when you got him. This is a thread for the specific Babies that PetCo sells, not your PetCo "baby". That said though, he's still very adorable, love the pic of him looking out from his decor.


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## lilnaugrim

So I have a question for you all. I'm writing an article about PetCo baby Care for easy access of the information. Here are the sections I have so far:


Water Changes
How Often Do I Feed?
What do I Feed? (along with all food nutrition)
How Can I Tell the Gender of my Baby?
Why Does My Baby have Stripes?
How Do I know When my Baby is Mature?

Is there anything else you guys would specifically like me to go over in this article? What questions do you guys have that isn't covered under those?


----------



## knottymare

I thought a "before and after" post might be fun... 

Here is Frieda, "before"










Getting a little bigger and getting more color









And NOW!


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## knottymare

More before and afters...

Neptune, as a wee baby









Getting bigger and more colorful!










And yesterday!


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## TheBlur

lilnaugrim said:


> So I have a question for you all. I'm writing an article about PetCo baby Care for easy access of the information. Here are the sections I have so far:
> 
> 
> Water Changes
> How Often Do I Feed?
> What do I Feed? (along with all food nutrition)
> How Can I Tell the Gender of my Baby?
> Why Does My Baby have Stripes?
> How Do I know When my Baby is Mature?
> 
> Is there anything else you guys would specifically like me to go over in this article? What questions do you guys have that isn't covered under those?


ash you're so helpful! x u x
a. I didn't know their fins grew in little segmented stages like that! Good to know!
b. I'd love to know when it would be appropriate for her to go into a community tank (with other fish not bettas).


----------



## lilnaugrim

TheBlur said:


> ash you're so helpful! x u x
> a. I didn't know their fins grew in little segmented stages like that! Good to know!
> b. I'd love to know when it would be appropriate for her to go into a community tank (with other fish not bettas).


I try! lol

Well to answer you directly here anyway, she could go in right now as long as there aren't other fish larger than her that might harm her. Most schooling fish like Tetras, Danios, Small Barbs, Rasboras, and cories will all be fine along with any livebearers. But if you've got larger barbs in the tank (which I don't recommend with ANY betta) or other gouramis then it won't be appropriate to put her in the tank until she can stand her own. But otherwise, if she can't fit in anyone's mouth then she'll be fine to go in! Just remember, how will you feed her? Is she trained to come to the top to get food or is she still relatively new, in which case I would give her time so she realizes that you coming to the tank means food and you can get at her easier than if she were hiding in the community tank


----------



## lilnaugrim

And as promised here is a video of my girl Pierce who flares at Hawkeye at 0:50
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnBjUswK7bM&feature=youtu.be


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## Sabina88

lilnaugrim said:


> So I have a question for you all. I'm writing an article about PetCo baby Care for easy access of the information. Here are the sections I have so far:
> 
> 
> Water Changes
> How Often Do I Feed?
> What do I Feed? (along with all food nutrition)
> How Can I Tell the Gender of my Baby?
> Why Does My Baby have Stripes?
> How Do I know When my Baby is Mature?
> 
> Is there anything else you guys would specifically like me to go over in this article? What questions do you guys have that isn't covered under those?


Just a thought but maybe what to look for when you get a baby and (im not sure if you already have this) whats the best tank size to allow them to grow and maybe sutible tank mates for the little babies

Hope this helped if you didn't already have it


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## lilnaugrim

Sabina88 said:


> Just a thought but maybe what to look for when you get a baby and (im not sure if you already have this) whats the best tank size to allow them to grow and maybe sutible tank mates for the little babies
> 
> Hope this helped if you didn't already have it


Thanks Sabina! I'll certainly add a "What to Look For" section. I touch a little bit on the tank size but there is no set tank size for them as long as it is kept healthy with the daily water changes then any tank will do. But of course I'll mention "the bigger the tank the better and the easier it is for you!" ^_^


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## TheBlur

lilnaugrim said:


> I try! lol
> 
> Well to answer you directly here anyway, she could go in right now as long as there aren't other fish larger than her that might harm her. Most schooling fish like Tetras, Danios, Small Barbs, Rasboras, and cories will all be fine along with any livebearers. But if you've got larger barbs in the tank (which I don't recommend with ANY betta) or other gouramis then it won't be appropriate to put her in the tank until she can stand her own. But otherwise, if she can't fit in anyone's mouth then she'll be fine to go in! Just remember, how will you feed her? Is she trained to come to the top to get food or is she still relatively new, in which case I would give her time so she realizes that you coming to the tank means food and you can get at her easier than if she were hiding in the community tank


What about some Mickey Mouse Platy? I think their proper classification is yellow or gold. Either way they're not super brightly colored. Mostly butter colored. I also have peppered corydoras that are relatively young so they have some growing to do still.

she's super trained. We have one of those wand thingies and she follows my finger and the wand, even if there's no food x3


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## lilnaugrim

TheBlur said:


> What about some Mickey Mouse Platy? I think their proper classification is yellow or gold. Either way they're not super brightly colored. Mostly butter colored. I also have peppered corydoras that are relatively young so they have some growing to do still.
> 
> she's super trained. We have one of those wand thingies and she follows my finger and the wand, even if there's no food x3


Yeah, Platies don't bother anything. As I said they can go in with any livebearers except for maybe fully grown Mollies if the baby is small enough. All corydoras are great for Bettas! And the coloration doesn't matter, I know it's often said to not put Bettas with brightly colored fish but a Betta can tell the difference between another Betta and a different colored fish. Whoever came up with that silly rule probably just had a very aggressive Betta!

Although that does bring up another possible section for my thread; Compatibility. Just be warned that females can be just as aggressive as males so she may _personally_ not get along with the other fish but they won't or they shouldn't bother her at all unless she is a sickly baby but she doesn't sound like it at all.


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## Sabina88

sorry to get a little off topic but I was wondering
so platies are ok with any bettas, baby or adult also taking in account of your bettas personality?


----------



## TheBlur

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, Platies don't bother anything. As I said they can go in with any livebearers except for maybe fully grown Mollies if the baby is small enough. All corydoras are great for Bettas! And the coloration doesn't matter, I know it's often said to not put Bettas with brightly colored fish but a Betta can tell the difference between another Betta and a different colored fish. Whoever came up with that silly rule probably just had a very aggressive Betta!
> 
> Although that does bring up another possible section for my thread; Compatibility. Just be warned that females can be just as aggressive as males so she may _personally_ not get along with the other fish but they won't or they shouldn't bother her at all unless she is a sickly baby but she doesn't sound like it at all.


Right-o~
My boyfriend wanted to try putting his VT Sashimi in the 10 gallon last night. Sucker almost killed one of my small platy via stress. She was hunkered down so low on the bottom poor thing. No one's fins were damaged and the bigger Platy were fine - u - no fin nips what so ever. Anyways, we took him out cos he didn't want any fish to die.

The baby I was thinking of putting in there is just about an inch long now, too big for the platy to nibble I'd guess. She's actually about the same size as my smallest platy girl.


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## TheBlur

Sabina88 said:


> sorry to get a little off topic but I was wondering
> so platies are ok with any bettas, baby or adult also taking in account of your bettas personality?



Mine were really chill about it. The most they did was swim over and sorta check the betta out while he was in his cup. After that they pretty much tried to leave him alone but he just kept chasing them x3 Will try again in a few weeks with my baby female.


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## atb224155

lilnaugrim said:


> So I have a question for you all. I'm writing an article about PetCo baby Care for easy access of the information. Here are the sections I have so far:
> 
> 
> Water Changes
> How Often Do I Feed?
> What do I Feed? (along with all food nutrition)
> How Can I Tell the Gender of my Baby?
> Why Does My Baby have Stripes?
> How Do I know When my Baby is Mature?
> 
> Is there anything else you guys would specifically like me to go over in this article? What questions do you guys have that isn't covered under those?


Tanks should also be included. What tank your betta will love or hate.
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=4451185#post4451185
Decorations and what's best for your fish.


----------



## JamieL

I don't know if this has been discussed anywhere back in this thread, but does anyone know if these babies have the same life expectancy as bettas purchased as adults, or if they're stunted? I ask because I've had my boy about a year now. He's still very small, he just never grew past a certain size. Up til now he's been perfect, but lately he just seems really blah. Like he's slowing down. He rests on the bottom a lot, in plants, etc. he's often not interested in food. I just can't figure it out. I got to thinking that maybe they just don't live as long as the others. Everything's fine, water quality, he looks fine physically. What's been everyone's experience with the babies in the long term?


----------



## lilnaugrim

It all depends. Some will die earlier, some will live the same as regular Bettas if they didn't spend long on the shelf or anything. Shipping is a trauma to them so most of them won't make it long but it really depends on all the circumstances like how old they are when they're shipped. I usually try to tell people go for the larger, more active babies because they're likely to last you longer as they are healthier and most likely not stunted like those poor tiny ones are.


----------



## TheBlur

^^^ all of this.

I picked out my baby girl because she was SUPER active compared to the other fry on the shelf (which were very sickly and damaged). She was stressed and washed out for a really long time too, but she hung in there and we're at 1 month 1 week going strong!  Hopefully she lives a long time.


----------



## JamieL

Thanks. He's a little over a year old. I'll just keep an eye on him I guess. He just seems to be dragging and I can't figure out why. Poor guy. He rarely eats pellets anymore, and I have to really work to get his attention to feed him frozen food. He used to jump for it. Now I go in there and have to tap the glass to see if he's alive.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, that happened to my first two babies as well, some of them are just shipped too young.


----------



## TiffanyP

I think the same thing is happening to Alaric too - he's just so listless lately :/


----------



## ThetaSigma

All the babies I've been getting grow really fast and get way bigger than the first baby I had. One grew to a medium in one month, even though she started at a half inch. Unfortunately, if you check the rant thread, you'll find my filter messed up and she was one of the girls who died. D:

She was a red cambodian with butterfly markings on her tail. But the markings were reversed, the closest to her body was clear, and the outer part of her fins were blood red.


----------



## jenjen182

Any tips for new baby betta owners? I'm planning on adopting one within this year, and I'd like to know if anyone has any ideas on how to take better care of them. I've only had adult bettas from LPS'. Does a smaller tank with daily 100%-50% water changes sound good?


----------



## TheBlur

jenjen182 said:


> Any tips for new baby betta owners? I'm planning on adopting one within this year, and I'd like to know if anyone has any ideas on how to take better care of them. I've only had adult bettas from LPS'. Does a smaller tank with daily 100%-50% water changes sound good?


I had mine in a .75 gallon with a silk plant and NO BEDDING (no rocks no stones, bare bottom) until I had her for about a month. Reason being that they like to squeeze into the tiniest little holes if they can, and the first day I had her she scared the POOP out of me by squirming her way through stone bedding to the point where I couldn't even FIND her. It was not fun. IF you put bedding in your tank I'd suggest sand substrate as its too fine for them to try and hide in. Gravel or rocks may have enough space between them where they can get stuck.

Also, they're very temperature sensitive. Try keeping the bowl at 80F constantly. The water change system you've stated is what I did as well.

As for food, I fed my baby Hikari micro pellets. They're for omnivores, so she's getting everything she needs in her diet until she's big enough to eat betta pellets without me having to smash them up. Just a few little micro pellets a day and she was set!

You have to be careful not to over feed them, as they bloat really flipping easily.


In point:
tiny food
no small spaces they can get into or THINK they can get into
80F all the times
frequent/daily water changes
don't overfeed


----------



## jenjen182

Thank you so much! That was very thorough. I'll definitely end up doing that. It will be interesting though because all my adult bettas have filters so I don't have to clean as often.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Well you need to do the water changes to keep the water clean first of all, just like any baby; they are sensitive to being sick and if they do get sick it could be a long road to recovery....if they recover. But they also emit something called the Growth Stunting Hormone, there are three main ways to dilute or get rid of this but the easiest thing to do for most aquarist's is to do daily water changes of at least 50%.

Also, the bigger the tank, the easier it is to clean so I really don't suggest a bowl for these guys as it needs to be heated and changed frequently. It's much easier to do on a glass 2.5 tank and this way the growth stunting hormone won't backfire on them as easily as it would in a 1 gallon.


----------



## jenjen182

lilnaugrim said:


> Well you need to do the water changes to keep the water clean first of all, just like any baby; they are sensitive to being sick and if they do get sick it could be a long road to recovery....if they recover. But they also emit something called the Growth Stunting Hormone, there are three main ways to dilute or get rid of this but the easiest thing to do for most aquarist's is to do daily water changes of at least 50%.
> 
> Also, the bigger the tank, the easier it is to clean so I really don't suggest a bowl for these guys as it needs to be heated and changed frequently. It's much easier to do on a glass 2.5 tank and this way the growth stunting hormone won't backfire on them as easily as it would in a 1 gallon.


Yeah, I said 50-100% daily above. :-D Thanks!


----------



## PanActress

*Update and New Baby!*

So I haven't been here or posted in forever, but I found myself drawn back after being bored one day to look at pretty pictures of bettas! And then I realized some people might be interested to see where my baby is now.

This was Lutece on her first day at home (august 2013), before I knew she was a she!



And here she is a few days ago!




Part of me was sad she didn't turn out more exciting as she grew, but now I think she is gorgeous! She's a traditional/wild colored plakat maybe? She is still fairly small, but that makes her prettier. She has one of the smoothest toplines I've seen on bettas. When in her tank, she always has her breeding stripes? She seems healthy enough, and is not in eye sight of any males, so I'm hoping this is ok?

And evil as this thread is, it brought back memories of the spunky baby Lutece was, and as a reward for working 12 days straight, I told myself I could buy another baby. This baby was actually in the same cup as another darker double-tail baby. I think it must have been so tiny, it slipped right into the cup and no one noticed! The employee was going to let me have both, but I can't do another tank set up, so I have just this clear one. So here it is:

Day 1:


Day 2:


Day 3 (Can you find the fish?):


Day 4:

And peeking again!


And after a week (today!):


I've been calling it Leetle Feesh!

Any ideas on gender? I'm thinking male, because I haven't seen any ovaries yet. I can't get a good count on its rays either, but I'm guessing veil tail. Already I've noticed the tail growing in differently than Lutece's. Also, I have not seen any color yet, not even iridescence!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Hi Pan!! Good to see you back!

Lutece looks beautiful! She does look like a PK from those rays sticking out; not typically normal for VT's. Also, toplines aren't supposed to be straight just so you know lol. They're supposed to have a nice gentle curve, but she's still pretty! And yes the breeding stripes are fine, she's probably seeing her reflection and thinking it's a male and wanting to breed lol. But she's fine.

And the new baby does look like a Male! None of the pictures are clear enough to see his tail rays though, so I can't say about them yet.


----------



## Kiara1125

Your girl looks like a combtail, I don't think she's a plakat. Plakats look much different. Combtails tend to have the extra branching rays that stick out on their tails. She might have some plakat into her, but she's mainly defined as a combtail. I've had several combtails that look exactly like her. Here are several of my female combtails.

Still, your girl looks like my girl, Deichi. Yours is just more red than blue.


----------



## PanActress

They do look alike! And hmmm, a comb tail, eh? Is that a result of breeding a VT and CT usually? When she was growing, I kept thinking she would be a CT because the rays always stuck out, but this is where she settled.

And as far as her top line, I don't know much about what's right and wrong, just something I noticed! I won't tell her it's not preferable... 

Hopefully I will be able to get a clearer picture of the new one's tail sometime soon. It is hard when it has no color and the baby just won't sit still!


----------



## niQ

Just brought this baby home 2 days ago. I think its a female veiltail right?


----------



## lilnaugrim

niQ said:


> Just brought this baby home 2 days ago. I think its a female veiltail right?


Most likely, yes


----------



## BlueLacee

they are all so beautiful. Great job and good luck to evryone


----------



## TheBlur

My PetCo baby female just got her vertical stripes TODAY! yay! As a sort of graduation celebration I have now upgraded her into a 10gallon community tank with 3 gold mickey mouse platy and some peppered cory cats! She's loving it~ :'D <3


----------



## givemethatfish

Just curious how long it has taken everyone's baby to lose the "stress stripes" - or are they still just camouflage stripes in babies? 

Belle day 1 and Belle day 13 (yeah I know she's a boy). He's gotten bigger and a lot of color, but still stripey. Normal?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, they can keep them right up until sexual maturity sometimes. One of my older boys who wasn't a PetCo baby but just a PetCo fish has a very light coat but he's a dark fish and so you can see the stripes all the time but he's not stressed out. You can tell the difference after a while between a stressed fish and then just a fish that has a more transparent coloring than most other fish. 

He's beautiful givemethatfish!!

@TheBlur, babies can switch between vertical, horizontal and solid colorations very quickly and all the time depending on the area and their surroundings. They will switch up more often if they are around other fish or if they see their reflection, it's kind of like their mood coloring lol. But it's no indicator that she's mature or anything. >.< sorry to rain on your parade if you thought it was >.<


----------



## TheBlur

lilnaugrim: Lol no it was just very exciting to see something besides her horizontal stripes. She's physically big enough to play with the platy now so I put her in the 10 gallon. She's also finally fully colored! No more ruddy browns! She's fully fully blue with red ventrals.  Oh, and I decided to name her Delta.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh okay!! Yeah, it is nice to see something other than camo stripes for sure!! Well congrats then ^_^


----------



## PanActress

Updates! Got some clearer photos of its tail, but I still can't tell! I think it might be just two rays...

Day 8:



Day 9:



I can also kind of see some red coming in, on the ventrals and right under its body. Exciting!


----------



## SuperStork

I purchased a tiny baby betta from Petco a few weeks ago. She or he is doing fantastic--getting bigger and swimming around a lot. She was so tiny that I did have to get different food for her than that of my other two full-sized bettas. I was concerned how she would do with the transition, but things are going well. We named her Tuna. She's so cute!


----------



## Kiara1125

PanActress said:


> Updates! Got some clearer photos of its tail, but I still can't tell! I think it might be just two rays...
> 
> Day 8:
> 
> 
> 
> Day 9:
> 
> 
> 
> I can also kind of see some red coming in, on the ventrals and right under its body. Exciting!


You have a male betta. He might turn out to be a crowntail! Good luck with raising him!


----------



## SuperStork

*What kind of baby?*

Here's a picture of Tuna. She looks redder in the picture than she really is. Anyone know what type she is? She is also smaller than she seems in the picture. 
Thanks!


----------



## lilnaugrim

She looks like a cute little red VT! ^_^


----------



## Sabina88

I was wondering I got my first baby betta about 2 to 3 months ago. Hes grown a lot from the little thing that I got, but I feel like he hasn't grown at all lately, if he has its just barely.

He went from this:








To this:








And finally to this:








That photo was taken the first of april and he changed in aperance since then then. The only difference is that his fins have grown a little and look a little raggedy, parts look like their growing into adultish size and others look basicly like the above photos. So far hes lived in a 2 gallon kritter keeper and in a divided 10 gallon tank with 3 other bettas. Compared to my adult male bettas and even my females hes only a fraction of the size of them. Do you think hes permently stunted?


----------



## SuperStork

lilnaugrim said:


> She looks like a cute little red VT! ^_^


Thanks. She's speedy. Was hard to catch a still moment!


----------



## SuperStork

Kiara1125 said:


> You have a male betta. He might turn out to be a crowntail! Good luck with raising him!


Pretty!


----------



## freeflow246

Sabina88 said:


> I was wondering I got my first baby betta about 2 to 3 months ago. Hes grown a lot from the little thing that I got, but I feel like he hasn't grown at all lately, if he has its just barely.
> 
> He went from this:
> View attachment 364074
> 
> 
> To this:
> View attachment 364082
> 
> 
> And finally to this:
> View attachment 364090
> 
> 
> That photo was taken the first of april and he changed in aperance since then then. The only difference is that his fins have grown a little and look a little raggedy, parts look like their growing into adultish size and others look basicly like the above photos. So far hes lived in a 2 gallon kritter keeper and in a divided 10 gallon tank with 3 other bettas. Compared to my adult male bettas and even my females hes only a fraction of the size of them. Do you think hes permently stunted?


I had a betta I bought as a baby the end of last summer. He got very sick and died a few weeks ago, but I experienced the same thing as you. He'd obviously grown some since I got him, but at roughly 10 months he was not nearly as big as I would have expected him to be. It was like he had just stopped growing, like he was stunted. I wonder if he was seeing his reflection often and pumping out growth inhibiting hormones. Apart from that, he was a pretty healthy fish. He only fell sick because his tank got too cold when our ac unit malfunctioned.


----------



## TheBlur

freeflow246 said:


> I had a betta I bought as a baby the end of last summer. He got very sick and died a few weeks ago, but I experienced the same thing as you. He'd obviously grown some since I got him, but at roughly 10 months he was not nearly as big as I would have expected him to be. It was like he had just stopped growing, like he was stunted. I wonder if he was seeing his reflection often and pumping out growth inhibiting hormones. Apart from that, he was a pretty healthy fish. He only fell sick because his tank got too cold when our ac unit malfunctioned.


A lot of petshop raised babies are often stunted from being in those little cups wight their growth hormone junk. My little girl is still tiny, and I expect she will remain quite small compared to the average healthy female. Doesn't mean she isn't a good fish though! Just tiny. :3


----------



## peacock

I got one too. He's really healthy.
:-D


----------



## peacock

They are soooo cute


----------



## Alphahelix

Long time no see guys! Been nuts with school but happy to report most everyone has done fabulously and my baby Betta Siren who was dying when I grabbed him is now:

Grown man  I've decided veil tails are my absolute favorite tail type followed by Super deltas


----------



## Sabina88

I took some updates of my baby betta finally. I did use my phone so there not that great.
The first one is from 4/20/14 and the other two are from today


----------



## lilnaugrim

Alphahelix, he's beautiful!!!! Good on you!

Sabina, he turned out fantastic too! A nice little Combtail nonetheless! :-D


----------



## Sabina88

Thanks lilnaurgrim 
Sigh I wish his fins were more even though, but that's ok. 
Whats the difference between combtail and crowntail again?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Crowntails are _supposed_ to have at least 30% web reduction whereas Combtails can be a combination of CTxVT or CTxDeT, they have 50% or less web reduction. Your boy looks maybe 15-20% reduction. CTxHM produces a Halfsun but most of them are probably Combtails as Halfsuns need to have the 180 degree spread where combtails I don't believe have any specific requirements other than having some degree of web reduction. However, that said, the goal for all tail types _should_ be 180 degrees but since not all of them get up to that, the ones that don't are classified as DeT's with no web reduction and then CT is just all over but they are supposed to be at 180 degrees for show quality ^_^


----------



## mpooyan83

Just bought a baby from petco yesterday and put him (i think its a him) in a 1.5 gallon tank with 1 mystery snail. just want to make sure, if its ok for him to be in there with a snail? I'm feeding him the Omega 1 Betta flakes (crushed finely).

Was thinking of moving the snail to my 10 gallon tank and maybe getting a few shrimp in the 1.5 gallon instead since shrimp have almost no bioload and snail have a fairly big one.


----------



## givemethatfish

Honestly, I wouldn't keep a mystery snail alone in a 1.5 gallon tank. It is definitely too small for a fish and a snail. Mystery snails get big and are big poopers. I would put the snail in the 10 G for sure.


----------



## mpooyan83

3 ghost/cherry/amano/etc shrimp should be ok though, right? Just a small cleanup crew for left over food and such.


----------



## givemethatfish

In that small of a tank, I'd be worried about them being baby betta snacks. Nowhere to hide.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, best to just stick with the baby since you need to do daily water changes to help it grow healthy. That would stress out the shrimp or whatever else you've got in there.


----------



## mpooyan83

the baby Betta would need Daily water changes? even in a filtered 1.5g tank? I was thinking I can just stick to the regular weekly changes.

- its that 1.5 gallon plastic Tetra cube btw


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yes, they need daily water changes to get rid of the growth stunting hormone. At least 50% every other day is the lowest you can go but daily is much healthier for the baby. These are baby animals, not just a baby fish, they require much more care than any adult animal would. The filter does not take out the hormone, only the water changes will. If you don't do them, the baby dies much earlier than it should from being stunted.


----------



## mpooyan83

Ah ok, Then daily changes it is. in 2 days I'm already attached to it. lol. Will do whatever it takes to keep it healthy.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Great! Yeah, they are very addicting! I've had six myself! Only half survived though, three were taken from stunting and horrible conditions prior to me buying/adopting then. I have my oldest one who is a year old and he's suffering from a weakened immune system and currently he's trying to battle Saprolegnia.


----------



## Sabina88

Thank you lilnaugrim for the info


----------



## Sabina88

lilnaugrim said:


> Crowntails are _supposed_ to have at least 30% web reduction whereas Combtails can be a combination of CTxVT or CTxDeT, they have 50% or less web reduction. Your boy looks maybe 15-20% reduction. CTxHM produces a Halfsun but most of them are probably Combtails as Halfsuns need to have the 180 degree spread where combtails I don't believe have any specific requirements other than having some degree of web reduction. However, that said, the goal for all tail types _should_ be 180 degrees but since not all of them get up to that, the ones that don't are classified as DeT's with no web reduction and then CT is just all over but they are supposed to be at 180 degrees for show quality ^_^


Thank you for the information lilnarugrim


----------



## PanActress

This thread is so fun! I love seeing babies grow up. Although all this speak of babies slowing down in their first year makes me nervous. I'll have to keep an eye on Lutece. We're getting close to our anniversary!

Speaking of anniversaries, we've hit two weeks with the new baby! A reminder of how he looked when he got home:



And now at 2 weeks!



Am I safe calling it a him? It has a big eye, and I'm still not seeing signs of ovaries. Its fins are still growing! Here's as good a look at his tail as I can give:



In that picture you can also see some color coming in! Exciting. I can see a turquoise iridescence and red on his fins.


----------



## TheBlur

Based on the size of the anal and ventral fins I'm going to actually guess that its a little girl, but I could be totally wrong XD
I'm not good at spotting ovaries myself x3

My little girl started off that color, and grew a turquoise iridescence on the body/tails and red on her ventrals. Now she's all grown up and a deep cobalt blue with ruby ventrals!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah I don't see ovaries yet either but your new one does look like a girl. The anal is rounded and shorter, ventrals are small. Ovaries do grow in so this is why you can't sex early fry, even with a well trained eye it can be very difficult! Even after they grow in though it can still be difficult to tell! :lol: ^_^


----------



## Kiara1125

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah I don't see ovaries yet either but your new one does look like a girl. The anal is rounded and shorter, ventrals are small. Ovaries do grow in so this is why you can't sex early fry, even with a well trained eye it can be very difficult! Even after they grow in though it can still be difficult to tell! :lol: ^_^


How are the ventrals small? They seems pretty long and broad to me, especially considering the size of the fish.


----------



## lilnaugrim

The meat of the ventral is short, compared to the male babies I've seen. The total length is a little long but nothing like the male babies. Here are two of my female babies, Pierce is a little older but you can still see her ventrals are pretty darn long.


And here is baby River


----------



## PanActress

You know, I was thinking it looked a little female shaped too... that's the funny thing about babies, I think! Just when you start thinking you know what they are, they switch things up on you. I haven't named it yet, though, so at least there's that!


----------



## Kiara1125

Ah, ok!


----------



## BlueLacee

they are all so cute. I love watching them grow


----------



## SuperStork

*Babies are cute!*

Happy with my new little fella, too. We've had Tuna almost a month. Amazing how the colors change.


----------



## KlutzyGal

Okay...so this thread broke me, I decided to try my hand at baby raising! I just picked up this little googly-eyed one, I was debating between s/he and one that was clearly a Double Tail, but the (for now) light coloring with the black flecks and slight coloring on the fins intrigued me as to what s/he will look like when full grown. What do you guys think, boy or girl??


----------



## Sabina88

Aww what a cute little baby  I hope all goes well for you in raising him/her.

I want to say male because I don't think I see overies but im pretty bad at telling the difference lol. Hopefully some one else can help you out.


----------



## Sabina88

I was finally able to get a decent photo of my baby with my camera :-D Hes finally not a blurry blob or a grainy cell phone pick.
He looks so glittery in this photo lol :roll:


----------



## KlutzyGal

Sabina88 said:


> Aww what a cute little baby  I hope all goes well for you in raising him/her.
> 
> I want to say male because I don't think I see overies but im pretty bad at telling the difference lol. Hopefully some one else can help you out.


Thank you! Honestly I'm fine no matter which it turns out to be. I just hope I can get the little tyke to full size. 

So, I took some of the regular size pellets I feed my two boys and crushed them up to tiny pieces. But the little one doesn't get that me putting my hand over the top of the bowl = chow time like the other two do. I'm hoping it'll catch onto that soon. In the meantime, the pieces of food are so tiny...how on earth do you tell if s/he is eating or not?? :shock:


----------



## Sabina88

It is a little difficult to tell when their tiny but you can think about it in adult betta terms. If they have a roundish tummy then that means they eat something and if its flat and doesn't look like theres anything their then they probably didn't eat.
A suggestion to try feeding your fry when their that tinny is frozen BBS, I feed that to my baby and he enjoyed eating them. Plus I know their small enough that he could easily eat them. Then once he got a bit bigger I started feeding him crushed pellets. 
Hopefully this helped


----------



## mpooyan83

Here's my baby boy from petco.... at least i think its a boy 
Still havnt name the little guy. was thinkin Cosmo.... lol


----------



## TheBlur

KlutzyGal said:


> boy or girl?


I wanna say boy given those gogglies! Male's eyes are usually significantly larger than females, for whatever reason.


----------



## KlutzyGal

Thanks Sabina! That's good to know. I'll see how he fares with the smushed pellets and go from there. 

TheBlur - I was thinking that too after reading some previous posts on this thread! His eyes are huge, I think they're the biggest thing on him at the moment, lol!

Here's another shot of the little guy... right now I have him in a .5 gallon bowl that I'll be changing at least every other day, if not daily based on what I've read. He seems to be cruising around pretty good. He's so tiny though that even in the .5 it's hard to see where he is sometimes!


----------



## TheBlur

Keep an eye on him! I had my little girl in a .5 with big glass stones at first and she used to constantly give me a heart attack by wedging herself between or under the stones where I couldn't find her and she couldn't get out x.x

I'd recommend substrate or fine gravel for the bottom...or nothing. she went for a long time with no bedding in her tank (which actually really made cleaning it way easier XD )

I'd do a 50% water change every other day with 100% changes in between. Its not that the smaller tank gets dirty so much as it is that you have to get that growth hormone out of the water so they grow big.


----------



## KlutzyGal

TheBlur said:


> Keep an eye on him! I had my little girl in a .5 with big glass stones at first and she used to constantly give me a heart attack by wedging herself between or under the stones where I couldn't find her and she couldn't get out x.x
> 
> I'd recommend substrate or fine gravel for the bottom...or nothing. she went for a long time with no bedding in her tank (which actually really made cleaning it way easier XD )


I will! He has sand on the bottom of his bowl...the only bad thing is, right now he pretty much matches the color of the sand. I have to look for his beady eyes to spot him! XD I ended up stealing one of Loki's silk plants to put in his bowl, he's tiny enough to where he can easily fit through all the spaces. He seems to like hiding under the leaves, which are enormous in comparison to him. :lol:


----------



## TheBlur

KlutzyGal said:


> x


Yeah my baby girl LOVED her plant when I finally got her one (after I got rid of the rocks and stopped being paranoid that she was going to bury herself in the sand). x u x'''

If you ever have questions about the babies I'd be more than happy to help, as I just finished with my little PetCo female. She's now in a 10 gallon community tank with mickey mouse platy and peppered cory cats. 

Good luck with your "boy"!


----------



## TiffanyP

Make sure you're keeping his water warm too - they thrive best in warmer temperatures. If you can keep the water about 80-82 degrees he would just love that  Get him into a bigger home as soon as you are able, and definitely do daily water changes on a container that small. I had my first baby in a 1 gallon tank and did every other day water changes and it wasn't enough - he's definitely stunted now and is paying for it, and I feel awful that I didn't do him right by doing the necessary water changes. Best of luck with your little one!


----------



## KlutzyGal

I think I'm going to end up buying some of the micro pellets today...sprinkled in a bit of the crushed up regular pellets just a few minutes ago, and what does he do? He goes for the one piece that didn't get broken up enough and was practically as big as his face. ...Boys will be boys? Lol! :roll:

Tiffany - I have a 1.5gal that I was going to move him in when he got a little bigger, you don't think it would be too huge for him now? If not I'll definitely swap him over when I do his water change after work this evening.


----------



## TheBlur

KlutzyGal said:


> I think I'm going to end up buying some of the micro pellets today...sprinkled in a bit of the crushed up regular pellets just a few minutes ago, and what does he do? He goes for the one piece that didn't get broken up enough and was practically as big as his face. ...Boys will be boys? Lol! :roll:
> 
> Tiffany - I have a 1.5gal that I was going to move him in when he got a little bigger, you don't think it would be too huge for him now? If not I'll definitely swap him over when I do his water change after work this evening.


1.5 gal should be fine, just make sure its pretty sparse so you can find him easily.


----------



## TiffanyP

I don't think it'd be too big for him at all - I put the smallest baby I had in a 2.5 gallon from the start and she grew amazingly with the daily water changes. I wouldn't necessarily make it 'sparse' as TheBlur suggested, because they like to have places to hide - so long as there's a lid on the tank and no small spaces he can get stuck in, he should be fine  I've had 4 babies and never had a problem with finding any of mine, and one was smaller than the width of my thumbnail when I got her.


----------



## KlutzyGal

Alright then, I'll move him up when I get home tonight.  I bought one more silk plant to put in the 1.5 with him, I'm thinking I'll wait on substrate until he's bigger. 

Bought some Omega One food to start using for all my fish tonight, read the label in comparison to the Aqueon food I've been giving and yeah, it really is a lot better quality. I'm wondering if the little guy will be more apt to eat the better food.


----------



## Sabina88

That might work. Sometimes babies can be a bit picky.
Just a tip, 
ive noticed with my boy and even he still does it, if he tries to eat a pellet a few times that's to big for him after a few tries he wont touch it again and will let it fall to the bottom of the tank. It might be good to try and smosh them really well. For his size I would say the smallest that you can get it without turning it to dust. I usually use take out 4ish pellets for him and smoosh it with the cover of the food container. 
Oh also its suggested to feed fry multipul times during the day.
You may also have to experiment with his food to see what he will eat. I remember that when I got my boy (he was about the same size as yours) I had a hard time getting him to eat the pellets that I crushed for him. So I tried him on frozen baby brine shrimp.
Here are some other things to try if he doesn't eat the pellets
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=51144


----------



## TiffanyP

Crushing pellets seems to work well for people - I bought the New Life Spectrum small fish formula and that's what all of my babies ate without issue


----------



## KlutzyGal

My store has brine shrimp in stock, would either of these work if he doesn't end up liking the pellets? One pack is only $3.99, not bad for that much food for him!


----------



## Sabina88

I think they will just make sure its baby brine shrinp and not full grown.
I personally got the Hikary brand. If your store caries it. Its a bit smaller and the portions are managble. 
I also had extra bbs with my baby but its also nice to have extra just in case and ive found that my zebra danios are happy to eat left overs if you have fish like that.

Sorry for my spelling, i wrote this on my phone


----------



## TheBlur

TiffanyP said:


> I wouldn't necessarily make it 'sparse' as TheBlur suggested, because they like to have places to hide - so long as there's a lid on the tank and no small spaces he can get stuck in, he should be fine


lol yah I just meant that you don't want to overpack your smaller tank for a baby cos they DO like to hide so much! My girl was a little burrowing houdini, so I learned, at least for her, not to put a whole bunch of decorations in. She did love her silk plant though for hiding and resting.


----------



## Anie

I have gotten the Petco babies, and have had great success with them. It has taught my daughter how to care for something very tiny and be proud of how it has grown up. I know several people don't agree with it but they are a good learning device and provides a love for bettas


----------



## KlutzyGal

Got the baby switched over to the 1.5 gallon with two silk plants, no substrate. So far he's still kickin' and seemingly doing well!  I put a few tiny pieces of the new Omega One pellets in there, I made them to sink to the bottom since he doesn't get the whole swimming to the top for food bit yet. The good thing about not having any substrate is I'll be able to see if he eats any of what I put in there. Fingers crossed!


----------



## TheBlur

You can also start training him to go up to the top for food!  Feeding rings or bottle caps work great for feeding in a consistent spot on the surface thats a little easier to find than the pellet itself x3


----------



## BlueLacee

So through a hole lot of stupid stuff, I've gotten my baby back and have had her in a 5g for almost a month. She is loving it and has perked up so much. She is a complealty different fish. Before:


----------



## BlueLacee

And a month later, she has changed so much and has a great personality


----------



## BlueLacee

I simply love her


----------



## Sabina88

The photos upside down but from what i can tell, shes very pretty


----------



## Kiara1125

You can post all of the pics in one reply/post ... still, pretty betta. I see one (maybe two) picture(s) that is/are upside down, but that usually happens if the picture was taken from a phone.


----------



## KlutzyGal

Managed to snap a good shot of baby resting on one of his silk plants, funny to see how enormous it is in comparison to him.  You can't really see any of his fins as they're mostly see through still, but his little ventral fins are looking to be red, and his caudal and anal fins, for now anyway, seem to be starting to get what is some red coloring as well.


----------



## TealHoundogg

Anyone know on average how old baby bettas at Petco are?

I've seen some that really small and others that look to be around 4 or 6 weeks old


----------



## givemethatfish

Based on size, mine was about 7 weeks old when I got him, and he was one of the largest ones. Definitely large enough to have a decent amount of color and to tell his gender. I think the smallest ones aren't older than 4 weeks.


----------



## TealHoundogg

Oh, ok thanks.


----------



## Canis

I've had this little guy for about two months now. Not too much growth yet, but he's adorable as can be <3


----------



## Sabina88

Aww how cute, I love how red the fins are


----------



## TealHoundogg

Is he a round tail? cause the tail looks too small to be a delta but I could be wrong.

I had considered getting a baby betta once but was told I'd be better off getting an adult. Having two of them and doing the research, I can breed my own which I'm finding out can be an interesting learning experience.

Still, betta fry are like puppies, they're so cute. Can't resist baby animals... there, I said it!


----------



## Canis

I honestly have no idea if he's roundtail or not XD He's really tiny still, so I think he'll eventually turn out to be a veiltail. Who knows though, your guess is as good as mine lol.


----------



## TealHoundogg

Well, round tails are a variety of veiltails, I haven't seen any roundtails at Petco even though according to one website they are sold in pet stores.


----------



## Kiara1125

Probably a veiltail. All veiltails have their roundtail phase. So, that little boy is probably a veiltail.


----------



## nclnchls

Canis said:


> I've had this little guy for about two months now. Not too much growth yet, but he's adorable as can be <3


Your baby looks almost exactly like mine, just with longer fins!


----------



## Canis

nclnchls said:


> Your baby looks almost exactly like mine, just with longer fins!


Pretty close! My guy just has a green shine on his body instead of blue ^^


----------



## chrischanq

I got a baby Betta from Petco 7 months ago and now he is really pretty, and maybe a little over-weight...
/Users/qizhang/Downloads/照片-8.JPG


----------



## TealHoundogg

Can't see anything. Sorry.


----------



## Kiara1125

chrischanq said:


> I got a baby Betta from Petco 7 months ago and now he is really pretty, and maybe a little over-weight...
> /Users/qizhang/Downloads/照片-8.JPG


You need to upload the picture to Imgur or Photobucket. Then copy the URL code and click the







button.Then paste the URL code and press enter.


----------



## chrischanq

Thank you!
I am new to this forum, not sure how to post pics yet


----------



## nclnchls

Canis said:


> Pretty close! My guy just has a green shine on his body instead of blue ^^


Aw that's cool!! Pretty boy!


----------



## PanActress

So we hit three weeks yesterday evening! These pictures are from today:




I think the baby is looking good! Still no sure signs of gender. I've been waiting all week for ovaries to show up, but I'm not convinced they're there yet. I remember being able to see Lutece's. As of yet, no solid color! Still can see red tinted fins and a turquoise gleam in the light sometimes.

This video is from a water change sometime last week! I thought it was cute enough to share. I got a few pieces of gravel stuck in my baster, and it was irresistible to the baby.



nclnchls and Canis: Your babies are beautiful! I love the contrast of the dark body with bright fins.


----------



## niQ

1st pic: My first baby petco betta, her name is Panaché. :cheers:
2nd pic: My baby after 16 days, she is coloring up very nicely and becoming a beautiful blue.
3rd pic: My first baby & her new friend (no name yet) after being together for 12 days. They are in a 10 gallon with 2 assasin snails. Not sure what other tankmates to add yet. :dunno:


----------



## Animalactivist12

My petco does this! They have about 10 Babies the size of my thumbnail, they are. So tiny and I know they aren't getting the correct nutrient and the right environment, it's really sad


----------



## Kaffrin

Oh! NiQ I believe our babies are twins c:! Your second totally reminds me of my Cherry~








Cherry is abouuut.. 2 months old now?


----------



## chrischanq

This is the baby I got one week ago. She/he is very aggressive towards any other fish... She's now living in a 1 gallon tank, and she loves to play with Moss and her shrimp friend (she's not aggressive to ghost shrimps)


----------



## chrischanq

chrischanq said:


> This is the baby I got one week ago. She/he is very aggressive towards any other fish... She's now living in a 1 gallon tank, and she loves to play with Moss and her shrimp friend (she's not aggressive to ghost shrimps)


And this is her little 1g tank.


----------



## chrischanq

This is another baby Betta I got from Petco 7 months ago. He was super cute and tiny when I got him, and how he's living in a planted 2.5g


----------



## niQ

@Kaffrin :nicefish: Totally twins! Thats awesome


----------



## InStitches

Meet baby Beastie  Any ideas on tail type?


----------



## Kiara1125

InStitches said:


> Meet baby Beastie  Any ideas on tail type?


Veiltail male.


----------



## Jonthefish

Subscribed , would like to hear more about baby betta ! I like the idea of raising a really tiny fish to a big grown adult :3


----------



## InStitches

Kiara1125 said:


> Veiltail male.


 Sweet  I've never had a VT. thanks for the ID, I'm excited to watch his fins develop


----------



## candacerose

this is my baby bubbles  still have no idea on the gender


----------



## TealHoundogg

Love the color, Bubbles looks like a female.


----------



## candacerose

thank you  i was thinking that too, but only time can tell right?


----------



## candacerose

*here's a better picture of my baby*

a better picture of bubbles


----------



## TealHoundogg

Pretty, yeah she's a girl, the egg spot is somewhat obvious.


----------



## candacerose

TealHoundogg said:


> Pretty, yeah she's a girl, the egg spot is somewhat obvious.


awesome! i was definitely thinking that, it's way more obvious right now


----------



## lilnaugrim

She kind of has a male disposition about her but I'm taking a stab at female for Bubbles.

HOWEVER, egg spots are not a reliable way to sex male and females, many if not most young males have a fake egg spot and some even keep it after they hit sexual maturity, so you can't say for sure it is a female if it has an egg spot, even an obvious one most of the time.


----------



## TiffanyP

I've had my first Petco Baby for one year today! He hasn't been the healthiest fish (I blame myself for less than perfect care when he was a baby), but he has THE cutest face ever <3 He's recovering from a bout of questionable illness and is doing much much better  I think he can't digest regular sized pellets, so he's been eating the small fish formula pellets I got for him when he was a baby. Anyway - Happy Birthday to my sweet Sir Alaric!!

Here he is the day I brought him home:


His sweet little face <3


And a picture from today! I apologize from his utter lack of photogenic-ness haha


----------



## Ashthemutt

Aww <3 I should really update my baby on here. She has grown so much. I'd love to do it again


----------



## Sabina88

My baby who I've had for around 4 months now. He unfortunetly hasn't grown that well and I think is still somewhere around 1/2 an inch give or take. His fins are also growing a bit gangly but at least from what I can't tell there still growing a little bit
Here a pic of him I took yesterday


----------



## Ashthemutt

Aww he's like a mini betta


----------



## Sabina88

I just rechecked, apparently I haven't measured in a long time.... Hes actually abit over a inch from mouth to the end of the tail.


----------



## Canis

New guy! Was in the market for a new betta and this one called to me. He's super cute!


----------



## brian c

eww looks like some one cut off a bit of his tail


----------



## Sabina88

Canis said:


> New guy! Was in the market for a new betta and this one called to me. He's super cute!


Aww he looks cute, I hope he/she will grow well for you. I cant wait to see how he/she will color up, The blue and the red will look really pretty together :-D


----------



## Kiara1125

Canis said:


> New guy! Was in the market for a new betta and this one called to me. He's super cute![/IMG]


What a GORGEOUS boy!! Definitely going to be a beautiful iridescent delta/super delta. Congrats on getting an awesome boy!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Actually looks like he's a VT from what I can see, he's only got two ray's thus far and he's quite grown up for a baby ^_^ I love his coloration though!


----------



## Canis

Here are some better pics with my camera instead of my phone XD I agree with lilnaugrim, he is most likely a VT ^^
(Sorry for the algae in the pics Dx)


----------



## lilnaugrim

He's so cute!! Decent form for a baby VT too! Love his little dorsal ^_^


----------



## TiffanyP

He is so stinking adorable!!! I'm dying for a new baby betta but I can't commit to the water changes right now with my current schedule  Enjoy him! Does he have a name?


----------



## Sabina88

He looks good 
I love how hes coloring up


----------



## TealHoundogg

Wow, he's handsome. His fins remind me of my delta. It'd be cool if his tail stays that way. You don't see too many roundtail bettas.


----------



## donovan

Looking for advice. Have baby in 5 gallon, cycled, heated, filtered tank with baffle and sponge filter on intake. Temperature is around 80 degrees. Feeding micro pellets, but how many and how often? Also how often should I change out water and how much should I change out? Thank you!


----------



## TiffanyP

Usually for feeding feed him til his tummy is nice and round, but not distended. With my smallest baby I had the .5 mm NLS small fish formula pellets, and she ate 4 pellets every 3-4 hours. When they're very young small frequent feedings are best. 3-4 times a day if you can  Also, they like warm water - so I bet he'd love it if you bumped the temp up to 82, but nothing wrong with 80 by any means. Since babies release a growth stunting hormone, the only way to remove that from the water is water changes, so every day or every other day water changes help keep that in check. Personally, for a 5 gallon, I found that with 2 babies (split tank) I changed at least 50% (if not more) of the water every other day (well, M/W/F and usually once on Saturday night or Sunday morning as well if I was around to do it) and they have grown to be nice, big, healthy almost adults lol they're both about 9 months right now. I hope that helps - you've come to the right place for questions


----------



## donovan

Bumped up the temp. Maybe I could get away with 50% change every 3 days. Now I just have to figure out how to train him or her to come to the top to eat. Have been scooping him up in a bowl and feeding that way since the tank is so big compared to him. Thought about trying a feeding ring. Any thoughts? I'm sure scooping him up in a cup is making you cringe, so help me out here.


----------



## mart

I fed my girl 2 pellets three times a day for the first week I had her, then dropped to twice a day. The tank is probably too big for her. I never baffled anything with my girl, and she was no bigger than a second.
Do you have a 1 gallon laying around somewhere? That would be much better than the 5 for at least a couple weeks.


----------



## TiffanyP

But the one gallon would warrant daily full water changes if he went that route. And take it from someone who did it wrong for a while - you really can't slack on water changes in a one gallon. The 5 gallon is just fine and he'll learn quick enough that fingers = food. When I'm training my fish to come to the top both babies and grown bettas, I'll watch and wait for them to come to the top and once they're up there, then I'll feed them wherever they are. Then they learn that fingers = food and they'll come to wherever my fingers are.


----------



## mart

TiffanyP said:


> But the one gallon would warrant daily full water changes if he went that route. And take it from someone who did it wrong for a while - you really can't slack on water changes in a one gallon. The 5 gallon is just fine and he'll learn quick enough that fingers = food. When I'm training my fish to come to the top both babies and grown bettas, I'll watch and wait for them to come to the top and once they're up there, then I'll feed them wherever they are. Then they learn that fingers = food and they'll come to wherever my fingers are.


My girl spent the first two weeks I had her in a 1 gal mini bow. She did just fine and is now a healthy young lady.


----------



## lilnaugrim

+1 to Tiffany.

It's still best to keep doing daily water changes on the 1 gallon tank because: more food equals more poop so you want those water parameters to be as clean and stable as you can make them and because they still emit the growth stunting hormone which means it can backfire on themselves and they can be stunted. So stay on the safe side and do the daily water changes of at least 50% gently


----------



## givemethatfish

How long do babies count as babies? When do you cut back on feeding and water changes? I feed Belle 2-3 times a day (NLS small fish and live blackworms) and do a 75% water change ever 2-3 days, as he is in a very heavily planted 5 gallon tank. I'd estimate he's about 12 weeks old-ish now. He has really grown since I got him, but he seems to be slowing down in growth rate over the last week. 

I had my sister-in-law do a water change when I was gone for 4 days last week (she's so OCD that I know she did everything exactly as I showed her, totally trustworthy), but I'm going away for 9 days next month. Think I should just have her do a change every third day to be safe?


----------



## SkyDye

Hello everyone  I was just curious is 2.5 gallon filtered, heated tank a good size for a baby betta?


----------



## mpooyan83

SkyDye said:


> Hello everyone  I was just curious is 2.5 gallon filtered, heated tank a good size for a baby betta?


Its plenty for a baby. just gotta make sure you do about a 50% water change every other day. to get rid rid of growth hormones in the ware, EVEN if your tank is cycled.


----------



## SkyDye

mpooyan83 said:


> Its plenty for a baby. just gotta make sure you do about a 50% water change every other day. to get rid rid of growth hormones in the ware, EVEN if your tank is cycled.


Could you explain a little more? What do the growth hormones do to the fish? :shock:


----------



## Sabina88

Im not to well versed on the specifics of this but basicly the growth hormones are going to stop your baby from growing, and will stunt it.
Hopefully someone can explain in more detail


----------



## mpooyan83

Well, as far as what i've been told by others on this forum, when a baby Betta is growing, it releases growth hormones into the water, and similarly to ammonia, too much of it can be harmful to the baby, which is why the more frequent water changes are needed to keep the levels down. 
Unfortunately I do not know any further details on how the growth hormones are bad for the baby.

Just something else to throw in. Babies like a bit warmer water. Adults are normally kept at 76-78. Babies like it around 80-82. (article I read)


----------



## SkyDye

Can the baby bettas be fed Hikari Tropical micro pellets? It's the only micro pellets they had at all my pet stores :-/


----------



## lilnaugrim

The Growth Stunting Hormone, is a chemical released as a defense mechanism. In the wild this is great, the biggest fish emitting it will most likely rule that part of the pond and not be bothered too much. Here's one of my favorite quotes to help you understand:

"So, I'm thinking that the large fish excretes a exocrine compound that states to the others "Its MY food...ALL of it!!!!! signed Bubba!!!! The rest become nervous, don't eat and expand energy. He is not affected because its his "message".Keeping in mind we have an aggressive species, it could be a very scary message. By WATER CHANGES we reduce the message to "It's my food" to which the rest can respond with a quick look around and say "Not over here"."

"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 the are so stressed. It would be like trying to work with someone yelling at you all the time!"


----------



## LittleBettaFish

I always wonder how much of an effect the growth hormone does have on the growth of fry. My wild betta fry get raised in tanks with their parents, and I do maybe a 2L water change once every 1-2 weeks and I have never had any issues with stunting. I have fry of various ages and they will hit maturity in these set-ups at about the average rate of development for these species.

Surely if the growth hormone had that great of an effect I would have some pretty stunted fry by now? Yet my oldest 'fry' are as big as the parents now and their younger siblings are certainly still growing. 

I'm wondering if there are any scientific papers/studies out there, on growth inhibiting hormones in betta fry, and how much of an impact they have on the overall growth of fry versus things like water quality, diet, temperature etc.


----------



## lilnaugrim

I have found it also depends on how many fry you raise, if it is one by itself it won't emit the GSH as much because they aren't competing as much as they are in the spawn. However, it's still important to keep the water **** and span since most people buying these fish are not super experienced fish keepers, it's best to stay on the safe side, you know?

There are studies although I haven't specifically looked but it's a chemical that all fish emit, the more aggressive the fish the more they excrete. But again, I don't have super proof of that.


----------



## SkyDye

Ok, so %50 water changes ever other day in the 2.5? Also Can the baby bettas be fed Hikari Tropical micro pellets? It's the only micro pellets they had at all my pet stores :-/


----------



## LittleBettaFish

You could get bigger pellets and crush them up. I am not a particular fan of Hikari. Based on the Hikari products I have used, they were quite expensive for what I was actually getting.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, they can but it would also be good to substitute with frozen foods like brine shrimp, bloodworms, mysis shrimp, and daphnia 

EDIT: I agree with LBF very much, I prefer New Life Spectrum (NLS) Grow pellets for the fry, soo much better and more nutritious!


----------



## SkyDye

Ok  I have some frozen bloodworms from my other betta that he can share with the baby  Now just have to wait for my heater to arrive.


----------



## SkyDye

Here is the aquarium I have set up for the baby. I am awaiting for my heater to be delivered, is the set up good? It is the Aqueon Mini Bow 2.5. It came with a filter. The plants are silk, there are 2 of them, the purple one is hiding the other silk plant.


----------



## Sabina88

I don't know if its just me but I cant see the pic


----------



## SkyDye

Sorry, I got the wrong link set up. It should be viewable now


----------



## Sabina88

From what I can see your tank looks good


----------



## TiffanyP

The tank looks great! The water looks awful high though if the filter is on. I have a filter in my minibow 2.5 and the water is a good inch, inch and a half below the rim of color on the tank.


----------



## SkyDye

TiffanyP said:


> The tank looks great! The water looks awful high though if the filter is on. I have a filter in my minibow 2.5 and the water is a good inch, inch and a half below the rim of color on the tank.


Really?  I was just following the instructions the tank came with and it said to fill it up to the bottom of the rim around the tank so I just followed that. Does the filter make less current if it's lower?


----------



## TiffanyP

I'm not sure the filter will do anything if the water's up that high... you want the water to be sucked in the intake, then it'll pour over the filter, and out the spout into the water. If the water's too high, it won't do anything except for circulate the water, the filter would be useless. Do you want me to take some pictures of mine?


----------



## SkyDye

Yes please  Maybe I read the instructions wrong.


----------



## TiffanyP

So this is the front of my tank (Alaric photobombed most of these haha)



This one shows the water trickling out (I have a piece of sponge in the intake tube so the flow is really slow right now, the filter is more to keep the film off the top of the water than anything since he gets regular water changes)


This one shows the water going over/thru the filter


And this one shows both the water coming out and the water flowing over the filter


And a bonus picture of Alaric bc he was being cute and wasn't hiding from the camera tonight 



I hope that helps - ask any questions you might have


----------



## SkyDye

Wow! Guess I need to remove some water from the 2.5 and my 5 gallon  Does the filter work good for you? Thank you for telling me btw! Was wondering why I never saw any suction coming from the filter. Guess I read the instructions wrong.


----------



## TiffanyP

Yeah the filter seems to work alright for me, there are better ones out there, but I can't complain about these I guess  I've had the one in my 5 gallon going longer and it seems to do a good job - I actually just put the filter in my 2.5 gallon today because I was tired of there being a film on the top of the water lol


----------



## Jennalyn

I keep seeing all of the little fry when I go into the store. They're so adorable - I love what a mystery they pose.


----------



## SkyDye

Oh one question, does the less water make the filter noisier then before?


----------



## TiffanyP

Both of my filters are basically silent


----------



## SkyDye

It worked for my 2.5 gallon but when I lessened the water for my 5 gallon it started to suck my betta backwards... But even when the water was high it had a strong current so I am contemplating getting rid of the filter all together in the 5 gallon...


----------



## TiffanyP

I wouldn't get rid of the filter - just baffle it  if you search on here there are several posts about how to do that.


----------



## SkyDye

I definitely need to do something, so I shall do some research on how to baffle it  The filter definitely stresses him. I hope it does stress the some to come baby betta...


----------



## frenchfry12

*Got new baby betta from petco yesterday*

Yesterday I got a baby betta from petco. He/she is living in a three gallon tank with a heater, two plants and a cave. He was very active and swimming happily around the aquarium yesterday. I fed him crushed pellets. He always swam in a weird way though. Today I woke up and found him floating at the top in a weird way and then sinking to the bottom. He is having a really hard time swimming right now. I think he has swim bladder disease. I put some aquarium salt in and Im not going to feed him for a day or two. Should I put him back in the cup he came in and float it in the tank so he does not have a hard time getting air? What should I do?
when i first got him







today this is what he looked like


----------



## SkyDye

My little rescue baby Banana  Woke up and she was doing wonderful.


----------



## SuperStork

*Baby update*

My baby Tuna is still hanging in there and growing. I'm wondering if he will stay on the small side. He's definitely grown a lot. He's about three months old. Also, he was totally not red when I got him. It's ok that he's red but one of our other bettas is dark red. Will they still change colors as they grow?


----------



## TealHoundogg

Bettas do tend to change color as they get older. My delta, Cole is 9 months old and his tail was mostly white and was cellophane on the tip. Now he has more blue in his fins and the


----------



## TealHoundogg

Bettas do tend to change color as they get older. My delta, Cole is 9 months old and his tail was mostly white and was cellophane on the tip. Now he has more blue in his fins and black streaks where the cellophane patch on his tail is.


----------



## Ceruleanblue

*New Petco Baby!!! Tail type and gender questions.*

So after one of my fish died after two happy years with me, I decided to invest in two of Petco's baby bettas. I thought these two had a larger tail than a VT, and were both very active, which is why I chose them. I would love opinions on both their tail type and gender, it would mean a LOT to me. Thanks in advance :lol:! P.S. they look very similar, and since I don't have names yet, you can refer to them as fish 1 and fish 2.

This is fish 1

























This is fish 2


----------



## lilnaugrim

Both fish are female and both look like they come from a DeT spawn with their very even anal fins (VT's will have slanted anal fins).


----------



## logisticsguy

lilnaugrim said:


> I have found it also depends on how many fry you raise, if it is one by itself it won't emit the GSH as much because they aren't competing as much as they are in the spawn. However, it's still important to keep the water **** and span since most people buying these fish are not super experienced fish keepers, it's best to stay on the safe side, you know?
> 
> There are studies although I haven't specifically looked but it's a chemical that all fish emit, the more aggressive the fish the more they excrete. But again, I don't have super proof of that.


I agree. There have been studies regarding this. The entire subject is rather complex. Simply put water changes reduce the level of these compounds. The best explanation is via fish guru and author Bob Fenner who explains this way better than I ever could.

Quote:
Do fish grow only as large as their genetic capability and physical environment allows? Well, sort of. Metabolite effects, are often more rate/size limiting. Say Whaaa?

Under my files of least favorite "here we go again" pet-fish urban myths to re-hash and debunk is, "are there growth inhibiting/stimulating substances?" Yes, yes, and yes, and yes! they are important and interesting as all heck. Let's tackle what G.I.S.and G.S.S(ubstances) are, what they do to and for your wet pets, what you can/should do about this new or reinforced knowledge . . . 

. . . Many exocrine (versus endocrine) substances have been isolated/identified to have G.I.S. and/or G.S.S. effects. Ammonia-derived metabolites, amino acids and combinations of A.A.s, and most notably short chain fatty acids, have been demonstrated to accelerate/retard the individual growth and behaviors of many groups of fishes.

Most "advanced" (old and wrinkled?) aquariologists know the practical whys and wherefores (consequences) of these substances. Some highlights:

1) Everything else being equal (that is, no food, gas, physical space, filtration, lighting, temperament, other limitations) some same-species fish substances:

A) restrict spawn sizes, differential growth rates of individuals and groups of individuals, further:

B) limiting their subsequent reproductive viability, and even:

C) the smaller (runt) individuals survival rate (demise).

2) Mixing species often lessens the pheromonal stunting effects of a single species alone.
3) Boiling the water, leaving it to age (for weeks), dissipates the responsible compounds.

4) Removal of some or all of the larger members of a spawn or population spurs the growth/development of the next larger individual(s).

5) Some of these materials have beneficial and antagonistic impacts. That is, using "old water" has shown healing and growth-positive actuation compared with absolutely fresh (i.e. no-same-species-chemical secretions) water

6) That frequent massive to partial water changes and effective chemical filtration lessen these effects.

Why? Tell Me Why?:

Towards what possible ends would/should organisms produce such self-limiting secretions/excretions. Several reasons come to mind: 1) To preclude over-crowding and loss of the whole population due to food, oxygen/carbon dioxide limitations, other controlling factors, in the otherwise absence of other species competition or predatory pressures. And I'll leave it up to you to decide whether this one should have been mentioned first, 2) the ole Chucky Darwin Natural Selection (long may it wave?). By having the most humongous citizens beat out the less-humongous as a gauge of "fitness", may enhance the overal survivability of the species.

Where's this Stuff Come From?:

Principally growth stimulating/retarding substances have been found, and presumably are released by way of, body slime, excretory discharges from the anus and gills, and traumatic damage to the organism in general. This last category will explore in our next visit as Schreckstoffes: Alarm Substances of Fishes.

Closing: (Sort of): 

So... What's an average pet-fish-ichthyologist to do, anyhow? Mainly, not worry too much; at least not more than their benefiting from their aquatic experience. Actually there are (to my understanding) only a couple or three "things to do" to ameliorate the cumulative negative effects of metabolite build up:

1) Try to selectively filter/change these compounds. Various carbons and clinoptilolites (e.g. zeolite) have showed various positive results in removal of ammonia salts (see Konstantinov et al. re Cyprinus carpio (koi) and Brachydanio rerio (zebra danios) experiments). Still gotta plug skimmer/protein skimmers, with or without ozone et alia embellishments.

2) Serial dilution through, Yes, my favorite: FREQUENT PARTIAL WATER CHANGES; Yay! Certainly the best, least expensive, effective means. Oh, semi-lastly,

3) Flood the system with complementary chemicals. Live plants, a mix of communities of macro and micro-organisms, the whole "life'juice" of the system... the more complex and complete, larger, the better. Live plants, algae, generally all organisms investigated also have their phytohormones et al. affecting/influencing their own and other species. The more these are integrated and functioning, the more naturally homogeneous and self-stabilizing (homeostatic) your system will be. Therefore the argument for linking your tanks together, use live plants, live rock, etc, and finally, lastly

4) The usual harangue about mis/over-feeding. The more glop tossed in, the worse. Feed sparingly, at correct intervals, of useful foods. Are you feeding for growth or maintenance or what?


Anon. 1988. Stunt Work. T.F.H. citation of Daniel Heath and Derek Roff, "Test of Genetic Differentiation in Growth of Stunted and Nonstunted Populations of Yellow Perch and Pumpkinseed". Transactions of the Am. Fish. Soc. [116(1):98-102]

Drickamer, L.C. Pheromones: Behavioral & Biochemical Aspects. Adv. Comp. Environ. Physiol. 3, 1989, pp.269-348.

Fenner, Bob-O. 1989. Frequent Partial (what else?) Water Changes. FAMA 4/89

Konstantinov, A.S. & M. Yu Pelipenko. Use of zeolite to remove toxic substances from nitrogen metabolism of fishes. J. Ichthyol., vol. 23, no. 6, pp 159-161, 1983.

Langhammer, Jim. 1976. G.I.S. - G.P.S. - Optimum Crowding, A Possible Synthesis. Tropic Tank Talk. Various issues during the year.

Sprenger, Kappy. 1974. Growth Inhibiting Secretions. Colorado Aquarist. Jan. 1974. Reprint of the original from San Francisco Aquarium Soc.
Stacey, N.E. Role of hormones and pheromones in fish reproductive behavior, An evolutionary perspective. Prentice Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 1987, pp. 1-350


----------



## Ceruleanblue

lilnaugrim said:


> Both fish are female and both look like they come from a DeT spawn with their very even anal fins (VT's will have slanted anal fins).


Thank you! I has a nagging thought that they were going to be DeT and I'm glad that an expert agrees! But just to satisfy my own curiosity, what makes you think they are females? I thought when their anal fins were longer than their dorsal, it makes them males. But, when I remove the paper separating their tanks, they both flare and get vertical stripes, I think i recall that meaning they were female....


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## lilnaugrim

Thank you so much for that CJ! Beautiful article written there! I laughed too at some of the comments XD So simplifying of what we can do for our babies: water changes, fully planted tanks (not just plants thrown in although I'm sure that helps to a degree) and let them grow up with other species like Guppies or something else that is similar in growth and diet.

-----------------------------------------------
@Ceruleanblue:

It is not the fins that determine the sex, afterall we have plenty of long finned females. It is only the ovaries that accurately determines sex, I see ovaries on both of your girls there quite clearly.

And do you mean Caudal? not dorsal?

Yes, females can still flare up a storm too, I have a very aggressive female at the moment who is bigger than most of my males, in fact she might be a giant but I haven't measured her yet.

As for those vertical stripes, most of the time yes it is females who display them. But babies are different, both sexes can display the various bars both vertical and horizontal. It's part of communication; the vertical bars are trying to show dominance; making the other fish go into submission. Horizontal still means stress, however as young babies they will almost always display "stress" lines but they are indeed for camouflage in the wild. They color up as they age.


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## SuperStork

*Colors*

I find it interesting that they change so much in color as they grow. All of the other bettas I have bought over the years were fully grown when I got them. He's such a cutie and really active. He's much bigger than when I got him. I suspect he may be going to be on the small side. Either way, so happy with him. 
My female is small (not doing well with fin rot treatment but eats and swims, worry about her) and have had her for years. 



QUOTE=TealHoundogg;4775249]Bettas do tend to change color as they get older. My delta, Cole is 9 months old and his tail was mostly white and was cellophane on the tip. Now he has more blue in his fins and black streaks where the cellophane patch on his tail is.[/QUOTE]


----------



## lilnaugrim

Okay, finishing up that "PetCo Baby Betta Care Thread" I'm doing and just want to double check with you guys to see if you have other questions I can answer in this thread. Here's the sections I have right now:


Water Changes/Quality
How Often Do I Feed?
What Do I Feed?
How Can I Tell the Gender of my Baby?
Why Does My Baby Have Stripes?
How Do I Know When My Baby is Mature?

Anything else that comes to mind for questions?


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## TiffanyP

Do you mention anything about tank size in the water change section? I recall a lot of people asking about that


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## lilnaugrim

Yup, I did  Noting that while 1 gallon is okay, it's going to be a lot less work on you and your back if you have a larger, more stable tank 3 gallons +. I'm linking the cycling section to it so I don't have to go through the entire thing, that would make it much too long and boring lol.


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## Alaura123

I always see babies at the petco I go to, they are all so tiny, and I think its very strange that they are all 1.99, but they could grow up into one of the expensive types later :-?


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah but the chances that you're going to get something other than a VT are very slim in most area's. Also the chances of it living past a year is also slim in most cases, heck, half these babies die before they're six months old even!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Just wanted to give an update on my babies here! It's been a while since I've posted about them :-D

Pierce but DTPK multi boy! Yeah, it is a boy I found out. I should have trusted my gut feeling about him :roll: I'm good at second guessing myself though...
When I first got him:


And not the best picture of him, but the most recent. He's still on the small side but he's a full grown little boy now!


Slightly older picture but his form hasn't really changed and I wanted to show that ^_^


River when I first got her a month and a half ago:


And pictures from last night, she is also stunted but an adorable feisty little girl!



And drumroll please! My newest addition to the family! We welcome home Silhouette, a beautiful Black Copper Devil Butterfly HM baby! She already has four rays! She also might end up partial dragon scaling but hard to tell at this stage! She's slightly smaller than River is.


Bleached out here but you can see her beautiful butterfly markings!


----------



## scififan523

*update*

Just realized that I've had these two for just over 3 and 1/2 months. They're so big now. Still can't fully tell what Uo is. Originally thought girl, then boy, but then started to lean back toward girl (mostly because of belly and the way Tony is flaring at Uo through their divider, T might have built bubblenest, not sure). Just really not sure. Anywho, comparison shots:
Hanajima
4/18






7/26








Uotani (any input on coloring and gender welcome)
4/18






7/26







recent one isn't the best, but Uo wouldn't stop moving, so couldn't focus.


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## lilnaugrim

Both are boys! Uo is a Black orchid Double tail Plakat ^_^


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## scififan523

wow, those are pretty uncommon, aren't they. Anal fin shape and eye size indicating male?


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## lilnaugrim

No, just lack of ovaries. I have one too  His name is Pierce


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## Canis

Little update of my two babies ^^ First pic is from the day of arrival, and the second pic is today. Sorry for the bad picture quality, I used my phone.


----------



## Ketpatt

*Petco baby betta*

That's impressive growth..

I got a baby 10 days back and s/he hast grown much yet. It did not have any stripes and I think was a little older than most baby Bettas pictured on this forum. He or she eats like a pig but has no color except dark body. At this time it's a wait and watch game.

It would be great if any of you experts out there can comment on sex/color/tail type?


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## Ketpatt

I forgot to mention.. The baby is in a 10 gallon by itself and eats frozen brine shrimp, blood worms and some regular flake food. 

Today when I showed him/her a mirror that little thing flared up so well.. I was so excited.. It was like my baby is growing into an adult.. But I'm still wondering about the color or future color that he or she will be.. Has any of you seen babies that look like this? If yes how did they color up when they grew older? 

This is a great thread.. The betta bug bit me recently and I went through each of these pages but havet found a baby that looked like mine..


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## lilnaugrim

Looking good Ketpatt! It's a boy, a VT and is a Chocolate Betta (brown/blue body with yellow fins, it's a type of bicolor)


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## Ketpatt

Thanks for replying.

When I got this baby I was ready to accept any color/sex/fin type I would end up with. But in my head I was thinking it will have some 'color' and be bright and colorful to look at. Never ever I thought I will have a brown betta. I accept the way he is now.

At this time its for sure he is going to be one spoilt and pampered boy considering I have only one pet.. this baby betta.. I hope he grows into a handsome adult. Hoping for some blue to show up.

Will update a pic on this forum in a few months..


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## lilnaugrim

Ketpatt said:


> Thanks for replying.
> 
> When I got this baby I was ready to accept any color/sex/fin type I would end up with. But in my head I was thinking it will have some 'color' and be bright and colorful to look at. Never ever I thought I will have a brown betta. I accept the way he is now.
> 
> At this time its for sure he is going to be one spoilt and pampered boy considering I have only one pet.. this baby betta.. I hope he grows into a handsome adult. Hoping for some blue to show up.
> 
> Will update a pic on this forum in a few months..


Np.

If you shine a flash light on him, he probably already has some blue on him but it will strengthen with time. Just make sure you feed at least twice a day and do those daily/every other day water changes and he should grow up just fine ^_^


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## anitsirk92

These are my babies that I got at Petco about a week ago. It was a little difficult to get a good picture of them because they were swimming around so much. They all looked so abused in their tiny little cups and these two still seemed happy and active so I had to save them from their evil little cups. They seem much happier now in their larger tanks and they seem to be doing quite well. The whitish pink one's name is Dani and the brown and red one is Charlie. Even after just a week Charlie's colors have brightened and it seems like his body may turn blue. I'm thinking that Charlie is a boy because when I put them near each other for a minute Charlie's beard when flaring looked pretty big. CHarlie also seems a little feistier. Dani I'm not too sure about, (s)he is much calmer and likes to chill on her plant. What do you guys think?


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## lilnaugrim

Dani is a girl, Multicolor VT. Charlie is definitely a boy VT


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## Deadflwr

Here are my baby Betta. I've had Little Fin the longest.


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## anitsirk92

I have my two babies in individual 5 gallon tanks with a sponge filter. How often should I do water changes now that I have a filter? Before the filter I was doing 100% changes every other day.


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## lilnaugrim

For babies you'll still need to do roughly 25-50% daily or every other day if they can't see each other (they won't produce excess growth stunting hormone if they are pretty well isolated from other baby bettas).


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## Deadflwr

Out of curiosity, when are baby Betta's no longer considered babies?


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## lilnaugrim

When they are sexually mature which means the males will build large bubblenests usually (they will not build them near a filter so if you have filters and bubbles near it, they are from the filter) and ready to breed. The females will be able to become eggy as well, they should be reaching just about an inch solely in body size for most fish, some fish it will take longer but they should reach that point around 3.5 months in age roughly.


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## Fernfronds

Got this little guy from Petco on Saturday evening. His name is Mercutio (been calling him just Merc). Not quite as baby as a lot of the Petco babies I have seen. He was one of the bigger ones, and he looks like he may be around 2 months old. I have been about 4-5 months without any Bettas as my last boy was a bit of a sad loss for me. This little guy may have already rekindled my love for Bettas though. He's already getting sassy with me and has flared twice.

He is in a 3 gallon "pet keeper" tank right now.


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## anitsirk92

What are the early signs of gender in bettas?


----------



## Fernfronds

anitsirk92 said:


> What are the early signs of gender in bettas?


it can be hard to tell on younger/smaller babies. Females will usually have a small white bump between their ventral fins, and if you look closely you may be able to see a triangular shaped organ in their belly on the side which would be their ovary. Males also generally will have pointer tips on their anal fins, but that may not be reliable. Its usually hard to sex them before 2-3 months old, though.


----------



## anitsirk92

lilnaugrim said:


> For babies you'll still need to do roughly 25-50% daily or every other day if they can't see each other (they won't produce excess growth stunting hormone if they are pretty well isolated from other baby bettas).



So now that I have the filter I will start doing 50% water changes every other day. How often should I do 100% changes, if at all? And should I buy a gravel vacuum?


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## lilnaugrim

Young males will also show false ovipositers as well Fern, they will lose them generally after becoming sexually mature but there are still some males that will keep them forever as well. Ovaries the only true way to sex the fish.

@anitsirk, you can just do 50%'s, 100%'s will mess with your cycle some. Do you know about the Nitrogen Cycle?


----------



## anitsirk92

lilnaugrim said:


> Young males will also show false ovipositers as well Fern, they will lose them generally after becoming sexually mature but there are still some males that will keep them forever as well. Ovaries the only true way to sex the fish.
> 
> @anitsirk, you can just do 50%'s, 100%'s will mess with your cycle some. Do you know about the Nitrogen Cycle?


Yes, I know about the Nitrogen Cycle but still learning  
I believe I have a male and a female but might still be too early to tell for sure. If I am only doing 50% water changes what is the best way to go about that? Should I remove the fish? My concern is making sure the gravel is clean. I'm guessing the best way would be to get a vacuum? Also, thanks for all your help! :lol:


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## Fernfronds

I didn't know that, lilnaugrim, thank you for sharing


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## Deadflwr

lilnaugrim said:


> When they are sexually mature which means the males will build large bubblenests usually (they will not build them near a filter so if you have filters and bubbles near it, they are from the filter) and ready to breed. The females will be able to become eggy as well, they should be reaching just about an inch solely in body size for most fish, some fish it will take longer but they should reach that point around 3.5 months in age roughly.


Thanks. That helps a lot.


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## lilnaugrim

anitsirk92 said:


> Yes, I know about the Nitrogen Cycle but still learning
> I believe I have a male and a female but might still be too early to tell for sure. If I am only doing 50% water changes what is the best way to go about that? Should I remove the fish? My concern is making sure the gravel is clean. I'm guessing the best way would be to get a vacuum? Also, thanks for all your help! :lol:


Great! Hey, we all start somewhere so no worries!

Yeah, the easiest way is to get a small gravel vacuum, I've seen the 4-5 inch ones sold at PetCo's or PetSmarts and online stores that I can direct you to as well. I also just use my regular 9 inch gravel vac on my 5's as well and it works fine, sometimes it can be a little hard to start the siphon but it all works the same in the end!

You can leave the fish in or take them out in a small cup, that's up to you. I hardly ever remove my fish, even if I'm going to do a 90% change, just leave them enough water to at least stay upright in and fill'er back up lol. Though, 90% changes I don't do very often.


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## Jasperdog

I got a baby about 1 yr ago and he is doing great it is amazing how big he is now he is about 4.3 inches from head to tail... when I got him he was barely 1.5 inches! I love my betta
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## senjey

*My new baby from Petco!*

Hi all,

I have just rescued a baby from my local Petco last night. He is about an inch. Not sure about the gender  I have cycled a 5g tank for the past 1 month and he is loving the new place coming from the Petco container. feeding him with micro pellets for now. 

Sorry for the low quality photos. will get some nice images soon..

Sen


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## Jasperdog

so cute omg


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## Deadflwr

Adorable! Bet you can't wait to see what this one turns out to be.


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## donovan

Looks like my baby girl when I got her.


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## iamamothertoanangel

Hello!

I got a baby betta two days ago and all seems to be going well so far. Our baby better is named "Krabby Patty". 

Is there something wrong with TetraMin? I have always used it but haven't seen it mentioned in any post. I have the small flakes which have the bloodworms included also. My little baby is a piggy! Every time I go near he (I've been calling it a he for now) comes out to greet me and follows me. I gave him one of the bloodworms and he seemed like a happy baby to me! He swam around holding it in his mouth. Then he would let it go and nibble at it and then swim around with it some more. He seemed to really enjoy it? lol. I have my baby in a 1 gallon bowl. I've seen a lot of people recommending a larger tank but I've never kept a betta in anything larger than a 1 gallon bowl. I hope nobody fusses at me for it. I am hoping to add in live plants soon. They said at PetCo that I should wait a week before introducing the live plants into the habitat but that it would have the condition of the water. My little dude has a large Spongebob pineapple house which he seems to love. At first he wouldn't go near it but now he goes in and out through the port holes. He also has a little Sponebob and Patrick figure in there mainly just for looks. I had thought about getting the leaf also but I saw some posters saying that their betta ignored it so I am not sure if it is worth the buy or not.


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## iamamothertoanangel

One more photo, sorry for the double post


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## lilnaugrim

Hi there iamamothertoanangel,

Tetra products in general are not good. We recommend New Life Spectrum or Omega One, the reason being they are just of better quality. When it comes to nutrition for our fish, we want to have the least amount of fillers in the food, the company uses fillers to make the food cheaper but they are not easily digestible for our fish. The fillers they use are Wheat, Corn and Soybean. Whole Wheat is okay as it is used for a binder to keep the food together but you don't want it to be the first ingredient if you can help it.

The first three-four ingredients are what you want to look at, 2 out of 3 should at least be a protein source or veggie matter depending on what food you are buying.

When it comes to baby bettas, you want a high protein diet for them to grow up big and strong. New Life has a wide variety of pellet sizes and types, they also have Garlic in them which no other pellet has and it helps keep internal parasites away! Fish also loooove the taste of garlic too so it's much more palatable.

Also when it comes to baby bettas, if you want to keep him in a 1 gallon, that is very fine but you need to do daily water changes to keep his growth stunting hormone at bay so he doesn't stunt his own growth and kill him prematurely. One way we fight this hormone is by doing frequent water changes to take the chemical out of the water. You can add live plants immediately and they will also help but they do not replace water changes. While some employee's at big chain stores know what they're doing, the majority of them have no idea so if you let us help you, we can guide you in the right direction.

Also, you're going to need a lid for that tank, Betta's are natural jumpers and if you don't want to come home to a fish chip on the floor or table, it'd be best to add some saran wrap to the top of that and tape it in place so he can't jump out.

And one last note, Betta fish are tropical fish which means they need temperatures up at 76-82 degree's F so if you don't live in a warm area all year round, you need to get an adjustable heater to keep your baby's growth on track.


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## iamamothertoanangel

When I change the water what is the best way to do it? Should I take him out with some of the water that he is already in and put him in another container? Then you take out 25% or 50% of the water? How many drops of water treatment should I use to readjust? Does the new water need to sit before readding him? I saw something about letting it sit to insure it is room temperature?

She had said its best not to get live plants right away because the plants will need something to feed off of and that it would be better to wait to insure there is something present for it? I wish I would have went ahead with it. They only had two that looked really good. I will have to go back tomorrow since today is labor day I guess. For the live plants do I just kinda push them into the rocks? I have never done live plants before but I am loving the idea of it. 

Is this good for my baby? 
*New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula .5mm Sinking Pellet Fish Food *


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## Jasperdog

thats the best food in the world


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## iamamothertoanangel

Jasperdog said:


> thats the best food in the world


Awesome I am going to order it now.


----------



## iamamothertoanangel

When I change the water what is the best way to do it? Should I take him out with some of the water that he is already in and put him in another container? Then you take out 25% or 50% of the water? How many drops of water treatment should I use to readjust? Does the new water need to sit before readding him? I saw something about letting it sit to insure it is room temperature?


----------



## hrutan

Typically if you're doing a partial water change, you can siphon out old water and slowly add new water without removing the fish. If your water comes out of the tap at a bad temperature, letting it sit for a while in a separate jug so that it can warm up or cool down is helpful. The amount of water treatment depends on the brand. If you're using Prime, 2 drops per gallon works great. Other brands may need different amounts, so be sure to read the bottle.


----------



## iamamothertoanangel

hrutan said:


> Typically if you're doing a partial water change, you can siphon out old water and slowly add new water without removing the fish. If your water comes out of the tap at a bad temperature, letting it sit for a while in a separate jug so that it can warm up or cool down is helpful. The amount of water treatment depends on the brand. If you're using Prime, 2 drops per gallon works great. Other brands may need different amounts, so be sure to read the bottle.


He is in a 1 gallon bowl but someone said to only take out 25% to 50% water? My drops say 7 per 1 galloon, so 2-3ish then? Sorry for so many questions I just don't wanna hurt my baby betta


----------



## lad43

*My new baby*

http://imgur.com/Ar3JiGx

Hey guys! Just got my baby 2 weeks ago. I'm pretty sure she is female, but what do you guys think? Also, any ideas for names?


----------



## hrutan

iamamothertoanangel said:


> He is in a 1 gallon bowl but someone said to only take out 25% to 50% water? My drops say 7 per 1 galloon, so 2-3ish then? Sorry for so many questions I just don't wanna hurt my baby betta


If your thing says 7 drops per gallon, you could do it one of two ways: If adding it directly to the bowl, put in the whole 7 drops. If you're pre-treating the water, go with 2 drops per half gallon. It's usually safe to use a little more than the bottle says.

As far as partial vs. full water changes for babies, I couldn't tell you. If it were me, I'd be doing a full water change every other day, floating the lil baby in a cup, and very very carefully acclimating him every time. Partially changing very frequently, as long as there is a bare bottom, no overfeeding, and absolutely no waste left in the tank for any amount of time, would probably also work. But, if you do that - make sure you test your water frequently.

The thing with partial water changes is that they don't remove all the ammonia, and the ammonia that is left can and will build up over time. After all, cutting something in half over and over will never result in _nothing _- just smaller pieces. Two 50% changes don't equal one 100% change.


----------



## FangStu

I don't know what kind, gender, age he is but he is the new member of my family. I got him tonight at Petco (My only Betta source) and He seems to be doing well in his bowl. 









I literally just got him tonight.
I have 2 other betta as well and they both are doing very well. All Petco betta.


----------



## lilnaugrim

lad43 said:


> http://imgur.com/Ar3JiGx
> 
> Hey guys! Just got my baby 2 weeks ago. I'm pretty sure she is female, but what do you guys think? Also, any ideas for names?


Female



FangStu said:


> I don't know what kind, gender, age he is but he is the new member of my family. I got him tonight at Petco (My only Betta source) and He seems to be doing well in his bowl.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I literally just got him tonight.
> I have 2 other betta as well and they both are doing very well. All Petco betta.


Male


----------



## FangStu

lilnaugrim thank you so much for replying and the input uvu


----------



## SabastiansMom

She's gorgeous lil!! You're so lucky our petco doesn't do the baby betta.


----------



## lilnaugrim

It's not mine SabastiansMom, I was just sexing it for the other users. I do have babies of my own though but I haven't taken any recent pictures to show their progress lately.


----------



## SiameseFightingArt

Good luck with your baby bettas! I dont like to buy them KNOWING it will die within the first week


----------



## SabastiansMom

OMG! Only two weeks? Why do they sell them so young?


----------



## FangStu

I also have this sweet little darling <3 No more betta's for me!! ouo'' Could someone help me gender him/her? if it's to soon that's chill ouo


----------



## SabastiansMom

Fang what do you have this lil betta in?


----------



## FangStu

SabastiansMom said:


> Fang what do you have this lil betta in?


He is in a pickle jar until I can afford his actual bowl ouo'' I am working very hard to get both of my babies new bowls! I am selling art and doing chores around the house (though our family isn't wealthy to begin with) I am doing my best and they are both happy little betta's ouo


----------



## lilnaugrim

Fang, looks like a boy thus far 

A pickle jar is just fine as long as it is heated or you live in a warmer climate for the time being


----------



## Deadflwr

SiameseFightingArt said:


> Good luck with your baby bettas! I dont like to buy them KNOWING it will die within the first week


I've gotten 3 baby bettas about 2 months ago and they are doing well. I think it depends on how small you get them.


----------



## TiffanyP

I've had 4 babies total... 1 died about 4 weeks after I got him. The other 3 lived much longer - Lady Icarus is still going, Alaric passed away about a month ago when he was around 15 months old, and my sweet Yoshi boy passed away last night after 11 months with me 

If you know what you're doing and take proper care of them, they'll live quite some time and they're such a joy to watch grow


----------



## Deadflwr

Sorry about your loss. That must have been hard.


----------



## FangStu

How often do you feed your baby bettas?


----------



## Deadflwr

FangStu said:


> How often do you feed your baby bettas?


I feed mine 3x a day at first. Then as they get bigger a switch to 2x a day.


----------



## FangStu

How many pellets do you give them? (If that's what you feed them) 
and about how big till you start feeding them less?


----------



## Deadflwr

FangStu said:


> How many pellets do you give them? (If that's what you feed them)
> and about how big till you start feeding them less?


I crush the pellets with a spoon. Then I give them a little pinch at each feeding. I dont want to overfeed. Then when they are about an 1" to 1 1/2 I switch to 2x a day. It really depends on the baby.
Sometimes if I notice one of my new bigger Bettas are having a hard time eating a pellet I give them crushed as well. I always drop a pellet first to see if they are ok eating it.

I know others probably feed differently but that's what works for me.


----------



## FangStu

I got some baby pellets which are smaller then the usual pellet and I was just plop them in there and they seem to eat them up really fast <3 I hope my 2 babies grow up big and strong <3 I can already tell they are beautiful <33


----------



## Alaura123

My adult betta has a hard time "grabbing" his pellets... should I start crushing them? I have snails to eat any leftovers.

I want to get a baby betta soon, it must be nice to watch them grow from almost the beginning with you, and watch to see how they turn out.


----------



## FangStu

Alaura123 said:


> My adult betta has a hard time "grabbing" his pellets... should I start crushing them? I have snails to eat any leftovers.
> 
> I want to get a baby betta soon, it must be nice to watch them grow from almost the beginning with you, and watch to see how they turn out.


One of my adult betta's is spitting out his pellets (Is this what yours is doing?) and I have just been seeing if he wants different food or something but I'm not sure if he's actually eating ouo'' is he sick or something?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Adults spitting out pellets means they are too big for him, not that he's picky or anything. Though on the rare occasion it is because they are picky but the majority of the time, the pellet is just too much to handle.

For babies, 2-3 times a day and feed until belly is round but not bloated/sticking out terribly. Each baby metabolizes differently so you may have one that will eat more than another one might.

The thing with PetCo babies is, yes most of them will grow up with you but they also have a shortened life span of on average a year old, 2 years if you are one of the lucky ones. So just be wary of that, if you don't want a fish that lives that short then don't get a baby, they would be too much work for you in the end and not much of a 'reward' for you.

If you REALLY want to have an experience raising a fry, you should contact a breeder and ask for one of their fry if they are of shipping age, that way you know they will or should have the normal life span of 2-4 average years, possibly 5 years. Though, not all breeders are willing to do this, some are.


----------



## Alaura123

he doesn't spit them out, unless he has it hanging from his mouth, and he cant quite get it into his mouth without it falling.
What he does is I plop the pellet onto the water, he swims over, sometimes he successfully sucks it into his mouth, but a lot of the time he tries to bite it, but he fails and freaks out twisting and frantically swimming away, then if it hasn't dropped, he tries again. Sometimes this happens a lot of times in a row, but lately he has been doing better.

The pellets might be too big for his mouth.

Why do they have shortened lives? because of their conditions in the store?  (guessing)


----------



## Deadflwr

The crushed up pellets float. So they have time to eat them.

Well if they do have a shorter life span, at least they have a wonderful home and are treated well.


----------



## FangStu

He/she is a little older now ouo'' sorry for the crappy pic I will get a better one a little later tonight hopefully ouo''

What do you guys think on the gender and such?


----------



## Jasperdog

U we're already told the gender... Female also u better not keep it in that death bowl forever


----------



## FangStu

Jasperdog said:


> U we're already told the gender... Female also u better not keep it in that death bowl forever


I already told people I already have there new bowl and heater on the way -3- 

And I got a lot of different answers :/


----------



## FangStu

Not trying to sound rude or anything ouo''


----------



## Jasperdog

So u are getting a new bowl why not a tank?


----------



## Destinystar

With proper water changes along with a heater, a bowl does not have to become a death trap. Remember not all our members have tanks but that doesn't mean they are not able to provide proper care for their Betta.

Be kind to each other , we are all here to learn, one way or the other


----------



## lilnaugrim

Actually Jasper, I said it was male, and it's a VT Fang


----------



## FangStu

Perseusmom said:


> With proper water changes along with a heater, a bowl does not have to become a death trap. Remember not all our members have tanks but that doesn't mean they are not able to provide proper care for their Betta.
> 
> Be kind to each other , we are all here to learn, one way or the other


Thank you ouo and I have there new tanks and heater on the way ouo until then I have been performing daily water changes ouo


----------



## FangStu

lilnaugrim said:


> Actually Jasper, I said it was male, and it's a VT Fang


Horray!  I have never had a VT ouo I'm super pumped! Do you still think it is a male? :0


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yes, I know it's a male; pointed anal fin, longer fins, larger eyes and lack of ovaries ;-)


----------



## Destinystar

FangStu said:


> Thank you ouo and I have there new tanks and heater on the way ouo until then I have been performing daily water changes ouo



Your welcome FangStu....Sounds great, best of happiness to you and your Betta :-D


----------



## yogosans14

Hey guys! Im on a betta rescue mission now! Tell me everythinf I need to know be for I pick up one of these cute little guys!


----------



## FangStu

yogosans14 said:


> Hey guys! Im on a betta rescue mission now! Tell me everythinf I need to know be for I pick up one of these cute little guys!


I'm no betta pro but these are some things I have learned here! ~

Feed them 3 times a day! The micro pellets can be found at petco right above the babies.

Daily/every other day half water changes! This is because the let off hormones into the water and it can stunt there growth (I think).

Keep water an about 82 degrees! (Mine have cold water most of the time and I put the occasional warm water in to warm it up if I think it's too cold and they both seem happy and fine uvu ) I'd suggest getting a heater of some sort for cold days (Like winter and junk)

Get a bowl that is around 2.5 gallons (Mine are not in one there bowls are both very small but are holding up fine! (New bowls on the way)) 

Make sure that they have a wide serfs so they can come up for a breath! (You do not need a bubbler or anything for these amazing fish!)

Suggestions~

Get plants! My babies love there plants! They sleep on them and hid in them! 

I hope this helps!  And I don't know if my facts are 100% so I'd suggest doing some research uvu


----------



## yogosans14

Will a 3.5 gallon circular tank work?


----------



## FangStu

yogosans14 said:


> Will a 3.5 gallon circular tank work?


Yepp! Just make sure there is a wide surface so that it can come to the surface to breath!


----------



## anitsirk92

yogosans14 said:


> Will a 3.5 gallon circular tank work?


Yes that will work but make sure you get a heater! Babies need to be kept at a minimum of 80 degrees!


----------



## yogosans14

Im going to save a Adult one today and a baby one next weekend


----------



## yogosans14

Nvm I caved and got a baby lol...the other ones were to much money


----------



## yogosans14

Hes all set in his nice cozy 3.5 gallon tank 

How can I tell the sex?


----------



## hollyk

Sexing babies can be quite difficult. If you can get a good picture of your baby, post it here and let the forum members try to figure it out!  Congrats on your new addition!


----------



## yogosans14

hollyk said:


> Sexing babies can be quite difficult. If you can get a good picture of your baby, post it here and let the forum members try to figure it out!  Congrats on your new addition!


Thanks! Im going to guess hes a boy


----------



## smiley881

Mariah94 said:


> I fell for it. Or, well, my family did. I had mentioned wanting a fish and they came home with this little bitty thing in a bowl. I immediately thought fish abuse and did my research. Now, a week later I have a 5 gallon 8 sided type tank with a heater and filter. I still need to go out and get a thermometer and some good food. But I'm still really new at this and I have a lot of questions. This is also my first post to the thread.
> 
> My betta (when I learn how to post pics I will) is about half the size of my pinky, maybe a bit smaller. I haven't had the time to look too much into the sex and type, but I THINK it's a girl...then again, it's a young fish so I might not be able to tell yet. I can't tell an age...maybe you guys have a general idea given the approx. size?
> 
> If it is a girl, her name is Temperance. If not, it's Rick Castle -but that chat is for later.
> 
> I'm really concerned about the feeding. I have this zoo med betta food that grows when you put it in the water. My little fish can hardly hold it in her mouth and it takes her over three minutes to eat it. So far I've been feeding her 3 times every other day and doing it in cyces. One the night before, one in the morning, and one in the evening -because it takes her so long to eat it and honestly the food (once submerged) is larger than her eye- I really don't want her to bloat up. But she kind of gives me that look (I'm sure you all know it) like she's starving so today I gave her two pellets in her night feed. She looks like she wants more...decieving fish.
> 
> Still doing my research, but I saw this thread and decided since I got 1.99 fishy from petcoe I may as well post
> 
> After exams I hope to have everything for her (or him). I know I want to get better food, some blood worms, a thermometer, softer plants...possibly a larger heater (I think mine is for 1-3 gallon?) and a Castle that's softer on the fins. And any thing else she/he needs. Me and this fish have really bonded. Never thought I'd bond with a fish but she/he follows my finger and hangs out on the side of the tank by my bed all the time. She/he is the coolest little fish...
> 
> Thanks!


That is just to cute your fish hanging out in the tank by your side of the bed.I can remember when I had my two Betta Fish Jo Jo and Champ.When I would come into the Kitchen at night Jo Jo would come to the front of the Aquarium as if to say now what are you up to?


----------



## smiley881

Misakitty said:


> I'm definitely enjoying my little baby so far, and he/she is looking nice and healthy. I just crushed up my regular betta food and he gobbles it up. I have to be careful because he's a little piggy and will eat more than is good. If I lean close to the tank he comes waddling up to the side to stare at me.


:lol:I am so tempted to get a baby Betta fish my next go around.I better stick to the big guys because I think they may be more tolerant of a little goof I may make.There can't be any half stepping with those precious babies.That is cute the fish staring at you.Once my Aunt had a fish that would come to the front of the tank every time it saw my Cousin Jenny Poo.The fish would always come to the front and stare at Jenny Pone day Jenny Poo took a hammer and busted the Aquarium.


----------



## lilnaugrim

yogosans14 said:


> Hes all set in his nice cozy 3.5 gallon tank
> 
> How can I tell the sex?


Technically need a better picture but he looks male from here.


----------



## PaperCoversRock

I bought this baby betta the other day, after looking around online I wanted to confirm what I'm looking at here is an egg spot? I think Buster might need a re-name!


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## lilnaugrim

Buster is actually a boy. With babies--and this is why you can't rely on the ovipositer (egg spot as it is commonly referred to as)--young males also exhibit a false egg spot and some don't even lose it after they've hit sexual maturity. My current "baby" is at least 6 months old in total now, he's full grown DTPK but he still has a very clear false egg spot.


----------



## harmony08

I recently bought a baby betta. It appears to be about six or seven weeks old. Can you guys help me tell if it's a boy or girl and its breed?


----------



## PaperCoversRock

lilnaugrim said:


> Buster is actually a boy. With babies--and this is why you can't rely on the ovipositer (egg spot as it is commonly referred to as)--young males also exhibit a false egg spot and some don't even lose it after they've hit sexual maturity. My current "baby" is at least 6 months old in total now, he's full grown DTPK but he still has a very clear false egg spot.


Thank you! The name Buster stays.


----------



## PaperCoversRock

harmony08 said:


> I recently bought a baby betta. It appears to be about six or seven weeks old. Can you guys help me tell if it's a boy or girl and its breed?


Picture!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh I forgot to link here but here's the care thread I did for PetCo Babies: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## harmony08

here's two


----------



## harmony08

PaperCoversRock said:


> Picture!


posted


----------



## anitsirk92

How long do the babies release the growth stunting hormone? When can you start to do normal water changes (as opposed to changing the water everyday or every other day)?


----------



## lilnaugrim

When they are sexually mature. Did you read through my care thread at the top of this page here?


----------



## anitsirk92

lilnaugrim said:


> When they are sexually mature. Did you read through my care thread at the top of this page here?


Yes. I meant like how can you tell for sure? I just want to make sure I don't stop too early by mistake


----------



## lilnaugrim

They'll be full grown of at least an inch in body size to an inch and a half (basically what you'd find at a petstore). Males will start building larger bubblenests and more organized ones. Females can become eggy and you should see the ovaries expand. Basically, keep doing water changes until they are over an inch in body size (fins never count).


----------



## JHatchett

I told myself that I would never buy a baby, because I find the practice of selling them so young abhorrent but I went out for a walk today and I walked into petco...oops.

It was a perfect storm. I had this little DIY filter that I had been bucket cycling/testing that was ready to be put to use, and I had an extra heater. I hadn't intended on buying any fish at this time but I saw this little baby and I could not leave it.










I'm guessing that it's a veiltail male but just to be safe I named it "Starbuck".










Once the temperature regularizes and I've acclimated Starbuck, this will be his fish house.


----------



## marieanotinette

Please send photo. I thought Jupiter was a male at first but I had to wait 4 months to determine that Jupiter was a female. Her finnage remained short and she was fat around the gills. She ate like a pig but I'm worried about her now because she is not eating. She will be a year old in December. I went to petco and bought her on a whim. Poor thing looked lifeless in that cup. The rest of the babies were dead. Jupiter is a betta rescue. I wish I could afford to buy them all!


----------



## lilnaugrim

@JHatchett, does look like a female to me


----------



## marieanotinette

Just saw your photo. I'm guessing its a male. Jupiter was a little fat at that age and it had not changed. You might have to wait a month or so to be sure. God luck with raising Starbuck! Jupiter is my princess and she is spoiled. I have two males as well Snow and Apollo. Snow is an all white male betta with blue eyes. Snow is blind. Apollo is an all red male betta and I rescued him because he had deteroriation on his fins. The little guy just wobbles in his tank besides the fact that he loves to eat and is real fat.


----------



## marieanotinette

It's fun to watch the babies get their coloring!


----------



## JHatchett

lilnaugrim said:


> @JHatchett, does look like a female to me


You are the one with the good eye.  

Either way, Starbuck is going to be a well loved baby.

I just finished drip acclimating her and moved her into her habitat. She is exploring and seems to like the new set up.


----------



## marieanotinette

That's wonderful! I had another baby betta that I purchased before Jupiter. Poor thing got sick and died


----------



## jawsbettafish

Just got a new PetCo baby betta yesterday. Not sure if it's a female or male, but it's name will be either Garnet (girl) or Jaws (boy)


----------



## anitsirk92

Jawsbettafish let's see a picture!


----------



## marieanotinette

You have your hands full with all those bettas. Hoping to get a couple of goldfish for Christmas. Got to save up for my 40 gallon tank!


----------



## FangStu

My baby I got a month ago or so and he has stopped eating his micro pellets over the last few days. He will eat bloodworms but I still want him to get the protean from his pellets. He will chew it up and spit it out. I know Betta will do this if the food is too big but he doesn't try to eat it again after spitting it out. I have been trying to give him blood worms the one pellet and he will be tricked into eating it but I don't know why he isn't eating his pellets! Maybe it's cause it is getting colder? (I will be getting a heater asap)


----------



## lilnaugrim

The freeze-dried bloodworms are fine to feed, just soak them first and they don't cause issue. It's a myth that they actually cause bloating as there is no evidence other than good timed coincidences. But breeders often use crushed FD BW's to feed babies since it's a great source of protein.

Can you try any frozen foods? While FD isn't terrible, if you are able to get Frozen, it is always better than even pellet foods most of the time. But you'd want to keep a baby eating if he's still small, whereas an adult you can fast them and keep trying the pellets until they eat them rather than the bloodworms.


----------



## JHatchett

I have a quick question that has been burning in my mind...

My petco baby, Starbuck is active, healthy and a voracious devourer of food stuffs. She flares, chases my finger and likes to pick fights with some of her decor. She is doing well.

My question is about my itsy CT female River. I didn't buy her as a "baby betta" but when I got her she was the same size as Starbuck. I got micro pellets for her because she couldn't handle the regular size, otherwise I treated her the same as my adults. Even though Starbuck has only been with my for 5 days she has surpassed River in length. I've had River 2 months.

My question is this, do you supposed River is permanently stunted? If I upped her water changes and started the same feeding regimen as my baby could she possibly get bigger?


----------



## lilnaugrim

She probably sat on the shelf a long time so yes, she's probably stunted or had some sort of defect as she was growing up--hard to say which technically since Betta's don't come with Birth Certificates and other information lol. But it won't hurt to up the changes and do the same feeding!


----------



## JHatchett

Thanks for the response lilnaugrim.

I'm going to put her on the same water change schedule and feed as my baby. I also went ahead and put a card up between her and the other female that she shares a shelf with.

I'm not terribly concerned with her heath wise. Her tank is cycled and water perimeters are stable. She is active, and bright in color. She may not get any bigger, but if it is possible to grow her out more I ought to try.


----------



## alyssaconiggz

*Baby Betta from Petco!*

Hi all! 

So I bought this baby betta 3 days ago on Sunday...I think it's female. Thoughts? 

From what I've read it has stress stripes, so I'm hoping it becomes more comfortable. 

It's in a 2 gallon tank with a sponge filter, and the temp is about 85 degrees.

Also...the bulge...am I feeding it too many bloodworms?

here's hoping someone gives me a hand


----------



## atomiczombie757

*filters*

will baby bettas be okay with a replacable cartridge filter?


----------



## lilnaugrim

@alyssaconiggz: it's a boy. And here, read this for answers to your questions: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## alyssaconiggz

@lilnaugrim thank you!!!


----------



## SuperStork

*Here's my baby, Tuna, I bought in May. He's doing great.*


----------



## SuperStork

atomiczombie757 said:


> will baby bettas be okay with a replacable cartridge filter?


I wondered this, too. How would using one affect water quality and would water changes be as frequent? Seems easier to just swap out water. 
Following.


----------



## JHatchett

With a baby betta water changes should be done more frequently anyway to remove growth stunting hormone. You can use replaceable media just don't replace until it is falling apart.


----------



## BlueLacee

All stunning. I'll have to post a few of my baby girl (who is now two years old) Tomarrow morning.


----------



## SuperStork

The Petco near us takes very good care of the bettas. Rarely do I see any looking poorly. They also keep the babies apart. The babies are small but not to point where I felt it unethical or inappropriate. Their selection is pretty amazing. I'm always tempted to bring home a new one!

Our baby was no where close to red, and he's definitely red. Looks almost exactly like our other male. Our female is orange. Those two were both bought a while ago as adults.


----------



## shanel

Bettas are so colorful. Love them


----------



## SuperStork

*Stay littish?*

My baby looks like a full grown betta but is little. I am wondering if he'll stay somewhat smaller (since he was a Petco baby). He's a very nice dark red, but he seems like he won't grow more based on his current appearance. He's about six months old.


----------



## JHatchett

Look at my little petco baby flare! My little Starbuck. <3


















9 days since I brought her home... They grow up so fast.


----------



## lilnaugrim

JHatchett said:


> Look at my little petco baby flare! My little Starbuck. <3
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 9 days since I brought her home... They grow up so fast.


And here's where I get to confused you! Congratulations, you are the proud parent of a little boy! lol. I'd thought I'd seen ovaries before but I knew it could have just been part of the intestines, especially since it was so early. But now that he's grown up a little and with that belly, it's easy to see there are no ovaries behind his stomach which means he is in fact a baby boy! He's still VT though from what I can tell at least ^_^


----------



## JHatchett

I had my suspicions. ;D 

Especially after he was fed, got bigger, started flaring, and the way his fins where developing wasn't quite girly.

Still loved him and I'm excited to see what color he turns out to be. The picture doesn't show it well, but currently his color wash looks purple. It's probably wishful thinking, but I'm kinda crossing my fingers for butterfly markings.


----------



## Deadflwr

Here is an updated picture of my daughters Petco baby - Cousin It. I haven't caught him flaring. He's a pretty mellow little guy.
Is he a Veil Tail? Its what I'm leaning towards but not sure.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yes, he's a VT Deadflwr! He's really beautiful!


----------



## Deadflwr

lilnaugrim said:


> Yes, he's a VT Deadflwr! He's really beautiful!


Cool, he's going to be a unique VT! My daughter picked him out. At first I told her no because I didn't want a baby Betta. Then she showed me him. How could I say no to him. He was so cute! He had his color and was pretty big already. Just hadn't started growing any length.


----------



## Schmoo

I always coo over the baby bettas at my Petco. They're so tiny and adorable! <3 I'd really like to get one somewhere down the road. I was hoping for one for our upcoming new addition, but Huzbug wants to get a female. It's so hard to leave them, though! 

My Petco takes really good care of their bettas (their fish in general, really, but this IS a betta forum lol).


----------



## SuperStork

Everyone's bettas are so cute. No wonder it's hard to just have a few!


----------



## SplashyBetta

This is my new baby betta:


----------



## Deadflwr

SuperStork said:


> Everyone's bettas are so cute. No wonder it's hard to just have a few!


I had one for about 3 years then I went on a Betta spree :shock:


----------



## Rana

Well, I _was_ just going to go to the store for a nerite snail to help with algae control... Ended up bringing two babies home, the only ones in the store- and forgot to even get the snail! 

They both perked up quickly with clean warm water, and I've got frozen brine shrimp to feed them once they're settled. The first one is pretty big for a baby, and is either a dark blue or black. I think it might actually be a runt instead of being really young but time will tell. The second is still striped, but with a blue sheen and is a teeny little peanut! No names yet, and I'm not even gonna bother guessing genders until either they grow up some more or I get some really good photos.

Despite what the picture suggests baby #1 is perfectly normal-shaped, I just had trouble getting good shots.


----------



## lilnaugrim

They're both boys Rana ^_^ that is an interesting view of the first one! The face is adorable though! :-D


----------



## alyssaconiggz

I've had this baby 2 weeks now....how it's grown! Do we still say male? And what kind?


----------



## lilnaugrim

I'd need a profile picture to tell better, it's hard to say with the 3/4 angle.


----------



## AButterfly

I just got a butterfly that changes color.It can go from all red to solid blue! Is this normal? It shifts back and forth and looks quite incredible! If I were to create a betts it would look like this one. He looks lonely,....I think I'll find him a mate!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Sounds like he's stressing out AButterfly. And no, do not get him a mate. You will end up either killing one of the fish or both, bettas should never be housed together!


----------



## AButterfly

Then how do they breed?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Specialized purposes and methods. In the wild, these fish aren't confined to a 5 gallon space or even 50 gallons, they have an entire pond to swim in and get away from other fish if they need to. Also our domesticated Splendens are much more aggressive than their wild cousins and acestors so you can't just throw two fish together and hope for the best. Not only that but you can potentially get anywhere from 500-700 fry from a single spawn and if you don't have the time to do daily water changes or to house possible 350 individual male Bettas then please do not do this. It is a matter of responsibility and for the protection of your fish. As I said, even though you may prepare for spawning, you could still end up with two dead parents. Is it really worth risking his or her life?

If you do want to know more about breeding then by all means, please do research it, we have a nice breeding betta section here on the forum that you can look at and all. But with everything in the fish hobby, research before you jump into it, otherwise bad things can happen!

Also make sure you post in the proper section of the forum. Your original post here should have been made in the Betta Chat section and in it's own thread about possible marbling Bettas, not in the PetCo baby section


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## AButterfly

Sorry about the miss-post. I use to breed south American cichlids and now AM researching betas. Thank you for your help.


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## lilnaugrim

That's okay, happens to the best of us ^_^ That's great! Trust me, it will be a lot easier if you research them as you are doing rather than just throw them together and hope for the best. Your fish will thank you for sure! It just makes me overall happy to hear that people are researching things like that :-D If you have any questions you can go to the Breeding section and make a thread there and we'll be happy to answer your posts!


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## Fin Fancier

I just picked up my first baby betta on Thursday. S/he is a double tail and I couldn't resist my chance at maybe having a female DT, I'll be happy with a boy too though. It is happily swimming in a 5 gallon fluval chi heated to 82 degrees. I kind of adopted the tank from a coworker who fitted it with a Marina s10 (which has a sponge over the intake and allows me to adjust to low flow) the baby definitely doesn't seem to mind it.
It's only been 2 days but s/he has been eagerly eating the micro pellets they sell above baby bettas and I'm thinking of picking up some frozen brine shrimp as well. Just got through its first partial water change this morning and took a blurry pic, but its all I can get so far. No name yet, just enjoying some time with the new little bud. I'm excited to watch it grow up, so far its looking blue with a greenish iridescence. 








Not loading for some reason but you can see the pic if it's opened in a new tab.)


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## Seachelle

A friend came driving up this morning with a baby betta from petco, gave it to me while trying not to cry saying, "Can you help it?! It was so sad! All of them were dead but this one! Say you can help it!"

I've only had adult betta's... I'm not sure what to do! I crushed the pellets into almost powder and put a little in there, he or she ate it and is swimming around but the only thing I had for him/her is a 1 gallon and a little plant! No filter or heater! I'm afraid to put him/her in the 5 gallon because the other betta and the cory cats are in there. Is a one gallon okay? There's plenty of room in there for him/her. 

I'm not mad at her for bringing the little guy or girl here, I'm going to do my best but I think I need some advice x_x he or she is more active since it was put in the one gallon with clean water. At first in the little cup it was just kind of floating there. So...that's a good sign, right?

With my other fish when the power went out we would wrap a blanket around the side of the bowl to try and keep it warm then once when the other heater broke a heating pad was used, that seemed to work... Should I try for that? The water is 76 right now and I'm kinda worried its to low...


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## lilnaugrim

Good on you for taking it in, though it wasn't exactly your idea lol. But a 1 gallon will be fine for now but if you can get a small adjustable heater for it, that would be best for the baby to have a more stable temperature. And yes the towel should work fine, 76 isn't terrible for the baby if it's constant 

Here's a link on baby care: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## Seachelle

I will do my best! *salutes* I am a mermaid after all lol I made a promise to help anything with fins and/or gills!

So... The pellets I made into powder are okay? I have shrimp wafers I can crush and the little nibbler worm thingees I can crush. The 1 gallon has a bubbler in a tube in the back. Its actually this http://www.walmart.com/ip/AquaView-1-Gallon-Aquarium-Tank-Starter-Kit-Fish-Aquatic-Pets/33874882 from walmart a while back. I have the flatish marbles on the bottom http://www.walmart.com/ip/Panacea-375073-Marble-Accents-12-Ounces-Apple-Green/26944884 like those and a green plastic plant... That seem okay? 

Should I take the tube out completely? I have a light on the top that can get pretty hot and tends to warm the water a bit, until a heater is able to be bought... I watch when the baby eats cause left over food that sinks can make the container very smelly within a few hours.


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## PetMania

I hope I don't fall to the temptation of baby bettas when I go to PetCo tomorrow. That would be bad, as I barely have any time on my hands as it is.

Sea, I don't know if the lamp will work too well. Lamps do not tend to keep a constant temperature going, and the fluctuation will stress your fish.


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## kcuret99

(2 weeks ago)







(today)







(today)
I got a baby betta from petco about two weeks ago and I am so excited! I have a 2.5 gallon tank with a heater and a filter. I can't tell the gender yet but I think it is a boy. I give my betta hikaru baby betta pellets but it does not seem to like it much. My betta ignores it or eats a little then spits it out. I was wondering what food I should try instead and also how often/percentage for water changes. I currently do 50% water changes every 3 days. Also about 2 days ago I noticed that he was flaring/puffing up it's gills and that they looked a little red. He also has not been swimming around as much instead he's been resting on the rocks. I am a little worried my betta may be sick. If it is, what should I do for it since it is a baby.


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## Fin Fancier

My little one has discovered its favorite game. It's called "how long can I avoid mom's crappy camera phone?" It's like it wants a gender neutral name.
Day 5 now and S/he is as active as ever, color and size haven't really changed, despite being fed 2 to 3 times daily depending on my schedule. I've now done two partial water changes (a little less than half of 5 gal), and it hasn't shown any stress during them. The little nugget has already figured out that fingers = yummy food time, so if it's anything it is smart.


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## Schmoo

Guh! I want a baby betta so bad! Dx


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## Fin Fancier

Schmoo said:


> Guh! I want a baby betta so bad! Dx


So far its been a lot of fun having my little baby (1 week home as of tomorrow!). I will say I worry quite a bit, though. Petco got their delivery on Tuesday and I didn't get it until Thursday. I'm hoping it lives a long, healthy life however from reading through the thread it does seem that's not the majority of situations. I'm just going to do my best. I will say I'm much less anxious when I start with a full grown fish, that's something to keep in mind when considering a baby.


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## AlwaysAnimals

I just saw this thread after seeing (and adopting) a baby betta from Petco. I was suprised to see baby bettas... I had never seen them sold before and thought it was a relatively new thing... until I saw how many YEARS old this thread is! Wow! Anyway, I am LOVING all the pics, especially the update pics!! I hope to keep checking this thread out to see if people are still posting to it and showing how their baby bettas are developing  I adopted a light color baby last week. I went back to Petco for dog food and once again checked out the babies... there was a red one that caught my eye but I didn't get it. Well... I kept thinking about the beautiful little thing and ended up going back for him. (I think it's a male). THANK GOODNESS I found this thread, I have been learning so much. Now, for the pics! These are my two little bettas... I'm guessing both are males but maybe a veteran eye can tell me for sure? Any guesses on tail types? Technical color terms? The light one is named Flash, and I am up in the air on a name for the red one. Maybe Dragon for a male or Ruby for a female? Thanks!


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## Alaura123

Cute! I really like the second one her color is pretty  (well I cant tell gender from the angle but she looks girly)
I think the red would be male? I don't see ovaries as far as beginners go, and I don't see an egg spot either. I am still new to this, so I would rather hear from the professionals.


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## Giraki

Those are such adorable babies! I've been thinking about getting one myself. This thread makes it more tempting. My local Petco is supposed to be getting a new delivery on Friday, and since they had no babies today, I know any that come in will be new. Might be a good time for me to pick one up!


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## anitsirk92

This isn't exactly about Petco babies but it's related. I've noticed that a lot of the female labeled bettas at Petsmart are extremely tiny. A lot are just as small as some of the petco babies. Are they "babies" as well?


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## lilnaugrim

They are on the edge, most of them are sexually mature at that point. It depends on where they're getting the fish from, I've seen very large females and teeny tiny females too, most of them are smallish adults though.


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## SmallFry23

I went on a venture to my local Petco today to purchase some live plants for my existing two betta tanks because noticed the plastic ones were damaging their fins. While there I saw the shelf with baby betta fish on it and had to see for myself. I fell in love with the idea of watching a betta grow up. I really enjoy betta fish for their elegance and watching them in their tanks gives me joy. So to get to the point I bought a baby DT for a whopping 1.99 instead of the $19 price for an adult. I have high hopes for the little tyke. Since I have watched it for hours in its new tank, I noticed the stress stripes have already gone. So I was wondering if anyone here can tell me if my fry is old enough to determine gender and what it is? I have pictures posted on my profile. Also I would like to know about how to care for a fry vs an adult betta. I have done some research but I want to learn as much as possible. Thanks!!


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## lilnaugrim

Here's a thread made specifically for PetCo baby care! http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330

Wow, he looks exactly like how my boy Pierce looked like when I got him! The good thing about your fish is that s/he is larger than the normal babies they sell which are usually around .3-.5 of an inch. The bigger they are, generally the better off they will be in the end. 

I can't say for sure with these pics but it looks like a young male DTPK which is what mine turned out to be. Here are two pics of Pierce to show you, first is when I first got him three months ago


Size comparison with a full grown HM male


And this was about a week ago.


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## Fin Fancier

It's been 2 weeks since I got my little one. I managed to take a picture this morning! It's grainy but shows its colors a bit. I'm thinking I got a boy.


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## givemethatfish

Thought I'd put a before and after of Belle. 

Day 1, May 15th:









About 2 weeks older, end of May:









Now! Please excuse the algae buildup on the divider. I really need to cup some of the fish in this tank and scrub the dividers, but it's a chore. And the pictures aren't that great, but they show his colors nicely. He's very hyper.


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## AlwaysAnimals

givemethatfish said:


> Thought I'd put a before and after of Belle.
> 
> Day 1, May 15th:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> About 2 weeks older, end of May:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now! Please excuse the algae buildup on the divider. I really need to cup some of the fish in this tank and scrub the dividers, but it's a chore. And the pictures aren't that great, but they show his colors nicely. He's very hyper.


It's so amazing how much they change!!


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## lad43

Here are some updated pics on my baby female. i got her in August and she has grown in size. I am also starting to see breeding stripes on her!

When I first took her home, verses now


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## AlwaysAnimals

*One Week Later!*

A week-later update on the first of my two baby bettas, Flash. I got my second baby betta, Lava, a few days after, and if I remember, I will also try to get a later update on him :-D Top pic is first day home, and last pic is one week later. The color looks drastically different only because the first pic used a camera flash and second pic is without one. (...and I don't know what's going on with that tail... the notch is bothering me... and the colors make it hard to distinguish the rays, any guesses?)


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## lilnaugrim

Both are VT males ^_^ that notch may or may not regrow, I don't know if it's a birth defect or just some sort of rip that didn't heal properly. Fins do grow back but they are never exactly the same, sometimes ray's fuse together or only one long primary ray grows out and doesn't branch, it can be weird sometimes. But it doesn't effect the overall health of the fish generally.


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## TiffanyP

My baby Yoshi had 2 notches like that in his anal fin for the longest time, I thought that's how his fins were going to grow in - but about 7-8 months after I got him and he really grew into an adult, they closed up and he had a normal fin


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## Kisiel

I'm a uk resident so there's no petco to sell baby bettas, but I've noticed these little tiny bettas at my local pet store that are labelled as females. They're about a quarter of Lucifer's size who's a fully grown male. I'm talking about body only, these bettas are absolutely adorable! I tried to take a couple of pictures but they are really active and were crowding around at the front of their tank trying to see what was going on hahah. Would anyone be able to tell me whether these are babies or just regular females? Sorry for the awful pictures, I took them with my phone and they were all moving :/


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## lilnaugrim

First one and the blue one behind it are definitely females, the second one in front looks like a young male.


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## AlwaysAnimals

*Lava's one-week check in*

Lava has now been with us for a full week! To celebrate, S/he got moved into a bigger tank with Flash! I managed to create a divider thanks to the great instructions I found on this site, and only had one OOPS (Flash found his way to Lava's side somehow, to my suprise, although things were "civil"... and I promptly re-fitted the divider. So far so good after that!) 
It was first thought that Lava was a male when I first posted pics here... now I'm not so sure. S/he is so much more subdued, rarely flares, seems to have a more female body type- any new thoughts/insight? Thanks!


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## AlwaysAnimals

*More on Flash!*

I just have to tack on this update on Flash... I'm now sure he's a male! He built his first bubble nest last night! I got some pics of it (this is before his move to the bigger tank... I felt so bad having to move him away from it!) And I got the cutest pics of his flaring... gills out and all.


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## Kisiel

lilnaugrim said:


> First one and the blue one behind it are definitely females, the second one in front looks like a young male.


Thanks! The fish guy at the pet store told me that because these have been brought up together (they were about 12 weeks old) and have never been separated, it'd be safe to keep a couple together in one tank. We were talking about 2-4 fish, not a regular sorority. Is this true?


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## lilnaugrim

As long as they have definitely never been separated and will not be separated then yes, most likely they will live harmoniously if they are siblings regardless of gender. But Betta Splendens are also very unpredictable so one of those females might end up ganging up on the male and slaughtering him, OR they may live harmoniously until their old. It's hard to say for sure since we don't know the disposition of the parents, if the parents were more docile then there is more of a chance that the babies will also be docile as well 

2-4 isn't ideal in most cases but for siblings there is just an overall higher chance of them getting along provided they never were/will be separated, that's the biggest factor; separation. Once they are separated, they tend to not be so content in a sorority/community setting which is why sibling sororities work over regular sororities unless you just happen to find fantastically docile females haha.

But again, the reverse is always too, sometimes fish just "snap" and change their personality once they hit a certain age, just depends on a lot of factors that some are controlled and others aren't so in the end, it's still a gamble.


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## Kisiel

There were plenty more in the tank, not just the three that I managed to take pictures of  how can you tell what fish are more docile? Would it be the ones that stick together and don't show stress stripes / have more colour? There were two that looked like the male that didn't move much, they were just hovering in the plant leaves and didn't want to socialise with other fish. Should I avoid these, as well as fish that chase others? 

Yeah, since these are pet store fish there's no way to tell what their parents were like  

I know that for a regular sorority you'd need to have at least six females in a heavily planted tank, but with these would two females in let's say, a 5 gallon with plenty of places to hide be okay? If I were to pick out two fish that seem to get along, what are the chances of them turning against each other? Obviously if this happens I'd have to seperate them, either by a divider or into seperate tanks. 

I'd love to try raising a couple of these young fish, they're so cute!


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## lilnaugrim

There is absolutely no way to tell one from another if they are docile or not unfortunately. As with everything else, it's all a gamble.

A normal sorority is 3 or more females ideally, the more the better though. The same still applies for sibling females, you still want at least 3 and 10 gallons is still minimum, if you put them in a 5 gallon, they still don't have enough space to run from each other.

If you were to get the fish directly from the breeder and you know they are more docile and get along, then maybe you can do just the two but still you'd want a 10 gallon at least just for them to set up their own territories.

Did the store owner breed those fish himself or did he get them elsewhere?

I think this topic should be moved to another thread as well since we're getting off topic for this thread ^_^


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## AlwaysAnimals

*So sad*

I was shopping around for tank decor today, and one of my stops was Petco. OF COURSE I had to go look at the babies. It was so sad! There were 8 babies... of them, 5 were dead, 2 were very sickly, and only 1 looked healthy. I feel so bad for them to end up like that :blueworry::sob:
I also went to Walmart, Petsmart and a local pet store and thankfully, no sad little baby bettas.


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## FangStu

He doesn't have a rip in his fin that's just the bowl he is in XD 

I figured I might as well take a pic of him while he is in his waiting bowl 

What type to you guys think? I know he has an egg spot but I still don't see overies. (Sorry his front fins aren't down in the shot ono) 

what tail type and gender do you guys think?? :v


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## lilnaugrim

Male VT, possible DeT but most likely VT.


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## Tress

Wow, page messed up when I went to preview my post before adding and I lost all that I had done. Urgh, try #2.

Made the mistake of going to my lps yesterday (PetValu) when I was at the mall. Turned out they had just gotten new stock in, including the bettas. I was admiring some nice coloured, but short bodied, DTs when I looked up. Gosh did my heart drop when I seen two itty bitty bettas they had labeled as females. Both were barely an inch and were really stressed. One already looked like it was going downhill, the other was just clamped up. I knew I wasn't going home empty handed. My lps takes HORRIBLE care of the bettas during the off-peak season, even with the new Elive system. 

So after running to talk to my mom and borrow some money, I ran back in and went for the healthier looking one. When I asked the lady to remove her from the system (they have to disconnect the air tube and close it off) so I could buy her, she asked me if I was 18. I nearly laughed. Wow, I've been going to this store since I was a kid, and my sister even worked there, this lady has been there for most of that time. Though I applaud them of trying to only sell fish to more "experienced" people, but I still found it funny. I told her I'm 20 and she removed the betta and gave it to me and up we went to cash out.









So, here's my little "female" betta. Obviously still quite young as s/he has the camo/stress lines no matter the situation. I'm still getting used to how quickly they shift colour when nervous. 
































So far the clearest picture of the tail. What do you think? CT or VT?









I'll keep an eye on the black on the fins to make sure it's just colour (a bunch of the new stock had the black fin marking) and not fin rot.

Later today I'll be trying to see if I can see any ovaries. Tried earlier but they wouldn't hold still and they are so dark it was hard to see. Ended up hurting my eyes and giving myself quite the headache. 

Currently s/he is in my 1g QT tank since I don't have a heater for my other large tank atm. I do have a heater in the 1g, it was keeping it at 80'F but it's cold here, so right now she is covered with a blanket to keep the heat in, since I saw it starting to drop. So far so good. 

Anyways, I have a few questions:
- Any idea how old s/he is? s/he's about an inch long, though I know that only somewhat helps.
- CT or VT? I'll try to get better pics soon, s/he's a zippy little bugger
- Colour? and is the black colouring or something to worry about?
- Daily water changes, correct?
- Does the dosage of meds/salt get halved with younger fish?
- I have pellets, frozen brine shrimp, and will be getting frozen bloodworms tomorrow. I can't get omega one/nls pellets atm, so I'll probably look for some slightly better pellets too, but I had been holding off on the hope to get to the petsmart an hour away for get some omega one soon. Will this be alright for now? I heard they need 3 hearty meals a day, should I offer all 3 kinds or just kinda switch it daily?
- Anything else I need to know? Sorry if these are kinda obvious, I'm quite anxious.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah it's hard to see if she's got ovaries, she would have them by now but they may not be completely filled which eggs which makes it more difficult to see the shape of them on the darker fish. So far I see female-ish traits but I'm not fully seeing the shape of the ovaries so I want to say tentative female for now.

Probably around 2-2.5 months old.

She's definitely VT, no doubt about it. CT would have web reduction on ALL of her fins, not just her caudal. The whole fin doesn't grow at the same rate which is why sometimes you'll see rays sticking out of the tail as they grow, the rest of the fin will eventually catch up to the fast growing ray.

Looks like Steel Blue with Red wash, the black is natural coloration! It's actually not black but it's blue ^_^

Yes.

Why do you want to treat her? She only has a few nips in her fins and they're already healing so no need for salt. But for regular antibiotics, you'd never want to half the medication, for salt doses, you should yes. But don't treat unless you absolutely need to. No need to go stressing a fish for no reason ^_^

Yeah, that's fine. You can grind the pellets against each other in your fingers in the container if you want smaller sized pellets. No need to vary up the foods but you certainly can if you want to. They need two meals a day, three is okay but make sure they are small if you are going to do more meals. They won't eat as much as an adult can/should eat.


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## Tress

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah it's hard to see if she's got ovaries, she would have them by now but they may not be completely filled which eggs which makes it more difficult to see the shape of them on the darker fish. So far I see female-ish traits but I'm not fully seeing the shape of the ovaries so I want to say tentative female for now.
> 
> Probably around 2-2.5 months old.
> 
> She's definitely VT, no doubt about it. CT would have web reduction on ALL of her fins, not just her caudal. The whole fin doesn't grow at the same rate which is why sometimes you'll see rays sticking out of the tail as they grow, the rest of the fin will eventually catch up to the fast growing ray.
> 
> Looks like Steel Blue with Red wash, the black is natural coloration! It's actually not black but it's blue ^_^
> 
> Yes.
> 
> Why do you want to treat her? She only has a few nips in her fins and they're already healing so no need for salt. But for regular antibiotics, you'd never want to half the medication, for salt doses, you should yes. But don't treat unless you absolutely need to. No need to go stressing a fish for no reason ^_^
> 
> Yeah, that's fine. You can grind the pellets against each other in your fingers in the container if you want smaller sized pellets. No need to vary up the foods but you certainly can if you want to. They need two meals a day, three is okay but make sure they are small if you are going to do more meals. They won't eat as much as an adult can/should eat.


Thanks! 

Haha oh well was hoping a little for CT there but no big deal  

Good to know! Totally didn't think Steel blue, can't wait to see what she'll grow into 

I don't want to treat her, it was more of a question that was floating around in my head. No worries  I only treat if they need it and I usually try salt first. Just wanted to be sure.

I'm used to cutting up the pellets for my boys anyways (they're ridiculously big), and I like to vary the food a bit anyways. I'll go with two times then  

Thanks again for the help, I was just rather nervous. Hearing from you is helping settle me down a bit about her. 

Next challenge will be to give her a name haha (once I confirm gender, might be hearing from me again about that :3 )


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## lilnaugrim

Hah no worries, I like to help out hence I'm on the RT ;-)

She may not actually be Steel Blue, might be the regular Royal blue but right now it definitely doesn't look like Turquoise (those are the three forms of blue). Sometimes Royal can look Steel when the fish is stressed or in certain lighting.


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## Tress

lilnaugrim said:


> Hah no worries, I like to help out hence I'm on the RT ;-)
> 
> She may not actually be Steel Blue, might be the regular Royal blue but right now it definitely doesn't look like Turquoise (those are the three forms of blue). Sometimes Royal can look Steel when the fish is stressed or in certain lighting.


Will her head darken as she ages? Or will it be more rusty brown/red coloured? I guess I can see why some people are attracted to the younger bettas, it is kinda interesting to wonder how their colours will turn out.


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## lilnaugrim

Tress said:


> Will her head darken as she ages? Or will it be more rusty brown/red coloured? I guess I can see why some people are attracted to the younger bettas, it is kinda interesting to wonder how their colours will turn out.


She'll keep the colors she has right now, but since she's a little stressed out, they are paler than they should be. So the only change she'll have is darkening up a bit is all so yes, she'll keep that red on her head


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## Tress

lilnaugrim said:


> She'll keep the colors she has right now, but since she's a little stressed out, they are paler than they should be. So the only change she'll have is darkening up a bit is all so yes, she'll keep that red on her head


Alright, good to know  Thank you very much!


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## Seachelle

I read to feed bettas and baby bettas little bits of peas but we have no frozen ones. We just have canned ones with no salt added, is this an option?


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## Seachelle

Im on my phone and not sure how to resize pictures x.x sorry


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## Tress

lilnaugrim said:


> She'll keep the colors she has right now, but since she's a little stressed out, they are paler than they should be. So the only change she'll have is darkening up a bit is all so yes, she'll keep that red on her head


Would a male at this age have a beard, The baby flared at me today, and I didn't see one? I think I may have saw ovaries as well, but this little one is very zippy. Literally thinking of naming her(?) Zippo. Also I think you are correct about the royal blue, she was darker today.



Seachelle said:


> I read to feed bettas and baby bettas little bits of peas but we have no frozen ones. We just have canned ones with no salt added, is this an option?


Seachelle, peas are not good for any bettas, they cannot digest it and it may cause constipation.


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## lilnaugrim

Tress said:


> Would a male at this age have a beard, The baby flared at me today, and I didn't see one? I think I may have saw ovaries as well, but this little one is very zippy. Literally thinking of naming her(?) Zippo. Also I think you are correct about the royal blue, she was darker today.


Yes, males and females both show beards, they just might not fully extend it if they aren't fully flaring 


@Seachelle, yeah don't feed peas. It's not that it will cause constipation but it is possible the pea could ruin the intestines if the piece is too big for the fish. Shelled peas are fine for larger or omnivore/herbivore fish but not so great for carnivore fish like our Bettas.


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## Tress

lilnaugrim said:


> Yes, males and females both show beards, they just might not fully extend it if they aren't fully flaring


Gosh darn it, I thought I had the gender pegged down finally. I figured, since the male's beards are bigger, that not seeing it, or noticeably so, would suggest female. I think it was a full flare (she did 3 flares actually), she's very feisty for being so tiny!

How many water changes would I be doing if I moved her into a filtered (not likely cycled, can't check) 5g and what percentage? Sorry I know I ask a lot of questions!


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## lilnaugrim

Most times males beards are bigger but I had a pair who was reversed, the male still has a smaller beard than the female does.

The only true way to sex these fish are by finding the ovaries or lack thereof.

You'd still want to do daily/every other day changes around 25-50%. If you do every other you want to do larger changes 50-70% or more if you really want to. Even if it is cycled, it won't hurt the cycle unless you leave the filter dried out for an extended period of time.


----------



## Tress

lilnaugrim said:


> Most times males beards are bigger but I had a pair who was reversed, the male still has a smaller beard than the female does.
> 
> The only true way to sex these fish are by finding the ovaries or lack thereof.
> 
> You'd still want to do daily/every other day changes around 25-50%. If you do every other you want to do larger changes 50-70% or more if you really want to. Even if it is cycled, it won't hurt the cycle unless you leave the filter dried out for an extended period of time.


Wow, that's interesting, and probably confusing.

I'll just have to try different methods of lighting, so hard when they have such a dark body.

I know it wont hurt the cycle, I just don't have a testing kit yet so I can't tell if it's cycled. Guess it was pointless to point it out lol.


----------



## lilnaugrim

I just mentioned it anyone for others who may be reading this is all 

And, meh, it was easy to tell male from female because the girl had giant ovaries filled with eggs lol. They were both full grown though and the male still had a smaller beard. It's all genetics and luck of the draw, same thing with humans and all other animals ;-)


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

lilnaugrim said:


> I just mentioned it anyone for others who may be reading this is all
> 
> And, meh, it was easy to tell male from female because the girl had giant ovaries filled with eggs lol. They were both full grown though and the male still had a smaller beard. It's all genetics and luck of the draw, same thing with humans and all other animals ;-)


Just wondering at what age the ovaries would begin to show/hold eggs? I have a baby betta who I still don't know if it's male or female, but she looks pretty round already! I'm in kind of the same situation where he/she is on the dark side, and I've been trying to spot ovaries because my feeling is that she's a female. Haven't really seen any tho! (To me it just looks like the other organs...) Pics:


----------



## lilnaugrim

Looks like a female, if you shine a light like a flashlight behind the tank pointing towards you, you should be able to see through a red fish. It's only the blue, copper, and Dragonscaled fish that are hard to see through, red is fairly light TBH. 

It's definitely a VT either way.


----------



## Fin Fancier

As of tomorrow my little (I'm assuming guy) will have been home for 1 month. His horizontal baby stripes are mostly gone and his ventral fins have turned red, not that he stays still long enough for my horrible phone camera to get a shot of them.


----------



## hestersu

You guys are a bad influence on me. I picked up a baby today. Acclimating now.


----------



## Schmoo

My Petco just got a shipment of bettas, and they have a shelf of babies. There's one that's absolutely adorable. He/she has spots, and is just the cutest little thing. I want to buy him/her so bad... >w<


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

hestersu said:


> You guys are a bad influence on me. I picked up a baby today. Acclimating now.


Pics! :-D


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

Schmoo said:


> My Petco just got a shipment of bettas, and they have a shelf of babies. There's one that's absolutely adorable. He/she has spots, and is just the cutest little thing. I want to buy him/her so bad... >w<


Ooooh that really would be so tempting. The mystery would be so fun... marbling? dragon scale? LOL


----------



## Kisiel

I brought this baby home yesterday. I told myself that if it survives until morning, I'll post here asking whether it's a boy or a girl. I wasn't expecting it to make it, but the baby is eating, swimming and had gained some colour on it's fins. I'm hoping for the best. 

So, boy or girl?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Kisiel said:


> I brought this baby home yesterday. I told myself that if it survives until morning, I'll post here asking whether it's a boy or a girl. I wasn't expecting it to make it, but the baby is eating, swimming and had gained some colour on it's fins. I'm hoping for the best.
> 
> So, boy or girl?


Looks like a female ^_^


----------



## Kisiel

I was hoping for a girl!  

She's not even an inch long, but she seems to have gotten bigger since yesterday. Perhaps that's because her fins aren't clamped anymore. The poor thing is so small that she struggles to eat the pellets even if I cut them up for her. I think we'll feed more bloodworms and brine shrimp as those will be easier for her to chew up. As far as I can tell, there's no egg spot. Do they develop egg spots as they mature or...? Also, should I fast her like I do with my adult? It's fasting day today but I've been feeding her. The plan is to keep her belly full to help her grow.

Edit: and small daily water changes, right? The friggin tank won't cycle (apparently because of the low pH) and even though it's 5 gallons and he only thing in it is a baby betta, it shows traces of ammonia :/


----------



## lilnaugrim

Kisiel said:


> I was hoping for a girl!
> 
> She's not even an inch long, but she seems to have gotten bigger since yesterday. Perhaps that's because her fins aren't clamped anymore. The poor thing is so small that she struggles to eat the pellets even if I cut them up for her. I think we'll feed more bloodworms and brine shrimp as those will be easier for her to chew up. As far as I can tell, there's no egg spot. Do they develop egg spots as they mature or...? Also, should I fast her like I do with my adult? It's fasting day today but I've been feeding her. The plan is to keep her belly full to help her grow.
> 
> Edit: and small daily water changes, right? The friggin tank won't cycle (apparently because of the low pH) and even though it's 5 gallons and he only thing in it is a baby betta, it shows traces of ammonia :/


Bloodworms and Brine shrimp are fine if they are frozen ones, freeze-dried are fine too since they are high in protein but if you have the choice, frozen is better. 

Egg spots come and go on some females, the more they fill with eggs the more the ovipositer will show. Some females will always show the ovipositer while some don't always show. I even have a full grown male with a very large false egg spot lol

No fasting for babies unless they are having obvious trouble digesting something and then maybe you can do a day off but with their high metabolisms, you shouldn't need to do that.

Low pH tanks can cycle, it just takes a heck of a lot longer. I should know, my tap pH is at 5.0-5.5 haha I was able to cycle my tanks, I don't buffer them or anything but they show 0's across the board, occasionally I'll get nitrates but the amount of plants I have, they just eat them right up. I know they're cycled since I do watch them go through the cycle as I test along, I get the ammonia spike, rarely will I get a nitrite spike though and that can be normal, and then high nitrates as ammonia/nitrite come down and it's cycled after that. It just generally takes longer, usually around 2 months and then it takes longer to mature as well (establishing a good bio-film and other stuff).


----------



## Kisiel

... Both tanks have been running since August and no signs of nitrites or nitrates. I've had nitrites in the 5 gallon _once_ and after that, nothing. Just ammonia. Drives me nuts. But pH 5 is incredibly low! I'm sitting at about 6 in my tanks, so that's a little higher than you: still bad though haha. 

Yeah, I only use frozen foods and pellets. Will alternating the foods every day be suitable? As in bloodworms one day and brine shrimp the other with an occasional pellet now and then. No fasting, noted. She had a huge meal earlier and her belly is already going down, the metabolism is really fast as you say. I'll also increase the temperature to about 82 degrees (my poor plants...) because it's sitting at 78 and I've read that babies need warmer water. 

That male sounds like he has some identity issues lol. Well, hopefully I won't have a surprise male haha! Hopefully her egg spot will show at some point


----------



## lilnaugrim

Kisiel said:


> ... Both tanks have been running since August and no signs of nitrites or nitrates. I've had nitrites in the 5 gallon _once_ and after that, nothing. Just ammonia. Drives me nuts. But pH 5 is incredibly low! I'm sitting at about 6 in my tanks, so that's a little higher than you: still bad though haha.
> 
> Yeah, I only use frozen foods and pellets. Will alternating the foods every day be suitable? As in bloodworms one day and brine shrimp the other with an occasional pellet now and then. No fasting, noted. She had a huge meal earlier and her belly is already going down, the metabolism is really fast as you say. I'll also increase the temperature to about 82 degrees (my poor plants...) because it's sitting at 78 and I've read that babies need warmer water.
> 
> That male sounds like he has some identity issues lol. Well, hopefully I won't have a surprise male haha! Hopefully her egg spot will show at some point


Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it honestly, just do daily/every other day water changes around 25-50% or more if you think it's needed like if you find a lot of ammonia in the water. And then just use Prime. Most of the ammonia that you are actually seeing on the test kit is really Ammonium (NH4) which is the less toxic version of ammonia. The lower the pH, the more Ammonium we have versus Ammonia. It's all part of the TAN (Total Ammonia Nitrogen), even in higher pH's Ammonium is still a larger part of the TAN than the Ammonia is. There are some test kits that differentiate between Ammonium/Ammonia but API reads both and combines them to create "ammonia"

Yeah, you can do that  Feed twice a day generally, three times if you want to but make them smaller meals. Once a day is okay occasionally but if you can, aim for twice a day feedings to keep her healthy and growing. She'll go through grow spurts and growth plateau's as any growing animal does ^_^

It's actually decently common for young males to show a false ovipositer and most of them will keep them over time as they mature, some will "lose" them and then the ones who keep them can vary to just a small white dot to a full extended ovipositer, not sure why they keep them but they do. He's actually one of my PetCo babies.

Here's Pierce when I first got him, note the larger eye (more common for males but it's not a definitive sign for male)


He's a DTPK so he's got the shorter fins but he's absolutely 100% male but there was a good chunk of time where I was questioning sex.
Here he is from last night, he's full grown now, I think I've had him for 4 months now, maybe 5. I'll have to look that up.


And here is his false ovipositor, not as large as a female's but still quite prominent for a male!


----------



## Kisiel

Whoa, that's really interesting about ammonia and ammonium. I didn't know that! That's definately on the list of things to research now haha. It's usually at a manageable level (under 0.5ppm) but sometimes it gets to as high as 2ppm - I'm testing with the API Master Test kit. I don't have Prime, I don't think it's avaiable in the UK. I'll look into ordering it online but I have to wait until I've got some more money - so many things coming up; boyfriend's and sister's birthdays, christmas and stuff and I need to buy things ugh -.- I only get £40 pet month and Prime on ebay is about a tenner. I hate being unemployed. Hopefully the store which I handed my CV into will get back to me soon, my friend is resigning and I applied for his position but I don't know what's happening... 

Anyway... Lucifer gets fed twice every day so I don't see why she shouldn't be haha. If I see that her stomach isn't as rounded as it should be I'll feed her more, but for now I think twice a day will do. I hope she won't die on me: seven out of eleven bettas in her tank were dead which is why I took her home... I just felt so bad for the little thing  

What a gorgeous boy! I love the shade of blue he has  In the second photo is looks like he's smiling haha.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Kisiel said:


> Whoa, that's really interesting about ammonia and ammonium. I didn't know that! That's definately on the list of things to research now haha. It's usually at a manageable level (under 0.5ppm) but sometimes it gets to as high as 2ppm - I'm testing with the API Master Test kit. I don't have Prime, I don't think it's avaiable in the UK. I'll look into ordering it online but I have to wait until I've got some more money - so many things coming up; boyfriend's and sister's birthdays, christmas and stuff and I need to buy things ugh -.- I only get £40 pet month and Prime on ebay is about a tenner. I hate being unemployed. Hopefully the store which I handed my CV into will get back to me soon, my friend is resigning and I applied for his position but I don't know what's happening...
> 
> Anyway... Lucifer gets fed twice every day so I don't see why she shouldn't be haha. If I see that her stomach isn't as rounded as it should be I'll feed her more, but for now I think twice a day will do. I hope she won't die on me: seven out of eleven bettas in her tank were dead which is why I took her home... I just felt so bad for the little thing
> 
> What a gorgeous boy! I love the shade of blue he has  In the second photo is looks like he's smiling haha.


Ah yeah, I completely understand about being unemployed. I'm in my fifth year of college and while I do have a work-study, it doesn't quite provide enough most of the time >.< Good luck with the position though!!

She looks fine to me, she's a bit stressed in her pictures but she looks otherwise healthy! She's larger than the babies we get here so she has a better chance of living than the PetCo ones do at least 

Thanks, he's a Royal Blue with red wash, pretty common as far as coloring goes ^_^ but he's my cute and vicious little boy haha. He'll kill anything that gets into his tank except the frog (it's divided so the frogs climb over the barriers occasionally). I did witness him chomp on the male ADF's leg though once, it didn't seem to be very hard since the ADF flinched but didn't swim away but rather was like...what are you doing?? and then Pierce let go and didn't care after that lol. He's a funny little fish!


----------



## Kisiel

Aww! That sotory made me giggle! Poor frog haha! 

Lucifer is grumpy today because he's not been fed and the baby is getting bloodworms. He's just eyeing up the tweezers and he's like "why aren't you feeding meeeeee????" He's flaring right at the front of the tank to get my attention haha. Silly little thing haha. Speaking of bloodworms... Can I store leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days after taking them out of the freezer? I have these small plastic containers with kids that I use for feeding frozen foods: I just put some tank water in there and cut off a piece and let it defrost. 
It would be easier as I wouldn't have to throw away so much food. 

Yeah, the poor baby had no colour to her when she was at the pet store. She's looking _much_ better today: her fins have coloured up and she's not clamped, although she tucks her ventrals under her body quite a lot and still has those stripes. I can't really tell whether they're there because she's stressed or because she's so young. I've been reading through this thread and honestly, seeing those tiny babies that still look pretty much like tadpoles (lol) is really sad. As I've mentioned, she's just under an inch long (tail included) but at least she's _shaped_ like a fish. But she still looks absolutely tiny compared to Lucifer! 

Thanks for the kind words and all your help. I'll stop spamming this thread haha. 
I'm actually in the process of reading your journal. From the start... Yup. I'm on page 113.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Kisiel said:


> Aww! That sotory made me giggle! Poor frog haha!
> 
> Lucifer is grumpy today because he's not been fed and the baby is getting bloodworms. He's just eyeing up the tweezers and he's like "why aren't you feeding meeeeee????" He's flaring right at the front of the tank to get my attention haha. Silly little thing haha. Speaking of bloodworms... Can I store leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days after taking them out of the freezer? I have these small plastic containers with kids that I use for feeding frozen foods: I just put some tank water in there and cut off a piece and let it defrost.
> It would be easier as I wouldn't have to throw away so much food.
> 
> Yeah, the poor baby had no colour to her when she was at the pet store. She's looking _much_ better today: her fins have coloured up and she's not clamped, although she tucks her ventrals under her body quite a lot and still has those stripes. I can't really tell whether they're there because she's stressed or because she's so young. I've been reading through this thread and honestly, seeing those tiny babies that still look pretty much like tadpoles (lol) is really sad. As I've mentioned, she's just under an inch long (tail included) but at least she's _shaped_ like a fish. But she still looks absolutely tiny compared to Lucifer!
> 
> Thanks for the kind words and all your help. I'll stop spamming this thread haha.
> I'm actually in the process of reading your journal. From the start... Yup. I'm on page 113.


Yes! I generally store them 3-5 day's, 5 days is my maximum though. The worms will get a little dull in color but that's normal, it's not any sort of bacteria or anything. The important thing is to not re-freeze them is all.

Most likely those are stress-stripes, camo stripes would be gone by now. She's actually almost three times the size of our PetCo babies so this is why I'm more confident in saying she's a girl from her size and the look. I could still be wrong on it though haha but I'm 99% sure it's a female.

You can always PM me if you want to talk more of course ^_^ I don't mind! It's good for others to see information like this though, every little bit and every little question can count :-D

And you are one brave little soul! lol Good luck on that and I apologize in advance for the whining that I do on my journal haha!! But I do have to toot my own horn; I get some pretty nice pictures time to time! ;-)


----------



## SplashyBetta

Mochi is so much bigger now! I compared her to a pic from the day I brought her home and I can't believe how tiny and pale she was! Her fins used to be very pale pink and now they're bright red!! :-D Will post pics when I can.


----------



## PaperCoversRock

I posted two months ago (exactly, I just checked!:-D) asking if my baby Buster was female and was told no and that males have false eggs spots as babies sometimes. However, the white spot is still very prominent. Here is a current picture; my question, how long would a false egg spot last? And how is Buster looking now? Still like a Buster or more like a Lucille? 










And just for fun, two months ago:


----------



## lilnaugrim

PaperCoversRock said:


> I posted two months ago (exactly, I just checked!:-D) asking if my baby Buster was female and was told no and that males have false eggs spots as babies sometimes. However, the white spot is still very prominent. Here is a current picture; my question, how long would a false egg spot last? And how is Buster looking now? Still like a Buster or more like a Lucille?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And just for fun, two months ago:


Yup her ovaries plumped out! It's a little girlie!

To answer your other question though, the false egg spot can last forever lol. If you look a few posts up you can see my fully grown male with his egg spot still quite prominent, not as prominent as your female here but it's still clearly visible ^_^


----------



## ellekay

Mariah94 said:


> If it is a girl, her name is Temperance. If not, it's Rick Castle -but that chat is for later.


Great shows to name a fish after! Both are among my favorites!


----------



## MaeLily

But which Lucille? Beautiful baby you have there Paper! 

I have a question about my baby, Banana (his/her name until I know this baby's gender!). I have Banana in a little heated kritter keeper right now (It's about 1 gal). I have been doing daily water changes and he/she seems to be doing great. Very active with a big appetite! I recently purchased Petco's Livingston tank for Banana's permanent home. It is 6.6 gallons and the filter it comes with is actually quite nice with an adjustable flow! My question is at what size/age can I move the baby to the larger filtered tank? Here are a few pictures to Banana today (right after feeding... got a little belly bulge there 





When I first took him/her home 10/30/14:



I have a pre-filter sponge over the intake tube and I will be baffling with a water bottle and sponge to reduce flow. Would it be safe to move him/her now or should I keep Banana in the small tank until he/she is larger? Also... any ideas on gender? 

Thanks!


----------



## anitsirk92

MaeLily, Banana is absolutely adorable! Love the colors and the name is perfect. The baby can be moved into a bigger tank at any time but you might as well wait until the bigger tank is filtered since you have the Kritter Kepeer.


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

MaeLily said:


> But which Lucille? Beautiful baby you have there Paper!
> 
> I have a question about my baby, Banana (his/her name until I know this baby's gender!). I have Banana in a little heated kritter keeper right now (It's about 1 gal). I have been doing daily water changes and he/she seems to be doing great. Very active with a big appetite! I recently purchased Petco's Livingston tank for Banana's permanent home. It is 6.6 gallons and the filter it comes with is actually quite nice with an adjustable flow! My question is at what size/age can I move the baby to the larger filtered tank? Here are a few pictures to Banana today (right after feeding... got a little belly bulge there
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When I first took him/her home 10/30/14:
> 
> 
> 
> I have a pre-filter sponge over the intake tube and I will be baffling with a water bottle and sponge to reduce flow. Would it be safe to move him/her now or should I keep Banana in the small tank until he/she is larger? Also... any ideas on gender?
> 
> Thanks!


Cuuuuuute little baby, unique coloring! Can't wait to see how he/she grows! You should start a journal on this little sweetie!


----------



## lilnaugrim

MaeLily said:


> But which Lucille? Beautiful baby you have there Paper!
> 
> I have a question about my baby, Banana (his/her name until I know this baby's gender!). I have Banana in a little heated kritter keeper right now (It's about 1 gal). I have been doing daily water changes and he/she seems to be doing great. Very active with a big appetite! I recently purchased Petco's Livingston tank for Banana's permanent home. It is 6.6 gallons and the filter it comes with is actually quite nice with an adjustable flow! My question is at what size/age can I move the baby to the larger filtered tank? Here are a few pictures to Banana today (right after feeding... got a little belly bulge there
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When I first took him/her home 10/30/14:
> 
> 
> 
> I have a pre-filter sponge over the intake tube and I will be baffling with a water bottle and sponge to reduce flow. Would it be safe to move him/her now or should I keep Banana in the small tank until he/she is larger? Also... any ideas on gender?
> 
> Thanks!


Looks like you've got yourself a little girl! The ovaries are very prominent in her new pictures!

You can move her right now, the tank will cycle but with the daily water changes it will cycle on it's own, it will just take a little longer is all but it should be cycled by the time she's all grown up! (That should be about a month and a half-two months time)


----------



## Fin Fancier

Maelily if you are worried about cycling with a baby betta you could try seachem stability to speed up the process. I have my lil guy in a 5 gallon and after 2 weeks all my tests were coming up 0's. 2 weeks after stability I got 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 10 - 20 nitrates.


----------



## Sarenbella

This is Winter... just brought her home from the store less than a week ago.

At the store in her little cup:










Home now!




























I've already asked this in another post, but I guess it can't hurt to get more input... How old do you guys think she is? She's about 3/4 of an inch long. Are there any special care instructions? What should I be feeding her and what's an ideal tank size for her right now?


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

Sarenbella said:


> This is Winter... just brought her home from the store less than a week ago.
> 
> At the store in her little cup:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Home now!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've already asked this in another post, but I guess it can't hurt to get more input... How old do you guys think she is? She's about 3/4 of an inch long. Are there any special care instructions? What should I be feeding her and what's an ideal tank size for her right now?


I'll let the seasoned veterans answer those for you, but I just want to say how cute your baby is! Was she/he really just a $1.99 Petco baby? Lucky find!! I hope you keep us posted with all the growth and changes! I love follwing the babies. (Start a journal! lol)


----------



## lilnaugrim

It's a little girl, looks around 2.5-3 months of age. Here's a thread I made specifically for this: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## Sarenbella

AlwaysAnimals said:


> I'll let the seasoned veterans answer those for you, but I just want to say how cute your baby is! Was she/he really just a $1.99 Petco baby? Lucky find!! I hope you keep us posted with all the growth and changes! I love follwing the babies. (Start a journal! lol)


Thank you! And that's such a great idea! I think I will start a journal


----------



## Sarenbella

lilnaugrim said:


> It's a little girl, looks around 2.5-3 months of age. Here's a thread I made specifically for this: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


Thank you sooo much, this is exactly what I needed!


----------



## MaeLily

Thanks everyone! (and Winter is so cute!)

Aww, my little Banana is a girl, how sweet! Looks like it's just 'Nana from now on  I'll post pictures of her new home once she's inside. Maybe I'll start a journal too!


----------



## MaeLily

Nana's new tank 



Nana!



She got to exploring right away. This little one is so curious


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

MaeLily said:


> Nana's new tank
> 
> 
> 
> Nana!
> 
> 
> 
> She got to exploring right away. This little one is so curious


 
Very pretty setup! She looks so tiny in it! lol


----------



## MaeLily

Thank you! I know, she is still quite small  I want to fill this tank with live plants eventually, for now she just has a lot of room to zip around. I also caught her flaring a few times after feeding her. Baby flares are adorable... and very funny!


----------



## Kisiel

MaeLily said:


> Thank you! I know, she is still quite small  I want to fill this tank with live plants eventually, for now she just has a lot of room to zip around. I also caught her flaring a few times after feeding her. Baby flares are adorable... and very funny!


I agree with you there 100000% lol 

Baby flares are the cutest thing ever! My baby just flared at a mirror for the first time the other day and I was like whoa. I don't know whether this applies to only my fish or bettas in general, but I've noticed a huge difference between how the baby and adult flare: the baby's flare is rapid, the fins and beard literally just pop out within a second as she zooms and wiggles in front of the mirror for a brief moment, only to swim away after a while and come back; the adult, on the other hand, slowly approaches the mirror and gradually flares his fins, then his beard and then positions himself sideways against the mirror and vibrates his caudal. He'll be there as long as the mirror is, displaying different ways to show his dominance and after I take the mirror away he patrols the entire tank for ages, flaring continousy. 

Has anyone observed anything similar with their fish?


----------



## Tress

I like that tank MaeLily, what size/brand is it? She makes it look so huge xD

I've had my not-quite-a-baby betta for almost 2 weeks now. She's now an inch long (not counting fins) and very active. She still stripes up easy but is otherwise rather feisty and also flared at the mirror for the first time! The nip in her anal fin has healed nicely too.








First day!

































My question is now.. when do I know she's reached maturity? When she gets eggy or..?


----------



## MaeLily

Kisiel said:


> I agree with you there 100000% lol
> 
> Baby flares are the cutest thing ever! My baby just flared at a mirror for the first time the other day and I was like whoa. I don't know whether this applies to only my fish or bettas in general, but I've noticed a huge difference between how the baby and adult flare: the baby's flare is rapid, the fins and beard literally just pop out within a second as she zooms and wiggles in front of the mirror for a brief moment, only to swim away after a while and come back; the adult, on the other hand, slowly approaches the mirror and gradually flares his fins, then his beard and then positions himself sideways against the mirror and vibrates his caudal. He'll be there as long as the mirror is, displaying different ways to show his dominance and after I take the mirror away he patrols the entire tank for ages, flaring continousy.
> 
> Has anyone observed anything similar with their fish?


My adult male VT flares like that too. The baby just quick flares, swims around the tank, and then comes back to see if the danger is still there  Good for babies to have a flight instinct until they are old enough to survive a fight!

Hi Tress,
It is Petco's Livingston tank 6.6 gallons. I really like how long and shallow the tank is, keeps the water movement from the filter to a minimum. Perfect for my baby  The filter it came with looked perfect at first, but where the flow adjustment knob is attached is not completely sealed. The filter ends up sucking in a lot of air and creating a great deal of noise. I ended up using an Azoo Palm filter I already had. The light and hood are all really great though. I'm definitely satisfied with this tank so far.

Also, your not-quite-baby is so cute! I love her purpley-red colors


----------



## Tress

Thanks! I heard that tank mentioned before, I'll check it out. I do love that shallow look to it, perfect for bettas!

Thank you! She's a really vibrant purple in person most the time, she's just wary of the camera yet. Your baby is adorable and I love the name


----------



## bubblesaurus

Went into the "good" Petco by after class to get gravel and found these two little nuggets! Two baby double-tails, (I think) amongst a sea of other betta babies. This Petco takes pretty good care of their fish, but the Petsmart where I live wins in betta care. 

Might be a girl? Some of their babies were a lot bigger than others, so I have no idea how old this one is...














Meet Commander Shepard! This little nugget is just about the size of my thumbnail, but seems to be doing pretty good.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Hard to tell at this age. If you do the trick with the light behind them pointing at you and take a picture when they are in light, we should be able to see if any ovaries have developed yet. 

Yes, both are DT's, looks like top one is male and bottom is possibly female. The bottom looks like it's got the start of pop-eye, treat that right away with some Epsom Salt and KanaPlex if you can get it, if not, Tetracycline or General Cure should work on it. Dosing is the same for these little tykes.


----------



## ellekay

Nice Mass Effect reference  And it can go both ways depending on the gender. (I just finished ME3 a few days ago)


----------



## yogosans14

Will this tank be good for a Baby Betta?


----------



## Tress

Is that a 1g? You might make it work but you'd be doing daily 100% water changes. It's a little bare as well, babies can stress easy so lots of cover will help with that.


----------



## yogosans14

Yes it a mini bow 1 gallon


----------



## Tress

You'll need to keep on top of daily 100% water changes, babies release a growth stunting hormone that builds up fast. But really I don't think 1g are big enough to be an adequate long term home, a short stay or QT tank is ok. Just because they are small doesn't mean they need a small tank


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## bubblesaurus

Thankfully it will! I hoped you enjoyed ME3, even though it's ending got lots of mixed reviews.

How can you tell if Popeye is starting to develop? The little nugget won't let me get a good picture and it's darker coloring isn't helping. There is a white spot on its head, but I don't know if that's related. Baby is eating fine ans pooping plenty. Haha, you guys weren't kidding about the amount of waste these little tykes can produce.

My friend changed their mind about this tyke so I've got him too. Wasn't sure he'd make it through the first night, but he's the feistiest of the three. Doing loads better and loves flaring at the camera! Little tyke turns a nice deep red half of the time and paler the rest of it.


----------



## FrightyDog

Could a baby betta live with zebra danio in planted 10 gallon (also has clown loach corydora and ADF)? If so I am too down to try one


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## lilnaugrim

FrightyDog said:


> Could a baby betta live with zebra danio in planted 10 gallon (also has clown loach corydora and ADF)? If so I am too down to try one


No, for one you can't keep just one Zebra Danio. Danios of all kinds need a school to thrive, they will survive but they will be way more suceptible to diseases with the added stress. Also, you shouldn't put Zebra's in a 10 gallon because of their activity level, they need at least a 3 foot long tank. And last point is that Danios are colder water fish, they won't like the hot temperatures that Baby Betta's need. You should find the Danio a new home.

And I assume you mean just a Clown Loach, there is no such thing as Clown Loach Corydora. A Clown Loach will get up to 16+ inches so that also needs a new home and quick if you've had him a while now. Being in that smaller tank will eventually impact his health and make him die early. He needs to be in a 75+ gallon tank.

The ADF is fine, same temperature need and same sensitivity.


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## FrightyDog

I'm Sorry I meant corydora, clown loach. I know all of the requirements for the fish and their social needs. the problem is I just feel bad for fish for example the clown loach and corydora both looked like they were suffering. the zebra danio we're in a bigger school but they died out and I want to try a new fish without getting more danio. i cant rehome them because I don't trust my local fish store and I don't have any friends who are into fish I was just wondering with my current stock if I could have a baby beta temperament wise.


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## lilnaugrim

FrightyDog said:


> I'm Sorry I meant corydora, clown loach. I know all of the requirements for the fish and their social needs. the problem is I just feel bad for fish for example the clown loach and corydora both looked like they were suffering. the zebra danio we're in a bigger school but they died out and I want to try a new fish without getting more danio. i cant rehome them because I don't trust my local fish store and I don't have any friends who are into fish I was just wondering with my current stock if I could have a baby beta temperament wise.


I understand how you feel but do you think it's helping them to put a fish that get's very large into a smaller tank that could cause health problems? I don't mean to be harsh with this. If you can't allow them the best possible environment then you're not giving the fish a full life and that's what we aim for in fish keeping: a minimal-stress environment and something natural (doesn't always have to be live plants or anything but close to their home environment as we can imitate).

If you are comfortable shipping fish, there might be people on here that you could give to. You could do a rescue type thing if the fish were only to be in the 10 gallon for a short period of time at least, then you could help out but still provide the fish with a better home in the end. It's difficult to do rescues though, sometimes you get attached to the fish or sometimes it's hard to adopt them out when no one is looking for that particular fish at that moment, but it can be worth it in the end.

Temperament wise, most of them will be fine except that Zebra, he'll steal all the babies food and the darting movements are too much for most Betta's to handle; it stresses them out. Also, you're pretty well stocked with that clown loach, his bioload is huge compared to the Zebra and cory so I wouldn't add any more to that tank.


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## bubblesaurus

Thankfully it will! I hoped you enjoyed ME3, even though it's ending got lots of mixed reviews.

How can you tell if Popeye is starting to develop? The little nugget won't let me get a good picture and it's darker coloring isn't helping. There is a white spot on its head, but I don't know if that's related. Baby is eating fine ans pooping plenty. Haha, you guys weren't kidding about the amount of waste these little tykes can produce.

My friend changed their mind about this tyke so I've got him too. Wasn't sure he'd make it through the first night, but he's the feistiest of the three. Doing loads better and loves flaring at the camera! Little tyke turns a nice deep red half of the time and paler the rest of it.


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## MingThings

Hi all,
I've been reading this thread for some time now! I love seeing the transformation from baby to adult and you've now tempted me to try my hand at the Petco baby lottery...I see a lot of repeat requests for identification of sex/fin type/color etc. and I wonder if someone knowledgeable could create a sticky or FAQ type post as to how to tentatively ID one's betta baby...before/after pictures would help! That way a link could be posted when someone asks. I've learned a few things combing through these messages, but haven't had the patience to thoroughly read all 300 odd pages! I know there are guides for ID'ing and judging the quality of adult fish, but seems like there may be some subtle signs that are indicative in fry of what they'll become...
Thanks in advance if someone undertakes this!


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## lilnaugrim

I have already done this basically in my thread here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## ellekay

I checked at the Petco near me that carries the babies (the other doesn't) and they only had one little baby, but no baby food...couldn't really tell if it had clamped fins, and seeing as that's the same place I bought both of my previous bettas from, I didn't want to try my luck with their livestock again.

I'll live vicariously though you all 

And ME3 did end weird. I did everything I was supposed to for everyone (including me) survive, but never got the cutscene that the walkthroughs talked about, even with the free downloaded extended scenes... Can't wait for ME4 to come out in 2016!


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## MingThings

that's good info, thanks for posting! i gleaned a lot of those basics from this thread already, but the stuff i'm really after is finnage.
for instance, examples of straight caudal edges on delta tail babies? what does reduced webbing between fin rays on a true crowntail look like vs. typical uneven ray growth that's probably just a VT but could be plakat (according to one post)? when you have a larger dorsal fin, this is probably something like a DT or even something else? black eyes are typically cellophane or pastel, right? but could be marble/piebald? and what are indicators, in fry, of other varieties such as HM's etc.? that sort of thing! thanks and i know it's probably a tall order...

-ming


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## lilnaugrim

MingThings said:


> that's good info, thanks for posting! i gleaned a lot of those basics from this thread already, but the stuff i'm really after is finnage.
> for instance, examples of straight caudal edges on delta tail babies? what does reduced webbing between fin rays on a true crowntail look like vs. typical uneven ray growth that's probably just a VT but could be plakat (according to one post)? when you have a larger dorsal fin, this is probably something like a DT or even something else? black eyes are typically cellophane or pastel, right? but could be marble/piebald? and what are indicators, in fry, of other varieties such as HM's etc.? that sort of thing! thanks and i know it's probably a tall order...
> 
> -ming


It's certainly something I could work on, I don't mind doing things like that which is partly why I'm on the Reference team ;-) I'll see what I can do!


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## lizcateyes

To make a long story short, I was at Petco looking for treatment for my ancient betta (4yr old male - has a random wart on his head for the past 3 weeks and have tried treating him with salt baths and other things with no luck yet) but they were out of the medication. 

I saw the betta babies, and two were just too spunky for me to feel ok leaving them there so I got them home yesterday afternoon. Here's what they look like:










They're both about the length of a quarter (the pic I took of that came out blurry). I'm keeping them in a QT tank for now, my temperature's good since my place always runs warm and as they grow I plan to transition them to a divided 10 gal tank. 

The only bettas I've had have been adults, though, and it's only after I got them home that I realized maybe I was a little unprepared for them. I've been feeding them a mix of freeze dried brine shrimp smashed up for them, and crushed pellets (the Topfin color enhancing ones) and they've been gobbling things up happily. 

In doing research, though, there's no clear consensus on what I ought to be feeding them (there's this breeder in Thailand saying he feeds his babies on steamed egg) and some say frozen and live food, but I don't know how old these little guys are (or even if they're guys, or what they'll wind up looking like) to really have a good idea of what I should be doing?

They've got expanded tummies now, but I'm also worried about not knowing whether I'm overfeeding, somewhere I read that babies fed too much can get swim bladder disorder or die from overeating? 

I'm considering getting them Hikari's Betta Bio-Gold Baby Pellets, frozen food and live food aren't options, my housemates would kill me! As it is they look at me like I'm crazy for caring so much about these fish 

Any advice regarding the feeding situation or info on how old and what their gender is would be much appreciated!


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## anitsirk92

I stopped by my local petco today just to look around and I saw the cutest little double tail baby. Most of the other babies were in dirty cups, on the verge of death  but this one was so cute and active. I left without buying him/her and now I'm regretting my decision. I think tomorrow I'm going to go back and if he/she is still there, I'm getting myself a new betta lol. Will it be okay in a two gallon bowl? It's lightly planted and there are no fish in it. Or is that too small? I also have a 4 gallon bowl and a 2.5 gall on tank but I would need to set them up


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## lizcateyes

@anitsurk92 - Those babies definitely pull on your heartstrings, it's how I wound up with my 2! They're both in QT to see if they live the week, I want to make sure there's not any disease or parasites on them. IMHO the 2 gallon would be fine as long as it's got a heater, since baby bettas are babies, after all and have their own set of needs. That'll also give you time to set up your bigger tanks if you want so you can transition your little fish once it's gotten bigger


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## anitsirk92

This will be baby number 3 for me! My other two have been doing great! I've had them for three months now


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## anitsirk92

I went back to petco and he/she was there! So home he/she came! Can anyone tell if it's a boy or a girl? It doesn't look like there are ovaries but I'm not very good at determining. I'm hoping for a boy so I can name him Cosmo. Here's a few pictures. (Sorry for the quality Cosmo's really active so it's very hard to take a photo)


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## lilnaugrim

Looks like a boy from here but I'd need a closer picture.


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## lizcateyes

Congrats on baby #3! Very nice color  You are clearly doing something right if you've kept the other 2 alive for 3 months, I'm sure your newest baby is happy if it's so active!


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## Tibbikin

Hi! I recently bought two betta babies at Petco. One is rather blue (featured in profile picture) and the other is just starting to get his colorings. I'm worried about the paler one because he will not eat any food given to him. I made sure that I kept him in a warm enviroment until I get his tank. 
Although he doesn't have much coloring, his tail type is starting to develop. 

My blue fish is eating fine and doing well but I am concerned for my smaller fish.


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## lizcateyes

@Tibbikin what food are you feeding?


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## Tibbikin

lizcateyes said:


> @Tibbikin what food are you feeding?


I'm feeding it the Aqueon betta food. When I first got the fish, it was eating every single pellet but as of two nights ago, it would reject the food and let it sink. It will swim up to it, take a bite then spit it out even though I have crushed it to tiny bits. I've also given it some bloodworms and it would still reject the food no matter the size.


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## Tress

Were those frozen bloodworms or freeze dried? Frozen is way better and they usually can't resist it. I'd also try to get some pellets with less filler in them than Aqueon, babies need a lot of protein. Try to get some Omega One or New Life Spectrum. You still might have to crush them a bit.


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## Tibbikin

I will do that as soon as I can! I gave him frozen worms.


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## Tress

Hmm, did he even try to eat the worms? Sometimes they are too big (lol my baby doesn't care, she sucks them out of the eye dropper faster than I can get them in the water). Either way, you're on the right path. That one might just be a bit stressed, eventually hunger will win out and it will eat again, just keep offering


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## lizcateyes

One of my little guys was being finicky, too. I've been doing a variety - frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms, and crushed pellets. I'd heard that hardboiled egg yolk is also good for them, so on a lark I tried some of that, and he/she gobbled it up. Something to consider?


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## Tress

Apparently beefheart can be used as well. Lean meats and certain seafoods can be used. You'd have to talk to breeder for more info though.


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## Tibbikin

Thanks so much! I will try what I can but so far, he still won't eat.


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## MaeLily

Hello everyone!

A few photo updates on my Petco baby Nana:

Exploring her plants and ceramic mock-plastic cup 






I love her little yellow fins!


She seems to be thriving. I have had her for a full month now :-D
Only a few days where she was rejecting her food, otherwise she has been an absolute delight. It came down to a battle of wills and eventually she started gobbling up her pellets again. I am also very happy with the Petco Livingston tank she is in. Very betta-friendly and also lovely in appearance.


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## ellekay

Where did you find that ceramic cup?! That is awesome!!

I love her fins too! The outline is very unique!

I'm still waiting on my local Petco to have more babies in stock, and the food...


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## anitsirk92

Got a better picture. Is it a boy like I thought?


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## Kisiel

anitsirk92 said:


> View attachment 464586
> 
> Got a better picture. Is it a boy like I thought?


Looks like a boy to me


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## lilnaugrim

Looks to be so


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## MaeLily

Hi ellekay,

Thank you, she's such a cute little thing  

The cup is from Christmas Tree Shop... I'm not sure if they are in Colorado, but it's an everything bargain type store. They stock all types of things from seasonal decorations to furniture to bath products. The cup is a food safe, dishwasher safe, microwave safe ceramic. I rinsed very well in hot water before adding it to the tank. 

As far as food for babies go, I feed mine crushed Omega One pellets. The same pellets that I feed my adult male. So far Nana is thriving, and growing fast too!


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## ellekay

I think they do have those stores here. If not, I'm sure I could locate one online. Love it!

I have some of the betta pellets, I guess if they ever get more babies, I can just crush those...Last time I went in, they had one thing of food, but no babies.


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## bubblesaurus

Right place to post this? I'm not sure, and this question may already have been answered somewhere in the last 200+ pages. 

I scored a deal on a 5 gallon tank and two of my baby bettas (have a feeling these two are girls) could use the upgrade. Using lilnaugrim's as a constant reference to taking care of them, my concern to a divided would be the growth hormone.

They would get 2.5 gallons each. Heater. No filter, but would grab a few live plants to help with ammonia buildup. Divider would be almost completely covered by plants/decor.

Would this work out? Both of these nuggets seem healthy and are still eating very well after a week and half in their new homes.


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## lilnaugrim

They should be okay but you'll have to definitely do daily water changes around 50% to get rid of that hormone, the more plants the better as well  Even if they can't technically see each other, they can still feel each other presence more or less and they send out sounds through the water that we can't hear, so it's goo to take away their visibility of each other but just know that it's not the only way they communicate ^_^


----------



## ellekay

I was _this close to getting a baby today but I have no where to put it! Stopped at the Petco that usually doesn't carry them so I wouldn't be tempted, and low and behold they had them! UGH! If I could talk my hubby into more tanks I would have bought 4 different fish today... (see my thread in Betta Pictures for details)

One of these days...._


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## ellekay

Okay, so I finally talked him into two of the fish (well, I got them whether it was okay or not  )

Here's our baby! Feeding frozen blood worms (diced as small as I possibly can). S/He is pretty young still, so it'll be exciting when it grows a bit more. Currently in a 1.5g Tetra Cube. Hoping for the best!


----------



## hestersu

I still have my little baby. It's been a struggle to keep her alive but I think we are over the hump finally. I've tried a bunch of different food and finally found one she would eat. Hikari Gold pellets that are super tiny. She wolf down 5 or 6. She's getting color now and she seems to be growing finally. I'll get a picture soon. Still no name. I didn't think she would live this long.


----------



## Alaura123

Oh my, I love his eyes!
Bettas with blue eyes always seem to fascinate me.
I am still wanting a baby betta, biut I am fully stocked, 6 fish!
I honestly don't know how it happened but seeing those baby bettas rotting at petco makes me furious


----------



## ellekay

Yeah, they didn't look blue when I got it today. I just wanted a white one - kind of a blank slate. Hoping s/he survives! Gave it blood worms tonight. I might try a crushed pellet tomorrow.


----------



## Veerie

One of my baby PetCo bettas  Boy or girl?


----------



## Tress

Looks female


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## lilnaugrim

Veerie said:


> One of my baby PetCo bettas  Boy or girl?


Male


----------



## BettaNamedHerbert

My PetCo sells "baby bettas", but they're really just the females they want to get rid of. :/ I couldn't help but grab one for my sorority, though. She's about the same size as the female I got in the regular betta section at PetSmart.


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## Tress

>.< gah, wrong again. I'm really bad at guessing genders.


----------



## ellekay

Upclose and personal during chow time! I was trying to get a close up of his/her fins, because I'm wondering if s/he is a crowntail... You can kind of see it on the dorsal fin, but it's more prominent on the tail.

Also, showing a black streak on the dorsal fin


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## lilnaugrim

I'd need to see all the fins to tell you if it is or isn't a CT baby.


----------



## ellekay

Might have to wait till s/he gets bigger than.. my camera only some times picks him/her up to focus on.


----------



## FrightyDog

My girlfriend baby grew this (now adult and in my tank) since the growth)


----------



## Nimble

That's a pretty bad tumor, and what looks like some pretty nasty fin-rot, from how things look in the picture. You need to start treatment for the fin rot immediately, if you want to save him. Though, with a tumor that size, it's only a matter of time. I'd put him down.


----------



## Veerie

Thanks lilnaugrim! I was leaning towards boy. The other three I got have egg spots and much more round bodies so I'm thinking girls


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Well, I did it. I got a baby tonight. Excited to see what s/he turns out like. 
Ellekay, mine kinda looks like yours. S/he is so small.

I can't get real good picks since it's my phone but here s/he is!!!!


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

I see red in the fins. Any guesses? How can I get a pic that could possibly tell sex?


----------



## MingThings

Could be Cambodian... Saw those on the shelves last shipment...

-Ming


----------



## ellekay

Ha! It does!! Mine has a narrower dorsal, but yeah! I get a hint of red in mine too. S/he has a black stripe in the dorsal, and one showing in the tail fin too.

Yay!! I figured out mine is about 5 weeks old (3/4" long) Can't wait to tell what it'll be sex/color wise!

They can be fish buddies


----------



## lilnaugrim

Bettalovinmomma said:


> Well, I did it. I got a baby tonight. Excited to see what s/he turns out like.
> Ellekay, mine kinda looks like yours. S/he is so small.
> 
> I can't get real good picks since it's my phone but here s/he is!!!!


Boy


----------



## JHatchett

Bettalovinmomma said:


> Well, I did it. I got a baby tonight. Excited to see what s/he turns out like.
> Ellekay, mine kinda looks like yours. S/he is so small.
> 
> I can't get real good picks since it's my phone but here s/he is!!!!


My boy Starbuck look a lot like that and he ended up being a Cambodian blue grizzle butterfly.


----------



## Schmoo

I finally caved and got a baby betta. While I'm not all-too-pleased that this has become a new "thing" (I hate that they're advertised as "the perfect first pet!"), I have to admit that I'm excited to nurture this tiny squirt and watch him/her grow. <3 









It's probably too early to tell, but can anyone help me identify tail type, and whether or not my new baby is an EE?


----------



## lilnaugrim

With your other picture on your last thread Shmoo, it was hard to tell but in this pic, I'm quite sure he's going to be a PKEE! Or at least hold the geno for EE since the pecs are already colored up! As usual for EE's he'll have Salamander coloration. Possible he'll still be long finned but it's all based on area; all our EE's here are long finned by my way but up further they're all PK's lol


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

lilnaugrim said:


> With your other picture on your last thread Shmoo, it was hard to tell but in this pic, I'm quite sure he's going to be a PKEE! Or at least hold the geno for EE since the pecs are already colored up! As usual for EE's he'll have Salamander coloration. Possible he'll still be long finned but it's all based on area; all our EE's here are long finned by my way but up further they're all PK's lol


What a find! So glad you snatched him up, and that you noticed the hidden gem that he is! $1.99 for such a treasure... I am going to have to scan these Petco babies that much closer... ;-)


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

JHatchett said:


> My boy Starbuck look a lot like that and he ended up being a Cambodian blue grizzle butterfly.


Do you have any then and now photos?


----------



## JHatchett

Bettalovinmomma said:


> Do you have any then and now photos?


Starbuck Before









This morning


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

Very cool  ^ ^


----------



## Schmoo

lilnaugrim said:


> With your other picture on your last thread Shmoo, it was hard to tell but in this pic, I'm quite sure he's going to be a PKEE! Or at least hold the geno for EE since the pecs are already colored up! As usual for EE's he'll have Salamander coloration. Possible he'll still be long finned but it's all based on area; all our EE's here are long finned by my way but up further they're all PK's lol


*squeals*  All the EEs I've seen at my Petco have been long-finned, but I'd prefer a PKEE. <3 



AlwaysAnimals said:


> What a find! So glad you snatched him up, and that you noticed the hidden gem that he is! $1.99 for such a treasure... I am going to have to scan these Petco babies that much closer... ;-)


Yeah! Never know what you'll find. ;]


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

JHatchett said:


> Starbuck Before
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This morning


Beautiful


----------



## JHatchett

Oopsie! Went to petco for plants came back with a baby. I really shouldn't keep my extra tanks running.


















I'm pretty sure I got myself a little DT boy.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Oopsie. Lol. Darn this baby thread. ;P

I'm no good with sexing but definitely looks like a double tail. There was a DT there when I bought this little baby that I may just have to go back for :shocker: Someone stop me lol.

ETA: Any names picked out?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yuppers, that's a little boy all right!


----------



## JHatchett

Bettalovinmomma said:


> ETA: Any names picked out?


Yeah. His name is Proteus.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Nice. 

How long have you had Starbuck?


----------



## JHatchett

I got him September 26th


----------



## Schmoo

Aw, how cute! Look at his wittle tails. <3


----------



## Schmoo

I finally got some decent shots of his/her other side (his/her right fin is much more transparent than the other pectoral). Is Revan too young to sex still? S/he was about double the size of the other Petco babies.

Sorry if the pics are sideways. I'm uploading from my phone. >___<


----------



## Kisiel

JHatchett said:


> Yeah. His name is Proteus.


Sounds like protein lol. 


Schmoo, that's a gorgeous little baby! I really like the colours  I'd say it's a male, but I'm not entirely sure. Better to wait until someone more experienced has a look!


----------



## lilnaugrim

It has a female-ish vibe to it but I still want to stick with male for little Revan, just don't hold me to it lol. But the tail looks like it's still growing out to me, the eyes are kind of in the middle so sometimes it's really obvious it's a male because they usually have really big eyes versus the female who has smaller more dainty eyes but your baby is literally right in the middle lol! Guess we'll have to truly wait and see, I love the name for him though! Good gender neutral ;-)


----------



## Schmoo

lilnaugrim said:


> It has a female-ish vibe to it but I still want to stick with male for little Revan, just don't hold me to it lol. But the tail looks like it's still growing out to me, the eyes are kind of in the middle so sometimes it's really obvious it's a male because they usually have really big eyes versus the female who has smaller more dainty eyes but your baby is literally right in the middle lol! Guess we'll have to truly wait and see, I love the name for him though! Good gender neutral ;-)


It gives me a female-ish vibe, too (I'm hoping for a girl). I don't know if this is accurate or not, but many of the females I've seen tend to bow their bodies like in the first pic I posted of Revan in this thread. And thanks!  It took us awhile to name this one. With all our other fish naming came so easy, but then again we knew gender from the get-go.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Males will do that too, it's no real indication lol. Only the ovaries are a true way to sex, every other observation is wrong half the time ;-)


----------



## Schmoo

lilnaugrim said:


> Males will do that too, it's no real indication lol. Only the ovaries are a true way to sex, every other observation is wrong half the time ;-)


Yeah. xD; I keep trying to see if I can spot ovaries, but the little stinker won't hold still. So, the Waiting Game it is!


----------



## Tress

Have you tried shining a flashlight from behind her/him to see through them? My baby was kinda the same colour and I found it hard to tell (they also never hold still lol).

Speaking of her..


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Pretty girl! That last pic looks like a little shark.


----------



## Tress

Lol she is a little shark. She nips my fingers and hands constantly when I'm doing stuff in the tank and she will jump over an inch out of the water after my fingers. She's my first female and I'm smitten with her. Hilariously she is bigger (in body) than one of my males.


----------



## JHatchett

Kisiel said:


> Sounds like protein lol.


Proteus is the name of the early greek god of oceans and river. My boys(except Starbuck) have mythology themed names.


----------



## Schmoo

*Tress*, I've been trying, but she's all over the place. >w<

And Zip is so cute. <3 I second BLM: she does look like a shark. xD


----------



## Tress

Schmoo said:


> *Tress*, I've been trying, but she's all over the place. >w<
> 
> And Zip is so cute. <3 I second BLM: she does look like a shark. xD


Haha it's ok, I've had Zip for a month and only now can I finally see her ovaries and she still don't hold still for long. Try getting your hubby to distract her and you shine the light, or vise versa.

Hehe thanks. Lol imagine if she was a DTVT? That would be even sharkier!


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

Tress said:


> Lol she is a little shark. She nips my fingers and hands constantly when I'm doing stuff in the tank and she will jump over an inch out of the water after my fingers. She's my first female and I'm smitten with her. Hilariously she is bigger (in body) than one of my males.


One of my Petco babies also ended up being a female (Lava). And I just love her! I honestly never would have just picked up a female at a pet store, so I'm glad for the chance to have a "mystery" baby and it ended up being her! She's a doll!

As for the body size thing, it's so true! My male, Flash, who is another Petco baby that I got around the same time as I got Lava, is smaller! Sure, the tail and fin growth helps make him look bigger, but when it comes down to the actual body, he's a slender thing and she's nice and stocky! lol

Here's a pic. Flash, male, (blue Cambodian), on the left. Lava, female (red) on the right:


----------



## lilnaugrim

Schmoo, you can put it in a cup like the ones they come in and feed them right before you hold the flash light behind and either just look or take a picture, that should help you  That way, it's a more confined area at least.


----------



## Schmoo

lilnaugrim said:


> Schmoo, you can put it in a cup like the ones they come in and feed them right before you hold the flash light behind and either just look or take a picture, that should help you  That way, it's a more confined area at least.


I was going to try doing that this evening. I have to change its tank water anyway, so... :3


----------



## TiffanyP

I'm DYING to get a baby, I just can't commit to the water changes right now  So I'm living vicariously through your photos and stories!


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Went to get some dog food at Petco and saw this little baby. Doing some switching of tanks around and getting s/he if they are still there on Monday. There was 9 left there when I got 'little fish' and I think all nine tonight were the same. I kinda want to find a female but I *think* this may be a boy?

ETA: sorry it's sideways


----------



## lilnaugrim

It actually looks female to me but I'd need a better picture, preferably with light behind her showing through at the camera to see if we can spot the ovaries.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Nice. When I go tomorrow, I'll get a better pic. Thanks!


----------



## ellekay

Baby Chi has been with us 8 days now! It has taken me that long to get a good profile shot. Starting to color up a bit and growing like a weed.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Pretty pretty. Little Fish may have grown a tiny bit and still hasn't gotten much color in the body. Still red in the fins though.


----------



## lilnaugrim

ellekay, I don't recall if I told you the sex yet or not but it's definitely male :-D


----------



## ellekay

You hadn't yet lil, but I was guessing that's what he was. Hubby thinks it's a girl, but I told him I doubted that. Still waiting to see what he'll turn out to be (tail and color type). His fins are reddening up nicely, and it still has that iridescent look at the base of all his fins and clear at all the tips.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh, he's Cambodian and he's a VT


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Newest pic of the little one. We've had him a week today.


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

Today marks two months since I brought home my first baby betta! So to commemorate Flash's 2-month Gotcha-versary, here are some comparisson pics.

10/16/2014 FIRST DAY HOME:









12/16/2014 TODAY:









Pardon his round little tummy, he had just finished eating


----------



## Schmoo

Today marks Revan's first week home with us, and s/he's grown like a weed!


----------



## lilnaugrim

It's a little girl! :-D Second picture gives it all away :-D her anal fin healed up really nicely!!


----------



## Schmoo

lilnaugrim said:


> It's a little girl! :-D Second picture gives it all away :-D her anal fin healed up really nicely!!


Yay!  I've had my suspicions that Revan's female. I've been checking for ovaries occasionally, and I'm pretty sure I've spotted them several times now. 

And it has! Still has a little ways to go, but it's definitely getting better. <3


----------



## yogosans14

Im getting one of these tommorow 

Gonna buy it a 1 gallon mini bow


----------



## ellekay

Petco has their Tetra 1.5 cubes on sale for $20 through Christmas I believe...Just a thought 

I really want another, but gotta get fish moved around...


----------



## ellekay

Baby Chi update:
He's been living at our house 1.5 weeks! That's longer than his predicesors combined . He's starting to get a lot more color and his fine are getting longer too. I just love his black lips and black beard  and his blue eyes. 



This is with the flash on, which helps to see a bit more of his coloring. It isn't that green in real life, but more of a pinky flesh color.


----------



## KatieM95

My tank will be ready sometime next week. I'm thinking of getting a baby betta, they are very small at my petco, smaller than a dime. I am afraid it 
would get lost in the tank and not be able to find food when its time to eat... 
It would be nice to see the baby grow and evolve though.  
Probably won't get a baby though.


----------



## Tress

KatieM95 said:


> My tank will be ready sometime next week. I'm thinking of getting a baby betta, they are very small at my petco, smaller than a dime. I am afraid it would get lost in the tank and not be able to find food when its time to eat...
> It would be nice to see the baby grow and evolve though.
> Probably won't get a baby though.


The babies require more care and can be very fragile. If you do want to pursue the idea of getting one be sure to read up on their care (there is a great care thread on this site) and have everything ready  

If it's your first betta (or first in a while) I'd likely go for an adult, just less to go wrong. But I'm sure you already knew all of that


----------



## KatieM95

I read the PetCo Baby Betta Care, I'm not 100% confident in my parenting skills. I will get a grown up betta. Maybe one day though. Maybe.


----------



## Tress

Ehh. I'd avoid any care sheets made by pet stores. They are often riddled with misinformation. I'm not sure what that one is like, but here is a 100% reliable one http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## ellekay

I think they meant the thread that Lil put together. That's the name of it anyways...I know I read that like the Bible before and after I got Chi.


----------



## Tress

Oops xD that's what I get from replying when half asleep. Sorry about that Katie


----------



## ellekay

I could see how it's confusing, but I know that thread by heart basically, so that was the first thing I thought of when I read it too 

Get more sleep


----------



## KatieM95

I was talking about the thread here. Np Tress


----------



## yogosans14

I bough one!!! But im so upset because I bought a 1.7 gallon tank for it and it has a crack in it!!!

Will be taking the tank back tommorow


----------



## yogosans14

Heres my girl or boy waiting to go in his or her new home


----------



## BlueLacee

They are so cute, and I'm glad that people who knwo whats hey are doing are buying them and giving them a good home, but I'm pissed because the store even sells them


----------



## Tress

BlueLacee said:


> They are so cute, and I'm glad that people who knwo whats hey are doing are buying them and giving them a good home, but I'm pissed because the store even sells them


+1

It's hard not to think of all the other ones that ended up in unheated bowls in the hands of a child because people thought they were "cute" without knowing any of the work involved.


----------



## KatieM95

BlueLacee said:


> They are so cute, and I'm glad that people who knwo whats hey are doing are buying them and giving them a good home, but I'm pissed because the store even sells them


My petco has a metal thing, its like a flat thing with a long handle, used to carry boxes. The thing is stacked with a ton on baby betta fish. Probably like 200 at least.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Wow. Mine has 10 at the most and the same ones have been there for a couple of weeks. The first baby I got looked so small and helpless, I couldn't leave him there. I saw him on a Sunday, thought about him all day Monday while doing research on care and went back for him Tuesday. This Tuesday will be 2 weeks that we've had him and he seems to be doing well. Saw another baby last Saturday and told myself that if he was still there this past Thursday, I'd get him/her. Went and s/he was still there so I brought him home. My Petco only does wc's and feeds on Monday and the water looked like it hadn't been cleaned in 2 weeks. S/he was so clamped. I couldn't even tell if it was the same one but brought him home anyway. The little bugger is so fast it's hard to get a good pic.

This is Rocket. S/he has blue fins without the flash.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Only pic I could get with light behind. Don't think its enough light or right way though


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

And with the flash, s/he looks green.


----------



## KatieM95

Bettalovinmomma said:


> And with the flash, s/he looks green.


he/she is very pretty, you must be taking good care of him/her


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Thanks. I hate that they sell them too but if I can save a couple from a miserable life or even death, I'll try.

When I'm at Petco and see the babies or adults, I want to post a paper telling people what these little helpless things need not actually to just survive but also thrive.

This is Rocket in his/her cup at Petco the day I brought him home.


----------



## KatieM95

Bettalovinmomma said:


> Thanks. I hate that they sell them too but if I can save a couple from a miserable life or even death, I'll try.
> 
> When I'm at Petco and see the babies or adults, I want to post a paper telling people what these little helpless things need not actually to just survive but also thrive.
> 
> This is Rocket in his/her cup at Petco the day I brought him home.


wow what a difference!


----------



## lilnaugrim

@Bettalovinmomma, it's a boy turquoise VT ^_^


----------



## anitsirk92

I've had my baby, Cosmo, since November 26th and since then he's built at least 3 or 4 bubblenests. Does this mean that he's mature and I just chose a baby that's a little older than the rest? Or do babies do that? My other two took much longer to mature.


----------



## lilnaugrim

It all depends. Usually that means they are sexually mature, doesn't mean they are _actually_ matured since as you know, humans sexually mature in their teens but they don't really mature until middle twenties (and some, never! haha).


----------



## anitsirk92

Haha very true. I guess my question is: Is Cosmo still producing the growth stunting hormone? Should I still be doing water changes everyother day?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Usually you can slow down a little at that point, I'd still keep a minimum of twice a week, three times better still. They still excrete it up until around 3-4 months as far as I'm aware, each fish is different I believe. If they are alone as far as babies go (like a single baby not in sight of another baby) they won't excrete as much of the hormone since they aren't trying to compete for food like they do in the spawn tank where there are plenty more of them. So he should be safe.


----------



## TripleChrome

This one is not from Petco, but Walmart. Walmart's where I live sell baby bettas, just like Petco. Here is my little baby. Sorry if the pic ends up big-my tablet takes pictures too big.


----------



## Schmoo

Bettalovinmomma said:


> And with the flash, s/he looks green.


So pretty!


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

lilnaugrim said:


> @Bettalovinmomma, it's a boy turquoise VT ^_^


Thank you. *Was* kinda hopin for a female but a male is perfectly fine. He's so pretty already. 



Schmoo said:


> So pretty!


Thanks


----------



## Schmoo

So, I'm having a problem with my Petco baby... The past few days she's been refusing to eat. She's not refusing outright because she'll still eat a pellet or two (and by pellet I mean pellet crumb), but she's definitely not nearly as voracious of an eater as she was. I first thought it was because she had become a snob and only wanted the frozen blood worms I started feeding her, but tonight I tried feeding her FBWs (to test that theory), and she spit that out, too. She seems perfectly fine otherwise -- no change in her coloring (besides her natural coloring up), personality, mannerisms, etc, and nothing about her tank has changed. I change about 85% of her water every day, and add API Tap Water Conditioner. Sometimes I add Prime or Stress Coat, too. Her tank stays at a steady 81 degrees.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Just keep trying to feed her different things. Is it possible to get any live foods around like brine shrimp, black worms, or anything? Being that it's live, maybe it will tempt her more that it's wiggly. Always take out uneaten food of course.


----------



## ellekay

As soon as I fed Chi brine shrimp (granted they were frozen, but thawed when fed to him) he snubbed everything else!


----------



## Schmoo

lilnaugrim said:


> Just keep trying to feed her different things. Is it possible to get any live foods around like brine shrimp, black worms, or anything? Being that it's live, maybe it will tempt her more that it's wiggly. Always take out uneaten food of course.


Live's not really an option. :c I did try wiggling the FBWs though. I hold it with a pair of tweezers, and then wiggle it around. I hold half below the surface of the water, so, in theory, it should like a live worm.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Schmoo said:


> Live's not really an option. :c I did try wiggling the FBWs though. I hold it with a pair of tweezers, and then wiggle it around. I hold half below the surface of the water, so, in theory, it should like a live worm.


Is bumping the heat up to 82-84 an option? In theory, faster metabolism will mean she's hungrier quicker and may accept food sooner.


----------



## Schmoo

lilnaugrim said:


> Is bumping the heat up to 82-84 an option? In theory, faster metabolism will mean she's hungrier quicker and may accept food sooner.


No. >_< She has a Hydor pre-set. For lighting I have a small desk lamp, and that will sometimes bring the temperature up a degree, and we keep a space heater going in our room almost constantly. I could try wrapping her tank...

Though, on a more positive note, despite a lot of things, her heater does stay at a constant 81. So, there's that lol.


----------



## nicole7125

Here's my little boy. The first photo is the first day I got him, which was march 7th.
It's super blurry, sorry.  but yeah. He's grown so much. I got him at petco.


Also my photo 
<--- is him when he was younger. Not sure when it was though.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

^^ He's pretty.


----------



## ellekay

Baby chi built his first bubble nest!


----------



## ellekay

He was pretty proud of himself.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Nice! He's really grown.


----------



## TripleChrome

Here are more pics of my baby betta. I haven't named him/her her because I am not sure of the gender yet.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Second baby I got Thursday is really starting to color up. 

Rocket on his 1st night home


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

And tonight


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

TripleChrome said:


> Here are more pics of my baby betta. I haven't named him/her her because I am not sure of the gender yet.


Looks like my guy did.


----------



## ellekay

Bettalovinmomma said:


> Nice! He's really grown.


Yes he has! Still battling a bit of swim bladder issues, but nothing too bad. I've lowered the water and am keeping an eye on him. He flared at me tonight, without a mirror.


----------



## rubbie5837

I saw some at the petco in my town. It was soooo sad. They were so small that a few were barley visible. And their tiny cups were so filthy. I wish I could have bought all of them (there was at least 30+) They even had a full grown on on display in one of those crazy betta in a plant vase kind of deals. I wish there was a way to boycott them. I even asked (knowing the answer was completely wrong) if the fish were fine like that. The worker told me yes. Then I said "aren't bettas carnivorous? And she said only if they are fed that way. Absolutely crazy.


----------



## yogosans14

My girl/boy in his heated 1.2 gallon tank 

Idk what to time her/he yet


----------



## bubblesaurus

So my two babies are very slippery about getting their photo taken. So still don't completely know their gender.

I found a bubble nest in on one side of their divided tank. Does this confirm that Starbuck is a boy? And does this mean he isn't a baby anymore? I've only had him for about a month.


----------



## lizcateyes

Any guesses on what my 2 babies might be?


----------



## AlwaysAnimals

With the holidays, I don't think I ever updated the progress on my second Petco baby for her two-month Gotchaversary! I got Lava on 10/20/2014, and now today on 12/26/2014, it's been two months plus almost a week since I brought her home!

Here she is on day one, 10/20/2014









And here she is tonight! 12/26/2014


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

She's beautiful. My daughter wants an all red fish and I'm torn between getting a male or female.


----------



## katydidmischief

Despite my insistence that I would NEVER buy a baby betta... I bought a baby betta over a week ago. S/he is doing very well-color in all fins and body, growing perceptibly, eating well, active. I'm guessing s/he was ~6 weeks when I brought him/her home.

I currently have him/her in a breeder net in my 20gL due to better regulation of temp/params, filtration, and the fact that I got rid of my nano setups. (Living in ~210sqft meant giving up some of my supplies and I never figured on going back to small tanks once I got the 20.)

My concern is that while the breeder net has been outfitted with 3 small silk plants+the ones that came with the net, a palmful of gravel, and s/he seems fine, I do have an adult male in the tank. He's very mellow, doesn't flare at the baby or even seem to notice the baby at all to be honest. He occasionally swims under the net to investigate the java moss' movement, but that's about the extent of his interest in that area of the tank.

Would contact with an adult male be detrimental to growth? Should I be hustling to get a nano tank set up or can I leave the baby in the breeder net until s/he reaches maturity and get him/her settled in to their own tank then? I'm worried about maintaining a nano setup again, but I don't want to do something that'll harm the baby either.


----------



## lilnaugrim

The adult should be fine but the baby will still view the adult as competition and excrete the hormone, so it will eventually backfire on her again. s/he doesn't need a nano set up though, but keeping her in the net will stunt her growth as well; that's shown to happen in livebearer fry as well when they're kept in the breeder net/box too long as well.


----------



## katydidmischief

Thank you. I'll have to get the supplies gathered again for a second setup.


----------



## jostoli

I also ended up taking home one of these babies after seeing them several times at Petco. I've had bettas for years, but never tried raising one from nearly the fry stage. Got Speck here, and he/she (thinking she, not sure?) is now happy in a heated 2.5 gal tank with plenty of cover. 

It went from drab striped grey to showing more color in 24hrs once at the right temp, and being fed some nice juicy brine shrimp and bloodworms. It's just under an inch, prob 6-7wks old? and I'm thinking female, but if anyone has thoughts- please weigh in, I'm really curious!

My husband and I went to the store to get a baby betta, and though they had a few bigger, this one just was totally doing the feisty betta fishy-eye-contact thing that we both ended up voting to take it home.

I've been enjoying taking pics and will continue to do so as it matures. Just wondering what sex.. earlier today I was seeing vertical bars, but those have went away this eve and back to horizontal stripe. Tiny thing though..


----------



## lilnaugrim

Looks like a darling little male VT to me ^_^


----------



## Schmoo

I'm happy to report that Revan is doing much better with eating. She's still not the greedy gobbler she was when we first brought her home, but she's doing muuuch better. Revan has been with us for two and a half weeks now! New Years Eve will make three weeks. :3 I figured I'd post a little update here and see if anyone (Lil, most likely haha) can tell me anything else about my little princess (tail type, etc).

She has blue lips, and I love them. <3








I accidentally used my phone's flash at first. She did not care for that.








She's typically a really pretty, dark blue, buuut I stressed her out with my flash. >_<
















I'm still hoping for an EEPK...really just an EE. Thoughts?


----------



## lilnaugrim

(lol you all know me too well, sexing, coloration ID, and fin ID are my favorite things of all time on here XD)

She looks like a little PKEE to me! Her anal fin is nice and even (for the most part), it's not hugely slanted like a VT would be. She could be regular HM (though she doesn't reach the 180, she could still have the geno) but she only has 2 rays on average which tells me she's most likely PK :-D

And coloration is Salamander type as most EE's are. She most likely won't be full EE, but she may grow into it eventually! Pectorals are the slowest growing fin so there's still time yet ^_^


----------



## ellekay

She's lovely Schmoo! I love lipstick on fish  Elway has blue lips as well!

Jostoli, if Speck (adorable name btw) is just under an inch, s/he is 6 weeks. at 3/4" average they are 5 weeks. My baby Chi was 3/4" when I brought him home, so 5 weeks. At almost a month later, he's well over an inch and coloring up nicely.


----------



## TripleChrome

I took the lid off of Noel's tank and shined a lamp on her and this is the color that she turned out to be. Anybody know if she will get to be this exact color? Because she is only this color when the light is on her.


----------



## lilnaugrim

She's a turquoise VT with red wash; the normal petstore type


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Schmoo, she is just lovely! 




jostoli said:


> I also ended up taking home one of these babies after seeing them several times at Petco. I've had bettas for years, but never tried raising one from nearly the fry stage. Got Speck here, and he/she (thinking she, not sure?) is now happy in a heated 2.5 gal tank with plenty of cover.
> 
> It went from drab striped grey to showing more color in 24hrs once at the right temp, and being fed some nice juicy brine shrimp and bloodworms. It's just under an inch, prob 6-7wks old? and I'm thinking female, but if anyone has thoughts- please weigh in, I'm really curious!
> 
> My husband and I went to the store to get a baby betta, and though they had a few bigger, this one just was totally doing the feisty betta fishy-eye-contact thing that we both ended up voting to take it home.
> 
> I've been enjoying taking pics and will continue to do so as it matures. Just wondering what sex.. earlier today I was seeing vertical bars, but those have went away this eve and back to horizontal stripe. Tiny thing though..


Sorta looks like my Rocket when we got him. He's turned blue/turquoise with a dark body. Looks totally different with the flash on though.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Figured I'd do an update on my babies.

Rocket: We've had him since the 18th. Here's a pic from the other night before a wc.


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

He seems to be growing like a weed. 

And with the flash, he looks totally different:

ETA: sorry it's sideways.


----------



## TerriGtoo

ellekay said:


> Petco has their Tetra 1.5 cubes on sale for $20 through Christmas I believe...Just a thought
> 
> I really want another, but gotta get fish moved around...


 
It's too bad that they don't stock the Tetra 3g cube. I've gone to mine several time asking about them (hoping for a different answer) and it's always the same. "Sorry, we don't carry the 3g."
When asked why they just shrug their shoulders.
:roll:


----------



## Schmoo

lilnaugrim said:


> (lol you all know me too well, sexing, coloration ID, and fin ID are my favorite things of all time on here XD)
> 
> She looks like a little PKEE to me! Her anal fin is nice and even (for the most part), it's not hugely slanted like a VT would be. She could be regular HM (though she doesn't reach the 180, she could still have the geno) but she only has 2 rays on average which tells me she's most likely PK :-D
> 
> And coloration is Salamander type as most EE's are. She most likely won't be full EE, but she may grow into it eventually! Pectorals are the slowest growing fin so there's still time yet ^_^





ellekay said:


> She's lovely Schmoo! I love lipstick on fish  Elway has blue lips as well!


Thank you! :3 I love her lipstick, too. Whenever I see a betta with it, I can't help but giggle. It's like they're giving the camera the pouty face. xD


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Rocket's little bubblenest. I noticed it before one of the wc's the other night, since then he hasn't built another, yet.


----------



## jostoli

Well, Speck has been eating like any betta-pig will, and no issues.. save for big-belly syndrome. I'm learning new things about raising small bettas though. The aggression stripes are instantaneous when you make them flare (it was needed imo, to make it poop, and had the desired effect  .) Amazing going from horizontal to tiger-striped in less than 30 seconds.. 

Otherwise, little Speck is doing wonderfully so far, and thriving. I'm kinda hooked on the crap-shoot that is raising fry to adult-hood, at least in the hands of someone that actually provides a good home for these fishies. Granted, I would love to raise a batch from scratch, but also don't want to consider culling or all the other involved things that come with breeding- so in on one hand, the "baby betta" Petco money-maker thing does have it's place with those who have kept bettas well for years. It's still not "best practice" but..


----------



## chieza186

Hi, 

I'm new to the forum but I have been using the advise here religiously since I purchased my Petco Baby bettas on a whim. I just couldn't bear to leave these babies in the cold dirty water they were being sold in so I fell for the gimmick and took three home. When I first got them they were less than the size of a quarter. Now it has been about 6 months and yet they have barely grown. 

I thought I was doing the right thing with feeding baby brine shrimp, hikari biogold, thawed frozen daphnia and bloodworms about 3x a day and changing each of their heated and filtered 1.5-2.5 gallon tanks 2x weekly because of the hormones. My biggest one has been rehomed as he seems to have developed "normally." The other 2 that I have seem to look like babies still after 6 months of getting them (maybe around 8 months of age).

My problem is that I think the poor conditions at the beginning may have affected my male. He is only about an inch long and can't even tell if he's a half-moon or delta because he does not flare at all. He voracious appetite and seems happy but he looks like he can't swim normally. I have linked a video to explain what I mean. 

http://youtu.be/e01o2pvCsac

Can someone tell me if this swimming is normal? Is it an effect of being a Petco baby, because I thought I was doing all the right things by them? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!


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## jewelqueen17

Chieza, you may want to start your own thread in the Betta Diseases and Emergencies instead... I don't think he is stunted. He seems more delta-ish, halfmoons will be 180 degrees of tail fin though we will need a flare picture to be sure. Speaking of that, some bettas just will not flare and never will, it is not worrying. I won't comment on the swimming other than the fact that he looks fine to me, but I am only three months into bettas and do not feel like I can give proper advice pertaining to health. Please start your own thread like I mentioned earlier if you want more thorough help.


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## lizcateyes

Chieza, 

Like jewelqueen17 says, some bettas are "calmer" than others and rarely flare. 

I've had bettas for 10 years, and to me it looks like maybe your filter current is too stong? I've noticed with my boys with longer fins, a less strong current helps them swim easier.


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## ellekay

I have that same tank for my baby (almost 2 months old) and I baffled it with a piece of filter sponge and fishing line. Does that guy have problems staying level? My baby did, as he has a swim bladder disorder. I have lowered his water, and am slowly raising it as I see him do better.

But yeah, start your own thread in the disease tab.


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## chieza186

Thanks so much everyone for the reply. I will definitely baffle the filter but even without the filter, it looks like the little guy has trouble staying level. Another poster suggested maybe it is swim bladder that may be from a genetic defect perhaps caused earlier in life. I have treated all the babies that I got 6 months ago similarly…this little guy just seems to have trouble swimming and is much smaller than the other male. I have to admit it just adds character and doesn't prevent him from being a spunky little guy.


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## ellekay

Does sound like swim bladder, but may be something he can overcome. I'd still start a thread of your own.


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## MoonShadow

Alright y'all!! Meet Peppermint! First baby I've had in a long time! Saw him/her and couldn't resist, though there was a black marble baby there that I might go back for! It was hard choosing between them!! Pepper is living in a heated 2.5 gallon mini bow, s/he had some brine shrimp tonight and gobbled them up!


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## Sadist

What a cute baby!

I bought a baby a few weeks ago. I went to the store intending to buy an adult fish to replace one that passed over Thanksgiving weekend. I bonded with this baby one right away. He was the only survival of his batch (only one on the shelf) and was just starting to show a bit of turquoise shimmer. I shouldn't have taken him, but I was smitten as soon as he swam over and did the food beg dance.

I took him home and got him settled into his home, and he seemed to love it! Unfortunately, the thorough cleaning I did of the tank wasn't enough, and he got sick and died. I feel really horrible, especially after he managed to live through the PetCo experience.


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## katydidmischief

Thanks to the advice of those in this thread, Eliot Ness was moved to a 2.5g Minibow and has continued to thrive.

My boy today:


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## jostoli

Update on Speck: doing great so far, showing more color and growing (and eating very well!) Feeding strictly frozen, with occasional Nutrafin Max flakes. Edit: still has it's racing stripes, but it was flaring at the camera lens and got it's bars on because of the stimulation.. hard to get pics when they are this small and fast, and aggressive!











one week ago:


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## jostoli

MoonShadow said:


> Alright y'all!! Meet Peppermint!



Cutie! I'm officially smitten with the baby bettas..


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## katydidmischief

Everyone's babies are adorable. I'm enjoying watching the progress pics.

And *Sadist*, I'm sorry for your loss.


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## Tress

Such adorable babies!

My little Zip has grown up quite a bit, she's almost as big as my smallest male (counting his tail!). She's quite the tomboy, full of spunk, and has quite the little beard. She's about 4 months old now, feels like I've had her longer though!


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## jostoli

Question for you guys: how often would you do a 100% change of a 2.5g tank for a baby, about 1"? Mine is heated to 80*, and plenty of cover.. I was planning on every 4-5 days. Feeding frozen food 3-4x a day- shrimp, bloodworms and daphnia, with occasional flake.


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## lilnaugrim

No real need for a 100% change, just do a 25-50% change daily or every other day for best results in your baby. I realize it sounds like a lot but that's one of the "joys" of raising these little tykes, otherwise, you get a stunted baby and you don't want that.

Try not to feed flakes, it's harder to control and can lead to bloating. Instead, if you can, just get New Life Spectrum Small Fish formula for a nice tiny pellet or Omega One, you can grind the pellets between your fingers to make them smaller or split them with your fingernail or whatever. Frozen foods are great though, do more like 2-3 times a day for less food waste.


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## jostoli

lilnaugrim said:


> No real need for a 100% change, just do a 25-50% change daily or every other day for best results in your baby. I realize it sounds like a lot but that's one of the "joys" of raising these little tykes, otherwise, you get a stunted baby and you don't want that.
> 
> Try not to feed flakes, it's harder to control and can lead to bloating. Instead, if you can, just get New Life Spectrum Small Fish formula for a nice tiny pellet or Omega One, you can grind the pellets between your fingers to make them smaller or split them with your fingernail or whatever. Frozen foods are great though, do more like 2-3 times a day for less food waste.


Thanks, for the most part, it's frozen brine shrimp, bloodworm, and daphnia.. 3-4x a day, the Nutrafin max flakes were just to see if they would be accepted... and yep, no picky eater here. I try to feed my bettas mostly just frozen stuff, no pellets/flake. They are a bit spoiled. I will start doing partial water changes more often, instead of 100% every 4 or so days on my 2.5. 1st baby betta, a bit different than an adult in a 5gal.


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, babies are a lot different. Have you read through the care thread yet? http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## jostoli

Thanks! I've had bettas on and off for more than 20yrs now.. and this is my first time with the 'baby' thing. So far, happy betta- and hopefully as long-lived as my previous ones. At one point I was considering breeding, then very quickly realized I couldn't (and did not want to) devote that much time/space/effort into it. I am happy with the tanks I have


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, breeding is quite a chore! I've got a young spawn myself! Almost two weeks old at this point ^_^ I've raised plenty of PetCo babies though, I think a total of around seven? Some made it and some didn't. I have my current baby though; Pierce, he's....let's see...January so he's nearing a year old in total I think? I think I got him around August IIRC, he's still going great though! ^_^


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## ellekay

Hey lil, when can we slow down the water changes? I've been doing every other day (around 75%) sometimes every 2 days, when I get too busy with the toddler.


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## lilnaugrim

Technically when they become sexually mature around 3-4 months of age for a normal baby betta spawn. But these guys have been through much more trauma and need to be kept on water changes honestly until they're full adults around 4-5 months of age preferably. Each baby will be different, I was able to stop around 3 months for my DT baby since he was full grown at that point and no longer excreting the hormone. Sometimes though, for some babies, it needs to be done longer depending on how long they spent at the store, what size tank they're kept in during this period and some other things.


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## lizcateyes

Lil, could you please help me figure out if my babies are male or female? if they're girls, my plan's to put them together in a community tank, but I don't want to risk it until I'm sure. These pics are from my phone, I can try to get clearer ones for you but I'm not sure what to look for to help tell the genders:


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## ellekay

Thanks lil. Chi is making a bubble nest daily at this point. He's still in the 1.5g but once I get the 29g up I plan to put him and Elway in the 10g divided. We still seem to be struggling with some swim bladder issues so I might move him to the 3G for a bit after I move Elway to the 10g split. Was just trying to figure out moving everybody around and if chi was ready for it.


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## lilnaugrim

Does look like two females, the first one I'm a little uncertain about but the second is definitely long-fin female.


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## myexplodingcat

They look like girls to me, too, with their big round bellies. But those are really impressive fins if they are girls!


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## Tress

Liz, you can't just do two females even if there are other fish. IF you plan to put females together you need a min of 6 to even out their aggression. I suggest you read up on sororities first, they aren't for the faint of heart. They can fail even with perfect conditions for expert keepers.


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## lizcateyes

Thanks you Lil! The white one I was pretty sure was female, but the first one had me uncertain and thought might be better to have a more expert pair of eyes look at it 

myexplodingcat, I've been very impressed with how they've both grown up before my eyes! I was hoping they'd be girls so I can get a sorority up again 

Tress, I've been doing the research on sororities for a bit, and everything I've seen says it helps to have the females be relatively close in age if they can't come from the same spawn. I brought these 2 home on the same day, hoping they'd be girls because at least they'd likely be close in age even if not the same spawn, and I'd been wanting to try to rescue some PetCo babies, too. The previous sorority setup I had had 3 girls in a 10 gallon that had come from the same spawn, which had been doing well (2+ yrs) until one passed away. I've taken the 2 girls out and they're in separate tanks now because they started fighting, but I miss seeing the tank with girls. My plan's to have these 2 go in with those 2, and my LFS usually has good healthy girls to make sure it's enough in there to spread any aggression, but I'm totally prepared to separate them if worst comes to worst.


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## Fin Fancier

As of tomorrow my lil one will have been home 3 months . He made a proper bubble nest to celebrate.


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## Bettalovinmomma

New pics of the babies:

Rocket. Brought him home Dec 18th. Making bubbles nests almost daily now.
Seems to be growing steadily.


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## Bettalovinmomma

And Little Fish

Could eat 24/7 if you let him. Hasn't grown as much as I thought he would have by now. But he is slowly getting bigger. And his fins seem to get more red everyday.


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## lilnaugrim

Ahhh Little Fish is a female! Look at those ovaries!! :-D


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## Bettalovinmomma

lilnaugrim said:


> Ahhh Little Fish is a female! Look at those ovaries!! :-D


Really? ^_^ I've been calling him a he cause that's what you guessed initially. 

Hmmm. Guess I need to rethink the mates I put in my divided tanks, lol. She may end up with a 5.5 gal all to herself.


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, I still get it wrong sometimes haha.

Females can be in divided tanks with males, just make the dividers nice and tight/impermeable.


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## Bettalovinmomma

It's np. I'm excited it's a girl! Explains why she's not getting real big! 

Ok. Maybe I'll still be able to do it then. I did the soffit divider like givemethatfish did. I have the channels glued to the sides of the tank. I just posted a thread on cycling. Can I start a a new 10 gallon and cycle it with the babies in it?


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## Schmoo

Today marks Revan's 4th week home with us! The 10th will be her official 1st month "birthday." x3 She's come a long ways from the little striped squirt we brought home from Petco.


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## jostoli

Just posting a quick update on Speck- he(?) is doing very well. I took some pics tonight and made a quick collage to show the change in 11 days, from coming home in a cup at under an inch, to just over, and starting to really show color!


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## Minty1612

I live in the UK so no PetCo here - though from what I can see I'm glad about it! Clearly these Bettas are too young to survive in inexperienced hands, poor things. Why don't fish ever go under the welfare act for animals? I got my Betta from PetsAtHome a week ago and I thought he was in a tiny display tank - but these PetCo cups are just wrong >.<


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## Kisiel

Minty1612 said:


> I live in the UK so no PetCo here - though from what I can see I'm glad about it! Clearly these Bettas are too young to survive in inexperienced hands, poor things. Why don't fish ever go under the welfare act for animals? I got my Betta from PetsAtHome a week ago and I thought he was in a tiny display tank - but these PetCo cups are just wrong >.<


PetsAtHome "females" are usually juveniles so we have our fair share of babies in the UK too :/ Perseus was sold to me as a female when in fact, he was just a baby boy. It's sad that [email protected] can't even sort their fish properly, they argue with me when I point out all the young males in the "female" betta tank haha. 

Occasionally they do get a mature female in, but usually what's labeled as female is just a very young betta - perhaps not as young as what our American members see at Petco, but they're still kids.


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## ellekay

Wow Speck changed! Getting big with beautiful fins!


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## Bettalovinmomma

Everyone's babies are looking wonderful!


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## Soph7244

My baby s=is growing very slowly... any suggestions?


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## Kisiel

Soph7244 said:


> My baby s=is growing very slowly... any suggestions?


 Warm water and lots of protein should encourage your baby to grow. 

Do you have heater in it's tank? What do you feed it?


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## Tress

How many water changes are you doing and what size is its tank?


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## logisticsguy

If anyone wants a healthy baby betta finding a local breeder is the way to go imho. Chain store suppliers tend to dump their runts there and then the lil ones are subjected to high ammonia/nitrites in small containers and shipping often leading to permanent health issues. I have some nice healthy baby betta available locally (no shipping) here Calgary Canada.


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## Tress

I agree with you CJ, I hate that stores sell babies. I'm glad that people take them home to give them a chance but I'd rather not see them sold in the first place. I wish I lived near you and could get one of your gorgeous fish <3


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## Lilypad

My petco baby is all grown up  Guessing about 5 1/2-6 months old. Got him in early Oct.


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## Sadist

He's beautiful!

Speck is getting nice and gorgeous, too!


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## Lilypad

Sadist said:


> He's beautiful!
> 
> Speck is getting nice and gorgeous, too!


Thank you, it's been such fun watching him grow!


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## socallmenothing

It's been forever and a day (or about 10 months) since I last posted in this thread. I wanted to update everyone about my little baby! (this is my last post: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=4038793#post4038793) 

My Super DeT female is now enormous! She's about 3x the size of the female VTs you see in the stores. Just goes to show what love, time, good food, good temps, and patience will do for one of these little guys!

I actually just upgraded her tank to the 6.6 gallon acrylic tank from Petco (the "Livingston," I think it's called?). She loves it because she's an active swimmer and it's longer than it is deep.

Anyway, this is her now:


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## socallmenothing

@Lilypad - He's GORGEOUS!


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## Sadist

Wow, she's huge and gorgeous!


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## socallmenothing

@Sadist - Thanks! I swear she gets bigger every day. Next year, she'll be the size of a tuna.


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## Tress

I've now had Zip for about 2 months now, but I've not seen the development of the eggy belly that I see on other females. So not I am not sure Zip is a female.
First week home:
















Now:

































So is she still a she?


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## Lilypad

Thanks, socallmenothing...I am shocked by how many beautiful bettas people have gotten from those little white "betta babies."


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## lilnaugrim

Tress, does look like a little PK boy


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## Tress

I thought so  That would explain a lot. Gosh it's gonna take me a while to stop calling him a she xD At least I picked a unisex name


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## lilnaugrim

Did I sex him originally or did you guess? I mean, looking at the first picture now it looks obviously male so idk if I'm losing my touch or something >.<


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## Poro

I wonder what he'll turn out to be


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## Tress

Yea Lil, but to be fair he had all the looks of the girl - except the ovaries. I struggled to see them but I had never had a female so I hardly knew what I was looking for. Then He plumped up so I thought I was just horrible at sexing and missed the ovaries xD

@Poro. Your baby is adorable


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## Poro

Tress said:


> Yea Lil, but to be fair he had all the looks of the girl - except the ovaries. I struggled to see them but I had never had a female so I hardly knew what I was looking for. Then He plumped up so I thought I was just horrible at sexing and missed the ovaries xD
> 
> @Poro. Your baby is adorable


@Tress Thanks! I'm excited to see what he/she becomes xD I just fell in love when I saw it was a light lavender with beautiful large white pectoral fins


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## jostoli

I'm still 2nd guessing every time I feed mine. Between taking pics to document the changes and trying to peer up the underside of my betta, and shine a light through it to see if I can make out ovaries.. My husband thinks I'm slightly nuts.


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## Lilypad

jostoli said:


> I'm still 2nd guessing every time I feed mine. Between taking pics to document the changes and trying to peer up the underside of my betta, and shine a light through it to see if I can make out ovaries.. My husband thinks I'm slightly nuts.


That's awesome! I don't think anyone can understand until they've been submerged into a community like this...where it's okay to obsess like that


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## katydidmischief

So Eliot is coming along beautifully and I figured it might be time to ask if anyone has any ideas about his type. 

Eliot on 1/4:
















Eliot tonight, 1/9:


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## lilnaugrim

He's definitely Super DeT, with some flare training he might even reach HM ^_^


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## katydidmischief

Awesome! Thank you, Lil!


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## Bettalovinmomma

I got Rocket to flare last night! I put him next to Little Fish while I was doing a wc and giving them bloodworms. I tried to video him but he wouldn't do it while I was taping, the little snot. And a photo never would have caught it. It was the cutest thing!!


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## Bettalovinmomma

Katydid, he's very pretty.


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## katydidmischief

Thank you, Momma! And yay for Rocket flaring! :-D


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## Lilypad

Very pretty Katy...still learning types myself though, so no help here lol.


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## Poro

Elephant ear baby o.o <3 He waving saying hello with his right fin =)

also Empress Speckles


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## Kisiel

katydidmischief said:


> So Eliot is coming along beautifully and I figured it might be time to ask if anyone has any ideas about his type.
> 
> Eliot on 1/4:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Eliot tonight, 1/9:



Hnnngg he is *so* grogeous. How old is he? He looks like he still has some growing to do, I can't wait to see pictures of him when he's reached his full potential o3o

In the first two pictures he looks like my baby, only yours has more fins haha.


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## Sadist

Oh, I wish my baby had survived! It's so exciting to watch yours grow up!


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## Bettalovinmomma

Poro said:


> Elephant ear baby o.o <3 He waving saying hello with his right fin =)
> 
> also Empress Speckles


They're both so pretty. Nice find with the EE baby.


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## Bettalovinmomma

Rocket was going nuts last night, lol. When I was doing a wc on my adult, I put his container in the tank to keep warm where my babies are. Rocket got his exercise and earned his name, lol. He did not like it at all. 

Flaring pic from the side.


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## Bettalovinmomma

He's too cute!!


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## katydidmischief

Thank you! :-D He was approximately 6weeks when I got him 12/19, so roughly 9 weeks now. He's growing like a weed.

And it was Perseus, right? Because I saw a picture of him and thought the same thing! Such a beautiful coloration.


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## SplashyBetta

Look how much Mochi has grown!








Top: October 6 '14
Bottom: January 11 '15
A lot of her growth seems to have happened in the last week or two


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## Sadist

Wow, that's a lot of growth!


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## lilnaugrim

Lol, yep...mochi is a boy >.<


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## DianeA7X

My little Ruby has grown wonderfully. Forgot when I got her but don't think it has been a year. Or has it? Hmmmm. Here she is when she was a baby and now when she's big.


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## Kimk2230

*New Baby Betta*

Hi my daughter just bought a baby Betta from pectco a week ago. At first we had it in a 1/2 gallon tank but thanks to finding this forum he/ she is now in a 2.5 gallon tank with a heater and filter. How do you tell the age and sex of the baby and does it look healthy?


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## Kisiel

katydidmischief said:


> Thank you! :-D He was approximately 6weeks when I got him 12/19, so roughly 9 weeks now. He's growing like a weed.
> 
> And it was Perseus, right? Because I saw a picture of him and thought the same thing! Such a beautiful coloration.


He has huge fins for a 9 week old, oh my. 

Yes! Perseus is my Pets at Home baby with similar "wild" colouration  He's 5 months old now and still growing!


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## ellekay

lilnaugrim said:


> Lol, yep...mochi is a boy >.<


I was thinking the same thing. Looks just like my Chi, only a bit bigger.


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## ellekay

Kimk2230 said:


> Hi my daughter just bought a baby Betta from pectco a week ago. At first we had it in a 1/2 gallon tank but thanks to finding this forum he/ she is now in a 2.5 gallon tank with a heater and filter. How do you tell the age and sex of the baby and does it look healthy?


Age is usually by length. Sex is determined by being able to see the ovaries behind the stomach. Get a good side shot (in focus) with a light from behind (like from a window or tank light). Lil is usually really good at determining sex and tail type.  This is a good chart to reference the age/size with.
http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/a...128277d1384839941-baby-betta-betta-growth.jpg


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## lilnaugrim

ellekay said:


> Lil is usually really good at determining sex and tail type.


_USUALLY_ lol!! I've been off my game lately apparently >.<

You can also look at my thread, I have a small section on sexing the babies: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## ellekay

lol yeah but you're still better than most of us


----------



## BabyOscar

So we fell for the adorable colorless babies too. 325 pages is a lot to read thru, is anyone noticing any trends in feeding and housing/wc that are successful with these little guys? My son will be completely devastated if Oscar doesn't make it.


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## Bettalovinmomma

Look into the thread that is posted above on Lilnaugrim's post. It helps a lot with care of babies. Everything in there is the best for the little ones.


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## Tress

I suggest you read this thread to help Oscar out  http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## BabyOscar

Thanks to you both, I will read those


----------



## katydidmischief

Had to share this of Eliot:








"This plant. I like it!"


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## Schmoo

Revan is two days past her 1 month "birthday," and she's doing well. She eats either Omega One micro pellets or crushed NLS pellets 2-3 times a day, and her tank gets a 50% WC every other day. She's big enough now that I'm not worried about a filter pushing her around, so she now has a Tetra Whisper 3i as well.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

*New User & New Betta Owner.*

*NEW USER*
So this is my first post & first day in the bettafish.com community..
I am a recent impulse adopter of two betta fish from my local Petco here in Washington, State. 
-I now am the owner of a Veil Tail Male, Cupcake( my picture ). I ended up with this guy because he was so large he was all squished up in the little cup he couldnt even spread out or flare.. it was apparent he needed a proper tank. 
-I also ended up with a " Baby Betta ",Sprinkles.. he /she was the last living one, they had about 4 or 5 belly up in cups and although i am new to this, i figured I could provide better care then the " death cup " it was currently in. 

So now that is out of the way.. I am getting a 20g tank with a divider, heater, sponge filter, and silk plants tomorrow, as well as looking into locating some microworms or something for Sprinkles ( baby betta ).. i've been researching for about 2 days solid, and figured i'd join up to get advice, and share my personal progression into betta ownership! 

sorry its so long! 
but .. Hi, i'm Kitty  
(p.s sorry if this is in the wrong place. i'm totally confused!)


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## Schmoo

Hi Kitty! Congratulations on the new additions to your family, and welcome to the forum! Baby bettas require a bit more care (lilnaugrim created a thread on baby care - http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330), but they can be such a joy! I love my baby, Revan.


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## ellekay

Welcome! For the baby, I honestly wouldn't put it in a 20g divided until it gets bigger. Mainly because of the number and amount of water changes they require due to them emitting a growth stunting hormone (which is greater when they are in with other fish that they feel threatened by). I would get it a smaller tank (even a 3g would work for now). That way you can give it the individual attention it needs. Once it's grown, you can move it into a divided tank. That's my plan with my baby (now about 2.5 months old) and my Halfmoon I got (both on the same day as well).


And Katy, I like banana plants too


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## SplashyBetta

lilnaugrim said:


> Lol, yep...mochi is a boy >.<


...really? I talked to a few breeders and they said "she" looks to be female. But with hIS recent tail and beard growth spurt, I was wondering. Thank you! Doesn't change much, he's still a cutie


----------



## katydidmischief

Thanks, Elle. I finally managed to get my hands on some and I'm glad I nabbed them. I love how they look in both the tanks! I especially like it with Eliot, it's a beautiful look when he sits under the canopy.

And a concern/question for the more baby betta educated than I: in the last 2 days, Eliot has suddenly gotten very stressy. He seems to be nervous when I approach the tank and I'm unsure what could have triggered this. He's in a filtered, heated 2.5g that I do daily to every other day water changes on, taking out at least one full small kritter keeper each time if not more (~1g to 1.5g each change). There's IAL, 2 small java fern, a banana plant and a marimo ball in there along with 3 silk plants. The filter has been jammed with sponge in every crevice and doesn't push him around unless he goes up to the outflow. He has places to hide. I use 2-3 drops of prime every 48 hours, stress coat+ 1x a week, and I recently threw a dose of quick start in. He gets ~8 pellets of NLS Grow 2-3x a day.

I thought it was the airpump that's between his tank and the 20, but off or on makes no difference. I turned off his filter for a day, but no change with that. I shoved a scrapbook between both tanks, again no change.

Is it possible that the tank changes have stressed him out? It is a small tank and as he's grown the water upheaval has really started to push him around. I use a Petco Betta cup to get water out rather than a siphon. Perhaps I should get a mini siphon and use that?

Thank you for the thoughts, guys. I'm attached to the booger and I'm worried I've done something wrong.


----------



## katydidmischief

And I think I just put 2 + 2 together to equal 4: I put an old zoomed hammock in his tank 3 days ago and didn't know that the wire inside rusts, saw a link someone has in their signature, and ran to the tank. Sure enough, the wire is rusted. :-(


----------



## Soph7244

Kisiel said:


> Warm water and lots of protein should encourage your baby to grow.
> 
> Do you have heater in it's tank? What do you feed it?


He lives in a 10 gal NPT tank with a Pleco. He eats NLS pellets but had a full bloodworm diet untill a couple of weeks ago. 

The tank has a heater and filter that work great and keep the tank clean and at a constant 81 degrees 

How do I introduce more protein to him?


----------



## Soph7244

Tress said:


> How many water changes are you doing and what size is its tank?


10 gallons and I change 25% once a week and a full change once a month


----------



## lizcateyes

KittyVonMeow said:


> *NEW USER*
> So this is my first post & first day in the bettafish.com community..
> I am a recent impulse adopter of two betta fish from my local Petco here in Washington, State.
> -I now am the owner of a Veil Tail Male, Cupcake( my picture ). I ended up with this guy because he was so large he was all squished up in the little cup he couldnt even spread out or flare.. it was apparent he needed a proper tank.
> -I also ended up with a " Baby Betta ",Sprinkles.. he /she was the last living one, they had about 4 or 5 belly up in cups and although i am new to this, i figured I could provide better care then the " death cup " it was currently in.
> 
> So now that is out of the way.. I am getting a 20g tank with a divider, heater, sponge filter, and silk plants tomorrow, as well as looking into locating some microworms or something for Sprinkles ( baby betta ).. i've been researching for about 2 days solid, and figured i'd join up to get advice, and share my personal progression into betta ownership!
> 
> sorry its so long!
> but .. Hi, i'm Kitty
> (p.s sorry if this is in the wrong place. i'm totally confused!)


 Seconding ellekay, for the babies to grow you're going to need to do water changes every other day, until they're roughly "teenagers" in 3 months or so? That's how long it took my baby girls to get to a size where I felt they growth hormone they emit wouldn't stunt their growth. I had them in a split minibow 2.5 gallon, just because it's small enough that the water changes didn't kill my back and I could put a filter and heater in there without worrying about accidentally cooking them, which can happen  Now they're upgraded to my 10gal community tank, since they turned out to both be girls


----------



## burlee

Here is my fishy, I got her August 2013 from Petco and now it's 1.5 years later and she's still doing well!

In chronological order:


----------



## Kisiel

Soph7244 said:


> He lives in a 10 gal NPT tank with a Pleco. He eats NLS pellets but had a full bloodworm diet untill a couple of weeks ago.
> 
> The tank has a heater and filter that work great and keep the tank clean and at a constant 81 degrees
> 
> How do I introduce more protein to him?


Bloodworms isn't really enough, they need more variety. When I first got my baby, I fed him a mixture of bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia and cyclops. You should aim to feed your baby a large variety of frozen foods to make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs. Once my kid was big enough I slowly weaned him off the frozen foods and he's now on a diet mainly consisting of pellets. 

As for water changes, 2x weekly is the minimum. This is becase babies release a growth stunting hormone which needs to be removed with water changes.


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## KittyVonMeow

I don't know how to delete this So i edited it :/ total newbie... sorry!


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Thanks for all your advice everyone and thank you for welcoming me here, I will have many questions, but this is Sprinkles my baby, working on getting him healthier all suggestions are welcome! !!


----------



## Spiog

My "baby betta" is still going strong, about a month after purchase!
I'm so proud of him and his amazing growth, he really is a trooper though. I bought him without a CLUE about what fish-keeping really is. Now, after countless hours figuring out how to take care of my new baby betta fish, I have a beautiful Royal Blue Veil Tail and I think that he's in it for the long haul. Gosh I'm really proud that I was able to rescue a baby betta yet still be an amateur, although I probably got lucky. 

Just a nice little success story for all you new baby betta owners. There is hope for your little guy!


----------



## MoonShadow

Alright y'all. What do you think color? Tail type? And sex? of little greenbean!


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## ellekay

I'm going to get VT, just because that's exactly what my baby looked like (shape wise) when I got him. Sex is kind of tough. Did s/he just get done eating? I wanna say female, but again, that's how mine looked, and he's a he.

Coloring is beautiful though! Excited to see the final outcome!


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## lilnaugrim

Definitely a little girlie, those ovaries are nice and clear :-D I want to say PK just because of how short the anal fin is in relation but could be either PK or VT. And of course she's a marble ^_^


----------



## KittyVonMeow

I'm going to try to get a better photograph of sprinkles, maybe someone can give me a guess as to what he/she is, I will add that both Betta are living in separate tanks, heaters and filters now, 2.5g each.. although Cupcake, I have a feeling might not make it, I had to purchase a lock for my door, my sister had been feeding him while I was away at work, and now he is having "swim bladder" issues, I believe...  I'm not feeding him now, and going to try the pea trick here in a day or so  any other advice would be phenomenal!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Don't use pea's, Betta's are insectivores and can't process the straight veggie matter like giving them a whole veggie. Just fast him for a few day's.


----------



## ellekay

Or get some frozen daphnia at your local fish store. I had to go to a fish specific store as my local Petco/Petsmart didn't carry the daphnia.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

thank you LilNaugrim, I really am new to this, and trying my best to give the right care to the lil guys.. being new to this it probably wasnt the best idea to grab the fish that were not doing too hot to begin with.. I have a slight soft spot for all things living.. 

here is another picture of Sprinkles, not sure much about him/her, but i can say Sprinkles is adjusting well, and is losing the little stripes a bit more and more every day!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Is this the most recent picture?


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Yes it is.. he/she is much more active than when I first got sprinkles.. I just took the photograph. 
Cupcake, the one I believe is having swim bladder issues, is my adult VT. :/
But if you see any issyes in this photo of sprinkles (baby) please tell me!!! I'm curious of his/her gender, possible colours, etc.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh okay, sorry, I was so confused.
And nope, baby looks healthy, a little slim if you ask me. Looks like a boy but hard to tell at this point and without something to help me get a feeling for size like a thermometer or something. 
Coloration is Black Devil, basically black with red washed fins.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Should I be feeding him a bit more?
and I will take more with something for size comparison, he is such a hardy little guy or gal, when I got sprinkles, (baby) they were floating at the top of the cup, now he or she darts around and is so curious, showing off and trying to fight the bubbles on occasion, or chasing bubbles, it's the cutest thing.. I'm happy they look healthycause I'm brand new to this. 
as for my adult , with Swim bladder, maybe I can post a picture of him to my album in a bit when I return home, I'm just guessing from what I've read and researched.

Thank you so much for your advice, and help, this forum has become a huge part of my day!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, you can feed him more ^_^

Did you see the PetCo Baby care thread I made for this sort of thing? Shows how fat they should be after being fed. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## BamNeko

Before I got my first big betta I had 2 baby betta fish.
I had a bowl heater that was hooked up to my light switch(so just flick the switch and it turns on). Well someone turned the light switch on and I was unaware of this. I woke up to a boiled fish and I cried for 30mins because I recently lost my dog to cancer(unstable wreck). I got a second one who died of swim bladder. I must say they are really hard to take care of and I even drew out a schedule for the second one's feeding time and water change. I wanted him to live because I believe he was a double tail. I have no pictures of my fry, but my friend said she will send me a fry if her betta's show mood of breeding.


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## JHatchett

Proteus is confusing me. Sometimes I think I see ovaries other times I don't.

Does this fish still look like a boy?

Also he hasn't been eating well, refusing foods that he normally takes, crushed omega one or frozen spirulina brine shrimp. Is there anything else I could try for him? I've already tried soaking with garlic juice.


----------



## PrettyLittlePage

I just brought home a female betta and I'm oh so curious to know, is she a young betta?
I didn't go to Petco, this was actually at PetSmart and for the first time, I saw really really small bettas. All of the females were just tiny. I couldn't refuse my little gem though, I can just see her as one beautiful betta. She's just over an inch though so is she actually young or just bred small?
There are pictures of her on my profile  I also am in need of a name!


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## ellekay

Probably young. An inch long is usually around 6-7 weeks old. Petsmart is actually starting to sell them as well, just harder to find.


----------



## PrettyLittlePage

Thank you for your help  The males were fairly big and all the females were tiny tiny, it was really strange?


----------



## ellekay

Depends on their shipment more than likely. Males also always look bigger because of their fins.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Hey everyone, So I stopped by my local petco today, and saw this little baby, kind of curious about him or her, super cute! Didn't snag it given I'm dealing with my adult right now, but just thought I'd share this little cutie! Any guesses on sex colour or type?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Judging by that tail and those very large eyes, looks like a little yellow boy!


----------



## KittyVonMeow

so here is a update of sprinkles! He/she (unsure) is a tiny bit smaller than a $0.25 quarter .. sprinkles is so active and zips around the tank attacking bubbles and such .. he/she is dping well from what I see! 

As for Cupcake my adult, he unfortunately has passed..I am beyond saddened to see him go, and wish I could have had longer with him... S.I.P Cupcake. 

And thank you so much Lil and everyone else who has been such a huge help to me and my fish babies!!!


----------



## Sadist

I'm sorry about Cupcake. It's good that Sprinkles is there to keep you happy!


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Well I stopped by petco to grab a plant and they asked how the fishy are doing, I explained that cupcake had died, and they insisted I take a fish as replacement, for my fish passing, I was nothinking completely convinced, still sad on the loss,but I saw this little one,and decided to take up their offer..so here is Bubbles, not sure if its male or female, it's about the size of a nickel, and very active, couldn't snap a good one, will try later, but... any guesses on this Lil one? Gender? Color?


----------



## Tress

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330 This thread also has some tips for how to determine gender. I'm going to guess male, don't hold me to that haha. Not sure of the colour though. I'd wait a few days for your baby to settle in and show it's real colours.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Tress said:


> http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330 This thread also has some tips for how to determine gender. I'm going to guess male, don't hold me to that haha. Not sure of the colour though. I'd wait a few days for your baby to settle in and show it's real colours.


Yeah I saw that one, I still just am terrible at guessing such things! lol, 
I named it bubbles ( Unisex Name ) haha that way no matter what it is, i dont have to change everything! Definitely a cool color at the moment, all white with pink eyes and then it will turn and show a tiny bit of iridescent ... (spelling -___-)
I would have snagged that yellow baby i posted above, but it was no longer there :/


----------



## Tress

O.O Pink eyes?! I've never seen pink eyes on a betta!  you must get a close up when you can!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, actually it's not really pink. I can't remember the name for it but all Betta's eyes have a reddish-pink sheen to the pupil that you only see at certain times unless it's an albino, which Bubbles is not because she'd be void of all color on her body. Yep, it's a little girl for sure and looks like a Pastel but hard to tell from that picture.


----------



## Sadist

How gorgeous! I would guess male by the long fins, but I'm really horrible at it, too. It was really nice of them to do that!


----------



## KittyVonMeow

So i took these last night, no flash, I'm at work all day today ...12hrs. But I'll see if any changes since being in a heated tank, and filtered and such, a little problem, when I feed bubbles, she doesn't realize it's at the top!!!!! So how do I go about this.... and the pink in her eyes from when I got her disappeared after being in the tank for a couple hours...they are just like a black now...


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Oh and her right side fun (don't know proper term) is larger and colored, than her left fin... ?? Is this an issue?


----------



## KitDewStein

KittyVonMeow said:


> Oh and her right side fun (don't know proper term) is larger and colored, than her left fin... ?? Is this an issue?


She is the betta Nemo XD


----------



## ellekay

The pellets will float down and she'll find them. Or try getting her attention and drop the pellet right in front of and to the side of her. Either way, she'll eat it either at the top or after it sinks 

She's very pretty! And I would have guessed female. That first picture you can kind of see the ovaries, which the little yellow one didn't have.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Ah sorry for posting so much, but I just got home and miss bubbles is only slowly hopping around the bottom of the tank..... not sure what to do... she isn't using that little fin and since bringing her home has ZERO interest In food what so ever... I think I might have gotten a sick Lil baby :/ wish us luck... 
I live in A small town so our petco does not get the best of critters, I feel like I am attracted to the "sick " ones... have this feeling I might be able to save them.... ugh
I just don't know if she doesnt make it, I think I'll settle for sprinkles and see how it goes, 
I had a friend of mine who runs an exotic fish store come check out the tank she is in, and he said it's running great, and he is unsure of what could be wrong with her, but there is something not going well.....

UGH poor baby.


----------



## Tress

It's hard... babies are so fragile and they don't get the right treatment at the stores. It really takes a toll on them. I hope your little one makes it!


----------



## BabyOscar

Filters are a "no-no" with these itty-bitties right?


----------



## katydidmischief

Not necessarily. Eliot grew up with the filter that came in the 2.5g minibow. I baffled the crap out of it so it didn't push him around, prefilter sponge, etc and he did fine with it. But I would have gone sponge filter if I'd had the supplies at the time I set up his tank.


----------



## BabyOscar

So the danger comes from being pushed around, not that they are too small and will get sucked into the filter?


----------



## Tress

Sponge filters are fine, breeders use them with brand new babies no prob. Also a HOB (hang on the back) with a baffled intake and outtake would be fine too. The main thing is just to make sure they aren't getting pushed around or sucked onto the filter


----------



## BabyOscar

So I can baffle both the intake and the outtake, thanks. I'm setting up a 3 gallon "aquarium system" by Marineland. Any suggestions for cycling or how long to run the system before putting Oscar in? I was thinking about starting it with a shrimp from the grocery store.


----------



## kylamarie

So, i have been holding out on getting a baby until i found a baby double tail, but today i cracked. I stuck my finger up to little Pangea, and he/she did a little mini flare and it was adorable. 














when we got home, she went into a heated 1 gal. (S)he'll get daily water changes, and (s)he will stay there until (s)he is big enough to go into one of my divided 10 gals. 







(i'm about to add more hides for him/her)


----------



## Tress

ahhhh baby flares <3 I giggled so hard when Zip did his first flare. Oh my gosh it's so precious! "Grr I'm tough and intimidating!" "D'aww, you so cuuuute!" "No no D: fear me!"


----------



## kylamarie

Tress said:


> ahhhh baby flares <3 I giggled so hard when Zip did his first flare. Oh my gosh it's so precious! "Grr I'm tough and intimidating!" "D'aww, you so cuuuute!" "No no D: fear me!"


haha yeah it's really adorable <3


----------



## Fenghuang

So I have jumped on the bandwagon. Got these two (I believe) boys yesterday evening. The blue appears to be a veiltail and the other a partial EE plakat. I suspect both have some issues with their swim bladders or spinal deformities. They have trouble swimming vertically and struggle to lift their bottom half upward, so I am keeping them floating for now and changing water twice a day. I am feeding them crushed Omega One pellets for now which they devore greedily enough.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Cuties! They may grow out of the swim bladder stuff as they age too or just get into some nice clean, warm water as well. Sometimes stress can effect the bladder badly and so many will think that it's SBD but it's really not. Lovin that partial EE baby!!


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Well last time I posted Bubbles the little female was having severe complications, and now, she seems to have gotten over it, here is some updated pictures, sprinkles, the he/she not sure is so hard to photograph and bubbles can just be too shy.... any guesses on types for bubbles and on sprinkles is (s)he really a DT or is it an existing injury... ?? Any advice is welcome!


































Sorry for picture over load!!!
(PS Bubbles ( Female white looking one) her pectoral fin on her left side is so tiny, and the one on her right side is full, and very large and flowy, i noticed as well that on the left side, her ventral fin is much smaller and tiny, neither of the left side fins look damaged, or unhealthy just like they are super tiny, and she doesnt have a issue swimming with them, i tried to photograph it for roughly an hour, and it is seemingly impossible, any ideas on this issue?...


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh yeah, she's a DT for sure. And Bubbles is definitely a girlie and it's not an issue at all, it's normal for EE's to have different sized pecs. She's only a partial EE so much like a partial Dragon scale; not all of her (2) pecs will be giant sized.

Oh and pssshhh, that isn't a picture overload at all! I've hit the picture maximum for a post plenty of times before, if you're wondering; you can only post 50 pictures in a single post lol


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Ah okay, so it looks like have 2 little ladies now?  sprinkles I just can't tell and I agree fully bubbles is a little lady... she is such a character no doubt...
I love my little babies  didn't realize bubbles was partial EE makes so much more sense....she does have a beautiful tail line too, she is a pretty little lady.
sprinkles is a fire cracker, always on the move!


----------



## Fenghuang

lilnaugrim said:


> Cuties! They may grow out of the swim bladder stuff as they age too or just get into some nice clean, warm water as well. Sometimes stress can effect the bladder badly and so many will think that it's SBD but it's really not. Lovin that partial EE baby!!


Thanks, Lil. They are much more energetic today and swimming around more. Still dragging around their tails, but it's still an improvement. I fed them once in the morning and once again in the afternoon when I got back from classes and work. Was going to feed them again but their bellies looked huge and I got worried. The water main for my dorm broke this morning and the water got shut off for a while so it was all yucky when we got it back, so that was kind of an unlucky coincidence.

How do you guys pick a baby? It was so hard to choose at the store (and I didn't even intend to get _one_ betta).


----------



## Schmoo

BabyOscar said:


> Filters are a "no-no" with these itty-bitties right?


I didn't add a filter to Revan's (sip) tank until she had been with me for about a month. She'd grown quite a bit by then, so I wasn't worried about even a baffled/weaker filter tossing her around. That's just me, though.


----------



## lilnaugrim

If I go for a baby I usually go for the biggest one there, if it's active, it shows me that it has more potential to live a regular life than the itty bitty tiny ones. That's what I'd started with way back two years ago but I've strayed away from those ones since they're nothing but trouble.

Schmoo, Revan passed?? When did that happen?? :-(


----------



## Fenghuang

He only has one big ear.



Lil' Blue might get some yellow in his fins.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

baby flares! Any guess on tail type on lil miss bubbles?


----------



## Fenghuang

I would guess a plakat?


----------



## Poro

KittyVonMeow said:


> baby flares! Any guess on tail type on lil miss bubbles?


Looks like a plakat


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah PK or HMPK if she gets 180 degrees


----------



## Cleigh9579

*fell for it. have a few questions*

I fell for one of the babies. I have a 5 gal set up with a ghost shrimp and netrite snail. Have had the lil one 5 days so far. It seems to be a double tail. Not sure if its a boy or girl yet. 
Questions.
1. How long do juvenile strips last? 
I know stress stripes happen in females but can't find any info to tell me if males get stress stripes. Worried theyaybe stress stripes instead of juvenile stripes.
2. How do I tell if it's a boy or girl. I've looked at belly fins and am still can't tell. 
3. Is a planted tank better for a betta?
Thank you for all advice and help.


----------



## KitDewStein

I think it is a boy. I don't see any egg spot. Also I think the pellets you gave it are too big...you may want to crush them...


----------



## lilnaugrim

Looks like a little boy. I've answered most basic questions here, take a look through; http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330

1. Usually 2 months-ish, each fish is different; some rarely have them while others have them for a long time. Yes both males and females get stress stripes and baby stripes. Males can also show breeding stripes (the vertical ones) which are not indicative of breeding but of submission.
2. Looks like a boy.
3. Absolutely, if you have plants always use plants! Plants will help dilute the growth stunting hormone as well.

EDIT: egg spots are not indicative of male or female. Young males often have fake egg spots.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Ugh, so I went into petco for water conditioner and some plants, and guess who was there, that tiny yellow Betta was back and sitting face down in the cup with what looks like sway back, floating around.. my question is how does a baby that looked so healthy go to complete heck in under a week... asked petco employe.. He was returned that way, and wasn't getting better... so petco guy said if you want him Goodluck, so... now I have a extremely Ill baby betta....

- what is this sway back situation? 
- is this huge decline in health due to bad treatment or is it illness both?

Welcome to the zoo Pebbles...


----------



## KittyVonMeow

(s)he still in the cup of doom, Pebbles was actually sitting upright in this snap, but it doesn't last long...


----------



## lilnaugrim

She actually doesn't look ill. She is what we call Spoon-headed, bred for this deformity by fighters because it allows the fish to bite and hold onto it's prey/fighting partner harder and longer. It's still seen just because it's easy to breed for sometimes and when people don't give a crap about deformities. It won't bother her much at all or at least shouldn't.


----------



## Sadist

At least he or she isn't as skinny as the ones I used to see at our store. They seemed to have stopped carrying the babies. The fish guy there didn't know why they were even selling babies, saying they were too young to even know if they'd survive to adulthood.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

So update here:
little "spoon head" betta Pebbles, she ? As lil called her, seems to be much more active now, and after staring at her for hours, her "spoon head" is quite strange o.0 .. her eyes are MASSIVE and her head is itty bitty... I love her, lol it's kind of adorable in A way. 

Bubbles, my little wonky finned white betta, well she is doing phenomenal, despite being completely lop sided, she is a feisty little thing and growing very well...

Sprinkles, the double tail male/female still don't know, one... well he she is doing well, just kind of stopped growing.. hungry little bugger though, always begging me for more snacks!


----------



## Camogirl13ejg

*My Petco Baby*

Hello, I found this forum while searching for info about baby Bettas. Thought I'd share. The petco near me has had fairly healthy babies. I purchased mine almost 1 month ago and he's doing great. He's very active and I've had to keep him in a tank with a cover since he's become a little too excited during feeding and I don't want him jumping out. Every time I walk by his tank he swims over and follows me. I'll post pictures when I'm on a computer. 
I have an adult in an aquaponics tank with lucky bamboo filtering the water. I'm trying to decide what type of tank I want to move my baby into. For now he's in a 1/2 gallon.


----------



## MichelleyBetta

Sorry for coming out of the blue, but does anybody know how old petstore baby betta usually are?


----------



## Poro

MichelleyBetta said:


> Sorry for coming out of the blue, but does anybody know how old petstore baby betta usually are?


Depends on the size really sometimes ... about 4 weeks - 8 weeks old at least thats what the petco told me.


----------



## Camogirl13ejg

Camogirl13ejg said:


> Hello, I found this forum while searching for info about baby Bettas. Thought I'd share. The petco near me has had fairly healthy babies. I purchased mine almost 1 month ago and he's doing great. He's very active and I've had to keep him in a tank with a cover since he's become a little too excited during feeding and I don't want him jumping out. Every time I walk by his tank he swims over and follows me. I'll post pictures when I'm on a computer.
> I have an adult in an aquaponics tank with lucky bamboo filtering the water. I'm trying to decide what type of tank I want to move my baby into. For now he's in a 1/2 gallon.


This is my baby. He moves too quick to get a good picture, this was the best I could do. :shock:


----------



## TripleChrome

MichelleyBetta said:


> Sorry for coming out of the blue, but does anybody know how old petstore baby betta usually are?



I got my girl Noel at Walmart, and by a chart someone posted a few pages back, she was 4 weeks old. Sometimes it depends on stores. Everywhere can be different. Petco sells babies where I live starting at 7 weeks old, and Petsmart sells them, too, but they are around two to two and a half months old when they sell them where I live


----------



## Fenghuang

Babies trying to flare at each other.


----------



## lilnaugrim

They're definitely older than a month. At a month they're roughly the size of a large pea to be honest, PetCo babies range from 2 months to 3 months usually.


----------



## Camogirl13ejg

*Question*

Anyway to tell what color my baby will be? 
He's got a silver body still, and sometimes his fins look blue, but other times they look silver.


----------



## lilnaugrim

He'll most likely be a regular Copper or a Blue with yellow wash, hard to tell at this point.


----------



## Camogirl13ejg

lilnaugrim said:


> He'll most likely be a regular Copper or a Blue with yellow wash, hard to tell at this point.


What is Copper color?


----------



## lilnaugrim

It's a silver color but it can look with a tint of blue, red, green, or yellow. 

This was one of my older Copper boys


----------



## Kimk2230

I had 2 ghost shrimp in with my baby betta. They have been together for about a month now but last night one of the shrimp attacked the baby. The shrimp bit the baby's tail. I am afraid the baby won't make it.  I am beginning to think the one that attacked the baby is not a shrimp but a prawn? It am so sad.


----------



## Fishybitty

Oh my Fenghuang, so tiny and cute


----------



## Fenghuang

Thank you. ^^ I was thinking of naming them Solstice and Equinox. They are still both swimming tail down, so I think the buoyancy issues are going to be permanent, but it doesn't stop them from getting around. Still going with male for both (salamander boy for sure since I can see through him).


----------



## JHatchett

Oops...

No name yet. I'm guessing male. Double tail. Most likely a red blue multicolor.


----------



## ellekay

Okay seriously, Bubbles is adorable! Great find! I have some updated pictures of baby Chi, man has his coloring changed  I'll post them in the next few days!


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Update pictures from the water changes, easier to photograph all the kiddos when they are in the temp cups, lol... sprinkles, the double tail, seems to hAve kind of slowed down on growth, bubbles, the white girl is growing like a weed, and the yellow spoon head one is just looking healthier every day, but man that spoon head curve is getting brutal!!!!!!!! bubbles is such a character, she cracks me up! 
























(Sorry for the blur, they don't listen when I say sit still.. )


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Well after the photo shoot, bubbles got all grumpy in the face so one last one because. ...Baby flares!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Okay, I _think_ Sprinkles is a girl, smaller eyes, small ventrals, female-ish body shape.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Yeah lil, I think sprinkles is a little lady as well.. Pretty sure all 3 are little girls... start of a community tank in the future? Maybe, probablynot...... lol minus bubbles, she is... oh goodness, such a feisty little character, I can't get enough of her!! She is very photogenic too, lol. Always comes flying to the front of her tank when I step in the room...
I am curios what types these babies are, sprinkles is obviously a DT, but Lil yellow pebbles, no clue? And bubbles, obviously half EE, do you think she could grow out her other side, or will she just be wonky for ever, I find it adorable she is lop sided, but just curious.
sorry for all the posts, just infatuated with the babies and want the best for them.!!

I'm also just excited given this is my first go with bettas, let alone babies!! & pun intended, things seem to be going swimmingly!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Bubbles looks to be PK and partial EE, having colored pectorals that are only slightly large doesn't actually account for being an EE but just a partial which is why her other fin looks smaller, by this age they may grow a teeny bit but they'll need be full EE status.
Pebbles I think is either VT or DeT, hard to tell right now.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Well pebbles is a female too I'm nearly positive, saw ovaries! Unfortunately the little one doesn't have long I don't think, the curve has become super drastic over the past couple days, and pebbles isn't hanging on too well, sprinkles and bubbles are doing well, but those darn stress stripes will not...I repeat will NOT go away, still no colour on body, only fins..


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, I'd mentioned earlier that she was a girl because of the ovaries 
And don't worry about the stripes, some fish never fully color up and the slightest movement outside their tank stresses them :roll: nothing you can really do about it other than getting a heavily planted tank and let them in on that, that usually helps my stressed out ones I found ^_^ actually, it helps all of them but that's not the point here lol.


----------



## Sadist

My female stresses over everything, too. If the water is too high, if the temperature gets below 79, if it's time to eat....


----------



## ellekay

So she's a cat?  Kidding


----------



## ellekay

So I was trying to upload a new picture of Chi, but this is what photobucket did with the picture...... :shock:


Let me figure out what it did, and try again...


----------



## ellekay

Okay, so I just went and took another few pictures really fast...must have scared him because he swam over and flared at me, and he never does that without a mirror  Made for great pictures though considering I've never gotten a good flare profile from him.  His dorsal fin is kinda wonky, but I'm starting to wonder if he's got the start of a HM instead of VT like originally thought...thoughts?

Picture I tried to upload before:


New pictures:



And just incase you forgot what he started out like:


----------



## ellekay

The first picture shows his true coloring better than the other two.


----------



## Alaura123

Wow thats a miraculous change!
Love the blue eyes on him as a baby :0


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah! He's an HM! Wow, I feel like he grew up real fast lol


----------



## ellekay

He did! Still battle swim bladder problems ever now and then, but not like before. I honestly wasn't sure what the of tail he was because it didn't really look like anything, and the dorsal being so weird made it tough too. Kind of funny I got two half moons that day . Elway was mislabeled and chi keeps changing 

His blue eyes were part of the reason I got him. I brought him home on dec 8 at 5 weeks old. So he's just over 3 months old now


----------



## ellekay

Lil, would you still consider him Cambodian? I can get some better close ups if needed. He has some blue flecks on his body, that's the biggest thing I've noticed.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Nope, now he's a Multicolor


----------



## ellekay

Of course he is  what about the blue flecks? They seem to be changing as well. Is that pretty common?


----------



## JHatchett

Hey Lil, care to venture a guess on this little critter?


----------



## lilnaugrim

The blue flecks may become Grizzled after he ages more but it's hard to tell at this point, he may just turn all pale blue on the body there  wouldn't know without knowing the parents ^_^

And ugg, I've found out that DT's are the worst for trying to sex, both sexes look so very similar at this age. I'm going to venture it's a boy though, I think I see the start of ovaries, the eyes are mid-large size which means larger is usually male. Ventrals are kind of thin though, more female-ish in that part. Fins are a bit longer than a female usually would be but could be DTPK too, who knows.


----------



## ellekay

He keeps me on my toes, that's for sure


----------



## JHatchett

lilnaugrim said:


> And ugg, I've found out that DT's are the worst for trying to sex, both sexes look so very similar at this age. I'm going to venture it's a boy though, I think I see the start of ovaries, the eyes are mid-large size which means larger is usually male. Ventrals are kind of thin though, more female-ish in that part. Fins are a bit longer than a female usually would be but could be DTPK too, who knows.


I've been going back and forth on this kid. Sometimes I think I see ovaries and sometimes I'm fairly certain I don't. And to complicate things further I think I spied what appears to be an ovipositor this morning.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Thankfully, ovipositers don't actually complicate things at all. Both sexes show ovipositers, though in males it's only a false ovipositer. Some males even keep it through life while the others will have it retracted, however the males never get huge like females will, but they will/can still be visible. Ovaries are the only true way of telling gender in these fish.


----------



## katydidmischief

Eliot was getting stressed in the 2.5g, I believe due to the disruption of water changes and his association of myself approaching the tank to do one, so I moved him to the 20gL where there are plants, decorations, and lots of hiding spots. I guesstimated he was ~3 months at that point and was larger than the rest of the fish in the tank excepting the pleco.

Best decision I could have made-I haven't seen hide nor hair of a stress stripe in 2 weeks.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Wow absolutely gorgeous babies ! Congrats everyone! 
I will say at this point in time pebbles the little yellow lady is not doing well and seems to be having complications, not sure what from water and temp are fine, the spine is curved in a pretty severe u shape now,gets worse daily, and I found her down in the bottom laying with little gill movement, came home and she now stays floating at the top with an occasional flap of her fins.. le sigh.
Bubbles and sprinkles seem to being doing wonderful. .


----------



## kittenfish

kittenfish said:


> 2 months ago:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> She is less than an inch long and doesn't seem very interested in growing bigger.


Well her growth eventually caught up and now she is big and fat, probably the largest of my females.










My male, on the other hand, grew quickly at first but ended up staying small and passed away about 8 months after I got him.

I picked up this little black crowntail girl yesterday. She has a very pretty blue sheen and, surprisingly, no stress stripes. Maybe that's characteristic of solid black bettas?


----------



## ellekay

Wow you're girl is gorgeous!

The black CT has huge eyes!!


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Woweee! Beautiful black ! have you named little miss yet??? Gorgeous! !!!


----------



## JHatchett

I tried to get a back lit photo. I -think- I see ovaries.


----------



## Sadist

Oh, that black fish is dashing! I thought the darker the color, the easier to see stripes of various sorts.


----------



## MissMissie

So got this little guy/girl last week. And s/he's actually gotten a bit more fin to him now and a bit more color.  

such a cutie!


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

Everyone's fishies look great! 

Here's what my boy looks like now. We brought him home Dec 9th. Not sure how old he was. (Excuse the little water bubbles)


----------



## Bettalovinmomma

This is what he looked like when we brought him home.


----------



## lilnaugrim

MissMissie said:


> So got this little guy/girl last week. And s/he's actually gotten a bit more fin to him now and a bit more color.
> 
> such a cutie!


It's a little boy! Male DT most likely will be Turquoise in coloration with a red wash.


----------



## MissMissie

thanks, i saw the turquoise, and i thought i saw red today, but i wasn't sure. I think he's going to look awesome fully grown.


----------



## konstargirl

My beloved Nikki before she passed away 2 years ago from a inoperable tumor.

Her when she came home to me 3 years ago February 5, 2012...









And her a year later before she passed on her gotcha day.


----------



## lilnaugrim

I'm 99% sure that Nikki was actually a boy...just an fyi lol
But S.I.P little one, always sad to see them go to a tumor.


----------



## konstargirl

Thank you. Nope. She was all female. She had a egg spot and everything.. lol


----------



## kittenfish

Sadist said:


> Oh, that black fish is dashing! I thought the darker the color, the easier to see stripes of various sorts.


Thanks! I did some reading on black betta genetics and it seems like she may be a melano, where the extra opaque black pigment is in its own layer, separate from normal black pigment (which forms stress stripes). At least that was my understanding, maybe someone who breeds black bettas could explain it better. It would also make her infertile, which could explain why she ended up at petco.


----------



## lilnaugrim

konstargirl said:


> Thank you. Nope. She was all female. She had a egg spot and everything.. lol


Egg spots don't mean a thing. Many young males have false egg spots and many still keep them after they mature but some do retract back into their body. The only true thing to sex a Betta is by seeing the ovaries.


----------



## Fenghuang

Finally got a clear shot of the PK baby. Little guy is too shy and fast normally, but his curiosity got the best of him and he paused to inspect the intruder.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Beautiful feng !! Can't wait for updates!


----------



## Fenghuang

Thank you.  The same with your girls too.

Does anyone know if frequent feedings is bad for babies with SBD? I have been feeding 2-3 times, but does it aggravate the problem? Also, what causes SBD in babies? Almost all the babies we saw at Petco had swimming problems.


----------



## ellekay

That's probably the reason they were sold to Petco.

Lower the water levels until they can swim normally but keep feeding them the same, a few times a day and live/frozen if possible. And lots of fresh water 

My guy is finally getting better after a few months of lower water levels. He still dips tail down occasionally, but not like he used to.


----------



## lilnaugrim

With SBD babies you still want to feed frequently but just lesser amounts.

SBD can be caused by stress/poor water quality, bacteria, birth defects, big falls, overfeeding-though less common in babies since they can metabolize their food so quick unless they are in lowered water temps.

For now, if clean, warm water isn't doing it you can try lesser feedings. Since its an ongoing process its probably not a bacterial infection and likely due to poor breeding habits by the breeder. Deformities can happen on a dime; the baby can get stuck somewhere and cause a deformity, if daddy mishandles them or injures them, injuries from siblings, of simply being born that way.


----------



## Olympia

Well Petsmart sold them as females but they are babies...
They are growing pretty well. The red one is definitely a male, the blue one I'm still thinking maybe a girl? Or slower growing tail... Can't be a plakat chain shops don't have those.




Little red and his neighbour furiously hate each other. >_< They are gonna get double divided when I take them home in April.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Blue still looks male to me, females don't usually have that kind of dorsal, even long finned females. So likely he's just slow growing.  Red looks good though!


----------



## Tress

Olympia said:


> Well Petsmart sold them as females but they are babies...
> They are growing pretty well. The red one is definitely a male, the blue one I'm still thinking maybe a girl? Or slower growing tail... Can't be a plakat chain shops don't have those.


Actually, I got my plakat as a young "female" from a small chain store - I also seen another one recently. Big false egg spot and itty bitty beard. I finally called his bluff when he hit around 4 months old and never got eggy lol. The store (PetValu) did once have a plakat, but it never sold because they wanted like $20+ for it.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

Well I think I posted, little miss pebbles just didn't make ot, poor thing, I was rooting for the baby! 
But Bubbles and Sprinkles are doing great, they are not so "baby-ish" (making new terms) so I'm getting my baby fix from everyone else's little ones, I ended up with a super awesome dumbo male. With extreme fin rot, who was adopted out from petco, woo, so always something with him...feisty! 

But on the PK note from a few posts, my local petco getsPK all the time, spendy buggers but they have them!


----------



## Olympia

If you meant me I'm in Canada so it's a bit different.


----------



## Olympia

Tress said:


> Actually, I got my plakat as a young "female" from a small chain store - I also seen another one recently. Big false egg spot and itty bitty beard. I finally called his bluff when he hit around 4 months old and never got eggy lol. The store (PetValu) did once have a plakat, but it never sold because they wanted like $20+ for it.


That's interesting, maybe times are a-changing. Sighs.


----------



## TripleChrome

My baby Noel is getting bigger and bigger. She is now almost about the size of my CT girl Shimmer, who is full grown. But Noel still has the stripes as when I got her, except when a light is shined directly on her, she is turquoise. I have had her for almost 2 months now. I'll post some pics later.

On the other hand about Plakats. Where I live, chain stores like Petco and Petsmart don't sell them at all. Not even halfmoon plakats. A small family store called Aqua Calm sometimes does. They get in all the fish like the ones on Tanked, and very rarely bettas. Then, another family store(I guess), called Fish Pros, always gets in halfmoon plakats,which is where I got my boy Apollo. I guess to get one anymore you have to go to a small non chain fish store, which is basically what I have found out.


----------



## givemethatfish

Hey how long does everyone keep up the multiple water changes for babies thing? I did for my last 2 babies for about 6 months, which was way overkill considering how densely planted their tanks were too. Is there a general rule of thumb for age when they stop secreting the growth inhibiting substance?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Basically. At the age of maturity.

For those only keeping one baby and it doesn't see other betta fish, you don't have to do as much changes as long as the tank is planted. The plants, possibly other fish, and the fact it doesn't see another betta all cut down on the hormone so it won't produce as much and therefore you don't need as much water changes as you if the tank isn't planted.


----------



## Fenghuang

I think... Solstice became a girl...


----------



## lilnaugrim

Which one was Solstice?


----------



## Fenghuang

The partial EEPK boy. Or I thought/think boy. 

But he bars up when I flare him and I think I see ovaries now?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh, I thought I'd mentioned that I was pretty sure that was a girl. Anal fin is much too short, even for a PK boy. Eyes are small and dorsal is small, indicators for a girl.


----------



## Fenghuang

Oh, you might have. I probably mistook it for being a response to someone else because I am pretty dense sometimes lol. I thought she looked more female-ish when I brought her, but she was so pale bodied and I did not see any ovaries until I looked at her closely today.


----------



## kittenfish

This is a boy, right? I definitely don't see ovaries, but he's growing so slowly that it makes me wonder.

This little girl is doing great, growing fast and eating a ton. Like a black cat, she's a tough one to photograph.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yes ^_^ little boy!


----------



## KittyVonMeow

I tried posting and it didn't go so hopefully this doesn't double post...
so update pics!in these of bubbles you can see hER EE side and her Nemo (small fin) side...she is awesome ! Such a goober with so much character. 
As for the DT, her stripes will not go away, water tested perfect, food high protein, lots of plants and hides, no oher fish...any ideas?? Also she has 2 little horns inform o her dorsal, she had these since I've got her , same with her stripes...


----------



## KittyVonMeow

I tried posting and it didn't go so hopefully this doesn't double post...
so update pics!in these of bubbles you can see hER EE side and her Nemo (small fin) side...she is awesome ! Such a goober with so much character. 
As for the DT, her stripes will not go away, water tested perfect, food high protein, lots of plants and hides, no oher fish...any ideas?? Also she has 2 little horns inform o her dorsal, she had these since I've got her , same with her stripes...


----------



## Fenghuang

They're really cute.  and I think the "horns" on the DT are normal. A lot of DTs seem to have stubs at the front of their dorsal like fin rays that never grew in.


Pictures today while doing water change. She has grown. 





My adult PK looks super confused. He is normally so aggressive and flares at everything from mirrors to pens to fingers, but he doesn't seem to know what to make of her.


----------



## Fenghuang

And her in the cup before for comparison:


----------



## KittyVonMeow

I love her so much oh my gosh! Can't wait to watch her grow.


----------



## Fenghuang

Thank you! I really like watching her grow too. Her and the blue VT (may he SIP :-( ) were my first Petco baby, but now it makes me want another.


----------



## KittyVonMeow

I know this thread is for petco babies, and I hate to get a pit off topic, I posted a thread in the emergency forums, but I got little response, and I wanted to show what I'm working on now that my babies are doing solid  this is my last find, my beautiful Boy UniKitty, with his horrid finrot, and bad attitude lol... he was an adoption from petco, and the first pic is in his cup, the second two are after being in my tank for awhile...

























And just so I don't drag the thread off topic, if you have any advice you can pm me


----------



## Ketpatt

*Baby better grown up*

My very first Betta baby when I got him and after 6 months. I had no idea about what color he was going to turn into when i got him.


----------



## Snowlily

Hello everyone! 
Just got done reading the entire thread. Phew! :-D
I got my first Petco Betta baby "Fry" two weeks ago. After stumbling across them at the store (I had never noticed them before) I went home and while doing some research about them I found this thread and returned to petco the next day to "rescue" my little baby. 
Litte Fry spent his first week here in the bare bottom heated 1 gal emergency tank with a marimba ball and an anubias. He seemed to do very well being very active, eating and growing so we upgraded our adult betta Mr. Bubbles from his 5 gal to a 10 gal and Fry now gets to call the heavily planted 5 gal tank his home. 

And, I'm sure you all know how it goes, since we have the 10 gal now that can be divided as soon as I find the elusive report cover bars anywhere another little better baby found his or her way into our home when we went shopping for frozen bloodworms today. 

Fry the day I brought him home. He was mostly brownish looking just showed some color when the light hit him just right.









I have no clue about identifying ovaries but my best guess is that Fry is a guy.









Fry today, he is getting darker. 









And here is our newest member of the family: Zero









I can't say why but my gut tells me Zero is a female.


----------



## konstargirl

These babies are adorable. Yet when they get bigger they are gorgeous!

BTW, how can you tell if the baby has ovaries? I just know that Niki had a egg spot that never went away, but I didn't know where it is located..


----------



## Kisiel

The ovaries are located just behind the stomach area and are triangular shaped, if I remember correctly. I'm not good at spotting them but Lilnaugrim is, so she could probably tell you whether there are ovaries present or not.


----------



## InStitches

Ketpatt said:


> My very first Betta baby when I got him and after 6 months. I had no idea about what color he was going to turn into when i got him.


Wow! Gorgeous. *grabby hands*


----------



## xShainax

Koza before and after. She has grown a lot in a month


----------



## JHatchett

Update on my DT baby.


----------



## lilnaugrim

xShainax said:


> Koza before and after. She has grown a lot in a month


She, is actually a he!


----------



## Sadist

Wow, those babies are growing up so well! Our petco stopped selling babies, and I'm glad about that.

KittyVonMeow, your boy's fins seem bigger, and I wonder if that outline on them is just natural coloring. He may have had some rot when you got him, but I think now it's just coloring. Make sure you check back on your disease thread about him and let an expert tell you whether it's color or rot.


----------



## Cleigh9579

*I'm a sucker. new baby*

Went to get dog food. Looked and shouldn't have. After getting home and getting settled. I now think i possibly have a female crown? Veil? Tail. Any opinions welcome. Im interest to see what color this lil one becomes.


----------



## xShainax

lilnaugrim said:


> She, is actually a he!


You 100% sure? People told me Koza was a girl. It makes sense though since Koza flares at everything.


----------



## Tress

Cleigh9579 said:


> Went to get dog food. Looked and shouldn't have. After getting home and getting settled. I now think i possibly have a female crown? Veil? Tail. Any opinions welcome. Im interest to see what color this lil one becomes.


I'd guess male VT as I don't see any ovaries


----------



## Fenghuang

xShainax said:


> You 100% sure? People told me Koza was a girl. It makes sense though since Koza flares at everything.


Looks like a young male to me. I have had females that flare as much as males, but Koza's body shape looks very boyish.


----------



## xShainax

Fenghuang said:


> Looks like a young male to me. I have had females that flare as much as males, but Koza's body shape looks very boyish.


Yeah, he does have a boyish look to him. I hope Koza is a boy, he will be a beauty.


----------



## konstargirl

Cleigh9579 said:


> Went to get dog food. Looked and shouldn't have. After getting home and getting settled. I now think i possibly have a female crown? Veil? Tail. Any opinions welcome. Im interest to see what color this lil one becomes.


Still looks a little too young to tell, but by the looks of it, it could be a boy. Name it Jackie because Jackie is a male/female name. 

I found a website of unisex names for your baby bettas because a lot of the times, they are really hard to tell when they are young. lol http://www.babynameguide.com/categoryunisex.asp?strGender=&strAlpha=A&strCat=Unisex&strOrder=Name


----------



## LavenderTheFish

On the top is when we first got the fish as a baby. Almost a year later that's what they look like. I was shocked they sold babies. Can anyone tell me if it's a boy or girl?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Definitely a girl :-D


----------



## konstargirl

All female! =D Very short fins put a bulky body. Then again I see females with long fins, but that is definitely a female. ^__^ One of my girls has semi long fins too. LOL


----------



## kittenfish

Wow, where did you get her?


----------



## Snowlily

*Sigh!*

So I went to Petco today because I needed plants for the 10 gal and they had 30% off all fish and aquarium plants.
Wasn't gonna get another fish because I already have more than enough and no room for another betta. 
But as I was waiting for the associate to finish with another customer I was browsing around an on a forgotten shelf there it was the tiniest baby in a dirty cup next to a cup with a dead and rotting adult betta inside. Looking at me with those big eyes....:-(
I don't have room for another betta, I was in a rush to get back home and get ready for work, I walked out the store. 
The eyes and the dead betta in the next cup were haunting me, so I walked back in, looked at it again. "No more fish, I can't buy every single sad looking fish!" I told myself. 
I walked back to the door, turned around and grabbed the darn fish. 
For the time being he is housed in a floating breeder until I figure out where to put him.








I'm not that good with fish anatomy but I'm curious what's the noticeable red part behind the stomach?


----------



## lilnaugrim

I believe it's the Kidney and you can see the Testes/Bladder below it.


----------



## Snowlily

Interesting,thanks!
Testes, so I guess that means it's a boy. 
Is he a cellophane?


----------



## konstargirl

Not sure! He's adorable!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Well, I was more guessing on the testes part but there are no ovaries as of yet and it does look like a boy to me. And yes, clearly a cellophane ^^


----------



## kitkatcat94

*First baby beta*

Hello every one,
I just got my baby beta yesterday. The cup said she is a female Crown Tail. I currently have her in a three liter tank. It is an old tank from when I was younger. I have a 2~3 gal glass bowl tank and figured I'd switch her out once she got bigger. I figured the smaller tank would also help her stay warm in this cold winter. I have a pre set heater and to the touch the water feels lukewarm. I'm currently feeding her Wardley Beta Food pellets. Is that bad? I have seen a lot of your posts have live food. Also do you think she will get more color or stay white on her body? Thank you again for any help you can give.

This is Dakota.


----------



## lilnaugrim

She's incredibly fat, no offence to her lol but definitely give her a few fasting days (no food) or until that bulge goes down. 

Wardley is not a good brand at all, I feel it's even worse than TopFin is because of all the fillers and other junk that's in there. If you can find New Life Spectrum (NLS) Small Fish formula that one will be good for her, Omega One Marine Mini pellets work as well. Or Frozen foods are fantastic as well.

You should read through this: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330&highlight=PetCo+Baby+Care+Thread


----------



## uminee

*my Bonsai!*

helloo! ive haunted this site for a while but never thought about signing up til now *^^* so im new here but not new to bettas.

i recently walked into a Petco to buy a male betta... and noticed they were selling babies :shock: so i ended up walking out with one male (named him Haku, hes the one in my profile) and a baby.

im calling the baby Bonsai since im kinda paranoid he/she wont grow... back in highschool i tried breeding a pair of MG HM *yikes* and ended up with a spawn of eternally miniature "bonsai" bettas.

still trying to figure out the sex... any thoughts? im guessing female since the coloring isnt too strong..


----------



## kitkatcat94

lilnaugrim said:


> She's incredibly fat, no offence to her lol but definitely give her a few fasting days (no food) or until that bulge goes down.
> 
> Wardley is not a good brand at all, I feel it's even worse than TopFin is because of all the fillers and other junk that's in there. If you can find New Life Spectrum (NLS) Small Fish formula that one will be good for her, Omega One Marine Mini pellets work as well. Or Frozen foods are fantastic as well.
> 
> You should read through this: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330&highlight=PetCo+Baby+Care+Thread




So that's why her belly is big! I thought it looked abnormal but wasn't sure. Should I fast her then feed then fast? Or just fast for a few days till she's slimmer? 

Would anyone know aprox age? Just curious. Thank you for your helps.


----------



## HapaMama

After being obsessed with the spawn logs for about a month, and lurking on this thread as well, I got myself a baby betta! Named it Pip! 

I'm a bit worried about Pip, though. It seems super skinny like a tadpole. I tried to feed it micro pellets and crushed up freeze dried blood worms, but s/he wasn't really eating anything. It seemed like most of what s/he did put in his/her mouth, got spit back out. I'm hoping Pip will start eating so I can watch it grow up!

Any guesses as to gender/tail type? I kind of think it's a VT, and I think I see a little purple iridescence at this point?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Does look like a little boy for the moment, I'd guess on VT as well and most likely a Royal Blue with a red wash ^_^


----------



## Sadist

Maybe try some defrosted frozen food for little Pip?


----------



## uminee

awaoo, Bonsai was also super skinny when i first got her! ^^ my method was to float her cup in the tank (so the food would always be in her immediate proximity + easier cleanup). i fed her Hikari betta bites crushed down to fit the size of her mouth. once she started nibbling and looking around for more i knew she was ready and let her out. that took about 1 day!

I also use freeze dried BW (actually id prefer frozen but my mother ABSOLUTELY forbids having worms in her freezer =.=*) i just rehydrate them in a little tank water then use a toothpick to feed Bonsai tiny piece (like 1/3 of a worm).. there are probly better methods, but it's been working for me )


----------



## HapaMama

I woke up this morning to find Pip super clamped up! Tried to feed him again with mashed up pellets and blood worms. He's interested in the food but keeps spitting everything out! Ugh.


----------



## uminee

Oh no sorry to hear that :'( maybe check the temp of his water?


----------



## HapaMama

Water temp is about 80 and conditioned with prime. I don't know what's wrong with the little guy. He seems to like to chase the food bits when they start falling, but spits them out after biting them. Makes me think the breeder might not have weened off live food before sending to PetCo.


----------



## HapaMama

Well, Pip started eating but he's still super clamped! I did his 50% wc this afternoon, and he seems to have gotten more clamped as a result  not sure what to do! Would AQ salt help? I'm not really noticing any other symptoms besides the clamping.


----------



## lilnaugrim

You can use AQ salt, 1 Tbs per every 5 gallons is good for preventative measures and safe to use at all times, just be sure to replace or not add more depending on what you're doing.


----------



## Tress

HapaMama said:


> Well, Pip started eating but he's still super clamped! I did his 50% wc this afternoon, and he seems to have gotten more clamped as a result  not sure what to do! Would AQ salt help? I'm not really noticing any other symptoms besides the clamping.


What size tank is he in? Does he have any cover and are there other bettas/fish within sight? A picture could help


----------



## HapaMama

So.... the clamping finally went away by itself, but Pip is back to not eating :shake:. I thought babies were supposed to be hungry little piggies?! This fish is back to spitting out everything, and not actually eating anything he gets in his mouth. I've tried two kinds of crushed pellets and crushed re-hydrated blood worms. My husband gets grossed out easily, so I probably can't keep frozen things in our freezer, or any live food. Should I just keep offering him the same food options I've been giving him anyway? Or do a fasting day? :question:


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## lilnaugrim

Well, a healthy baby will gobble down everything but not so healthy babies don't. PetCo babies are notorious for not being very healthy, occasionally you get a good one but the majority of them have some sort of issues. They're normally the culls that the breeders don't want.

Don't do fasting days with young babies, just keep going with his food.


----------



## HapaMama

Thanks, Lil. 

Not to be morbid, but do you think he might just starve himself to death with this not eating business? Or is it possible that he'll come around?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Well, if he's not eating then there's something wrong with him. He won't starve himself to death technically, it'd only happen if something else was the matter if that makes sense. You can make a thread in the disease section to see if we can see anything, lots of pictures always help and make sure you fill out the sticky for all the info.


----------



## kittenfish

kittenfish said:


> I picked up this little black crowntail girl yesterday. She has a very pretty blue sheen and, surprisingly, no stress stripes. Maybe that's characteristic of solid black bettas?


So this fish is looking less like a girl AND less like a crowntail. The body shape still looks kind of female to me, but I'm starting to think that's just a belly nd not ovaries. I don't see an ovipositor, and the fins look male. Also the webbing is growing in between the rays, which is interesting. Do non-crowntails sometimes start out looking like crowntails, or should I expect the ray growth to catch up eventually?

(sorry about the dirty glass)


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah that's a little boy. And I believe I went over it in the PetCo Baby Care Thread, I'll have to check again but, yes, rays grow faster than the webbing does and so thus will look like a little CT for a few days to a few weeks until the webbing catches up. The difference is that they'd have more or less equal web reduction on ALL the fins, not just the caudal as many people seem to observe.


----------



## Fenghuang

Wow, you might have a male black veiltail on your hands, kittenfish! He's so handsome.


----------



## PooterFish

I tried my first baby about two weeks ago. I picked a very lively albeit tiny baby and brought him home. I set up the tank(2.5g) the same night with heater and live plant. I drip acclimated him after the tank temp was stable. I acclimated him a good 1.5hrs just to be safe. The next morning I checked on him he was staying at the bottom. I figured he was just getting settled in, tried to feed him which he looked at the food but wouldn't eat. By that night he was gone  

I want to try again, but I want to know what I did wrong. Was it the brand new tank? The temp never fluctuated, it stayed at 78 every time I checked it. I was planning to give him a water change every day, but didn't get the chance :'(

I have had the tank up ever since then, I'm going to order a filter for it and then try again. Any tips? I was devistated to see him not make it as I had had my eyes on him for a couple weeks. I feel so guilty that I killed him, like maybe he'd still be alive if I hadn't took him home...


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## Fenghuang

My little girl being a spazz.


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## Tress

PooterFish said:


> I tried my first baby about two weeks ago. I picked a very lively albeit tiny baby and brought him home. I set up the tank(2.5g) the same night with heater and live plant. I drip acclimated him after the tank temp was stable. I acclimated him a good 1.5hrs just to be safe. The next morning I checked on him he was staying at the bottom. I figured he was just getting settled in, tried to feed him which he looked at the food but wouldn't eat. By that night he was gone
> 
> I want to try again, but I want to know what I did wrong. Was it the brand new tank? The temp never fluctuated, it stayed at 78 every time I checked it. I was planning to give him a water change every day, but didn't get the chance :'(
> 
> I have had the tank up ever since then, I'm going to order a filter for it and then try again. Any tips? I was devistated to see him not make it as I had had my eyes on him for a couple weeks. I feel so guilty that I killed him, like maybe he'd still be alive if I hadn't took him home...


Don't blame yourself, the babies are very fragile and are not properly cared for in stores. It's not uncommon for them to suddenly die despite proper care. The only thing I see being a problem is the temp. 78'F is ok but babies do better in 80-82'F. It was not really a factor here, it's likely they were sick/weak to start with from the store.


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## keroppisandwich

*Betta baby from petco, any advice to optimize health?*

About a week and a half ago I purchased a baby betta for my 4 year old (from Petco) as his first pet. As I did my research my interest has completely peaked (I've never owned a betta) and I really want him/her to survive. I am still seeing stress lines but they appear to have lessened. The color is more vivid and eating seems to appear normal. My son has been showing no interest in Jupiter (what I've named the betta ), so now he/she is in my room. Anyways I was wondering if anyone has advice for optimizing this betta's health. I am feeding him/her freeze dried brine shrimp and occasionally pellets, around 3 times a day. Sometimes 4. I've also been keeping the temperature around 79 degrees f. I've only changed the water once so far. She/he is very small but still appears pretty active. Lately Jupiter has been hanging out in two spots close to the surface. Does this indicate sickness? Should I be worried about the stress lines? I don't know what could be causing them. I did use prime dechlorinator for the water.


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## Tress

keroppisandwich said:


> About a week and a half ago I purchased a baby betta for my 4 year old (from Petco) as his first pet. As I did my research my interest has completely peaked (I've never owned a betta) and I really want him/her to survive. I am still seeing stress lines but they appear to have lessened. The color is more vivid and eating seems to appear normal. My son has been showing no interest in Jupiter (what I've named the betta ), so now he/she is in my room. Anyways I was wondering if anyone has advice for optimizing this betta's health. I am feeding him/her freeze dried brine shrimp and occasionally pellets, around 3 times a day. Sometimes 4. I've also been keeping the temperature around 79 degrees f. I've only changed the water once so far. She/he is very small but still appears pretty active. Lately Jupiter has been hanging out in two spots close to the surface. Does this indicate sickness? Should I be worried about the stress lines? I don't know what could be causing them. I did use prime dechlorinator for the water.


Your baby is extremely clamped up and looks a little bloated. Freeze dried foods have little nutritional value and if not rehydrated before feeding can cause bloating and constipation. What kind of pellets are you feeding? Babies need small meals multiple times a day. You are not doing enough water changes, babies produce a growth stunting hormone and are very sensitive to water quality. How big is the tank? 

Babies are not for people new to bettas, they are extremely fragile and are much more work than an adult betta. But I'm glad you are trying to learn more about it and give them the best you can. Here is a great thread that will really help you http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## LittleBettaFish

Clamped fins like that would indicate issues with water quality or potential external parasites. 

How does your fish behave when swimming around? Do the fins unclamp? Is the swimming erratic or jerky? Do you catch your fish trying to scratch itself on substrate or decorations in the tank? Also what are your water parameters? Do you have test kits on hand for ammonia/nitrite? 

That does not look like a happy or healthy fish to me. IME, a healthy juvenile will be active and spend a lot of time moving around the tank, not remaining motionless in the same position for long periods of time.


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## kittenfish

Thanks lilnaugrim! He really tricked me!



Fenghuang said:


> Wow, you might have a male black veiltail on your hands, kittenfish! He's so handsome.


That'd be cool, I've never had a male veiltail before.


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## keroppisandwich

Right after I posted this, I went to Clark's Pet Emporium and purchased a 5.5 gallon tank (the one I had before was only a 1 gallon). I bought more aquarium accessories and i used half tap half spring water with Prime concentrated conditioner for marine and freshwater fish. I also purchased some frozen brine shrimp instead of the freeze dried. Jupiter moves around quite a bit and has been exploring the whole aquarium. I still need to test the ammonia levels, but I made sure to clean everything just using hot water. His/her fins already seem less clamped.


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## keroppisandwich

Here's a picture I just took Jupiter is moving pretty fast but you can see his/her fins are more spread out. If I get the living conditions correct how quickly should the stress lines go away?


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## uminee

keroppisandwich said:


> Here's a picture I just took Jupiter is moving pretty fast but you can see his/her fins are more spread out. If I get the living conditions correct how quickly should the stress lines go away?


Jupiter is so pretty  my Bonsai is plain-O brown and just gobbles up everything! im kinda worried about the horizontal stripes too, they never go away  

Bonsai is a little piggy, always looking at the bubbles as if thinking it can eat them too Lol. And when I had to move a plant in the water it followed my hand and tried to bite my fingers! 








EDIT FIXED PIC: mleh, why is it so hard to copy the bb code on my iphone? >.<


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## Snowlily

The horizontal stripes are baby stripes. They provide camouflage, they will disappear once the fish get older and their color starts to come in.


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## keroppisandwich

Lol trying to eat bubbles, your betta sounds like he/she has an awesome personality. As for the colors remember your little betta is still growing, the blue only shows when i have the flash on. I'm happy to hear that the stripes will go away after it grows, I was pretty worried. I had no idea how outgoing betta fish are. I've owned goldfish before and some ghost shrimp, but their personalities are nothing near that of a betta. Thank you everyone for all of your great advice and acknowledgement. 
P.S. I bought one of those leaf betta beds the othervday and they are so cute! Jupiter has already been resting on it


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## Snowlily

So literally overnight still unnamed fish developed some color in his caudal and anal fins :-D
Also looking at the pictures I took when I first got him on Friday I hadn't realized how much he has grown and changed in just 6 days. 









I'm a little worried about him though. He seems to have trouble just floating horizontally in place. His tail end just sinks down whenever he remains still. 
I don't think he is bloated, I know his belly looks bloated in the picture but I took it right after feeding and before pooping. And he does poop - a lot!

Other than that he is very active swimming around a lot, eating really well and always watching the surface for the magic syringe to appear or foraging the bottom for food. 

It has gotten a lot better from a few days ago when he spent a lot of time resting in the floating plants. 
So I'm guessing he is either getting stronger and learning to compensate better or growing out of it.


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## keroppisandwich

Wow that is a big change! His stress lines have disappeared! I think maybe mine is still really young. Do you think Bonsai is a boy or a girl? I'll post a picture to show how big Jupiter is. I'm still worried as well, he/she is still clamping, the temperature is a little lower than it should be so I added some warm water, but I don't know what else to do.


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## BettaMummy87

Not PetCO as we dont have them here. He is about an inch long, and I am certain as I can be on gender. I am guessing from his wide dorsal base he will either be carrying DT genes, or he has an unusually strong dorsal, which will be great to breed in. 

Excuse his belly... He was fed a few bloodworms this morning, and must've found something to munch on since... Gannet. >.>; Goodness only know what as I only cleaned the tank today too. On that note, excuse the brown gunk. new wood, new tank, and even after a boil that borwn crud isnt going away. :/ He has the laziest nerite ever in his tank. All it does is lay eggs.


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## Snowlily

keroppisandwich said:


> Wow that is a big change! His stress lines have disappeared! I think maybe mine is still really young. Do you think Bonsai is a boy or a girl? I'll post a picture to show how big Jupiter is. I'm still worried as well, he/she is still clamping, the temperature is a little lower than it should be so I added some warm water, but I don't know what else to do.


Are you talking about my fish? 
His baby stripes didn't disappear he never had any to begin with because he doesn't have much pigmentation at all. That was him when I got him Friday. He is almost translucent.









Fry on the other hand is a much darker fish. He had baby stripes when I got him










But now that he is getting older they are fading away or getting covered up by his adult colors. Sorry for the bad picture that fish does not want to hold still for a quick pic.:roll:


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## uminee

yep i think keroppi-san meant your fish, not mine. Bonsai is the same still all stripy and brown with a fat stomach, so i'm thinking girl! altho, when i shined the flashlight on it, i did notice some tiny sparkles of green :shock:

now it zips around way too fast for me to take pictures! so i tried painting a picture of it instead XD










SPARKLY animated version here: http://umi-nee.tumblr.com/post/112277316876/bonsai-my-baby-betta-who-likes-to-eat-bubbles


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## lilnaugrim

Lol, that's adorable! Yeah, that's the iridescence you're seeing, most Betta's have it


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## keroppisandwich

Wow I love your depiction of Bonsai  ! I'm having the same problem with Jupiter, he/she moves way to fast, I also think Jupiter knows when I'm about to take a picture because he/she heads away from the camera. For some reason I am obsessed with Betta Fish, I find myself going to different pet stores every day to get more tank accessories and equipment, yesterday I visited petco again..... bought another baby. But both have been doing really well. They are in separate tanks. I have no idea the sex of either. If I could get a good photo I'll post it in Betta chat forum and see what they say. The new baby betta is lighter in color with a slight lavender tint and longer ventrals but they're not very thick, very slender, but it could be this ones still pretty small.


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## uminee

oh another cute baby!! makes me want visit Petco again in case there r any more babies up for rescue ^^; Nooo cant give in to temptation!

@lilnaugrim i didn't think Bonsai had any irids yet, so it was a big surprise  that plus im incredibly nearsighted :squint:


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## keroppisandwich

Here's a few pictures of the new baby (the one i posted prior was still jupiter, whom now i think is a female because i think i see an egg spot). I think this new one is a boy! :-D


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## DancingGirl808

Hi Everyone! I just got a baby betta as a gift recently. :-D I was wondering if there is an official thread that only shows baby bettas before and after pics? This is such a ginormous thread, and I was wondering if there's a place that has just before and after pics? I think it's super interesting to see how the colors and tail types turn out!


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## flowingfins

Here is my yellow baby.


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## ebonycoleman

Fish as pets are becoming quite popular among families and kids largely because many people lead exceptionally occupied lives and have little time to dedicate to pets.


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## zoemycat

*My sweet baby betta fish (Chadwick)*

I got a baby betta from Petco. I couldn't decide which betta I should adopt so I asked the sales lady which kind of betta gets chosen last most often and she said the baby bettas, so I chose a baby betta. I wasn't aware and am surprised to find out what is being said here about them being more difficult to keep alive. I thought it was a good idea to get a baby so i could see it grow from a baby and have hum longer. I feel even luckier now Chad has done and seems to be growing and doing well.

this is baby chad, I recently added a snail (tiger or lion i forget which) I named him Ed. Chad treats Ed well and basically ignores him :-D

http://www.bettafish.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=514818&stc=1&d=1425306565


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## Snowlily

Well I am happy to report that whatever swimming issue little dude had he seems to have completely grown out of or recovered from. 
He is growing like weed, especially his fins. 
It's weird he seems to be growing at a much faster rate than the other two babies even though I feed and treat them the same way. 
In just 9 days he went from this: 









to this








and now this


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## lilnaugrim

zoemycat said:


> I got a baby betta from Petco. I couldn't decide which betta I should adopt so I asked the sales lady which kind of betta gets chosen last most often and she said the baby bettas, so I chose a baby betta. I wasn't aware and am surprised to find out what is being said here about them being more difficult to keep alive. I thought it was a good idea to get a baby so i could see it grow from a baby and have hum longer. I feel even luckier now Chad has done and seems to be growing and doing well.
> 
> this is baby chad, I recently added a snail (tiger or lion i forget which) I named him Ed. Chad treats Ed well and basically ignores him :-D
> 
> http://www.bettafish.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=514818&stc=1&d=1425306565



Lol, I'm 99% sure that Chad is actually a long finned VT female ^_^ She's cute though!

Have you read through the PetCo Baby Care thread that's floating around? If not, here's the link anyhow:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330&highlight=PetCo+Baby+Care+Thread


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## michbelle

Its been a while since i posted here but three years ago i got a baby and he turned out to be a salmon elephant ear plakat. Very beautiful fish his name was squirt. It was a joy to care for him and watch the transformation take place from thin baby to colorful plakat


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## Snowlily

Already flaring like a big guy.:-D
I see some branching in his tail does that mean he'll be a delta tail?


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## Snowlily

michbelle said:


> Its been a while since i posted here but three years ago i got a baby and he turned out to be a salmon elephant ear plakat. Very beautiful fish his name was squirt. It was a joy to care for him and watch the transformation take place from thin baby to colorful plakat


How long did he live for?


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## lilnaugrim

Snowlily said:


> Already flaring like a big guy.:-D
> I see some branching in his tail does that mean he'll be a delta tail?


Ooohhhh looks like he may be a HM!!! Nice spread!!


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## michbelle

Snowlily said:


> How long did he live for?


Got him in 2012 and he died last year in october because my sitter didnt let him acclimate before switching him out after a complete water change. He was pretty healthy though from day one. I lucked out.


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## SplashyBetta

-ignore, wrong thread-


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## konstargirl

Everyone's babies are looking mighty good!


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## zoemycat

I never thought to think how bad it is for Petcon to sale baby bettas, I just kinda felt bad for all the fish there and ask the lady which fish is chosen last to be took home. She said baby bettas were so I chose one of them. After reading this forum I am less ignorant to some of the actual reasons why I instinctively felt sad for the fish sold by Petco. What is really sad was this mexican dollar store selling sad sickly looking bettas all stacked up in these little plastic containers baking in the sun. I without another thought rescued the saddest looking one there. He really appreciated being saved and thrived in his new home. That was my favorite fish I ever had I loved that fish!


----------



## Snowlily

lilnaugrim said:


> Ooohhhh looks like he may be a HM!!! Nice spread!!


Oh wow! Looks like that sad little tadpole with the big beady eyes that I wasn't convinced would make it through the night, is turning into quite the lucky find. He is quickly becoming my favorite fish as well. Full of spunk and not a fuzzy eater unlike the other two.


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## kitkatcat94

Hey guys. So I bought Dakota new food. It's the omega one beta buffet flakes. They didn't have the pellets. I've given her fasting days and a feeding at night after the fasting days. However Dakota is still a bit chubby. How can I help my baby lose this weight? I don't want to starve her.


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## kitkatcat94

This is Dakota. So fast and hard too photograph. She even hides from the camera. I don't use flash.


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## lilnaugrim

Females tend to be a little chubbier sometimes. But fast her 3 days to see if that helps. Going a month without food isn't going to starve her. They don't depend on food for energy as much as we do, so they can stand going longer.


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## Sadist

Is she old enough to make eggs? How does she look from the top down?


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## lilnaugrim

She is old enough, but being eggy will look fat further down the body where the ovaries are. I'll get some pictures later so I can show everyone the difference between an Eggy female and a Fat female. Her fat is in the tummy, not the ovaries.


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## kitkatcat94

Thank you guys for responding. I'll fast her for longer then. Also is it ok that I am giving her the omega one flakes instead of the pellets. I haven't been able to find them.


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## lnk8523

I wish I had found this earlier before my petco trip. We just came home with this little bright red guy (or girl) currently named Python by my son. 









And this tank recommended by an apparently clueless clerk










I haven't opened the tank yet, so I'm thinking I need to take it back and get a larger one? And a heater. And baby food. Anything else you can recommend for a new baby beta mom?


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## lnk8523

edited for pictures that didnt show in last reply...darn mobile


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## BaileyBetta

Definitely take the kit back and get a bigger tank with a heater, IMO. Prime for conditioning the water. In an ideal world you'd get a sponge filter too.


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## Tress

I have a 1g version of that and it's a junk tank to start with. It scratches so easily and the view it gives is annoying. I'd get a simple 2.5g glass tank and get a 25w adjustable heater. Filter can wait a while (sponge filter would be good indeed) as you'll be doing a lot of water changes anyways to remove the growth stunting hormone that babies produce. What food did you get for it? If you can, get Seachem Prime for your water conditioner. It helps keep the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate in check which babies are very sensitive to.

Here is the baby betta care thread http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## lnk8523

so, we are back from our 2nd trip to petco of the day. although ill be hopping on amazon later if this fish survives the weekend. My local petco didnt have much options for food and heaters, so i ended up with a 10w heater ( it was that or 50 or 100, a 5.5 g tank, that i ddint fill up the whole way yet. Tetrabeta mini pellets, kent water conditioner, and frozen(not freeze dried) bloodworms. and some decoration











hes hanging out for now. i fed him in his cup, he ignored everything i put in until i realized i was an idiot. i ut up the bloodworm, and he devoured it, and crushed one pellet, also devoured fast. im not sure if i should feed him any more, that seems like alot for such a little guy.


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## darkequidae

Been lurking in this thread for awhile now, so I figured I should finally share my (no longer so little) baby betta, Jaxom.

When I first got her back in November: 









And now (a little chubby, perhaps): 









It's been quite a rewarding experience raising her up, and she's easily my favorite fish.


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## Jessicatm137

Well, I fell in love with one of these little guys..... and took him home with me.
I'm calling him Mustashio for the time being because he has this adorable little mustache. I'm pretty sure it's a boy, I didn't see any ovaries even though I'm pretty sure I saw an egg spot. I know that males have false egg spots often. He's in a one gallon - I know it's a little small, but I'm doing water changes every day and i will update him one I can, as well as getting him live plants and a better heater (the one I have is keeping it a little to cold for my liking).
Anyway, here he is!


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## Axeria

Awww! All these babies are so adorable! And they seem to be doing really great with capable owners looking after them 
It just sadens me abit to see that they sell them that young when the average fish keeper wont be able to give them what they need... oh well... Atleast the ones you guys have are doing great!


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## zoemycat

You are right! Chad is a girl, I see the white spot on her stomach now3. Thank you for teaching me about that.


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## zoemycat

New Member
User Aquariums

Join Date: Mar 2015
zoemycat's Posts
You are right! Chad is a girl, I see the white spot on her stomach now3. Thank you for teaching me about that.


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## lilnaugrim

Jessicatm137 said:


> Well, I fell in love with one of these little guys..... and took him home with me.
> I'm calling him Mustashio for the time being because he has this adorable little mustache. I'm pretty sure it's a boy, I didn't see any ovaries even though I'm pretty sure I saw an egg spot. I know that males have false egg spots often. He's in a one gallon - I know it's a little small, but I'm doing water changes every day and i will update him one I can, as well as getting him live plants and a better heater (the one I have is keeping it a little to cold for my liking).
> Anyway, here he is!


I'm 99% sure that's a girl ^_^ lovely coloring though.



zoemycat said:


> You are right! Chad is a girl, I see the white spot on her stomach now3. Thank you for teaching me about that.


White spots don't mean a thing in the betta world, both males and females have them.


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## lnk8523

So, now my little cow is refusing to eat the pellets at all, she (now a she in my head cause she's picky) will only eat the blood worms. Is that OK for her to eat only, or do I need to stop feeding her them until she starts eating the pellets again?


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## Snowlily

They can be picky  I think they are only fed pellets once a week at petco. All three of my babies were devouring pellets the day I brought them home. Now not so much. 
Only one of the three is not a picky eater and will eat anything. It's the cellophane who is growing and pooping like crazy. The other two are super picky. One only likes frozen brine shrimp and doesn't touch frozen bloodworms and won't even look at pellets. The other one eats both bloodworms and brine shrimp but pellets? Nah! 
They still get the baby bonus since they are growing. So I feed them whatever they will eat and plan on pellet training them once they are close to maturity.


----------



## Jessicatm137

lilnaugrim said:


> I'm 99% sure that's a girl ^_^ lovely coloring though.


Thanks. In that picture the coloring is actually a little off, though. I was pretty sure it was a boy, but how many babies have I sexed? Lol. I guess I might have a little Mustashia now, which is fine even though I was kinda hoping for a boy too. I got some more pics, but it was incredibly hard as this fish zooms all over the place. 
Warning: *Lots of pics*


----------



## Axeria

Awwww! She is so cute! ^_^


----------



## Jessicatm137

Thanks. ^^ She's incredibly sweet and friendly too.


----------



## Snowlily

I love the black color on her!


----------



## Snowlily

Aww he made a mini bubble nest! 
I can't believe the rate at which this fish is growing and maturing. 
Could it be that he was so severely stunted from being in a neglected Petco cup that he is much older and just catching up now at a rapid rate?
It just baffles me that this fish went from a tiny tadpole to a flaring, bubble nest building mini adult in two weeks!


----------



## Axeria

Amazing!


----------



## TripleChrome

I just got another new baby, and this one is actually from Petco, not Walmart like Noel. It is a cellophane because of the fins. Here is a picture of him/her. Hopefully someone can tell from the picture. I can't capture his fins good, as they are clear.


----------



## Rodog

Picked this one because it was the most active in the cups. Have no idea about sex or type I did like the coloring of it though.


----------



## Snowlily

So little dude has finally made into his new 10 gallon tank


----------



## LolaQuigs

Cute!


----------



## keroppisandwich

*Here's an update!!!*

I had posted a picture of Jupiter when I first got him, so I though I'd show you guys an update!
Here is before:








And after:








Sorry it's upside down!


----------



## kittenfish

I like that black and red!


----------



## keroppisandwich

kittenfish said:


> I like that black and red!


I thought he was gonna be blue but that red sure is coming in!


----------



## Snowlily

I love seeing the progression pictures. They change so much.


----------



## TuiAndLa

All you guys are lucky that you still get to raise baby bettas. I had been looking to get another recently, only to find out that my Petco stopped selling babies. :-( I suppose it's a good thing for the fish, as they shouldn't be sold so young in the first place... At least I got to raise one of them last year- my Bree girl (I won't post pics b/c I've already posted her on this thread before. lol She's in my photo album though if anyone's curious.)

But yea... I had to vent just a little bit. lol


----------



## fleetfish

He's not quite a baby, but he's certainly young. This is a little VT boy I found today mislabled as a female. He's very fiesty, and still needs to grow out some.


----------



## Tress

O.O they had him labelled female?


----------



## fleetfish

He was the same size as the females - they were big girls.


----------



## Snowlily

Growing up so fast









On a different note would someone be able to tell me if I'm correct in my assumption that both Fry and Zero are females?
Compared with the obviously male cellophane above they have been growing at a much slower rate and their fins haven't gotten any longer at all. 
Sorry for the terrible pictures but the dark water from tannins along with the glare from the windows and my crappy camera didn't make it easy. 

Fry:










Zero:


----------



## lilnaugrim

Wow! That baby boy is absolutely gorgeous!!! I'm in love with his coloring!!

The other two do look like females but it's difficult to tell.


----------



## Snowlily

lilnaugrim said:


> Wow! That baby boy is absolutely gorgeous!!! I'm in love with his coloring!!
> 
> The other two do look like females but it's difficult to tell.


Thanks! He is my favorite fish! So much personality! 
He is changing colors quickly I just came home from work and he suddenly has some dark blue or purple spots in his caudal and anal fin that wasn't there earlier today. 










He also has some red in his dorsal. I can't wait for the final result. 









And he just flared at me for the first time. Probably because I haven't fed him yet :-D
And look at what he kept himself busy with while I was at work:


----------



## Animalforest

So.. I've had probably 4 bettas before, all of which were full grown males. My last one just died the end of February from practically never ending health problems he had when I first got him but he lived a little over a year with me which I'm happy about since he probably would've died at the store if I didn't get him. Anyway.. I have been trying to get to the store to get another one since but thanks to a busy work/school schedule and snow I didn't make it until today. I was disappointed with the care of the bettas at this Petco since the rest of the fish seemed to be really well cared for but I looked at all of them and grabbed a tiny baby anyway since he looked the healthiest minus a really cool dragon scale but he was too much for me. He is in a 10 gallon divided tank heated to 80 degrees with a filter, gravel and a couple bunches of live plants. He didnt move much at first but when his water warmed up he started moving around and ate 2 Aqueon betta pellets.


----------



## Snowlily

He is very cute! They had a few almost identical looking babies at my petco today as well. Very dark with red fins. 
Please keep us updated I'm curious to see what color these guys end up as.


----------



## Animalforest

Thanks  I'm assuming he's about 6 weeks but I'm planning on taking pictures everyday and making it into a video to show his growth. I'll be sure to add a few on here every once in a while


----------



## Animalforest

Got my second Petco baby betta today!I'm a little worried because he didn't eat much but I'm hoping tomorrow he will. He seems to have red fin and with the flash he looks blue.


----------



## Sadist

Those babies look lovely! I especially like Snowlily's cellophane boy!


----------



## Animalforest

Not the best pictures but I've had Dragon for a week now. I'm thinking male and maybe comb or crown tail.







The other baby, Frostfire, I've had six days I'm thinking female veil tail.


----------



## webhusky67

When I got my baby beta she was the smallest on the rack and I was afraid that she wouldn't make it so I decided to give it a shot and here we are a year later and she has turned into a still tiny but beatiful veiltail. Her name is Castiel because I'm a supernatural fan if you know what that is... It's a tv showing you don't. She is housed in a 5 gallon with my two ADFs.


----------



## PaperCoversRock

Just want to confirm this baby I got from Petco 5 months ago is indeed female?  Another name change needed! This is my 2nd of 3 babies that have (assumingly?) turned out female.


----------



## JHatchett

Yup, that's a girl.


----------



## lilnaugrim

+1 to J


----------



## RedArizona

Hiya :3 I'm new to the world of betta but have been doing tons of research. It's going to take much time, but hopefully within the next year my friend and I plan to get a couple baby betta's for ourselves! I have read through the entire thread (Thank you everyone for all of the info!) and am recording all information I need to know. My friend and I plan to each get one. She might want one of the itty-bitties (I'm recommending her against it) I plan to get a semi-older, healthy looking little guy  If you have any answers, I have a couple questions.

1- When I get my fish, I already have a ten gallon tank, would I have to get a smaller tank for it while it's still young or can I keep it in the ten gallon?
2- If I can keep it in the ten gallon, would a 50-70% water change every other day work with a 100% two times a week or should I do 100% every other day? (Sorry if these questions are a bit stupid)
3- How much does a heater and filter cost on average?
Thanks!! :3


----------



## lilnaugrim

Hey there Red, glad you found us here ^_^

1) No, keep it in the 10 gallon if you are able to. It's not true that smaller fish need or can be in smaller tanks. Babies are sensitive as you may have read, so having a larger, more stable tank (like a 10 gallon) will be much more healthy for your baby than to have it in a smaller tank.5.5 gallons would be okay too, but if you have the option, a 10 gallon is much better to use!

2) Never do a 100% on a baby betta or on a cycled tank. (Do you know about the Nitrogen Cycle? If not, look it up here! Or ask) A 25-50% would be adequate every other day if you keep live plants in the tank. Take care though when you add new water that it matches the old water best you can. No need to remove the baby during water changes.

3) Depends on where you look. I honestly would use a 50 Watt Hydor Theo heater from that link. And if you want other fish later on, use an AquaClear 20 either from the store or on that link. If you don't want other fish, then you can use a simple sponge filter and air pump which will create less flow for your baby to be pushed around in but still have good filtration: Sponge Filters and a Fairly Quiet Air Pump


----------



## RedArizona

Thanks Lil! Through reading the thread I've found your comments the most helpful, Im going to look at the filters you recommended tonight. :-D Depending on how well it goes with my baby, I would want to get more bettas so the AquaClear 20 seems like a good choice for me. Thanks again, a I'll definitely be referring back here for more help and questions. :3


----------



## kittylapurr

So I bought Finneas a couple days ago. The gentlemen at the store guessed that it's a boy. I'm not sure what type of betta he is either. I was looking at all the little Betta and once I saw him I felt a connection and just knew. He's a playful little fella and loves to go explore and swim all around. I have him in a 1.5 gal right now. I'm feeding him flakes because it seems easier for him to eat and I crushed up a couple pellets but he doesn't seem to care for it. I just got him a water warmer for his tank. If anyone knows his gender or can identify him I'd love to know. Or if you have any tips.


----------



## Sunset02

Aww how cute! I'm a sucker for little bettas. I have pledged never to go in betta fish sections again, otherwise I'm sure to fall in love with one.


----------



## leostars87

*New Baby Betta*

Hello all! Im new on here and was hoping for a more experienced eye. Just picked this little guy or gal up from Petco today and was wondering if anyone would be able to help me with sex and breed. I was trying to match it up with an adult that had similiar fin shape, but theres just too many. Any ideas? Thanks


----------



## BettaObsessed

I'd guess a female veil tail or delta, but don't quote me on it.;-) I'm not entirely sure. If you know how old it is I could make a better guess but from what I see that is my guess.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Male VT likely a Turquoise with a red wash and is roughly 2.5-3 months old.

You actually can't tell it's fin shape by matching shapes as babies versus adults. The babies ray's will branch out and spread as they age and change, much like a young human will go through puberty and change, it's a similar action. Also, they are not "breeds" but tail types, it's just a variation on the tail much like human hair and their shapes; curly, flat, wavy, volumnous, thin, and so on. That help out?


----------



## leostars87

I have no idea how old it is. It was the only one that had color and it was a little bigger than the rest. But its still very small.


----------



## IncessantRain91

Hello :]

I bought a Betta fry today. I think it's a male.


----------



## Tress

Aww he/she looks so skinny  poor baby


----------



## Kisiel

I got a new baby yesterday (impulse buy, I know, I know) and OMG ITS SO SMALL AND CUTE. It has one ventral shorter than the other, I suspect it must have been bitten by another fish at some point  I'm really hoping for a VT female but that one long ventral is really confusing me... 

Can't believe Perseus was this size when I got him, he's grown up to be such a big boy ;-; 

Anyway, any ideas on gender and tail type? I'd appreciate name suggestions too! 

Excuse the fat belly btw, the baby has been munching on live brine shrimp and daphnia all day. It knows where I keep the baggies and keeps trying to get to them through the glass! 










I can't seem to get a half decent picture of this baby, it's constantly moving! 




























I tried to get the little one to flare by showing a male to it but the baby was like "oooohhh who's this?" and wouldn't flare :roll: Anyway, is this ovaries I see?


----------



## JHatchett

That is very much a girl.


----------



## Anne713

Kisiel, she makes me want a little girl so bad! She is so little and cute!


----------



## TiffanyP

I got this lil guy tonight! He was in a cup labeled as a baby, but he's an inch and a half (or close) in his body so he's not so much a baby as he is a small adult I think haha I was hoping lilnaugrim would see his picture and confirm for me that he is indeed a 'he' and perhaps a clue to tail type since he has pretty distinct rays, but I know VTs get rays too before the webbing grows out... so I'm confused lol  Love seeing all of your little baby pics!


----------



## DangerousAngel

Looks like a female to me. Check the white spot in the pic. He/she is very cute!

Our PetCo sells them so tiny, there were 4 full racks of them this time I went.


----------



## Elleth

DangerousAngel said:


> Our PetCo sells them so tiny, there were 4 full racks of them this time I went.


I must confess my guilty hope that I'll find one at our Petco someday. >.< I know it's much better for them if they grow up more before they are sold, but dang I want a little baby. *blinkblink*


----------



## TiffanyP

They're very tempting Elleth lol and oh so cute!

And DangerousAngel - egg spots aren't a good way to sex fish as males sometimes have them too


----------



## lilnaugrim

@Kiesel, Yes! Ovaries for sure! It is a little girlie! Right now the logical guess is that she is VT, but she could be a DeT as well, won't know until she's a little bigger and if her ray's split any more.

@Tif, yep! Little boy and a VT. All tail types can have their ray's grow faster than the webbing, it's not just VT. Also on VT's, you'll notice the dorsal has a nice point to it, occasionally you get that on other tail types but for the most part, that's indicative of VT as well as that heavily slanted anal fin.


----------



## TiffanyP

Cool thanks


----------



## Kisiel

Yaaay  I've been wanting a girl for so long, especially since my breeder female still hasn't arrived :/ I did get to see baby flares today though: I removed the card between her and Lucifer for some exercise and the little one got quite mad lol. She appears not to have a beard though... Or a very minuscule one. Is this normal?

The little bugger ate my favourite bladder snail, I've had this guy for months and he was pretty big, about as big as my thumbnail. She was okay with him for a day. I came home yesterday to find an empty shell and a very fat fish :roll: not happy about this, but oh well.


----------



## IncessantRain91

He/she is doing much better. :]


----------



## TiffanyP

So because I'm not familiar with them I have a question regarding king/giant betta babies... The "baby" I have now (that I just posted a picture of) is nearly the size of one of my adult bettas (minus fins, I wish I could get an accurate comparison picture) but he's obviously very young... can you tell when they're very small that they'll be giants? Or is it just something they grow into? Forgive my ignorance, I'm trying to learn more - both about kings/giants and about why my 'baby' is so big


----------



## lilnaugrim

It's just something they grow into so even if you have a GiantxGiant spawn, you may only get 50% or less actual giants.


----------



## Julie7778

Wow everyone's babies are adorable! I wish mine sold them, but at the same time I'm glad they don't, I don't think they get good enough conditions. I'm glad people help them out when they see them though 

Off topic but does anyone have anything to say on this plant?
http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/sagitaria-subulata-tissue-culture---hortilab-931-p.asp

Seems good and I want a carpet plant.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, dwarf sag is pretty nice, it's easy to grow. You can also try microsword as well, very similar to dwarf sag but smaller. Pygmy Chainsword is another good easy, carpet plant.


----------



## BettaStarter24

DangerousAngel said:


> Looks like a female to me. Check the white spot in the pic. He/she is very cute!
> 
> Our PetCo sells them so tiny, there were 4 full racks of them this time I went.


the egg spot is not a reliable way to tell. Young males can have them as well as females.


----------



## Kisiel

It's been almost two weeks since I brought my little girl home and she's doing fantastic  She's grown a little and is getting chubby: we've ran out of live food so I've been fattening her up with frozen stuff, mainly bloodworms. She bravely gobbles down pellets when I throw some in there too, although they're far too big for her and she has to nip little pieces off as the pellets don't fit in her mouth haha. 

I gave her a small clump of java moss to explode yesterday and she's been trying to fight it lol. She's so friendly and curious though, always at the front of the tank when I'm around. She doesn't wiggle like my boys but rather just sits there and eyes me up expecting more food haha.


----------



## IncessantRain91

Hello. :] Is my betta fry a VT or HM?


----------



## lilnaugrim

You can't tell until they're older, looks like it could be either VT or DeT. That's a mighty thin looking baby Incessant, definitely bump up the feeding on him to twice a day and with good foods. What foods are you feeding?


----------



## HairdresserBri

*Wow, everyone's little bettas look so big! I feel like mine isn't growing at all. Shes definitely a happy little thing, though. She blows bubbles all the time. In fact I had to take some out because she covered a quarter of the top haha!*


----------



## TiffanyP

Well - I'm still waiting on lil Derp's fins to grow in, though in body size, he's every bit as big as my other full grown boys  Here he is today, just a few minutes ago!


----------



## fernielou

I had been wanting to add a new betta and saw this one I loved but it was floating on its side. Didn't want to bring home an animal that would die and hurt my kids but a week later getting food she/he was still there floating. Well I figured it was a fighter that deserved a chance. Fins have unclamped and she/he is not eating from the surface but very active and looks on the gravel for food. The gills look burned from the cup. It's only 1.25 inches long. Sold as female but I think it's a baby. It was smaller last week and more tadpoley.

Will the gills ever heal? Is it a girl? I know she's cambodian but what fin type?


----------



## Snowlily

Just wanted to give a quick update on my little tadpole, he has changed quite a bit :-D

The day I got him:









Today:


----------



## Kisiel

Snowlily, that is a massive change! He's so gorgeous! 

The baby I got (few pages back) is now a mummy! I bred her to my thai import and have lots of babies now :3


----------



## lilnaugrim

fernielou said:


> I had been wanting to add a new betta and saw this one I loved but it was floating on its side. Didn't want to bring home an animal that would die and hurt my kids but a week later getting food she/he was still there floating. Well I figured it was a fighter that deserved a chance. Fins have unclamped and she/he is not eating from the surface but very active and looks on the gravel for food. The gills look burned from the cup. It's only 1.25 inches long. Sold as female but I think it's a baby. It was smaller last week and more tadpoley.
> 
> Will the gills ever heal? Is it a girl? I know she's cambodian but what fin type?


Looks female to me, VT, and those aren't ammonia burns on her gills. That's just a normal red coloring that most Cambodian's or light bodied fish have. She looks all around healthy to me.


----------



## fernielou

Thanks lilnaugrim! This pic is day 1 and she had been like that at least a week. She is a feisty thing. I'm glad she's a girl.


----------



## Rana

I got sucked in again! My last two babies grew up and I had an empty tank lying around, so when I stopped by the store to replace my heater I just had to check out the bettas.

My Petco had the babies separated by sex, which surprised me since isn't the mystery half the fun? But they all looked older as well, so maybe it's just this particular supplier.

Anyway, here's my new baby! Sold as a baby boy, I haven't gotten around to checking for ovaries so I'm not 100% sure but male seems likely. It looks like he might have multiple ray branches, which would be cool since my last babies were both VT. And he's a lovely silvery color now, I'm looking forward to seeing how much color he gains as he grows.


----------



## peasorama

Took a water sample from my 5-gallon tank to have it tested to see how my cycle was doing (and happy to report it passed with flying colors!) and couldn't resist taking a peek at the Betta Lounge where I was stunned to see "Baby Bettas"....and I couldn't leave this fella behind....he was marked a male anyways, but nothing else...
Here's a picture. Would love to hear any ideas about what sort he may be...
He's in a small set up for now, but will treat him to either a 5- or 10-gallon set up very soon. Currently he looks like SeaBiscuit did (but way more teeny tiny), so I'm looking forward to his colors coming in.


----------



## peasorama

Rana said:


> I got sucked in again! My last two babies grew up and I had an empty tank lying around, so when I stopped by the store to replace my heater I just had to check out the bettas.
> 
> My Petco had the babies separated by sex, which surprised me since isn't the mystery half the fun? But they all looked older as well, so maybe it's just this particular supplier.
> 
> Anyway, here's my new baby! Sold as a baby boy, I haven't gotten around to checking for ovaries so I'm not 100% sure but male seems likely. It looks like he might have multiple ray branches, which would be cool since my last babies were both VT. And he's a lovely silvery color now, I'm looking forward to seeing how much color he gains as he grows.


Congrats on your new addition Rana! Loved that we both brought home new baby bettas today. While I don't normally make impulse purchases, somehow I couldn't leave without this little fella. No name yet. After doing some research I'm a little concerned about getting as attached as I am to my first buddy SeaBiscuit. I'm going to pick up some live food for "him" tomorrow to better his chances. Congrats again!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Rana, definitely a little boy you have there ^_^

And peasorama, that's a little girl


----------



## peasorama

lilnaugrim said:


> Rana, definitely a little boy you have there ^_^
> 
> And peasorama, that's a little girl


Oh Gosh, really!? That's okay too! Thank you!


----------



## naturesactress

Just bought a baby boy two days ago. His colors were very dull and grey when I bought him, but I was thrilled to wake up today to how he looks in the picture below! I named him Seichō--the japanese word for "to grow".


----------



## naturesactress

Here's another picture that I meant to attach with my last post...


----------



## peasorama

Very sad news. Turned on my new 10-gallon low tech planted tank that I set up for my new baby girl & was waiting for to come out from the hornwart she liked to sleep in do I could feed her some live brine shrimp and...she wasn't there! I did a 25% water change (the driftwood is still making the water a little cloudy) thinking that would bring her out of hiding...still not there. Finally I decide to look on the floor....it has a cover but I had to look somewhere & I finally found her. She's so tiny I'm amazed I found her. She must've jumped out of the small space open near the filter? Now I have this beautiful $200 tank set up (for a $2.00 fish) and I couldn't keep her safe. Sad day.


----------



## Zippy2014

I don't know about Petco but I've seen some really small Betta at Petsmart. I have no idea and no way to judge how old they were. There's no point in asking people working there because they really don't know much either. I've seen them as small as about 1 inch long. My newest betta isn't much bigger than that.


----------



## Elleth

Well, I picked up two baby bettas on Friday, instead of going to see the new Avenger movie. Lol! I think it's definitely worth it, although I still really want to watch the movie.

They were labeled gender-wise, but I'm positive the one that was labeled a "boy" is a girl (I've seen her ovaries) and I'm 90% sure that the one labeled a "girl" is a boy. They're currently sharing a 6 gallon long, divided tank.

Well, without further ado, here are Merry and Pippin!

Pippin, the girl. I'm hoping she'll be a steel, she looks like she might be now: 









And Merry, the boy. He's a Cambodian crowntail.









Aren't they too cute? I'm so glad we went to Petco on their betta shipment day. Got these little babies before they were even on the shelf a full day.


----------



## tuxthebetta

My Petco is advertising these "baby bettas" as "female bettas"!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, I just went to mine and they attempted to sort the girls from the boys. All but one was actually a girl. I ended up buying one that I couldn't pass up. I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to self control :roll: I'll post pics later.

So it's later but my pics are taking forever to upload. I had some from when I first got him, but you can see him here acclimating and my other Betta's from my Red Butterfly spawn are in the back.
He's going to be a Wild type VT boy


----------



## NightStars

I have a baby betta that I'm wondering what his/her tail type is. I'm thinking she/he is a partial EE but have no idea on tail type.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Looks like a she and just the EE geno causing colored pectorals, not really a partial. And looks like a PK


----------



## NightStars

Thank you Lilnaugrim.


----------



## Reccka

Almost got sucked into buying a baby the other day...he was a teeny tiny red and white EE. So cute. I passed him up because I am just not ready for a baby betta. Left with a more grown betta instead. Can't stop thinking of him though. If only I had infinite tank space...


----------



## katiebats

This is dart hes a baby betta with a big heart. He like peek a boo


----------



## lilnaugrim

katiebats said:


> This is dart hes a baby betta with a big heart. He like peek a boo


Looks like possible girl


----------



## kittenfish

kittenfish said:


>


This guy turned out to be a delta tail. He's still teeny tiny, though he has grown a bit since I took this photo a couple weeks ago. I just like his face here.









This picture is horrible, but it's the only one I could get of him flaring:


----------



## Boshia

I just went to PetCo to get some more Prime and I couldn't leave without this little one...it was labeled as a female, not sure if it really is or not. There were only two babies left and this one was the smallest, and as I have an extra 3 gallon kritter keeper and a heater I decided to go ahead with it.


----------



## Tree

can anyone tell me how hard it is to take care of a baby betta? I was thinking about adopting one at petco. I will look for other forums about this topic as well.


----------



## Elleth

If you don't mind daily water changes, not bad at all. Mine are growing like weeds with daily water changes, temp of 82-83, and crushed pellets (NLS) for their food. But mine were healthy when I got them, they'd only just arrived at the store and hadn't even been there a day.


----------



## lilnaugrim

+1

And this: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330&highlight=PetCo+Baby+Care+Thread


----------



## Tree

Oh cool Elleth thanks for the info. and thanks lilnaugrim. I looked up the link and if I have a natural planted tank, would I need to still do water changes everyday? It's a 2.6 gallon and it is cycled.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Did you read my post? I go over that in there.

But basically, having planted tanks is one out of three ways to mitigate the Growth Stunting Hormone. You should still do twice a week water changes roughly 50%, enough that the plants can still have enough nutrients in the water but also enough to keep the baby growing. If you don't do any changes, the baby may still grow (if not already stunted) but it will grow veeerrryyy slowly, possibly never full reaching adult size.


----------



## Tree

lilnaugrim said:


> Did you read my post? I go over that in there.
> 
> But basically, having planted tanks is one out of three ways to mitigate the Growth Stunting Hormone. You should still do twice a week water changes roughly 50%, enough that the plants can still have enough nutrients in the water but also enough to keep the baby growing. If you don't do any changes, the baby may still grow (if not already stunted) but it will grow veeerrryyy slowly, possibly never full reaching adult size.



yup I read that part, but I must have missed the "twice a week" =P I'm still not sure what I wanna do yet. so I have time.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Tree said:


> yup I read that part, but I must have missed the "twice a week" =P I'm still not sure what I wanna do yet. so I have time.


Ah okay, I don't think I added that in there actually, I must have assumed there. Sorry.


----------



## Tree

lilnaugrim said:


> Ah okay, I don't think I added that in there actually, I must have assumed there. Sorry.



Oh Hahaha! no problem =) I will ask more questions on the other thread if I have anymore when the time comes.
my little girl still has energy even with the large tumor. but after she passes on I was thinking about a baby. 
thanks for your help.


----------



## Miso

*Anyone knows what I have?*

Okay after lurking for a couple of weeks I finally made a profile, because well, I got no clue what I got from the store. I have owned fish before but never gotten baby bettas ( I had zebra and goldfish). Although, I doubt the white one is a baby? The blue one I got about 2 weeks ago and it was significantly smaller. I have no idea if they are male or female either. I believe the blue one is a male and the white one is female. I live in a upstairs apartment in SoCal and both aquariums are running between 80-83 F right now. One is a 2 gallon bowl and the other one is a 5 gallon filtered. I change the water often in the bowl (20-25% daily, 1 per week 50%) and do a 50% change in the 5 tank every 5 days (is planted and cycled). Is that adequate? Both have live plants.


----------



## lilnaugrim

First one is a Multicolor VT female and the second is a Royal Blue VT male  He seems to be a little stressed out though. Sounds like you've got everything down though! I'd feed him a little more to grow a little quicker. 2-3 times a day is good.


----------



## DianeA7X

Miso said:


> Okay after lurking for a couple of weeks I finally made a profile, because well, I got no clue what I got from the store. I have owned fish before but never gotten baby bettas ( I had zebra and goldfish). Although, I doubt the white one is a baby? The blue one I got about 2 weeks ago and it was significantly smaller. I have no idea if they are male or female either. I believe the blue one is a male and the white one is female. I live in a upstairs apartment in SoCal and both aquariums are running between 80-83 F right now. One is a 2 gallon bowl and the other one is a 5 gallon filtered. I change the water often in the bowl (20-25% daily, 1 per week 50%) and do a 50% change in the 5 tank every 5 days (is planted and cycled). Is that adequate? Both have live plants.


The top one looks just like mine except mine is a female. =)


----------



## SunnySideIvy

So I fell for the baby betta ploy today at my Petco. She was the only baby on the rack. My petco's baby rack is off to the side by all the horrible small tanks. Not only was she the only one on the rack she was surrounded by cups of moss balls! So.... meet Wanda!! 














She was very eager to get out of her cup!!





















I'm thinking she is a veil tail but hoping shes a crown tail :lol:

Shes so quick it's nearly impossible to catch a photo of her!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, she's a VT ^_^


----------



## SunnySideIvy

Woo! I've never had a veil tail.


----------



## SparklingStarfish

So I too picked up a little baby betta yesterday at Pet Co because I just couldn't resist how cute this little guy was (or at least I think it's a he!):








I currently have him in a little tank I picked up with a tiny bubbler that I added in order to put a little bit of oxygen into his water. I don't have a heater currently, but the water temp. measures 72 degrees. Is this an ok set up for now? I'm just concerned that he won't make it because he wasn't doing well in the store the day I picked him up :/ Also, would it be ok to put my Marimo moss in with him? Or would that cause health problems? I know that Marimo moss does well with adult bettas, but I'm not sure if it would ok with baby ones. I'm super excited to see how he grows. I have a suspicion he might be a VT, but maybe not!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Aw the pic isn't showing up.

You definitely need a heater though, lower temps mean that his metabolism is going to slow down and he won't grow as quick as he should. And yes, absolutely put the marimo in, plants are fantastic for any sized fish.

Here, have you read through this? If not, it's good to take a look: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## SunnySideIvy

Went through your profile to take a peek at the picture, and the little squirt is pretty cute! The dorsal fin looks huge! Once you get him warmed up and healthy I wonder what color he will turn out to be! That thread lilnaugrim linked above is your best friend.

I have a little update on Wanda! Shes super rambunctious and is full of life! The edges of her fins are developing a black line pattern, along with the edges of her scales. I heard this is called pineapple? Is that correct? 
Bonus! Here is a little video of her playing with my finger. 

https://youtu.be/_EU6y73jEhk


----------



## SparklingStarfish

Thanks everyone! I took your advice and moved my little baby into a bigger tank with a heater and my Marimo, and he's pretty happy!  Here, let me try to post the picture again:


----------



## ksam

I couldn't resist picking out two baby bettas from Petco last week...

I had initially only planned to get one betta fish. There were two babies left at my local Petco, so I initially picked the one that appeared more lively. When I was driving home, however, I decided Joy would be an appropriate name for her, and I was reminded of the new Pixar movie, Inside Out. In the movie, you basically can't have joy without sadness, and I figured it was probably bad karma to leave Sadness sitting on the shelf alone at Petco.

So, after being at home only a few minutes, I decided to head back to my Petco. I exchanged the tank I had purchased for a larger one, and bought the other baby betta (a baby boy that I named Sadness!).

I'm not sure of the exact types (or even the gender, to be honest). I am thinking Joy (pictured below) may be a Comb Tail and she was labeled as a baby girl, but she has pretty awesome coloring that makes me think she may be a male instead (the coloring is hard to see in the picture, but there are some really cool silver-blue rays that stand out a lot in comparison to the dark red and black parts of her fins).












I am less sure about Sadness (pictured below). I think he may be a Veil Tail, but I honestly don't know. His coloring is much more subdued, but seems similar to Joy in some ways (mixture of light blue, red, and black). 











I think my "babies" are a little older than most of the baby fish posted here, but I've been doing daily water changes still (50% each day with Prime to limit ammonia and condition the water). I'm also still feeding 2-3 times/day (one pellet of Wardley's Betta Food). Both fish seem relatively happy (the tank is kept ~80-81 degrees F) and healthy, but I worry that I'm still doing something wrong. I'd like to switch to a different food soon and also plan to setup a sponge filter in the tank later today.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Hah, thanks for resizing your pictures ^_^

Both of them are boys and both are VTs. 
Joy is Turquoise with Red Wash
Sadness will be a Butterfly because of the band of cellophane around the fins


----------



## ksam

Wow, awesome! Thank you for the quick reply and my apologies about the pictures earlier -- I didn't realize they were so huge before posting!

Can I also ask if they seem too thin to you? I'm a little worried that I'm feeding too little (or too much!) since their stomachs seem to protrude quite a bit?


----------



## lilnaugrim

They're a little small but nothing detrimental. Have you read through this? http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## ksam

Yep, thank you so much for the link! I've read multiple times and found it very helpful.

I think I'm going to go buy a few live plants today and feed a tad bit more to help ease my anxieties


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh awesome ^_^ Yeah, live plants are always great, if you aren't too familiar with them then I'd recommend starting off with Java Fern, Anubias, and Marimo balls


----------



## ksam

Excellent, thank you! I've been looking at the Marimo moss balls a lot recently and am excited to have a reason to buy one now! Off to Petsmart now with fingers crossed


----------



## Boshia

I went to Petco for the dollar/gallon sale today, and of course I had to stop and look at the bettas. The baby betta rack was empty, but I found two babies mixed in with the regular adults. I ended up bringing this one home, mostly for its beautiful color. Is it a male or female, and what tail type do you guys think it is?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Male Turquoise CT


----------



## Tree

eep he will turn out to be a pretty boy!


----------



## Boshia

How can you guys tell he is a male?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Lack of ovaries for starters and then other observations are just: larger eyes, fins are more proportionally larger than if it were female, all around body shape.

After a while of sexing babies, it comes easier and you know what to look for, though there are still plenty that want to trip you up lol


----------



## Boshia

The ovary thing is tripping me up. In the last picture I see a yellow triangle thing, isnt that what ovaries look like?


----------



## lilnaugrim

No, you're just seeing the color on top. You can see the actually ovaries through blue fish since the pigmentation is so heavy. Instead, you have to look for the shape, so if there is no real cone shape behind the ball of the stomach, then there are no ovaries. The ovaries are also a little further back.

Here's a pic of one of my girls; Splits, where you can see the cone shape of the ovaries since she's a light bodied fish.


----------



## Boshia

Oh, I see it now! This'll be fun to watch him grow. I thought I had finally gotten a hold of telling male and female bettas apart, guess not. Thank you!


----------



## NightStars

Labeled as "baby boy" but I'm thinking female.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yep, that's female ^_^


----------



## NightStars

Thanks


----------



## NightStars

does anyone know what tail type she is?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Likely a DeT or a PK, it's hard to tell when not flaring. She's definitely not a CT, VT, HM, or HMPK though, that I can say.


----------



## NightStars

Thank you.


----------



## bubblesaurus

I've noticed they've gone from labeling them as "baby betta" to almost all as "baby boy"

Anyway, went in for the dollar per gallon sale and this nugget was just sitting there shoved between the moss balls. Boy? Girl? I thought I might have seen the ovaries.

We are two days in and the baby just scoots along the bottom of the cup and can't swim proper. But it is eating.


----------



## TripleChrome

I kinda did something when going in to Petco to get silk plants for a sorority I will be setting up...

I found this baby and couldn't resist her.

So, meet Rainy, who was named since today has been a very rainy day.

Any ideas about what tail type she is?


----------



## lilnaugrim

She's PK


----------



## NightStars

bubblesaurus said:


> I've noticed they've gone from labeling them as "baby betta" to almost all as "baby boy"
> 
> Anyway, went in for the dollar per gallon sale and this nugget was just sitting there shoved between the moss balls. Boy? Girl? I thought I might have seen the ovaries.
> 
> We are two days in and the baby just scoots along the bottom of the cup and can't swim proper. But it is eating.
> 
> View attachment 585545
> View attachment 585553


I'm thinking male because of how the anal fin is but I'm not 100% sure.


----------



## bubblesaurus

Me either, but I was wrong about my last two babies who I swore were both girls based on their appearance and they both turned out to be boys once they finally and slowly (so slowly) grew. Hopefully I can get a better photo if it starts to swim at all.


----------



## Lenguyen349

Hi lil! Been lurking and thinking of getting a baby betta. I have a 10 gallon with 5 neons, 3 panda cories and a bunch of Red cherry shrimps. Is it possible to raise a baby betta in there, considering I would need to feed the betta differnt food than the flakes I feed the neons?


----------



## kittenfish

It would be easiest to switch to a food that they can all eat (like NLS small fish). Otherwise you would have to catch the betta each feeding.


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## lilnaugrim

+1 to kitten.

Also, for a ten gallon you're already pretty highly stocked as far as your fish go. I'd add two more cories in there and probably call it a day. Without frequent water changes, your baby isn't really going to grow at all, you be better off suited with an adult in that tank instead since there is little special care once they are full grown.


----------



## SunnySideIvy

Some new photos of Wanda! Shes so darn quick its hard to get a non-blurry photo lol




































I have a question, Is it normal for her tail to look like a heart shape? Example below:


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## lilnaugrim

No, it's just some lasting damage. It will either heal up or stay that way forever


----------



## SunnySideIvy

Wow really? That's kind of cute because its a heart and kind of sad at the same time. So she probably got it while at the store or in the tank with her siblings?


----------



## lilnaugrim

She's always had it?

Not likely she got it from her siblings though, she probably hasn't been with them for a good month or so. Could be from decor or herself. Could be a touch of fin rot, either way, it's not that good water won't heal if it's fin rot. No need to stress about it; that just makes things worse usually


----------



## SparklingStarfish

So I picked up another baby betta, this time a female! Can anybody help me determine what color/type she is? She's got tiny little spikes at the end of her tail that are hard to see in the pictures:


----------



## tedesco81

SparklingStarfish - your little baby Betta is adorable. Love the color!

Also picked up a little guy/girl today (labeled boy, but you know...). Was wondering if he is indeed a boy? Vt? Sorry about the picture quality. He would not stay still lol.


----------



## Boshia

I just wanted to show some new pictures I got of the little one. lilnaugrim, some betta fish people on Tumblr said that it's a female because it has an egg spot (which it does, probably can't see it in these photos though). Does the presence of the egg spot outweigh the male traits you saw in this one a few days ago?


----------



## lilnaugrim

SparklingStarfish said:


> So I picked up another baby betta, this time a female! Can anybody help me determine what color/type she is? She's got tiny little spikes at the end of her tail that are hard to see in the pictures:


Beautiful! She's a Black Copper and likely a DeT. The spikes mean nothing, it's just that the rays tend to grow quicker than the membrane does, eventually the membrane/webbing catches up 



tedesco81 said:


> SparklingStarfish - your little baby Betta is adorable. Love the color!
> 
> Also picked up a little guy/girl today (labeled boy, but you know...). Was wondering if he is indeed a boy? Vt? Sorry about the picture quality. He would not stay still lol.


Looks like a little female VT, still quite small though. Time will tell.



Boshia said:


> I just wanted to show some new pictures I got of the little one. lilnaugrim, some betta fish people on Tumblr said that it's a female because it has an egg spot (which it does, probably can't see it in these photos though). Does the presence of the egg spot outweigh the male traits you saw in this one a few days ago?


I'm still rooting for male at the moment. I love Tumblr, but that's a myth. Egg spots do not mean male or female, many young males have them as well. They are false egg spots but generally can be just as big when they are this young. Once the fish are mature, they may lose them or keep them, if they do keep them, it will only be a very small spot and nothing like a female has (can protrude quite a bit!). But it's no real way to sex Bettas.


----------



## tedesco81

Ok thanks so much!


----------



## SparklingStarfish

lilnaugrim said:


> Beautiful! She's a Black Copper and likely a DeT. The spikes mean nothing, it's just that the rays tend to grow quicker than the membrane does, eventually the membrane/webbing catches up


Alright, thanks so much! :-D


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## SplashyBetta

Sex, tail type? :-D


----------



## lilnaugrim

SplashyBetta said:


> Sex, tail type? :-D


I want to say boy, VT and Turquoise with Red wash.


----------



## Boshia

Thank you lilnaugrim!


----------



## Elleth

SparklingStarfish said:


> So I picked up another baby betta, this time a female! Can anybody help me determine what color/type she is? She's got tiny little spikes at the end of her tail that are hard to see in the pictures:


How adorable!


----------



## SparklingStarfish

Elleth said:


> How adorable!


Awwww, thanks! ^-^


----------



## Julie7778

Hey Lil! How do you tell which tail type itis? Mainly the ones are VT or a few others, any idea what a halfmoon looks like?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ah yeah, I definitely need to finish that thread on baby tail types. Some of it is just guessing but a lot of it is looking at the shape of the tail and how many rays there are. This picture below is showing for an adult but at least you can figure out what I'm talking about by Branches and Rays.


So some things are set in stone, like VT's only have 2 rays (which means only 1 branch), if they have more than 2 rays then they automatically become a Delta regardless of how far or little their tail spreads out. 

Other things, like the shape of the fins can help as well, VT's will tend to be more droopy whereas a PK will tend to be more rounded always and shorter.

Here's a girl who is a Super Delta at the moment and with some training, could become an HM spread. First, look at the rays in the fins, we see 2 rays on most of them but in the middle you can see that they're branching one more time for now which makes 4 rays. This means she becomes a Delta or PK (though we can rule out PK because her fins are already quite long).
Next look at her dorsal fins and anal fins, the anal is quite level and is rounded. This generally (not always) means the fish is going to be a Delta or a Halfmoon. VT's tend to have more slanted anal fins and the dorsals are pointy whereas you can see her's is rather rounded.


Here is another HM girl. Again, notice that the anal fins is fairly level, dorsal is mostly rounded and the caudal is already split twice into 4 rays and the spread is fairly decent!


Here's a better picture of her rays


This is a terrible picture but it shows a slightly more pointy dorsal fin, anal fin is still fairly level but still has a little more slant to it and look at that caudal shape; it's more boxy and already has a bit of a droop to it on the bottom. This fish will end up likely as a VT, it could have been a VTxHM cross which means the fish will end up with more rays but have the VT droop so then it becomes a DeT. Yeah, I know it can be a little confusing; sorry!


And this shows her rays a little more so you can see them. See how the bottom rays on the caudal are already pointing down a little?


Here is a boy VT, notice the slant in the anal fin. His tail isn't as droopy, he'll be a nice VT. He'll go through a stage where his caudal will be completely round but then as he ages, the tail will droop. This is common for a lot of VT's to go through this stage


So PK's will tend to have shorter fins of course, determining HM from DeT is pretty hard at this stage since they can branch out more and add more rays as they grow up. The only real thing you can tell is a VT vs. DeT/HM vs. PK generally. Even then, some PK's do have longer fins if they came from a short fin x long fin cross and so their anal fin might grow really long but their caudal stay short. That's considered bad form and not ideal, but obviously, it happens; it's not a big deal for a pet of course and you'd still label it as a PK.

Hope that helps some!


----------



## tedesco81

Thanks for that post on the tail types! So I did it again, went in for cat food and left with this little guy?, couldn't resist the big black eyes looking at me. The two babies are now in matching 2.5g cookie jars at the moment, heated and filtered. 

Is he/she a light color or is it just cause it's still too little? He/she didn't look pale/ clear like some of the really little ones that look like there is nothing in the cups at first glance. He's more a pale yellow. Don't really care either way but it'd be cool to have a yellow one. Also, leaning toward male, but I could be totally off lol?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Hard to tell at this angle but looks like it could be male, definitely a Yellow VT though ^_^


----------



## tedesco81

Yay for the yellow. Maybe I'll have a girl and a boy then. Thanks!


----------



## bubblesaurus

The local Petco by me got their shipment in on Wednesday and are labeling all baby bettas as "baby boys" now. Anyone else notice a similar trend at theirs? 

hey lilnaugrim, in reference to the tail type two or so posts above, so VT tail types are usually easier to determine. 
So, this little one's anal? fin is more rounded, but the caudal (bottom one if I can recall correctly) has that long and triangular shape to it. So he would have eventually developed the VT droop? Still figuring out all the tail types in the males. The girls are a little easier as adults. 










Boshia said:


>


But this little guy/girl would likely be a CT? or a VT? With the branching at the end on the anal fin already like that?


----------



## lilnaugrim

The first one is likely a VT. The Caudal is the tail fin and anal fin is the bottom one.










Keep in mind that not all VT's droop, there are a couple different shapes to the VT. These are all VT's:



























And a variation type on the VT is the Spade Tail


So as you can see, there are two major types; the tear drop shape with the more pointy end and the "veil" type where it's more like a rectangular droop. Not all droop so severely, some are held straighter out. This is an image rendered by Bettas4all standard just to show you what I mean
http://www.hollandbettashow.com/bettas4all_photos/Bettas4allStandard/Chapter3FFig3F-1.jpg


----------



## tedesco81

This is all really interesting information! I never realized all the different varietys of Betta's there were until finding this site. I wonder what my adult VT's would be. He doesn't bite all the time, but gives himself trims. Every time it starts growing back in when it gets to a certain point he chomps it off to the same length as before again lol. Guessing it just gets too heavy for his liking.


----------



## Julie7778

Thank you Lil for all that info. I'm going to try and guess the type whenever I get the chance! It sucks, I would love to raise a baby but it seems in Canada they don't have any labeled at babies. Just females and males or their tail type.


----------



## bubblesaurus

Thanks! I didn't realize that VTs varied so much. All I've seen in the flesh are the droopy ones (the "veiled shaped" ones), or I've assumed they had tail deformities or bad genetics.


----------



## kittenfish

SparklingStarfish said:


> So I picked up another baby betta, this time a female! Can anybody help me determine what color/type she is? She's got tiny little spikes at the end of her tail that are hard to see in the pictures:


Twins!


----------



## tedesco81

Kittenfish-cute little Betta!

I've got a question, I may have to go away for four days next week. Now with my big guys I know they'd be fine (cycled 5.5 and 7 gallon tanks). But for the babies, can they go that long without a water change, especially with the growth hormones? Essentially I'd do a water change right before leaving Saturday and then right away when I got back Tuesday. Not good timing at all, I know, but something has come up unexpected. For the babies I know they can't fast so I have someone feeding them twice a day and was emphatic about how much to give them. So that I'm not worried about, I get nervous having someone else do water changes though... They are in two 2.5 gallon tanks heated and sponge filtered. Also they have live plants in the tanks, anubias, Java fern and marimo balls. What do you guys think?


----------



## lilnaugrim

tedesco81 said:


> Kittenfish-cute little Betta!
> 
> I've got a question, I may have to go away for four days next week. Now with my big guys I know they'd be fine (cycled 5.5 and 7 gallon tanks). But for the babies, can they go that long without a water change, especially with the growth hormones? Essentially I'd do a water change right before leaving Saturday and then right away when I got back Tuesday. Not good timing at all, I know, but something has come up unexpected. For the babies I know they can't fast so I have someone feeding them twice a day and was emphatic about how much to give them. So that I'm not worried about, I get nervous having someone else do water changes though... They are in two 2.5 gallon tanks heated and sponge filtered. Also they have live plants in the tanks, anubias, Java fern and marimo balls. What do you guys think?



Yeah, the baby will be fine for that time. Best to not have anyone feed them either, just creates more ammonia. Best to just leave them alone


----------



## tedesco81

Thanks lil! Oh okay, so they would be okay not eating. I know the big guys are fine, but thought the babies might not be. Thanks so much!


----------



## totalnoob

Okay, so........Shoot me in the foot, I have a baby, who I have named Nugget.

I think it's a double tail? Or will be? And is a boy? (I don't see any ovaries)...Can anyone confirm?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yep,little boy dt and probably will get to HM status as well so he'll be an HMDT or Fullmoon as they're sometimes called. He's also a black


----------



## totalnoob

lilnaugrim said:


> Yep,little boy dt and probably will get to HM status as well so he'll be an HMDT or Fullmoon as they're sometimes called. He's also a black


WOOOOOOO! How can you tell his color now, though? I thought they were striped/spotted as wee ones to camouflage with their environment? 

Also I did read your other thread that you linked in various places during this post (I have also looked through like this entire post, lol)...but I don't remember - can babies have whole blood worms, or should I try to find small ones/cut them in half, or can they not have them? They're frozen. I just fed my crew some this afternoon and have a couple still thawed out. 

I am lazy and haven't Googled yet ^^;;;;


----------



## Tree

totalnoob said:


> Okay, so........Shoot me in the foot, I have a baby, who I have named Nugget.
> 
> I think it's a double tail? Or will be? And is a boy? (I don't see any ovaries)...Can anyone confirm?


oh my gosh, lucky! and a black one too! congrats!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah you can use whole bloodworms if he'll take it, you'll have to try and see if they'll work or not.

Yeah, when they're younger they're all pale and spotted/stripped but most of the fry at the store are about 2 months of age at least and that's when their color really starts to come in. Some colors are easy; blacks look like your boy which is...black. Blues will still normally be pale. Yellows will be yellow, reds may be a little pale and whites will be white.


----------



## totalnoob

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah you can use whole bloodworms if he'll take it, you'll have to try and see if they'll work or not.
> 
> Yeah, when they're younger they're all pale and spotted/stripped but most of the fry at the store are about 2 months of age at least and that's when their color really starts to come in. Some colors are easy; blacks look like your boy which is...black. Blues will still normally be pale. Yellows will be yellow, reds may be a little pale and whites will be white.


That's so neeeeeeeat!  I saw him yesterday when I was there and was like "Resist....RESIST!!!" and he kept staring at me.

I went back today to get some more plants for one of my tail munchers and he was still there, among the new shipment, wiggling and swimming and looking at me.....and I couldn't resist anymore! :O!


----------



## totalnoob

Tree said:


> oh my gosh, lucky! and a black one too! congrats!


Thank youuuuu!


----------



## Tree

you're welcome.  I wanna see pictures of him growing up as well.


----------



## totalnoob

Tree said:


> you're welcome.  I wanna see pictures of him growing up as well.


I definitely will. He is my first baby and I am petrified that I'm going to do something wrong. But hopefully I don't and he is a happy, healthy little Nugget.  Heh. Maybe he should have a cooler name...


----------



## Tree

I think nugget is a cute name, that is until he grows. Haha, he will not be a nugget anymore. and you will do fine taking care of him.


----------



## totalnoob

Tree said:


> I think nugget is a cute name, that is until he grows. Haha, he will not be a nugget anymore. and you will do fine taking care of him.


It's true. Maybe I should think of a really badass name for him. *goes to ponder*


----------



## totalnoob

Okay, so..Nugget spam.

I know they are supposed to have real or silk plants, but I could not find nice bushy silk plants that weren't a gazillion dollars, and the real ones were like...brown and mushy and gross, so I got really really soft plastic ones. I will start taking them out if I notice his fins being damaged, and of course as he gets older and the fins start to really grow out.

But for now, is this okay? Also how can I get him to learn that top of water == where the food comes from? I fed him a bloodworm when he was still in his cup and that was hilarious because he gobbled it right up...and then gave me a poo that I am pretty sure was bigger than he is. XD!! Anyway, I don't worry when I can't get my big guys to come up for food but I worry about squirt here, seeing as he needs to eat more.

And as a previous poster mentioned, I will be going away on a vacation for 10 days with my husband in November. WillNugget be eating like a big kid then, or will he still need special attention that I will need to make my house sitter aware of?


----------



## Nova betta

I got a baby I finally fell for it. He/she is a doubletail baby. But I can't decide boy or girl can someone help me? Also what color do you think he/she will be I don't really know. I not familiar with babies.


----------



## totalnoob

Nova betta said:


> I got a baby I finally fell for it. He/she is a doubletail baby. But I can't decide boy or girl can someone help me? Also what color do you think he/she will be I don't really know. I not familiar with babies.


Omg it's nuggets twin brother!!!


----------



## Elleth

totalnoob said:


> Omg it's nuggets twin brother!!!


Lol! I bet it is!  I know I saw someone with a baby I'm nearly positive is my Merry's sibling, on Facebook awhile ago. It makes sense to me that there would be babies from the same spawn at different Petcos. Like, spread out to different ones so that each one has more variety.


----------



## Nova betta

maybe!!!!


----------



## Tree

I was JUST going to say that!!! maybe a sister???


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, I'm going for sister of Nugget ;-)

And @totalnoob, Nugget should be mostly, if not totally grown up by that point so you won't have to worry about him at all. He'll be just fine for your vacation


----------



## totalnoob

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, I'm going for sister of Nugget ;-)
> 
> And @totalnoob, Nugget should be mostly, if not totally grown up by that point so you won't have to worry about him at all. He'll be just fine for your vacation


Awesome, thank you! )))

Now, I just need someone willing to watch two cats, a (possible - we have a couple applications out) dog, and a small army of bettas for 10 days <_<


----------



## totalnoob

Okay, so I have a question. I feed my feesh hikari betta biogold pellets. I know I am supposed to crush some pellets for nugget, but when I try to crush these they just kind of...disintegrate?  Is there a good way for me to make these a little smaller but not have them turn totally into powder? I gave nugget a small one and it was still giant (but it was hilarious watching him carry it around in his cute little mouth!). I feel kind of bad. For his feeding later I think I will give him a very small brine shrimp. 

Also since I just put him in the tank yesterday, I will do a 50% water change today - but is every other day okay with a wee betta? Or is it dependent on the tank size (this is 2.5g)?


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## lilnaugrim

I go over the water changes in that thread I posted. But every other is perfectly fine.

Hikari isn't the best. If you can get New Life Spectrum Small Fish and it should be small enough for him and won't turn into powder if crushed.


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## totalnoob

lilnaugrim said:


> I go over the water changes in that thread I posted. But every other is perfectly fine.
> 
> Hikari isn't the best. If you can get New Life Spectrum Small Fish and it should be small enough for him and won't turn into powder if crushed.


I remember you going over the water changes,  I thought it said every day for multiple babies and every other for single babies. Just wanted to verify (I actually went ahead and bookmarked that page now, lol, I kept not being able to find it). I ordered some NLS food  Ty!


----------



## lilnaugrim

totalnoob said:


> I remember you going over the water changes,  I thought it said every day for multiple babies and every other for single babies. Just wanted to verify (I actually went ahead and bookmarked that page now, lol, I kept not being able to find it). I ordered some NLS food  Ty!


Awesome  Yeah, I have like a gajillion threads bookmarked so I can find them quick haha.


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## totalnoob

lilnaugrim said:


> Awesome  Yeah, I have like a gajillion threads bookmarked so I can find them quick haha.


I looked through this thread and saw you link it like 039458039485039485 times, and then I went back to try to find it for reference and couldn't find it. So I googled it and it kept bringing me to this thread and I was like, "NO! WRONG!"

I finally got it and promptly bookmarked it, heh. ^^;;;


----------



## BubblesTheBlueBetta

I saw them at my petco. I didn't get one but they sure are cute!


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## Sadist

I hadn't seen any baby bettas there since November, but they're back  It breaks my heart to see the little underfed guys and gals all stressed out in those cups. I think they switched fish guys because all of the sudden, the fish section was full of starving bettas in dirty cups. The guy (who I thought had got them to stop selling babies) at least made an effort to keep things clean over there.


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## totalnoob

Sadist said:


> I hadn't seen any baby bettas there since November, but they're back  It breaks my heart to see the little underfed guys and gals all stressed out in those cups. I think they switched fish guys because all of the sudden, the fish section was full of starving bettas in dirty cups. The guy (who I thought had got them to stop selling babies) at least made an effort to keep things clean over there.


That makes me so sad  it hurts my heart too, I've seen a few dead ones and they're so little and didn't even get a chance


----------



## Boshia

I tried to get some backlit photos the other day of my PetCo baby to see if s/he had any ovaries for further confirmation. lilnaugrim, I know you mentioned it's hard to see ovaries on blue bettas but I've found that in certain lights I can make that blue wash go away!
































What do you guys think?


----------



## totalnoob

Boshia said:


> I tried to get some backlit photos the other day of my PetCo baby to see if s/he had any ovaries for further confirmation. lilnaugrim, I know you mentioned it's hard to see ovaries on blue bettas but I've found that in certain lights I can make that blue wash go away!
> 
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> 
> What do you guys think?


Omg so precious! I know next to nothing about sexing babiee, but just based on the fins I would say probably a girl.

But lil will probably know for sure, lol, I'm still learning how to tell them apart.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Boshia said:


> I tried to get some backlit photos the other day of my PetCo baby to see if s/he had any ovaries for further confirmation. lilnaugrim, I know you mentioned it's hard to see ovaries on blue bettas but I've found that in certain lights I can make that blue wash go away!
> 
> 
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> 
> What do you guys think?


I see no ovaries thus far, they should have come in by now if it were female. Occasionally you get a late bloomer but still looks male to me.


----------



## donovan

Can anyone tell me what the life expectancy is for a Petco Baby. My "Baby" is approximately 14 months old now.


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## totalnoob

donovan said:


> Can anyone tell me what the life expectancy is for a Petco Baby. My "Baby" is approximately 14 months old now.


Bettas in general can live 3-5 years if cared for properly


----------



## Pinkieswear

Picked up a lil cutie last night. Put him in a breeder net/basket in my planted 20L. The tank only has one other occupant. Would that be ok until I get my other tanks sorted out. In the process of upgrading and swapping around. Or do I still have to do 50% water changes? The tank is cycled and reading zeros always.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Pinkieswear said:


> Picked up a lil cutie last night. Put him in a breeder net/basket in my planted 20L. The tank only has one other occupant. Would that be ok until I get my other tanks sorted out. In the process of upgrading and swapping around. Or do I still have to do 50% water changes? The tank is cycled and reading zeros always.


Yes, it will be fine for now. Remember to feed lots. Is the other fish in there a Betta or something else? If it's something else then you won't have to worry about frequent water changes. If it is a Betta, best to do two 25% in a week to help combat the growth stunting hormone (I assume this is a 20 long and not 20 liter?).


----------



## SparklingStarfish

Update: My first little baby pulled through, and he's now doing much better. His fins are healing nicely, and his color is starting to come in:

Before:









After:


----------



## Elleth

Oh wow! He looks so much better! Good job.


----------



## Pinkieswear

lilnaugrim said:


> Yes, it will be fine for now. Remember to feed lots. Is the other fish in there a Betta or something else? If it's something else then you won't have to worry about frequent water changes. If it is a Betta, best to do two 25% in a week to help combat the growth stunting hormone (I assume this is a 20 long and not 20 liter?).


Ya it's a 20 long. And yes a betta I'll bump up the water changes. I have a 30 gal with breeding molllies in it but they are pretty big so Idk if I should just put him in there? My lil guy is about the size of the 3 month old mollies and pretty sturdy looking.


----------



## Szigfried

I fell for how tiny and cute the babies are... I ended up getting one marked as a boy. ;w;
He's in a heated/cycled 5 gal by himself, I hope that isn't too big. And I'm honestly not sure what kind he is.
(He's v difficult to get pictures of)
He doesn't have a name as of yet but I'll keep you posted.


----------



## Kaley

These are my two babies. Not really sure how old or what variety they are.


----------



## AllBettasRule13

I saw baby betas at my local petco, disturbing how this happens


----------



## lilnaugrim

@Kaley,

First one is a male VT Turquoise with possible Metallic trait (thick scales)

Second looks to be possible female VT. Her fins look a little irritated at the edges, watch for that. You can use Aquarium Salt at 1 tsp per 5 gallons to help prevent things like fin rot and ich, it also helps some organs function better. When you first add it to the tank, always dissolve it and add it little bits at a time over 10-30 minutes. You may want to take longer because these are babies who have been through great stresses (shipping and finding a new home are all HUGE changes for these guys) and won't generally take too kindly to big fluctuations. So once they're acclimated, you can keep them in that dose of salt forever. Just remember that when you do a water change, you also take out salt so you need to replace whatever amount you took out. Say you took out 50% of the water, you also took out 50% of the salt. If it's a 2.5 gallon tank, then you'll replace a quarter of a teaspoon (as the normal dose would be 1/2 a teaspoon for that concentration of 1 tsp/5gal)


----------



## Boshia

Ovaries or empty space? Would ovaries look more yellow?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yep, no ovaries and yes ovaries are quite yellow


----------



## Kaley

lilnaugrim said:


> @Kaley,
> 
> First one is a male VT Turquoise with possible Metallic trait (thick scales)
> 
> Second looks to be possible female VT. Her fins look a little irritated at the edges, watch for that. You can use Aquarium Salt at 1 tsp per 5 gallons to help prevent things like fin rot and ich, it also helps some organs function better. When you first add it to the tank, always dissolve it and add it little bits at a time over 10-30 minutes. You may want to take longer because these are babies who have been through great stresses (shipping and finding a new home are all HUGE changes for these guys) and won't generally take too kindly to big fluctuations. So once they're acclimated, you can keep them in that dose of salt forever. Just remember that when you do a water change, you also take out salt so you need to replace whatever amount you took out. Say you took out 50% of the water, you also took out 50% of the salt. If it's a 2.5 gallon tank, then you'll replace a quarter of a teaspoon (as the normal dose would be 1/2 a teaspoon for that concentration of 1 tsp/5gal)


Aye, thank you for the information. I was wondering their tail type/color. I just borrowed some aquarium salt from my friend so I will put that in there.


----------



## SunnySideIvy

Photo update of Wanda!






















And photos of her tail with its damage, She doesn't seem hindered in the slightest by it's presence though. It's like she wanted to become a double tail and gave herself cosmetic surgery lol.


----------



## Elleth

She's so cute!


----------



## SunnySideIvy

Thank you! She's so active and joyful it makes me happy just having her with me! I'm so glad I decided to take her home.


----------



## F3RapalaAngler

Have kept many bettas in the past but got a baby today. My wife really liked this guy and so did I l. He's a bit older than the other ones but I have no idea how old. Could somebody please tell me what tail they think he is? I think vail but wife says delta. Also will he be able to eat standard size new life spectrum pellets?

Very sorry for the bad quality picture too


----------



## Elleth

You will probably need to crush the pellets. I found that the easiest way to do this is to put them on a paper towel, crush them with a hard object, and then brush them off the paper towel into the tank. 

I would just crush them right off the bat, my two couldn't even manage my .5 NLS pellets without them being crushed.


----------



## totalnoob

SunnySideIvy said:


> Thank you! She's so active and joyful it makes me happy just having her with me! I'm so glad I decided to take her home.


She is adorbs.


----------



## totalnoob

I wanted to update on Nugget  He is adorable and super smart - he has learned that when I flip on his light and sit at my desk, if he comes to the corner I will feed him..XD 

I also shined a light on him and he is like a lavendar gold on top of ze black AND HE IS SO PRETTY !!!! 

I wub him.


----------



## F3RapalaAngler

How often should I feed the little guy and how much? Any special care to take that's different from a normal betta you'd buy? Any idea how old he is? He's going in a heated and filtered 2.5 gallon tank with lid and light, a couple large stones, two fake plants (plastic) and a log ornament from petsmart


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## totalnoob

F3RapalaAngler said:


> How often should I feed the little guy and how much? Any special care to take that's different from a normal betta you'd buy? Any idea how old he is? He's going in a heated and filtered 2.5 gallon tank with lid and light, a couple large stones, two fake plants (plastic) and a log ornament from petsmart


http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330&highlight=PetCo+Baby+Care+Thread read this thread on baby betta care it answers all of your questions


----------



## Elleth

+1 totalnoob 
Follow the directions on the thread they shared, and you will have one happy, healthy betta baby. 

Also, Nugget looks so awesome! What a cutie!


----------



## F3RapalaAngler

Thanks guys. Any idea of age and tail type on my guy? My wife named him baymax


----------



## Elleth

The photo isn't in focus, so it's hard to say, but I think he looks like a veiltail. Age wise, I would guess 9 weeks or so, but it's impossible to say for sure.


----------



## F3RapalaAngler

Wow that young. Thank you. He looked bigger than the others so I thought he'd be healthier and hardier. Is that true?


----------



## Elleth

Not necessarily. Just up to genes, how long he'd been on the shelf before you got him, etc. It's really unhealthy for the baby bettas especially to be in those tiny, dirty, unheated cups. 

I was lucky with the two I have now, they were literally just unpacked and put on the shelf the day I walked in. So they didn't have to tolerate those terrible conditions for too long.


----------



## totalnoob

Elleth said:


> +1 totalnoob
> Follow the directions on the thread they shared, and you will have one happy, healthy betta baby.
> 
> Also, Nugget looks so awesome! What a cutie!


Thank you ! I am excited to see what he is going to look like as he grows!


----------



## F3RapalaAngler

Here's a better picture of baymax. He ate two pellets for me too.

Also not sure why but when I upload a picture it always changes how it's layed out


----------



## totalnoob

F3RapalaAngler said:


> Here's a better picture of baymax. He ate two pellets for me too.
> 
> Also not sure why but when I upload a picture it always changes how it's layed out



Aweh, he's cute! Great color! *fist bump* balalalala!


----------



## F3RapalaAngler

totalnoob said:


> Aweh, he's cute! Great color! *fist bump* balalalala!


Thanks. I gotta say I hadn't even wanted a baby betta but my wife talked me into it and when I say this guy who looked older than the others and looked healthy with great fins I wanted him. Yesterday night we went to a drive in and saw big hero 6 for the first time so she said we should name him baymax.


----------



## FrankieandRoseForever

I forgot about this thread and posted pics of my new baby betta Melanie in a different one but I figured I could post them here! She's doing very well, and I'm going to change her water tonight!


----------



## F3RapalaAngler

Baymax made a bubble nest today. Is that normal given how young he is?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Are you sure it's a real bubblnest? Have any bubblers or filter in the tank?


----------



## F3RapalaAngler

lilnaugrim said:


> Are you sure it's a real bubblnest? Have any bubblers or filter in the tank?


Yep a for real bubble nest. I'll take a pic when I get back home. I'm shocked


----------



## Outdoorswoman15

I just got a baby boy betta at Petco the other day. He's so cute. His name is Trout, although he looks more like a bass.


----------



## Sadist

What a cutie!


----------



## Outdoorswoman15

I know! I can just watch him all day, he's such an active little bugger. I can't wait to see what kind of betta he'll be.


----------



## kittenfish

F3RapalaAngler said:


> Yep a for real bubble nest. I'll take a pic when I get back home. I'm shocked


It's normal. A couple of my juvies have started bubble nesting at one inch long.


----------



## ginabean98

*My New Baby Betta*

This is my new baby betta, Willoughby. She's about an inch long and I got her from Petco 2 days ago. She's alert & super cute, I'm guessing she's a girl but we'll see. I'm excited to see how her colors end up being, as she pretty iridescent and looks differently colored under different lights and angles. I also think she's a veiltail. The employees at petco weren't super knowledgeable, but with the help of forums like this I think I'm good to go.


----------



## lilnaugrim

That's MR. Willoughby ;-) And yes, Turquoise VT


----------



## ginabean98

lilnaugrim said:


> That's MR. Willoughby ;-) And yes, Turquoise VT


Oh, you think its a boy!?


----------



## lilnaugrim

ginabean98 said:


> Oh, you think its a boy!?


I know it is. Longer fins, pointed dorsal, no ovaries (though they may not quite yet on females of this age). All over shape of a boy.


----------



## ginabean98

Awesome! Thanks :lol:


----------



## jenjen182

Not sure if this was mentioned earlier, don't want to dig back through this long thread 

At my local Petco, which used to carry babies, and then for a long time did not, they now have a large advertisement claiming that baby bettas are the ideal fish for beginners, saying they are easy to care for, and you can watch them grow up. They have now labeled all of their baby bettas (at least all the ones I saw) as "Female Baby" and are recommending vases and bowls as ideal homes for the little ones.

I felt so horrible for these babies... so many people will take them home in a vase and not provide them with proper care. Unfortunately, I'm only looking into getting an adult right now, not enough money to get the supplies to properly care and raise a baby (thanks college). At least it's good to see so many people who are properly caring for their babies on this thread.


----------



## kittenfish

What supplies do you mean? Their needs are pretty much identical to that of an adult betta, besides more water changes.


----------



## TheInflatableSeaLion

Mariah94 said:


> I fell for it. Or, well, my family did. I had mentioned wanting a fish and they came home with this little bitty thing in a bowl. I immediately thought fish abuse and did my research. Now, a week later I have a 5 gallon 8 sided type tank with a heater and filter. I still need to go out and get a thermometer and some good food. But I'm still really new at this and I have a lot of questions. This is also my first post to the thread.
> 
> My betta (when I learn how to post pics I will) is about half the size of my pinky, maybe a bit smaller. I haven't had the time to look too much into the sex and type, but I THINK it's a girl...then again, it's a young fish so I might not be able to tell yet. I can't tell an age...maybe you guys have a general idea given the approx. size?
> 
> If it is a girl, her name is Temperance. If not, it's Rick Castle -but that chat is for later.
> 
> I'm really concerned about the feeding. I have this zoo med betta food that grows when you put it in the water. My little fish can hardly hold it in her mouth and it takes her over three minutes to eat it. So far I've been feeding her 3 times every other day and doing it in cyces. One the night before, one in the morning, and one in the evening -because it takes her so long to eat it and honestly the food (once submerged) is larger than her eye- I really don't want her to bloat up. But she kind of gives me that look (I'm sure you all know it) like she's starving so today I gave her two pellets in her night feed. She looks like she wants more...decieving fish.
> 
> Still doing my research, but I saw this thread and decided since I got 1.99 fishy from petcoe I may as well post
> 
> After exams I hope to have everything for her (or him). I know I want to get better food, some blood worms, a thermometer, softer plants...possibly a larger heater (I think mine is for 1-3 gallon?) and a Castle that's softer on the fins. And any thing else she/he needs. Me and this fish have really bonded. Never thought I'd bond with a fish but she/he follows my finger and hangs out on the side of the tank by my bed all the time. She/he is the coolest little fish...
> 
> Thanks!


If you are having problems with food being to large for her... I suggest getting some pellets and crushing them in a bowl. And if you can, maybe some baby brine shrimp or microworms  I have the same problem sometimes, even with my adults haha.


----------



## Animalforest

Hey everybody! I guess 5 months goes by quick.. I have update pictures of Frostfire and Dragon (sorry for the quality). Dragon seems to be doing great he has some blue on his body and throughout his fins. I'm thinking he is a full grown combtail at this point since he hasn't changed in months. Frostfire is also doing good. She stopped eating and swimming around for a week but has come back around. I am worried about her though (probably because I've never had a female betta before) but she seems small to me and her fins seem to be damaged or not fully grown yet?


----------



## NightStars

Dragon and Frostfire are too cute.


----------



## Animalforest

Thanks


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ah, they're both girls and Dragon is a regular CT ^_^

It could potentially be that she was reabsorbing her egg proteins into her body; that can sometimes make them full enough that they won't eat properly for a couple days. Definitely keep an eye on her though and make a thread if she starts to become lethargic again and physically deteriorate and we'll try to help her through


----------



## kittenfish

Oh good, I was wondering which one of them was supposed to be the male!


----------



## totalnoob

So, just out of curiosity, how long does it take them to reach a good size? I feel like nugget is not growing at all, but I have apparently only had him like 2-3 weeks, and I do change his water every other day. I feed him NLS betta formula (crushed up) 2-3x per day, and I also give him brine shrimp or blood worms maybe like once a week.


----------



## lilnaugrim

It's about 2-3 months until they'll be full grown if everything is done right 

Looks like you're doing well so far, You can do frozen foods more often though for babies, 2-3 times a week is good. Remember that worms are fatty and filled with protein and crustaceans are good for clearing out the digestive system.


----------



## totalnoob

lilnaugrim said:


> It's about 2-3 months until they'll be full grown if everything is done right
> 
> Looks like you're doing well so far, You can do frozen foods more often though for babies, 2-3 times a week is good. Remember that worms are fatty and filled with protein and crustaceans are good for clearing out the digestive system.


Okay thanks! I'll up his intake of the worms and shrimp. He'll love that. He thinks he's a stone cold killer the way he snatches them out of the water XD!


----------



## Animalforest

Dragon is a girl?! I guess that explains why I haven't gotten any bubble nests.. Oh yeah, I forgot about that but thats probably what it was because she stopped eating and sat around but when she wanted to eat again she acted completely normal.


----------



## Cleigh9579

*just an update . were the predictions right??*

About 5 months back i brought home a lil baby. Here it is now. The guesses were a male veiltail. What do yall think?? Were the predictions right? ? Id love to know what this babe is.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Female VT, the spiky-ness of her tail is likely caused by a CTxVT spawn either with her parents or grandparents.


----------



## jenjen182

So I got one. Sort of. 

I went to Petco in search of an adult female, but they only had 2 adult females, then the rest labeled "Female baby". I didn't want to get such a small betta (the babies weren't even half an inch!), so I was looking at the two females. They were most certainly not adults. One was about 1.5 inches but looked very lethargic and her fins were torn, poor girl. The other was so small but was very active, and was blue and green in color, labeled as a "Crowntail female". 

Well, I took home the little tiny blue and green crowntail female because she was just giving me that look, the look we all know and love. She's so small! Her tank has a filter and heater, and I'm keeping the temp around 78-80 F. I've been trying to feed her small bloodworms, she ate one last night, but she hasn't horribly interested this morning, just eyeing them with suspicion, lol. She's very active though, so I have good hopes for her.

I named her Athena, I think it suits her personality well! :-D

Sorry for the picture quality; she moves so much it's hard to get her in the frame. A couple are from her cup when I got her home, then a couple from her inside her tank after acclimation.


----------



## AngesRadieux

Hey guys! So I stopped into a new Petco (or at least one I've never been to before) and noticed they were carrying baby bettas. I was thinking of maybe stopping back in on Wednesday to try keeping one, but since I know they can be difficult I figured I'd pop in here and see what you guys think. So here's what I have:
2.5 gallon tank
Heater, though I'm not fond of the ones I have, so I would probably get a new one. Recommendations on what would work well in a 2.5 gallon would be welcome!
Silk plants
Sand for substrate
New Life Spectrum pellets that can be crushed
Thermometer
API Stress Coat water conditioner

I can get a filter, but given the size of the baby fish, I think even a bubble filter would make me nervous. What do you think?

The Petco I would get the fish from also sells frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worms, so I can pick up a package and feed that. 

What do you think? Is my set-up/shopping list adequate?


----------



## jenjen182

Sounds pretty good to me. Definitely pick up some freeze-dried blood worms and brine shrimp. I'd try crushing some of that up with the NLS pellets and feeding 2-3 times a day. 

As for filters, it's up to you, either way you will have to do regular water changes to keep water clean and get rid of the growth hormone that babies produce. If you do get a filter, I suggest one that doesn't have a large water current- it can really push the little ones around. 

Keep in mind that the babies are definitely hard to raise for even experienced betta owners, so you could have the best set-up possible and it may not work. However, I most certainly wish you the best luck!


----------



## AngesRadieux

jenjen182 said:


> Sounds pretty good to me. Definitely pick up some freeze-dried blood worms and brine shrimp. I'd try crushing some of that up with the NLS pellets and feeding 2-3 times a day.
> 
> As for filters, it's up to you, either way you will have to do regular water changes to keep water clean and get rid of the growth hormone that babies produce. If you do get a filter, I suggest one that doesn't have a large water current- it can really push the little ones around.
> 
> Keep in mind that the babies are definitely hard to raise for even experienced betta owners, so you could have the best set-up possible and it may not work. However, I most certainly wish you the best luck!


Are freeze-dried sufficient? I have freeze-dried blood worms already, but I was under the impression those wouldn't work and I would need frozen. I'm aware that it's not the easiest thing, and I'm kind of figuring on not getting too attached at the beginning. 

I'm leaning towards no filter, just for my own peace of mind.

Any thoughts on a reliable, adjustable heater that won't over heat a 2.5 gallon? Right now I have a pre-set that works in a 2.5 gallon, but I'd prefer something I have a bit more control over.


----------



## jenjen182

I crush up a mix of freeze-dried blood worms and NLS betta formula and it works pretty well with my baby. I'm sure that frozen is probably better, but it just grosses me out a bit too much, ha ha. I can barely handle the freeze-dried stuff. 

As for heaters, I'm searching for a better one too. Currently I have a cheap little aqueon mini heater running because the rest are for larger tanks. The cheap one does alright, but it's not pre-set, so I am constantly monitoring it. I see a lot of people talking about the Hydor Submersible Glass Aquarium Heater on here, never tried it myself but I've been looking at it closely. It has a variety of temperature settings and pretty good reviews.


----------



## IslandGirl7408

lilnaugrim said:


> Ah, they're both girls and Dragon is a regular CT ^_^
> 
> It could potentially be that she was reabsorbing her egg proteins into her body; that can sometimes make them full enough that they won't eat properly for a couple days. Definitely keep an eye on her though and make a thread if she starts to become lethargic again and physically deteriorate and we'll try to help her through


Lil-- I would love to be able to tell female from male young fish-- any chance you would start a separate thread and really teach us how to tell? I know what I'm supposed to see......but I just don't....


----------



## jenjen182

IslandGirl7408 said:


> Lil-- I would love to be able to tell female from male young fish-- any chance you would start a separate thread and really teach us how to tell? I know what I'm supposed to see......but I just don't....


There is a thread for baby betta care that includes a section on identifying gender :-D

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


----------



## AngesRadieux

jenjen182 said:


> I crush up a mix of freeze-dried blood worms and NLS betta formula and it works pretty well with my baby. I'm sure that frozen is probably better, but it just grosses me out a bit too much, ha ha. I can barely handle the freeze-dried stuff.
> 
> As for heaters, I'm searching for a better one too. Currently I have a cheap little aqueon mini heater running because the rest are for larger tanks. The cheap one does alright, but it's not pre-set, so I am constantly monitoring it. I see a lot of people talking about the Hydor Submersible Glass Aquarium Heater on here, never tried it myself but I've been looking at it closely. It has a variety of temperature settings and pretty good reviews.


Thanks for the info! I just ordered two Hydor heaters. I'll probably set up a tank tonight or tomorrow, put in my preset heat, and see what that does throughout the day. My room is significantly warmer than the room the tanks were in last time I used it, so maybe it'll be able to heat the tank sufficiently. If it seems to work, I'll probably use that for now and then swap it out when the new heater comes.


----------



## jenjen182

AngesRadieux said:


> Thanks for the info! I just ordered two Hydor heaters. I'll probably set up a tank tonight or tomorrow, put in my preset heat, and see what that does throughout the day. My room is significantly warmer than the room the tanks were in last time I used it, so maybe it'll be able to heat the tank sufficiently. If it seems to work, I'll probably use that for now and then swap it out when the new heater comes.


No problem! Glad I was able to help! Keep us updated when you get your new betta :-D


----------



## IslandGirl7408

jenjen182 said:


> There is a thread for baby betta care that includes a section on identifying gender :-D
> 
> http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


Yes, I've read that one-- quite a few times. Still can't tell if it's make or female when people post pictures of their Petco babies....


----------



## lilnaugrim

It can be difficult at times, I still have trouble occasionally as well and some are plain as day! Betta's seem to only exist to frustrate and confuse us! haha!

But yes, I do explain a bit about it in that post.

Eventually I'd like to start a post on ID'ing baby Betta tail types as well since that's a common thing. Probably won't be for a while though, I've got lots of other stuff and duties to maintain!


----------



## IslandGirl7408

Oh....that's too bad....I would LOVE a thread on that too! So much to learn! I really appreciate all the help those of you with experience freely and cheerfully give to the rest of us!


----------



## Elleth

Elleth said:


> And Merry, the boy. He's a Cambodian crowntail.


Well, this little one has grown ovaries and turned into a girl!  Guess she was just too little to show them when I got her. I'll have to post some new pictures of her and Pippin once my camera comes.


----------



## jenjen182

Elleth said:


> Well, this little one has grown ovaries and turned into a girl!  Guess she was just too little to show them when I got her. I'll have to post some new pictures of her and Pippin once my camera comes.


Wow! She's very pretty :-D


My baby betta Athena is doing very well! I've been feeding her 3 times a day, a mixture of 1 crushed freeze-dried blood worm and 2 crushed NLS betta formula pellets. She gobbles it up, and has been very active in the past couple days. I definitely think she's looking a little bigger already!

I've been monitoring her temperature quite closely, keep it in the 79-82 F range. She's definitely responding well to it, and it seems like she already recognizes me! When I approach the tank, she swims right up just like my boys do 

Here's a much better picture that shows off more of her developing colors!


----------



## Animalforest

Could someone tell me what tail type Frostfire is? Thanks in advance.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Animalforest said:


> Could someone tell me what tail type Frostfire is? Thanks in advance.


Do you...have a picture somewhere??


----------



## Animalforest

sorry. i had a picture before but it's a couple pages back now o.o and asked what everyone thought about her fins but never got any answer


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## lilnaugrim

Sorry, I had answered your other question at that point. She looks to be an HMPK Salamander that carries the EE geno.


----------



## Animalforest

It's fine I was just curious because I've never really seen any other bettas like her. It's definately an interesting combination


----------



## AngesRadieux

Today I went to Petco and picked out a baby betta. They have him labeled as a boy, but I'm not sure--it might be too young to tell. He's showing a little bit of a pretty greenish blue color.

























He survived being acclimated and introduced into his new tank. I bought Hikari first bites and some frozen blood worms and mysis shrimp in addition to New Life Spectrum pellets that I can crush. I'm going to try to feed him in a little while. It looked like the store was trying to feed the babies the same pellets as the adults, because I saw a few pellets on the bottom of his cup that looked too big to fit in his mouth, so I don't think he ate very well at the store.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, he's a VT Turquoise with a red wash; one of the most common types


----------



## AngesRadieux

Ah. Is it awful to say I was kind of hoping for a plakat? But maybe the veil tail will grow on me if he doesn't start chomping on it when he gets bigger.


----------



## lilnaugrim

AngesRadieux said:


> Ah. Is it awful to say I was kind of hoping for a plakat? But maybe the veil tail will grow on me if he doesn't start chomping on it when he gets bigger.


Not really, there's always some fancy hope when we go for these babies. But I can tell you that getting a PK out of these babies is 1 in nearly 10,000 chance it seems! I did have a DTPK but again, I bought around....probably 10-12 of these babies over the past two years or so, so the chances for you is pretty slim. He'll still be a good looking boy when he grows up though  VT's are not always prone to biting, it's usually just the HM's and RT/FT. Not saying VT's can't, just saying it's less of a chance they will.


----------



## AngesRadieux

Nearly every long finned betta I've had has decided his tail was too long. Though I tend not to buy veil tails, so maybe this one will decide not to drive me insane. xD He just attacked the frozen bloodworms I gave him. Totally made a liar out of the Petco employee who absolutely insisted that bettas won't eat frozen food.


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## lilnaugrim

Uhhh yeah, frozen foods are FANTASTIC for babies! lol. Definitely keep feeding those every few days to him! Worms are fattening but for babies; that's good! You can balance it out with crustaceans like Brine Shrimp, Mysis Shrimp, or Daphnia; the exoskeletons act like laxatives as the carnivore fish is designed to digest them even though they don't break down like meats do. They do a better job than any veggie would! Veggies also can't be digested by carnivore's but it can potentially harm the GI tract as well on it's way out. So crustacean's are the way to go!


----------



## AngesRadieux

I don't have brine shrimp, but I do have frozen mysis shrimp. I think I read somewhere that those are a little better. I'll try those and see how he likes them another day. But I was definitely amused when I was told repeatedly that he wouldn't eat it. I don't know why she was so adamant, since the frozen food ended up being more expensive than pellets. You'd think they'd want me spending more money in their store.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, that's the thing I don't understand about the stores! Bigger setups will cost you more which means more money in their pocket! A fish is cheap (relatively) and so for those who use the small container and buy a new fish every month, it still doesn't amount to what people spend on a real set up for their fish! 

Idk, makes sense to me to give people better setups; bigger tanks usually means more fish too! haha


----------



## Nova betta

I think they sell smaller ones because they sell more and because people are willing to buy them. Goldfish for example what people would set up a 20 gallon tank for that little 2 inch fancy goldfish.

Petstores try to make everything seem easy and affordable. Fish keeping is something they want to sound easy and affordable.


----------



## SunnySideIvy

I feel like they also try to make betta's a "gateway fish", if that makes any sense. Kind of like "Look! its so easy to buy and take care of this fish and hey if you don't want it the poor soul will just expire in a month or so anyways! Now that you have graduated how to kill a betta lets move to better fish. Like GloFish for example!"
Maybe that's a bit harsh but I do feel that's how betta fish are seen in the commercial pet store industry.


----------



## AngesRadieux

Darn it! I went into this telling myself that there's a high risk of failure since even Petco adults can have issues due to the way they're kept, and babies are more fragile. Especially since I have no experience with Betta fry, I absolutely swore that there would be no name for the time being and I wouldn't get attached. And (this may sound awful!) I thought the fact that I'm not crazy about veil tails would help with that.

But I can't tell you how many pictures I've taken of the little brat in the last three days! And he's just so curious and personable. I never see him hiding in his cave, and he pretty much always at least comes over to investigate me when he sees me looking at the tank. I think he may already recognize me and know that I mean food. And I may have accidentally named him. I referred to him once with silly nickname because I didn't have anything to call him, and a variation of it seems to be sticking.

On the bright side, he seems to be doing well this far. He's loves food, no issues with his appetite. And today he survived his first water change without looking stressed or any the worse for wear.

This said, it may be a stupid question, but I was wondering if there's a certain time frame after which you can be reasonably confident that, given adequate care and barring any disasters, a baby will at least make it to adulthood?


----------



## lilnaugrim

AngesRadieux said:


> This said, it may be a stupid question, but I was wondering if there's a certain time frame after which you can be reasonably confident that, given adequate care and barring any disasters, a baby will at least make it to adulthood?


Most of them will make it to adulthood but their lifespan tends to be shorter overall, living only to a year-year and a half on average. This doesn't mean he can't exceed that time frame, it's just the average is all. 

But as long as he's growing week by week more or less noticeably, then you've likely got nothing to worry about. There may be a week here and there where it doesn't seem like he's growing, that's okay; it happens. They plateau and then have a grow spurt.


----------



## BubblesTheBlueBetta

I found an ADORABLE blue baby crowntail at my local petco! He was soo cute! I fell in love with him but my parents wouldn't let me get him. I hope him and his siblings went to a good home!!


----------



## mattchha

Made a post concerning my baby, formerly named Tina. It takes me a while to decide on names, but now she's feeling like more of a Dulcé. I was worried about picking up a baby, but I loved her coloring and she seemed much larger compared to the other babies in stock.

I've been feeding her a combination of omega one betta buffet flakes, Hbh betta pellets, and omega one freeze-dried tubifex--pellets and tubifex all presoaked. Is that an appropriate diet, or should I just stick to one/ all of those?

From what I know about bettas, I'm pretty sure she'd be considered a copper, but I'm unsure about her fin/tail type. pretty sure she's not VT. Any ideas? Also, any idea about her age? I just began to be able to see her ovipositor.


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## lilnaugrim

She's a Black Copper DeT (likely came from an HM spawn but HM is recessive so most don't come out as HM's).

I would ditch the flakes, it's too hard to control feeding and she can't get enough out of them. Freezedried things are fine but if you can get frozen instead; they usually have a higher concentration of proteins which are good for her and more vitamins as well. It's also easier to feed since you just thaw out and feed. If you can't find New Life Spectrum (Small Fish formula would probably be easiest for her to eat) then you can get Omega One Betta Buffet pellets instead, or Marine Micro pellets; similar to the Small Fish formula NLS has. Don't worry, marine and freshwater formula's are all the same ingredients.


----------



## MikeG14

I don't know if this is old news, I really don't follow this thread on a regular basis. I was at a Petco this afternoon and noticed that all the baby bettas had "Baby Boy" & "Baby Girl" stickers on the sides of the cups. It's the first time I've noticed this. Is this a recent occurrence? This should save people a lot of guessing provided that the fish are sexed properly.


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## AquaPlayz

I think they are too young to sex, the people just kinda guess I think.
I wish I could get a betta  but I am moving soon so will just have to do with sitting at pet stores


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, it's a couple months old now.

Most of them are incorrect, most tend to be males in most area's. A trained eye can sex them though.


----------



## Hazel24

How exactly do I post pictures? I got a little guy this past Sunday & he has beautiful red fins with a turquoise kinda body when i apply light. Im thinking he be a common turquoise with a red underwash. Would love to post a picture. He's in a five gallon tank with a cave and 3 synthetic plants and adjustable filter. He's still kinda shy, as he prefers to hide behind the filter, but I've seen him rest on the plants. 

He will swim to the front and stare intently when i approach the tank. Not out of hunger but rather curiosity, he eats well and swims well. I would like to point out that he does flare but never his gil covers(?). I've shined a light and saw no eggsac organ thingy so im confident in thinking male, but he does have a fake egg spot that I've noticed.

He'll probably be a delta tail or veil tail. Currently calling him 'Light' after the show death note's Light Yagami.

I actually saw a round tail red adolescent boy when i was there, still marked as a baby but he could already accurately be sexed, just not big or developed enough to be called an adult. He was simply stunning one of the best looking I've ever seen even competition wise, however i opted for light because knowing the gender immediately kinda ruins the fun. Also the other boy was so beautiful I knew someone would adopt him fairly soon.

Any way how to post pictures here?


----------



## Hazel24

*Got it*

Never mind guys I've found the setting.


----------



## Hazel24

Sorry for the double post it wouldn't let me post 2x pic in 1 post.


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## lilnaugrim

She's adorable! She's a Cambodian coloration (flesh tone and red fins)


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## AngesRadieux

Today the new heater for my baby's tank came. The old heater was keeping the water at a stable temperature, but not quite as warm as I would have liked. This one should bump the temperature a bit. Here's a picture update!


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## kschill83

I gave in to the "baby betta" cups during my last few weeks at work before I moved to college. The last person who performed water changes had broken her cup. When I got there in the morning, the water was just barely cover her little body. I quickly grabbed our betta water, a new cup, and saved her. Then I bought her  I've had her for almost a month now  Named her Zoey ^_^


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## lilnaugrim

heh, Zoey is a boy ^_^ and yes, VT Turquoise with red wash.


----------



## BlueLacee

Zoey looks like a clone of my girl Spirea. And of course it had to post upside down


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## lilnaugrim

Spirea is also a boy lol.

Sorry for bursting all the bubbles around me!


----------



## IslandGirl7408

lilnaugrim said:


> Spirea is also a boy lol.
> 
> Sorry for bursting all the bubbles around me!


You really, really need to do a seminar for us on identifying the differences between young males and females including side by side pictures of them pointing out the differences for us....obviously I am not the only one who just can't get it!


----------



## lilnaugrim

I'll see if I can write up a post after I'm done doing the new Fin Biting vs. Fin Rot vs. Fin Tearing/Ripping thread and then a big update to the Fin Types and Coloration sticky since we're missing a lot there!


----------



## IslandGirl7408

lilnaugrim said:


> I'll see if I can write up a post after I'm done doing the new Fin Biting vs. Fin Rot vs. Fin Tearing/Ripping thread and then a big update to the Fin Types and Coloration sticky since we're missing a lot there!


That sounds awesome! Is the fin rot vs fin biting post up yet or are you still working on it?


----------



## lilnaugrim

The old one is up but not the new one. We're having trouble with editing and error messages so that's being fixed. After that it should be up soon! I go into Rot, Super Rot, Fin Melting, Biting, Ripping and Tearing, and Diet for healing.  It's in depth but still a mostly easy read with pictures of course!


----------



## IslandGirl7408

lilnaugrim said:


> I'll see if I can write up a post after I'm done doing the new Fin Biting vs. Fin Rot vs. Fin Tearing/Ripping thread and then a big update to the Fin Types and Coloration sticky since we're missing a lot there!


That sounds awesome! Is the fin rot vs fin biting post up yet or are you still working on it?


----------



## SunnySideIvy

You're like a fish wizard or something lil I don't understand but I wish I was full of that much knowledge about fish! I want to make a printed copy of your posts when I see them lol.


----------



## IslandGirl7408

*Boy or girl?*

Hi,
I saw this fish today and am strongly considering it. Is it a boy or girl? What colour do you think it will be? Will the face get dark or stay light? What kind of fins does it have? 
Thanks for your help


----------



## lilnaugrim

IslandGirl7408 said:


> Hi,
> I saw this fish today and am strongly considering it. Is it a boy or girl? What colour do you think it will be? Will the face get dark or stay light? What kind of fins does it have?
> Thanks for your help


Hard to say without seeing the ventrals but I vote boy possible VT or DeT. Royal blue coloration


----------



## IslandGirl7408

Oh shoot! It was labelled a girl, and I was hoping it was mustard gas. Glad I asked you first!


----------



## lilnaugrim

IslandGirl7408 said:


> Oh shoot! It was labelled a girl, and I was hoping it was mustard gas. Glad I asked you first!


Yeah, a word to the wise; don't trust the "girl" "boy" thing, it's just a guess by the store usually.

He does have yellow wash in the fins but likely won't be an actual Mustard.


----------



## Cleigh9579

*I'm a sucker. new baby*

Im a total sucker. Please give opinions on sex and type. Im thinking male. But unsure of color or type. I cant wait to hear from everyone.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Possible male, Black Copper, either DeT or HM if have enough flare practice to extend finnage.

He may have a parasite on him, I see something in picture two. As a precaution, I would add 1 tbs of Aquarium Salt per 5 gallons as a preventative for him. Dissolve it before you add it to his water. It may just be his slime coat, but the salt won't hurt him at all, it can only help at that dosage level.


----------



## TenaciousB

Unfortunately the Petco near me does have them but they are larger than the one you brought home, but they are still very small.


----------



## Cleigh9579

Thank you. I will have to look up. DeT. I will add the salt today.


----------



## lilnaugrim

DeT is delta. Like a river delta, kind of triangular or like a droopy triangle depending on genetics


----------



## Cleigh9579

Thank you for that information


----------



## kmarie

I picked up a baby at my local Petco back at the beginning of June. I fed him too much the first week and learned the hard way about bloating and proper feeding. He made it and kept growing. 
I'm not sure how close he is to being full grown and I can't figure out what fin pattern he is - any tips?
His name is Rodrigo - and I'm totally in love with him. 
Really wish I knew how to get better pictures of him though....

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3MunDRCIzoXSWtBZTZ5Q3JEZTBwcVNYVkZ2VFl4V01MV1I0

picture 2


----------



## lilnaugrim

He's the normal Turquoise with red wash, VT. He still has about another month to be totally grown but he's close.


----------



## Jtm7373

My parents decided to buy me a fish for my new apartment; needless to say, they underestimated the care a baby betts would require. After buying a larger tank and getting the proper water treatment, Finkle is getting settled into his/her new home--I'm a bit confused on the gender. Any help there is much appreciated. Pic below:

http://i60.tinypic.com/10o16w8.jpg


----------



## lilnaugrim

A little too early to tell. The fish is very emaciated though.

Have you looked through this thread to help out? http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## Jtm7373

Yes, I've read it through very thoroughly; he was, according to them, the smallest fish they had. He won't eat his food, but the little guy is looking a lot better than he did before. I may put him back in the plastic container he came in to feed him? The tank may be too big for him, but I don't know. Suggestions?


----------



## lilnaugrim

The tank size should not be an issue, just make sure he has enough silk or live plants, whatever you prefer. That way he can feel comfortable enough and that can lead to him eating. 

Unfortunately, it's usually not good to go with the smallest Baby, they usually end up stunted badly or die earlier than normal for PetCo babies. But we'll hope for the best for yours!

What are you attempting to feed him?


----------



## Jtm7373

He's currently getting bio-gold pellets as suggested by the workers at PetCo. However, the pellets are still too big for his mouth, so I have to crush them (it sucks watching him grab a piece only for it to be too big for his mouth). I will have to go back tomorrow to find a more suitable food, though he's so small I have no idea what would be ideal.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ah, try New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula if you can find that, or Omega One Micro Marine pellets, they're very tiny. Hikari used to be good for carnivores but now they have too many crap fillers in their food :-( You want to watch out for Corn, Soybean, and Wheat primarily, potato and rice are no good either for our Carnivores and even for the herbivores/omnivores! The first two I recommended are a little more pricey but they last forever practically and are highly nutritious for your growing baby.

You may also look into frozen foods for him as well. He should be able to take Brine Shrimp at least, they're fairly small, Bloodworms may need to be chopped up but worms = fat which means he'll gain weight. Crustaceans = laxative so alternating those will help him gain more actual weight along with the NLS or Omega One.


----------



## Jtm7373

I'll definitely look into the first two--anything that the little fella can eat. I hope, at least, the care he is receiving now is better than what he was getting. I'm rooting for him! Darn Petco for getting me so attached to him!

Edit: here is a pic to explain the food being a bit too big situation, though I'm sure you know what I mean. 

http://i61.tinypic.com/2utnux1.jpg


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, that's pretty normal for Babies. The ones I suggested are .5 mm pellets, Bio-Gold I'm pretty sure is a 1mm pellet.

You can also grind the pellets against each other inside the container. I do this by grabbing a pinch full between my fingers and just grinding; it breaks them up some so that there are smaller pellets as well. So when you get the better food for him, and it's still slightly too big, you can do that instead.

Not only is the food I suggested healthier, but it's also easily digestible. He is a Double Tail and they're notorious for having digestive issues so it's important to have highly digestible foods to avoid that situation of constipation and internal blockages


----------



## Nova betta

Here is a little update on my baby girl right lil? She is so much bigger but has not really changed color, will she stay like this just get bigger?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Cutie patootie! Yes, little girl. If she isn't stunted, she will continue to grow. Sometimes they have growth plateau's and growth spurts, just like every other animal so you may not see growth for a little while and then suddenly, BOOM! Adult fishy lol. 

Black fish are usually the most dramatic when it comes to their color changes as they age. She has most of her adult color and she may color up more as she ages, at least, she should but not knowing her genes, it's hard to say for sure. But blacks pale up the most when they're stressed, almost like they're see through but that same fish could be the blackest velvety fish you've ever seen. Just the way the color layer works.


----------



## Nova betta

"BOOM adult fishy lol." that line made my laugh!


----------



## AngesRadieux

I've been enjoying Squirtle so much I decided to get another baby betta.
















Not the best pictures, but it's the best I was able to do tonight. I'll have more tomorrow when he's settled into his tank. 
I think he's a male veil tail? Possibly a copper? 

And a Squirtle update, because he's cute


----------



## lilnaugrim

If you get a flash pic of the new baby, I can color ID it for you. Definitely male, can't see the tail to tell you possible type though.


----------



## AngesRadieux

Here are some more pictures
























He's pretty difficult to photograph so far. The flash did go off for these. In the last picture, you can kind of see he has this little indentation or bump in front of his dorsal fin. Do you think that's some kind of spinal deformity?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, he does have a minor spinal deformity, shouldn't amount to any troubles though. Most of these babies are culls, we all have to remember that!

Looks like he'll be a DeT or possible HM/Super DeT with enough flare training. His anal fin is straighter on the bottom, if it were slanted then I'd be inclined to say VT since that's a VT trait. Dorsal fin isn't super pointed either (except for the protruding rays, as he grows, the membrane will catch up so he's not a CT) like a VT would be, so he's somewhere between DeT and HM  Fins too long to be PK as well.

EDIT: Oh and yes, he's a Black Copper.


----------



## AngesRadieux

Cool.  I'm glad that won't cause any trouble. I was hesitant to get him I was afraid it would be an issue, but he was one of the larger babies. I was a bit concerned that he wasn't doing much when I put him in the tank last night, but now he seems to be pretty active.

Super DeTs and HMs are my favorite tail types. I just hope he doesn't turn into a biter. Most of the HMs I've had in the past were absolute brats who loved shredding their gorgeous tails.


----------



## Jessicatm137

Hey! So I know its been a while since I last posted, but I wanted to give an update on Regina.
She's doing fantastic, and she's all grown up, residing in a 20 gallon tank mostly herself now.
However, she is still unfornanatly incredibly hard to get pictures of, but here she is! (I added a before pic as well, although she's gotten bigger than it shows.) Sorry there's so many!


----------



## AngesRadieux

I think my new baby is pine coning.  You can kind of see the way his scales are raised on one side in this picture:








I don't have epsom salt on hand. Do you think it would help? He's in a heated 10 gallon. I just did a ~30% water change yesterday. I thout his scales might have looked a little raised in the store, but I thought it was just the way the light was hitting him. He also looks super bloated to me now.


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## lilnaugrim

Yep, he is, I'm sorry. Epsom Salt won't cure it. What's happening is his kidney(s) are shutting down and it causes the fluid to build up inside of him when he can't process it out any more. This is why the scale raise up; the body is trying to hold all of this new fluid but it's pushing out the scales in the process. He won't make it. There's no curing a failed organ. Even in humans, we just do a transplant. But in fish, their liver and kidneys are in very awkward places so it wouldn't work.


----------



## AngesRadieux

Thanks for the response.  I should've gone with my gut at the store--I felt like there was something wrong with him, but I wasn't sure so I figured I'd take a chance. I guess at least he'll die in a heated tank instead of a plastic cup? Hopefully I'll at least manage to cure Squirtle's ich and I won't lose both of them. Will the tank and equipment be safe to use for another fish down the road? Or will I just have to scrap everything that was in this guy's tank?


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## mattchha

Picked up another baby today, name'sSpicy (finally did it after promising to name one after a good friend, haha.) The BetaBow 2.5 was on sale for like $25 so I couldn't resist that. Any idea about his colors/tail type? Thanks, love this guy!


----------



## lilnaugrim

AngesRadieux said:


> Will the tank and equipment be safe to use for another fish down the road? Or will I just have to scrap everything that was in this guy's tank?


You can use everything still. Organ Failure is environmental or hereditary, it's not bacteria/viral/fungal.


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## grobin1

Hello. I'm new. I was searching how to tell what kind of betta fish I have because I just bought 2 babies at Petco. To my horror, I found this thread in the search results and now I'm worried that it was a bad choice to get them. I am new to the fish world and know almost nothing about caring for them. We got babies because they were only a couple dollars and I was afraid they wouldn't make it. My daughter brought a goldfish home from a fair that her aunt took her to last weekend and it died in under 24 hours. She is 2 so she didn't even notice but my 10 year old son was devastated. So now we have these betta fish and I want to keep them alive and healthy. When I went to get them the petco employee told me a half gallon tank was fine and told me normal fish food was fine. He did show me dried blood worms but said not to get it yet. Reading this thread, I wonder why he said not to get it. I'm afraid I'm going to kill these fish out of ignorance now that I know they are babies. I will say their half gallon tank has a divider so they don't kill each other. One is male, one is female. And they are about the length of a quarter. If anyone has advice, I would love to hear it. The female i got has been active and even ate a piece of fish food yesterday. But the male is slower and I don't think he has eaten. I'm more worried about him. I'll post a pic if I can figure out how to do it from my phone.

*If this has already been discussed, I apologize. I'm just in freak out mode now and want to take action to keep them alive so I didn't read every response to this thread. Going to read some more now. Thanks!


----------



## mattchha

grobin1 said:


> Hello. I'm new. I was searching how to tell what kind of betta fish I have because I just bought 2 babies at Petco. To my horror, I found this thread in the search results and now I'm worried that it was a bad choice to get them. I am new to the fish world and know almost nothing about caring for them. We got babies because they were only a couple dollars and I was afraid they wouldn't make it. My daughter brought a goldfish home from a fair that her aunt took her to last weekend and it died in under 24 hours. She is 2 so she didn't even notice but my 10 year old son was devastated. So now we have these betta fish and I want to keep them alive and healthy. When I went to get them the petco employee told me a half gallon tank was fine and told me normal fish food was fine. He did show me dried blood worms but said not to get it yet. Reading this thread, I wonder why he said not to get it. I'm afraid I'm going to kill these fish out of ignorance now that I know they are babies. I will say their half gallon tank has a divider so they don't kill each other. One is male, one is female. And they are about the length of a quarter. If anyone has advice, I would love to hear it. The female i got has been active and even ate a piece of fish food yesterday. But the male is slower and I don't think he has eaten. I'm more worried about him. I'll post a pic if I can figure out how to do it from my phone.
> 
> *If this has already been discussed, I apologize. I'm just in freak out mode now and want to take action to keep them alive so I didn't read every response to this thread. Going to read some more now. Thanks!


I'm kind of a beginner, so I'm going to try to help you the best I can until someone more experienced can give you advice.

First, I'm going to advise you to take a look through this thread, it should answer many of your questions:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330

Before anything else, I'm going to suggest you invest in an adjustable heater heater for their tank. Bettas are tropical fish and thus do much better in temperatures between 78~83 degrees. Baby bettas especially need warm water because they're still growing. I think you should splurge on a more expensive heater because the cheaper ones can be a disaster. I'm pretty sure the Aqueon Pro is one of the favored heaters today. It's way cheaper on amazon than you'll get in stores. make sure to get the right wattage, probably a 50 watt for a 2.5 gallon to 10 gallon. Be sure you get the Aqueon PRO though, because the regular Aqueon is pretty bad: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003G...on+pro+250&dpPl=1&dpID=41DXGsYFpJL&ref=plSrch

Next, the popular opinion is that adult bettas require at least 2.5 gallons to themselves. They might be okay in that small of space for now, but eventually you'll need to get a bigger tank, or ideally, two tanks that are atleast 2.5 gallons. Tank dividers seem to be notorious for failing and leading to dead or injured bettas. Yesterday I picked up this 2.5 tank for about $25 on sale-- I think it's pretty nice. I'm not sure if that price is only local, but I think it'd be good for you to at least purchase one, since it includes a divider which would be fine while they're babies. If you decide to get one; make sure you get the 2.5 gallon because I believe this model also comes in a 1 gallon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004H...=betta+bow&dpPl=1&dpID=41yLssSFvlL&ref=plSrch

As for feeding, part of the reason your male didn't eat could be because of the Growth Stunting Hormone which babies release so that the weaker baby loses its appetite and the stronger baby has more to eat, and thus is more likely to survive. Or he very well could just have been stressed. For babies, you're going to want to feed them a high protein pellet 2-3 times a day, since they're still growing. I personally like Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets. Regardless of what you feed them, you should make sure it's crushed up very finely because they're smaller and pellets swell in water, so if they eat a whole pellet before its swollen, that can lead to digestion problems. Frozen foods are probably the best you can feed them--either blood worms or brine shrimp. If you decide to go that route, make sure the food's roomtemperature, don't overdo it and don't refreeze.

Also due to the growth stunting hormone, you're going to want to make frequent water changes. With your tank size, probably at least 50% daily. If you have a clean, preferably new turkey baster, it's best to suck up the water from the bottom because that's where harmful ammonia lays.

Additionally, Petco is notorious for mislabelling the genders of babies, so it's possibly that you may have two males or two females. If you can provide clear pictures, I'm sure someone can help confirm their genders. You can attach pictures on mobile by hitting "go advanced" and then hitting "manage attachments." that should bring up another page where you can access your camera roll and upload pictures.

I know this is all very overwhelming and you probably feel like you're way in over your head. There's a lot of misinformation floating around about bettas, and babies are even harder to care for. It's quite possible that your babies may not live to adulthood because of all the stress they've already been through by being sold so young--if that happens, it's not really your fault. Here's to hoping all goes well, though. I hope I could help at least a bit


----------



## grobin1

mattchha said:


> I'm kind of a beginner, so I'm going to try to help you the best I can until someone more experienced can give you advice.


Thanks for the lengthy response! It was very helpful! 

I think I will go ahead and go for the tank you posted on Amazon. Funny thing, that is the exact tank I have now in the 1/2 gal size. This one doesn't have a filter though. (http://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-01206-Betta-Bowl-Starter/dp/B0045IJ06I/ref=dp_ob_title_pet)
I will also get the heater you posted. If i order them today I should have them Tuesday. Hopefully the fishies survive that long. 

Here are some pics of them and also of the supplies I have for them so far. I have the goldfish food from our fish that died in one day but I haven't fed it to the bettas. Also have some betta food that came with the tank and some water conditioner that came with the tank. I bought a separate water conditioner so i could measure a few drops at a time since the tank is so small. Today before I read your reply I got the First Bites and freeze-dried baby shrimp in the picture. Do you think those are okay?

Tried to feed a crushed up baby shrimp to each betta today. The dark betta (male?) didn't touch it. The light betta (the supposed female) loved it and when I tried to scoop out the leftovers she came rushing back to snatch up another bite. :-D

I really don't know what to do for the dark one. He is just not lively and just lays at the bottom or floats at the top of the tank most of the time. I hope he is just stressed and gets better soon. I bought the shrimp specifically to try to lure him into eating and even that didn't work. 
I will change the water this evening. Good idea with the turkey baster! Hopefully it doesn't upset the dark betta any more than he already is. 

Can you guys tell based on the pics who is male and female? I have two pics of the female. One is just her face. She has personality. She likes to come check me out when I come over to the tank. :-D


----------



## lilnaugrim

You've got two males there ^_^ The first is a Salamander coloration, unsure of tail type at this point but likely a DeT or HM. The second is male VT Turquoise


----------



## mattchha

grobin1 said:


> Thanks for the lengthy response! It was very helpful!


It's hard for me to imagine how tiny that tank really is! It's hard for me to find
my new baby betta in 2.5 sometimes, lol.

They should be okay until Tuesday. My first baby went a week without a heater, and she's fine now. Much feistier, now! That could also be why your dark guy seems lethargic, and it's not unusual for bettas not to eat for a couple days after you first bring them home. I'm not really familiar with those foods, but if the Hikari's specially formulated for young fish, it should be great. Idk if I'd feed them the food you got for the goldfish because bettas are carnivorous, and i'm pretty sure goldfish eat a lot of plants?

But yeah, your "girl" is DEFINITELY a boy, haha. I wasn't so sure a about the dark one, but lilnaugrim's kind of the authority on betta characteristics. *cough* which, by the way, I was wondering if you had any idea about my new baby's tail type/coloration? I'm super curious, haha.


----------



## lilnaugrim

My rule about pet food is: if you can find that brand in a supermarket and not just a fish store, then it's likely crap. Tetra is one of them that is crap foods. Hikari has gotten worse but the First Bites are okay if you can't get New Life Spectrum Small Fish or Omega One Micro Marine pellets for the babies. Aqueon is okay but still not the best.

And to you mattchha, he is a VT for sure. Hard to tell if he'll be black based but at the moment he's a Turquoise with red fins. He may end up being a bi-color (keeping the red and blue separate for the most part) or he may end up as the normal Turquoise with a red wash in the fins as he ages


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## grobin1

lilnaugrim said:


> You've got two males there ^_^ The first is a Salamander coloration, unsure of tail type at this point but likely a DeT or HM. The second is male VT Turquoise


Interesting! I looked them both up. Looks like they are not the most flashy of the tail types but I think they'll both be beautiful. I'm glad I know they are both males! They definitely have to stay separated then. I read that females can do okay with males. Not sure if that's true but it's not an option now anyway.


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## grobin1

lilnaugrim said:


> My rule about pet food is: if you can find that brand in a supermarket and not just a fish store, then it's likely crap. Tetra is one of them that is crap foods. Hikari has gotten worse but the First Bites are okay if you can't get New Life Spectrum Small Fish or Omega One Micro Marine pellets for the babies. Aqueon is okay but still not the best.
> 
> And to you mattchha, he is a VT for sure. Hard to tell if he'll be black based but at the moment he's a Turquoise with red fins. He may end up being a bi-color (keeping the red and blue separate for the most part) or he may end up as the normal Turquoise with a red wash in the fins as he ages


Thank you! Just bought some of the New Life kind you mentioned and it should be here Tuesday with the new tank. Yay!


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## lilnaugrim

Ah no, best to keep them all separate. While it's fine when they're from the same spawn and haven't been separated, these fish are highly unpredictable. They could co-exist for a couple weeks and suddenly, BOOM! fishy massacre :-( you don't want that.

Really? I love the way Salamanders look ^_^ HM is quite a flashy tail type, it's all the hype right now besides Koi coloration on AquaBid ;-)


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## grobin1

mattchha said:


> It's hard for me to imagine how tiny that tank really is! It's hard for me to find
> my new baby betta in 2.5 sometimes, lol.
> 
> They should be okay until Tuesday. My first baby went a week without a heater, and she's fine now. Much feistier, now! That could also be why your dark guy seems lethargic, and it's not unusual for bettas not to eat for a couple days after you first bring them home. I'm not really familiar with those foods, but if the Hikari's specially formulated for young fish, it should be great. Idk if I'd feed them the food you got for the goldfish because bettas are carnivorous, and i'm pretty sure goldfish eat a lot of plants?


Just threw out the goldfish food! Thanks! New tank is coming soon with a heater but yeah the current one is really really small. Hopefully these little ones will be very happy soon!


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## grobin1

lilnaugrim said:


> Ah no, best to keep them all separate. While it's fine when they're from the same spawn and haven't been separated, these fish are highly unpredictable. They could co-exist for a couple weeks and suddenly, BOOM! fishy massacre :-( you don't want that.
> 
> Really? I love the way Salamanders look ^_^ HM is quite a flashy tail type, it's all the hype right now besides Koi coloration on AquaBid ;-)


I totally agree. I think both of these guys have very nice colors. And when I looked up the types earlier beforei responded I think I just looked up Delta and veil tail and forgot HM. I was just looking at costs based on type and HM was over $20 whereas veil tail was about $2. Haha... guess that proves your point about HM being popular.


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## lilnaugrim

grobin1 said:


> I totally agree. I think both of these guys have very nice colors. And when I looked up the types earlier beforei responded I think I just looked up Delta and veil tail and forgot HM. I was just looking at costs based on type and HM was over $20 whereas veil tail was about $2. Haha... guess that proves your point about HM being popular.


Ahh, I see ^_^ Yeah, even though DeT isn't super "flashy", depending on their genetics, they can be quite nice ^_^ But yes. It's mostly because it's VT is a dominant trait and HM is quite hard to maintain if you don't breed HMxHM, even if you do, you won't get all HM's ;-)


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## grobin1

lilnaugrim said:


> Ahh, I see ^_^ Yeah, even though DeT isn't super "flashy", depending on their genetics, they can be quite nice ^_^ But yes. It's mostly because it's VT is a dominant trait and HM is quite hard to maintain if you don't breed HMxHM, even if you do, you won't get all HM's ;-)


That's interesting! I wonder if they knew that it might be this type when they put it up for sale at under $2. Muahaha...


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## ellekay

Since it's been a while, and 9 months since getting "baby" chi, I thought I'd post an update. He's still just as uniquely colored as ever. We are constantly dealing with swim bladder issues and he has a humpback type shape, but he gets around just fine. I think sometimes his dorsal fin is a bit much for him as he will be hanging out okay, then start to drift to the side, but straightens back up. He's been hanging out in the divided 10g with Elway, his adopted brother (who is doing great!). They're both about the same size now, but Chi's special shape makes him seem bigger in some areas. Currently, he's in a separate tank, with just a few silk plants. I'll 'fix' it up after a bit, but for now, with the water down low and the more water changes, this is easiest. I keep reminding my husband every time he says "Chi isn't doing so hot" that he's doing a lot better than he could have if he lived in the cup of doom... I think he's doing swimmingly 

I still miss the little baby that he was though... 

Before/After photos


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## grobin1

ellekay said:


> Since it's been a while, and 9 months since getting "baby" chi, I thought I'd post an update.


His color is beautiful!


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## ellekay

Thanks! I love his little flecks of color on his body


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## grobin1

The dark one didn't make it. On my way home from work I stopped at Petco for some test strip and supplies. When I got home the new tank, food and heater had arrived. But when I went inside and checked on the fish, the one I was worried about was gone. Too late for him. I called petco. They told me to bring him in along with a separate tank water sample. They are going to replace him for me and I think test the water. I've only had these guys a few days but I'm sad he's gone! I'm gong to get the new tank set up before I go back to the store and let the heater warm it up to get it ready for the surviving baby and the new one. So sad!


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## lilnaugrim

grobin1 said:


> The dark one didn't make it. On my way home from work I stopped at Petco for some test strip and supplies. When I got home the new tank, food and heater had arrived. But when I went inside and checked on the fish, the one I was worried about was gone. Too late for him. I called petco. They told me to bring him in along with a separate tank water sample. They are going to replace him for me and I think test the water. I've only had these guys a few days but I'm sad he's gone! I'm gong to get the new tank set up before I go back to the store and let the heater warm it up to get it ready for the surviving baby and the new one. So sad!


Which one? The Salamander one or the VT one? The VT looked so healthy so I couldn't imagine he'd pass so quickly! Of course, being a PetCo baby is no walk in the park either, sorry about your loss!


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## grobin1

Yes it was the vt one. I have been concerned about him since day one. The salamander one has been active and eats. The vt has been slow and I don't think he has eaten since i've had him. Poor guy.


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## grobin1

If I wasn't so new at this, maybe I could've kept him alive. I'm learning as fast as I can though. I'm learning new things every day from this site and from you guys so thank you!


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## AngesRadieux

Well, the baby who was pineconing just died today.  Still torn about what I want to do with the tank once it's been cleaned. My initial thoughts were no more baby bettas--it's just too hit or miss. But seeing the pictures here is making me reconsider.


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## grobin1

AngesRadieux said:


> Well, the baby who was pineconing just died today.  Still torn about what I want to do with the tank once it's been cleaned. My initial thoughts were no more baby bettas--it's just too hit or miss. But seeing the pictures here is making me reconsider.


That's sad!  I suggest going for another baby. But it's highly possible that I'm biased since that's all I've had so far.


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## grobin1

Here's the new kid! First and second pictures. Labeled as a girl at Petco. Am I seeing submission stripes? And a better pic of the first baby now that we have a tank with a light!


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## kittenfish

Are you sure the holes in that divider are small enough? It kind of looks like they could wiggle through.

They are both pretty skinny, are you feeding enough to give them nicely rounded bellies?


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## grobin1

I just googled baby bettas and it seems like a lot of them look this way. Just brought one of them home last night and the other one came home Saturday. I'm not sure how much they were fed at Petco but they get food 2 or 3 times a day here. 
I was a little worried about the divider, too, but they have both tried and all they can do is look through.


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## lilnaugrim

Ah, that 2.5 divider, yeah, it's not good :-( I highly recommend they get their own tanks. I realize that's more maintenance for you but that way you won't run into such a problem with the Growth Stunting Hormone and they won't possibly kill each other if one get's through. There have been many adult fish who have wiggled their way under, around the sides and over the top of that divider, it's so poorly made!

Your new one is a male grobin, submission stripes and stress stripes show on both male and female. The vertical bars on young fish are actually showing their dominance versus submission (only for breeding). Even in sororities, you'll see the alpha showing breeding/vertical bars that means she's showing her dominance, not wanting to breed.

And your first one! Color is much different with light, does he still have a blue sheen to him or just a pale/flesh color? If it's pale flesh color then he's actually a Cambodian, not a Salamander as I previously thought ^_^ This one is definitely very skinny though, how often are you feeding? You should feed at least twice a day, if not three times at the moment because he's so small and skinny. They should look like mini adults basically.


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## AngesRadieux

I think they tend to look rather thin when you first get them home because the people at the store try to feed them regular betta pellets. At least in the store near me, I've seen uneaten food that looks way too big for their little mouths in their cups.


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## kittenfish

grobin1 said:


> I just googled baby bettas and it seems like a lot of them look this way. Just brought one of them home last night and the other one came home Saturday. I'm not sure how much they were fed at Petco but they get food 2 or 3 times a day here.


Well it sounds like you are feeding them plenty, it may just take a bit of time before they plump up. The fish in my photo is about the same length as a petco baby and is about how thick they should actually be.


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## mattchha

My new baby (and the baby before him) have done so well, I kind of feel like they're going to ruin me for Petco babies. Maybe we just have a breeder that takes better care of their fry? The little guy's really cute - comes right up to me and chases his food around when it falls or moves from the filter. It's only been a few days, but he seems to be growing quickly.

Not the best pic, but it looks to me like he's making a ":3" face, lol.


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## grobin1

kittenfish said:


> Well it sounds like you are feeding them plenty, it may just take a bit of time before they plump up. The fish in my photo is about the same length as a petco baby and is about how thick they should actually be.


Oh wow! They're both skinny then! :shock:


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## grobin1

lilnaugrim said:


> Ah, that 2.5 divider, yeah, it's not good :-( I highly recommend they get their own tanks. I realize that's more maintenance for you but that way you won't run into such a problem with the Growth Stunting Hormone and they won't possibly kill each other if one get's through. There have been many adult fish who have wiggled their way under, around the sides and over the top of that divider, it's so poorly made!
> 
> Your new one is a male grobin, submission stripes and stress stripes show on both male and female. The vertical bars on young fish are actually showing their dominance versus submission (only for breeding). Even in sororities, you'll see the alpha showing breeding/vertical bars that means she's showing her dominance, not wanting to breed.
> 
> And your first one! Color is much different with light, does he still have a blue sheen to him or just a pale/flesh color? If it's pale flesh color then he's actually a Cambodian, not a Salamander as I previously thought ^_^ This one is definitely very skinny though, how often are you feeding? You should feed at least twice a day, if not three times at the moment because he's so small and skinny. They should look like mini adults basically.


Petco SUCKS at determining fish gender! Luckily, I don't care if they are male or female. They're awesome either way. 

I will get another tank to separate them. Sigh... That will mean I will have gone from zero to four tanks in about 2 weeks. :roll:Hopefully it'll be the last one I need for a while. lol. Whoever said betta fish are low maintenance was WRONG. 
Which reminds me... They told me at Petco that I only had to feed the fish like once a week! Doesn't that seem wrong? And that a Betta doesn't need anything extra added to the water to balance ph, nitrates (or nitrites?), ammonia, etc. He said you just need to keep them in a small bowl and do a full water change like once or twice a week and wash all the stuff. Based on what I've been reading, that is complete BS. I also bought some Seachem Prime the other day and was looking for the API Master Test Kit and the petco guy laughed at me because it's "just a betta" and the tank is only 2.5 gallons. I still bought the Prime. Would have gotten the test kit too but they were all out. I wonder how many fish die because people like this are giving such bad advice! He did give me some free ammonia test strips though since they were out of what I wanted. 

The light fish is a warm either golden or fleshy color. And his fins look neon pink in some light and pale pink in other light. He eats two or three times a day depending on whether or not I am at work that day. I can try to feed him more but I'm not sure what else to do to fatten him up but now I'm concerned. Hopefully he doesn't die like the other one did!


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## lilnaugrim

Just remember that Worms = Fat and Crustacean's = Laxative/fiber. So if you want to fatten them, either find a store who sells live Black worms or Bloodworms or you can get yourself some frozen bloodworms and those will help out. Much more nutritious than freeze-dried anything and they don't cause constipation as easily either. ^_^

It's actually not PetCo who label them. The breeder/seller puts them in bags and 'labels' them there before they're shipped. Petco just puts them in the designated cups, so it's not PetCo's fault. If the breeder were actually trying, I would assume they'd understand gender and get it right, but I don't think they care at all and just slap on M or F and get on with their lives :dunno:


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## kittenfish

Check out lilnaugrim's baby betta care thread: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330

It has a photo of what the belly should look like after feeding.


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## grobin1

lilnaugrim said:


> Just remember that Worms = Fat and Crustacean's = Laxative/fiber. So if you want to fatten them, either find a store who sells live Black worms or Bloodworms or you can get yourself some frozen bloodworms and those will help out. Much more nutritious than freeze-dried anything and they don't cause constipation as easily either. ^_^
> 
> It's actually not PetCo who label them. The breeder/seller puts them in bags and 'labels' them there before they're shipped. Petco just puts them in the designated cups, so it's not PetCo's fault. If the breeder were actually trying, I would assume they'd understand gender and get it right, but I don't think they care at all and just slap on M or F and get on with their lives :dunno:


Good to know! I was looking at the frozen options at Petco and it seems like they are all in blocks/bricks. I'll have to do some research to see what the right kind is to buy and how to prepare it for them.


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## grobin1

kittenfish said:


> Check out lilnaugrim's baby betta care thread: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330
> 
> It has a photo of what the belly should look like after feeding.


Looking at it now. There's a HUGE difference in belly size!


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## lilnaugrim

^_^ Yeah, that's why we were all a little concerned about your little ones!! But no worries, once you pump them up with food, they'll look like that in no time! ;-)

Yeah, the frozen foods do come in cubes. You can take one out and put on chopping board or plate and use a knife of sorts to chop it up into halves or quarters or thirds, whatever you want to do. That way, you can put the rest of it back in a ziploc baggie to keep safe in the freezer and just feed that one section. You may still have some left over, you can keep the thawed food in some tank water in the fridge about 3 days safely, you can go up to 5 if necessary but I don't like to do that; too much chance for bacteria to crawl in. 3 days is my max


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## grobin1

Ok. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I wonder if they just don't like the food I have. The light fishy spits stuff out a lot. Does it with every food I have, even the freeze dried brine shrimp. I did notice both of them had expanded a little after eating last night but they still looked nothing like the fish you guys shared here. I'll get frozen blood worms on my way home. I have been at Petco so much lately. They're going to think I'm crazy.


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## lilnaugrim

If they're spitting it out, then it's likely too large for them to swallow, not because they don't like it (though in some rare cases it is).


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## grobin1

They even spit out First Bites which is tiny. Almost a powder. Tonight I tried the bloodworms and they each sucked one down like spaghetti. Looks like that's what I'll have to feed them for a while. Picky little things!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Lol, yeah that happens sometimes. You can feed the BW's daily for babies (this does not apply to adults unless you feed every other day to keep their system clear) since they need the extra fat and the proteins to grow up healthily! Once they're a little fatter, have colored up, and settled in, you can start moving towards a different pellet. They my refuse it for a while but that's okay. Babies can go a little while without food but at this point, yours are at a critical stage so it's best to just pump them with food for now until they're a little bigger and can handle a couple days of fasting ^_^


----------



## AngesRadieux

I'm so frustrated! I treated Squirtle for Ich with aquarium salt for about a week. Yesterday, I thought he looked much better and I was almost sure we were out of the woods. Now tonight, I look at him and he's got white spots again! I don't know what to do. I'm afraid to medicate, because I'm afraid I'll accidentally kill him with an overdose. But I'm also afraid that if things keep going this way the Ich will end up killing him. He's in a 2.5 gallon tank, heated to 82 degrees. The heater can't seem to get it any warmer than that. I've set it to 87, but it just doesn't seem to have enough power. It's a 10 watt Hydor adjustable heater. What do you guys recommend doing?

Here's a picture. It's not the best, but you can kind of see the spots near his head.


----------



## kittenfish

Maybe if you move him to a 1 gallon container the heater will be more effective?


----------



## AngesRadieux

kittenfish said:


> Maybe if you move him to a 1 gallon container the heater will be more effective?


I don't have a spare one at the moment, but I'll try to find one. Actually, now that I think about it, the heater in his tank is actually 25 Watts, not that it makes a difference, since it can't seem to heat his tank enough. I have a spare 50 Watt heater, though it was in another tank, so I have to clean it before I'd put it in Squirtle's. But I'm a bit afraid that the 50 Watt would be too powerful and end up overheating the tank.

I'm also very confused. Last night I definitely saw white spots on him. They're there in the picture, so I know I wasn't hallucinating. But this morning I don't see them. I started aquarium salt treatment again today, but I didn't think I would see results this fast. So I just have no clue what's going on now. Fish are really confusing creatures...

I mean, at least for now he's still eating well and he seems pretty active? He still wiggles at the top of the tank looking for food whenever he sees me.


----------



## grobin1

I can already tell a little difference in the fish since starting the blood worms. Thanks for all your advice, guys!
Before and after for both fish.


----------



## mattchha

Probably an overreaction, but I'm a little concerned since I'm leaving over the holiday weekend. To me, it looks like Spicy's scales look a bit raised? In person they don't look raised from the top, so I think it's just his coloring, but I still wanted to get you guys' opinions. He's acting normally and everything (obviously just had a bit more food than needed  )


----------



## lilnaugrim

Anges: I'm pretty sure Hydor's don't come in 10 watt, only 25W is the lowest? What Ich med were you using? If you use QuickCure or something that has Malachite Green in it (Formalin usually accompanies it) then it will knock it out without heat or salt in just a couple days. It's usually good to dose another week after seeing no more spots, but it's a fantastic and quick med. I know many like the heat method, but if it takes longer to kill off the Ich (2 weeks min.), why let your fish suffer through the parasitic attacks? Idk, just don't make sense to me. QuickCure (Jungle, can be found at most Wal-Marts) is safe for babies.

grobin: Great! They look much healthier already!

mattchha: no raised scales. Your baby is fine.


----------



## grobin1

:O Can you tell this is the same fish? His stripes are gone and he looks beautiful! He is blue, green and black but I see purple in his fins sometimes too. The one i got first suddenly got bright red fins and I think he flares at me when I come near the tank (he gets all twisty and darty and almost seems like he's charging me). He also chases my finger along the glass like he wants to attack it. It's exciting to see them grow and to see how rapidly it happens! I think it's name time. I was thinking Wasabi for the blue-green guy and Torpedo for the red one. Still on the fence though. Opinions are welcome. I think there's a name thread somewhere that I should go find.


----------



## grobin1

:shock:Just kidding! Stripes are back.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Lol, if you read the second on my Care Thread, you'll know that babies often change from stress striped to solid to stress striped to submission stripes back to solid and they can just keep doing this over and over and over. It's totally normal for that to happen! Don't worry, the stress stripes aren't actually due to stress most of the time, it's their natural camouflage and so it's their default coloration until they get up around 3-3.5 months old and their real colors come in.


----------



## grobin1

Haha... I checked it out. I think I've already read it before and just forgot. Oops! Most of the questions I've had could have been answered by reading that thread. Thank you for patiently answering all my questions even though that thread was right there the whole time!


----------



## mattchha

@grobin1

I think those names are great! Better than I would have thought of, lol. Glad to see that your babies are doing well! So far my baby is constantly striped, but he may be younger than I think or something.

I ended up leaving with a baby "girl" today, the only one in stock. I really need to stop taking bettas home, it's just hard not to. He seems to be doing really well - he's very active and eating a lot. Not the best picture, but here he is! I'm also looking for nicknames. His body's turqoise but his head seems to be darker, his fins are gray with some iradescence. Can't tell from the picture, but his tail's spikey so i'm assuming he's a CT.


----------



## grobin1

One of mine is constantly striped too. I've only seen him without stripes once and i posted it here lol. Your new baby doesn't look much smaller than mine. I have no idea how old they are but I assume about 8 weeks now since I bought thena couple weeks ago. Beware about their gender labels unless you are good at determining if they're male or female. I got two female babies from petco and they turned out to be the two boys I have been posting about. Haha!
when I zoomed in I could see the spikey tail. The would be cool if she's a crown tail. Lilnaugrim said my red one looks like it could be a delta or half moon. It's pretty cool to get something that might not be a vt when you consider the cost of a baby vs the cost of an adult that isn't vt. Kinda feels like winning something. 
I know how you feel about taking the fish home. This started out for me as just something for my kids but now they are my babies and I'm on here everyday trying to find something new to learn. If I could, I'd set up a huge divided tank and buy more bettas.


----------



## grobin1

I even think about these fish when I'm at work. Lol. I guess I like them a little.


----------



## grobin1

Oh and Wasabi flared at me last night! His head is about the size of a pencil eraser or smaller so he's itty bitty. But I could see him looking at me and puffing up. So funny! He's a tough guy.


----------



## mattchha

His stripes are making it hard to guess what color his body will be - it just looks dark grey because of them. But he's starting to darken royal blue on his back and... it looks like the red from his fins are coloring his underside red. But the ends of his fins are black, and he also has turqoise in his body. He could turn into anything, lol.

So far, raising babies has been really fun, because you get to watch them change and grow from this tiny, plain thing... into a beautiful, slightly less tiny thing  I kinda feel like buying babies is like buying a grab bag... because you usually have no indication as to what they'll look like. I was a little disappointed Spicy (my older baby) was a veiltail, but I don't really care. I actually don't have a preference for tail types, it was more about him being a better value or something. But I'm also happy to have a veiltail, and what I think is a crowntail, because I don't have any bettas with those tail types.

So far the labels for my babies have been accurate, except for my new one (which I'm 90% sure is a male) but it looks like you weren't as lucky. Would you have liked to have a female? I think they act differently from males... spunkier, maybe  you're lucky that your Wasabi is agressive! I mean, so far all my males are really laidback. They never flare at me. I try showing them their reflection and they stare past it and at me, like they know what I'm trying to get them to do, lol. Hopefully one of my babies will be more agressive-- Just for diversity.

I think it's really great that you've taken such an interest in your little guys. I mean, most parents have that idea and get their kid a fish and don't treat it like a real pet. So I think it's great that you're educating yourself, and you've found something that you can enjoy with your kids  I hope everything goes well with your bettas, can't wait to see what they look like when they're older!


----------



## grobin1

Yeah the stripes do make it hard to tell! That's why I was so excited last night when Wasabi lost the stripes. He's like a blue-green with a hint of purple in his tail and a black face. I think he'll be beautiful. Royal blue would be really pretty too. Can't wait to see how yours turns out! 
My betta with the red fins is also developing what looks like sky blue edges on the fins. Very interesting because he was pretty colorless and pale when I brought him home.
They are like grab bags. Good comparison. 
Hopefully your new kid will be feisty and flare for you. 
It's awesome to have a place to go where we can get all excited about our fish without people looking at us like we're crazy. Lol.


----------



## Aquastar

He's not really a Petco baby, but he's still small enough to count as one. 
I saw him in a sea of other bettas who didn't even have enough room to flare (long and wide containers), and he was just swimming away, very pale. The store thought he was a small female and priced him at $9! I know, its sad that bettas are so expensive there, male VTs are around $15. So once I got him home he looked even younger than I thought! So here he is! Any thoughts on colouration? I think he'll be blue with a red wash? He normally looks purple and sometimes you can detect a hint of red in the fins without a flash.:-?

I'm sorry for the awful full body picture, I was using sport, but still. At least you can still see the colour and body shape a bit. I really want to buy a bunch of baby bettas!


----------



## grobin1

I see blue and red too but my opinion is suspect because I'm new to this scene. He is very nice looking! Can't believe he was $9! I got mine for under $2 each. :/


----------



## mattchha

Yeah, Wasabi totally looked like a different fish without the stripes. I think he's going to be gorgeous - I've always really loved the look of a blue-toned body and a black face on a betta. I think Torpedo's really interesting, I don't think I've seen a baby like him before. I think Spicy might have a little agression in him - none of my fish dart around after food quite like he does, the little piggy. It doesn't even have to be the good food, lol. I'm hoping I can get some better pictures of my new boy tomorrow, because it's fun to look back at how far they've come. He's already colored up really nicely, though. Very turqouise. Yeah, unfortunately you tend to get a lot of weird looks when you talk about like your fish like they're, I don't know, pets or something. I can tell my roommates are pretty annoyed when I mention my fish. Here's a comparison of Spicy on the day I got him, and him today. It's been about a week and a half. He sure has plumped up 

Aquastar, I'm totally a noob, but I think he might be a crowntail or a combtaill? It looks like he has some reduction on his tail. Don't know the terminology  He's really cute! Can't say much about the coloring. If you don't mind me asking, where are you located? That's suuuuuper expensive! My AB boy was $20 before shipping, jeeeez.


----------



## kschill83

Does anyone else have baby female bettas that still have their stripes almost 2 months later? I'm not sure if they're still stripes or if they're her baby stripes yet..


----------



## mwalker680

Probably a really silly question, but I've never be had a Betta and would love to keep one, what would you recommend as a minimum tank size? I've been so many different numbers and again pet store wasn't great with their answer.

Would they thrive on their own or with company? (obviously not another or a type it would become aggressive with)


----------



## Aquastar

grobin1 said:


> I see blue and red too but my opinion is suspect because I'm new to this scene. He is very nice looking! Can't believe he was $9! I got mine for under $2 each. :/



It's Cananda. Friendly, but everything is $2+ dollars more.


----------



## grobin1

mwalker680 said:


> Probably a really silly question, but I've never be had a Betta and would love to keep one, what would you recommend as a minimum tank size? I've been so many different numbers and again pet store wasn't great with their answer.
> 
> Would they thrive on their own or with company? (obviously not another or a type it would become aggressive with)


I have been told by the experts here that 2.5 gallons with a heater and filter is the minimum. Definitely don't trust the pet store. They told me a half gallon divided tank was ok for two bettas. It's definitely not.


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## grobin1

@mwalker are you trying to get a baby or an adult?


----------



## mwalker680

I have a filter, filtration system and a 20litre tank. I would probably go for an adult, purely because I think it would be easier to begin with? 

Yeah the stocking suggestions thy have given me in the past are ridiculous!


----------



## grobin1

Oh yeah. They also told me at Petco that the fish only need to eat once a week... :roll: I have only had my fish a couple weeks. But everything I'm learning points to adults being easier to care for. So I think your plan to get an adult fish is good one.


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## mattchha

I feel bad for my new baby, ever since I brought him home, his fins have been super clamped. He swims around a lot and eats, though. I hope he'll be okay  caught him on the betta hammock last night. what a cutie.


----------



## grobin1

Poor kid. Hopefully he's just adjusting to his new home! I've seen those betta hammocks a few times and always wondered if bettas actually like them. Maybe I'll get a couple. Your baby looks cozy!


----------



## IslandGirl7408

All our bettas love the leaf hammocks! A real must in our tanks! For one of our fish we always fed him at the hammock so when he was hungry he would go and lie on it. That way we always knew the difference between his " I'm so happy to see you dance" and his " I'm hungry. feed me now ! " dance!


----------



## grobin1

Haha that's awesome! I'll have to get some this weekend. On a sad note, Wasabi isn't doing too well. Of course it happens when I finally decide to name them. He isn't eating and he's just laying in his pineapple. I bought frozen brine shrimp yesterday thinking maybe he was just tired of the blood worms but he wouldn't touch those either. I don't know what's going on but this is exactly what happened with the last one. I check his water parameters and change the water. His tank is filtered and heated. He has good food to eat. But out of nowhere, he's sick. He's pale and lethargic. He has no appetite. I don't think he's going to make it much longer.i hope I'm wrong.


----------



## grobin1

I wonder if it's just too much stress for babies to live in a tank that isn't pre-cycled. I change the water when the ammonia goes up and I use Prime. I just started using neutral regulator too so I wonder if it doesn't agree with him or something. That's the only thing i can think of. Torpedo is doing fine. Maybe he's just stronger than most.


----------



## grobin1

Man...:-( I wonder if I could use stress coat or something. I don't know what might help him.


----------



## Aquastar

Any tips on removing the wire in the leaf hammock? I could't pull it out this morning when I tried. Stress Coat might help. Maybe try live food, if you can get a brine shrimp hatchery going, if they sell eggs where you live?

Oh, and an update on Palm. Arg! The pictures wont upload.


----------



## grobin1

He's not going to make it. I'm pretty sure he has dropsy. All his color is drained, his scales are raised, he's getting bloated and he looks like he's even developing popeye. I checked all his water parameters today and they are fine. I'm pretty sad about this. And angry with Petco. This is the second one to pass away. I will not be getting fish from that place anymore. Torpedo is still active and healthy. This is just depressing.


----------



## grobin1

Aquastar, would love to see the pic if you can get it loaded. Lol


----------



## kittenfish

Sorry about Wasabi. If you make a thread in the disease forum and fill out the form we might be able to help figure out the problem. It could be he was just unhealthy to begin with, but the fact that he had been doing better before his decline indicates a different cause.

I looked at your other thread about the cheese powder. Was that his tank? Also you talked about adjusting pH in that thread. Is it possible he was subjected to a sudden pH change, maybe when you started using the neutral regulator?


----------



## grobin1

Ok I'm going to go post there in a few minutes. Thank you! I was curious if the neutral regulator had something to do with it. Ph today was about 7.4-7.6 which is about the same as always. Can't seem to get it to go/stay much lower than that. Wasabi isn't the cheese fish. That would've made more sense. Cheese fish is still happy and vibrant and didn't even seem affected at all by the cheese incident. He is a strong little guy. I brough him home along with another betta. The other betta seemed sick from the get-go and I wasn't surprised that he passed. Wasabi is the replacement that petco gave me. So cheese fish has been swimming around happy while the others are dropping like flies. It makes no sense because they have the same living conditions. I don't know. I'll post over there. Thanks!


----------



## mattchha

Really sorry to hear about Wasabi :/ I wish I had some advice to give you, but I (amazingly) haven't dealt with any betta illness/ baby illness. It seems like you just have a bit of bad luck - you're doing everything right. I hope that somehow Wasabi's able to pull through. I have no idea why some babies make it and some don't - it's probably just how well they handle stress. I personally have put all my babies in uncycled tanks, and so far (knock on wood) my two older ones are thriving. I think that as long as you're doing water changes, which you have to do more of because of the GSH, that shouldn't affect them.

Aquastar, there's probably a more *correct* way to remove it, but I just bent the leave so I could push the wire out of the stem-plastic piece underneath, and pulled it out with tweezers, then filed off any rough spots.

Funny thing about the betta hammock - none of my bettas have used it til this baby 

update on new baby:
I found the craft mesh I lost (lol) so I was able to make a tank divider and add him to my filtered/heated 10 gal. Seems much happier in there than the bowl. Still stressy, but swims around and eats a lot. I'm hoping for the best. I notice a lot of brown coloring on his head (especially if you look from above), so maybe he might turn kind of coppery? We'll see  (excuse my pathetic java ferns - I ordered them online and they're looking very rough :/)


----------



## grobin1

He's beautiful! I love the green! Torpedo (cheese fish) also has a copper colored head developing. Looks the same as yours in that spot.


----------



## kittenfish

Haha I like the name cheese fish!

So despite having tanks full of babies already, I picked up this guy today, because look at the poor thing. He's very skinny and was clamped at the store, but he ate some pellets shortly after I brought him home, which is a good sign. He's a veiltail with a gold-brown tint to his fins.


----------



## kittenfish

His fins have been changing from yellowish to red and back again, so that's weird.


----------



## grobin1

Oh wow! Check him out! He's clear! I wonder what he will end up looking like. Very cool! 
I decided to name that fish Torpedo a couple days ago but I'm wondering if Cheese Fish might be better now considering the cheese fiasco. Lol...


----------



## Aquastar

grobin1 said:


> Oh wow! Check him out! He's clear! I wonder what he will end up looking like. Very cool!
> I decided to name that fish Torpedo a couple days ago but I'm wondering if Cheese Fish might be better now considering the cheese fiasco. Lol...


It will always be Cheese Fish to us.
I'm going to try and get some pictures of Palm.

Yay! It worked!


----------



## mattchha

Palm looks a lot like my female, Fioré. Except, you know, she'll always look that way and Palm probably won't.

Well... my good luck with Petco babies ran out today. When I was doing my feedings today, which was much later than usual, I found my first Petco baby, Dulcé, caught in some mesh that was wrapped around this Java moss I got. Why didn't I connect that dots when I saw that mesh and remove it?! It's perfect for trapping fishies 

I don't know how long she was down there, but it was stuck under her gills and... her fins are tattered and turning black, and she's looking swollen. I freaked out and scooped her up to get air, but it was such a mess and even though she's bigger than a baby, she's still so tiny. I put her in a little bowl witn her water, and tried to cut it off, but it was so tight. I was able to cut it off with cosmetic scissors, but I'm afraid I might have cut her a little bit... Now she's back in her tank and really lethargic. She had the biggest appetite and she won't touch her bloodworms... It's too soon to call, but that was really traumatic and I don't know if she'll make it... It was so horrible  I got to see how pretty her colors were for the first time, in the sunlight...


----------



## grobin1

How's she doing now, mattchha?


----------



## grobin1

Aquastar said:


> It will always be Cheese Fish to us.
> I'm going to try and get some pictures of Palm.
> 
> Yay! It worked!


Beautiful!


----------



## Aquastar

grobin1 said:


> Beautiful!


Thank you!


----------



## mattchha

grobin1 said:


> How's she doing now, mattchha?


she's doing alright now, thanks for asking. When I put her back in her tank, her fins were pretty clamped up. but her fins returned to normal color, surprisingly, so I think I'm definitely lucky I found her when I did because she was obviously oxygen deprived. Now she's sticking to the bottom mostly but she isn't clamped and she does swim around a bit, but she won't eat. My main concern is the big wound on her head and any trauma her gills took - just worried she'll get an infection...

how's Wasabi holding up?


----------



## grobin1

Cheese fish is PUMPED UP right now! He's zooming around like a.... cough... torpedo! He just ate garlic soaked brine shrimp and he is very excited about it. Lol. It's nice to see I still have one doing well after what has occurred with the other two babies.
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Cheese Fish! Zoom!


----------



## Aquastar

He's not yellow. I actually expected him to be a yellow or orange fish.


----------



## grobin1

mattchha said:


> she's doing alright now, thanks for asking. When I put her back in her tank, her fins were pretty clamped up. but her fins returned to normal color, surprisingly, so I think I'm definitely lucky I found her when I did because she was obviously oxygen deprived. Now she's sticking to the bottom mostly but she isn't clamped and she does swim around a bit, but she won't eat. My main concern is the big wound on her head and any trauma her gills took - just worried she'll get an infection...
> 
> how's Wasabi holding up?


I just saw this. Wasabi didn't make it.  
Sounds like maybe she is coming around! That's good! Hopefully you can get her to eat soon.


----------



## grobin1

Aquastar said:


> He's not yellow. I actually expected him to be a yellow or orange fish.


Lol yeah. Not yellow at all. Was he colorless when you got him?


----------



## mattchha

Sorry to hear about Wasabi  poor little guy...

So it was Torpedo who was Cheese Fish? Lol, I was wondering which one it was (I spend a lot of time checking out new posts/lurking but I don't reply so much). I'm glad he's doing well! I think I got Spicy around the same time you got Torpedo/Cheese Fish, I've noticed he's bouncing off the tank walls. if when we got them they were babies, maybe they're toddlers now  his color's looking much different! well, at least his body looks darker.

Unnamed baby's brown coloring looks like it's lightening to...orange?? And he has red in his fins, too. But orange and turquiose would look so good together! Watching these guys grow up is so much fun!


----------



## kittenfish

grobin1 said:


> Lol yeah. Not yellow at all. Was he colorless when you got him?


I think Aquastar expected Torpedo to be permanently dyed yellow by the cheese powder


----------



## grobin1

kittenfish said:


> I think Aquastar expected Torpedo to be permanently dyed yellow by the cheese powder


Haha! Man. I must have been tired. I don't know why but I thought he was referring to Palm...


----------



## grobin1

mattchha said:


> Sorry to hear about Wasabi  poor little guy...
> 
> So it was Torpedo who was Cheese Fish? Lol, I was wondering which one it was (I spend a lot of time checking out new posts/lurking but I don't reply so much). I'm glad he's doing well! I think I got Spicy around the same time you got Torpedo/Cheese Fish, I've noticed he's bouncing off the tank walls. if when we got them they were babies, maybe they're toddlers now  his color's looking much different! well, at least his body looks darker.
> 
> Unnamed baby's brown coloring looks like it's lightening to...orange?? And he has red in his fins, too. But orange and turquiose would look so good together! Watching these guys grow up is so much fun!


I lurk a lot too. Lol. 
Orange and turquoise would be very cool! I don't think I've seen that color combination yet. 
Torpedo is actually pretty confusing. Lol. He was almost all pale when I got him. Just a hint of pink or red tint sometimes on his fins. His body went back and forth between a blue tinted silver and a fleshy gold. I think he's going towards gold more now but he's kind of iridescent so it's hard to tell. His fins are definitely red now with silvery/sky blue edges. I'm still not 100% sure what his body color will end up being but I'm starting to have an idea. 
I have had Torpedo since Saturday 8/30 I believe. So a couple weeks. Feels like longer! Aren't they about 6 weeks old when Petco gets them? If so, they must be about 2 months old now. I can't belive how fast they change!


----------



## grobin1

Oh! Just a heads up for everyone. I don't know who else has Petco and Petsmart around, but I do. Petco is down the street and Petsmart is 20 min away. So naturally I go to petco. But I went to petsmart yesterday looking for medicine for Wasabi and the difference in fish care there was crazy! The fish all looked very healthy. They didn't sell baby bettas. They had way more options for fish habitats and accessories. And they even had some bettas in actual tanks with other fish, not all in cups. And the cups there are a little bigger than at Petco. The fish all had information with them including what level of experience you need with each type. It was crazy. I will be making that drove from now on to buy all my fish and fish products. What a difference it makes when people actually care! So if you have a Petsmart, I recommend checking it out. I'm not very happy with Petco after my recent experiences.


----------



## Aquastar

grobin1 said:


> Haha! Man. I must have been tired. I don't know why but I thought he was referring to Palm...


I'm a she. Yeah, I guess I assumed torpedo would be stained yellow or something. Just the way it played out in my head.


----------



## grobin1

Lol. That would be interesting. 
Sorry. I'm a she too. Not sure why I assumed you were a he. It's impossible to tell online sometimes.


----------



## Aquastar

grobin1 said:


> Lol. That would be interesting.
> Sorry. I'm a she too. Not sure why I assumed you were a he. It's impossible to tell online sometimes.


It's fine, I tried for a semi female name. Whatever. 

I could dye my fish purple! Or rainbow! If only....


----------



## grobin1

Haha that would be interesting.


----------



## Aquastar

Just think of how many little girls would be buying pink dye. :shock::shock::shock:


----------



## grobin1

Lol pink fish everywhere.


----------



## AliceSaurus

I apologize for not reading through all the pages, but I recently bought a tiny baby betta from Petco (or Petsmart? I frequent both) and she's having issues. Of course, as an amateur, I grossly underestimated all the necessary care, but I'm trying! "Boots" was obviously very freaked out when I brought her home. She was an inch long and I had her in an abusively small bowl which was advertised as a complete baby betta kit. It was less than half a gallon and had nothing but some micro pellets with it. After a couple days, I put her in a 1.5 gallon corner tank with tall silk plants to hide in. She seemed to improve over the first week. Got color back, became shiny, stress lines disappeared, good appetite and energy. I changed the water after a week and she took a turn for the worse. I know I didn't do anything different with the water from the first time I filled her tank. She soon lost her color, stopped eating for 3 days, and stress lines haven't faded at all. She darts around with her fins tucked against her body. She's eating again and growing but still darting around all crazy and it's been a week and another water change since this behavior started. I was doing weekly 100% water changes due to fin rot from the pet store - am I stressing her out too much? Could low temperature do that? I know my house is getting colder this week and her water is only about 76 degrees. Probably closer to 74 at night. I just don't know :/ I wish I'd known how delicate they are beforehand but of course the pet store employees make it seem so fool proof. I'll never make that mistake again; I'm about $50 in to one single fish that was supposed to be a cheap and easy pet for my son and I know it's going to keep adding up. Poor fish  The photo with 3 split frames shows her the day I got her (top left) and at her peak health a week later (bottom). The sideways photo is her today (2 weeks after peak).


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## mattchha

AliceSaurus said:


> I apologize for not reading through all the pages, but I recently bought a tiny baby betta from Petco (or Petsmart? I frequent both) and she's having issues. Of course, as an amateur, I grossly underestimated all the necessary care, but I'm trying! "Boots" was obviously very freaked out when I brought her home. She was an inch long and I had her in an abusively small bowl which was advertised as a complete baby betta kit. It was less than half a gallon and had nothing but some micro pellets with it. After a couple days, I put her in a 1.5 gallon corner tank with tall silk plants to hide in. She seemed to improve over the first week. Got color back, became shiny, stress lines disappeared, good appetite and energy. I changed the water after a week and she took a turn for the worse. I know I didn't do anything different with the water from the first time I filled her tank. She soon lost her color, stopped eating for 3 days, and stress lines haven't faded at all. She darts around with her fins tucked against her body. She's eating again and growing but still darting around all crazy and it's been a week and another water change since this behavior started. I was doing weekly 100% water changes due to fin rot from the pet store - am I stressing her out too much? Could low temperature do that? I know my house is getting colder this week and her water is only about 76 degrees. Probably closer to 74 at night. I just don't know :/ I wish I'd known how delicate they are beforehand but of course the pet store employees make it seem so fool proof. I'll never make that mistake again; I'm about $50 in to one single fish that was supposed to be a cheap and easy pet for my son and I know it's going to keep adding up. Poor fish  The photo with 3 split frames shows her the day I got her (top left) and at her peak health a week later (bottom). The sideways photo is her today (2 weeks after peak).


what a gorgeous fish! I'm going to start by suggesting that you make a thread in the betta disease/emergency forum and fill out this form: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233

Someone else will be able to provide you with better advice, but I just wanted to let you know that babies require more frequent water changes, but not 100%. I believe 50% water changes every other day are ideal in a small filtered tank. 100% water changes can actually be harmful because you're removing the good bacteria and introducing the fish back into a totally different environment if you don't have a filter. A heater is definitely needed, especially for a baby. Bettas can survive at 74 degrees, but thrive at a stable temperature of 78~82 degrees, and I personally keep my babies at a bit warmer than that - around 83~84 degrees, because they're growing.


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## AliceSaurus

Thanks so much! I'll fill out that form and try to get to the bottom of things. I was worried about the full water changes but I've read so many conflicting things over the past few weeks I am just overwhelmed by this tiny fish.


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## grobin1

I know how you feel! I went through the same thing and got so much help from the people on this site. They can definitely help you in the disease section. Beautiful fish!


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## kittenfish

kittenfish said:


>


This guy is doing well.


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## mattchha

kittenfish, wow! he looks like he's going to be gold, how pretty!

Thought I'd show Dulcé's progress since I brought her home. She was one of the first bettas I bought, just a little over a month ago... Now I have 8 bettas. When I bought her, she was pretty big for a baby, so I don't see much of a difference in size. But she doesn't show stress marks anymore, and she's got so much personality now. The current pic is her in her melafix bath, you can see the abrasion on her head  poor dear. I've read that melafix can kill fish, but I only added a drop to her water to clean her wounds. she seems fine.


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## grobin1

Aw! Poor baby! I hope she heals quickly! 
Breaking news at the Cheese Fish home. Torpedo is actually a female. So I guess Torpedo is no longer a fitting name. Lol...


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## mattchha

grobin1 said:


> Aw! Poor baby! I hope she heals quickly!
> Breaking news at the Cheese Fish home. Torpedo is actually a female. So I guess Torpedo is no longer a fitting name. Lol...


She's doing great now, thanks  WHAAA, why do you think CF is a girl now? did he start showing an egg spot? because Spicy showed one yesterday, apparently babies can do that, lol. Ah well if he is a girl... you could call him... TorpedA, or... Brie. because Brie is a cheese and also a girl's name 

My little guy's definitely showing some orange on his underbelly! It would be cool if he's partially orange, but I think he'll just be copper because of his brown head. He still doesn't have a name yet, poor guy... or girl


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## grobin1

Bahahaha yes! Brie it is! I will wait a little longer to be sure but yes I saw an egg spot. 
I think I see the orange but it's hard to tell. The blue is very nice though!


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## grobin1

Just thought I'd check in and drop off another cheese fish pic. . Because bettas. This might be the best one I've gotten so far. And he/she is developing a light blue body. Very cool with the red fins. Watching them grow is so fun!


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## lilnaugrim

My newest baby! It's been like...8-10 months since I've had one. Couldn't resist her little EE geno pectorals! Her name is Snowcap.

She's a Salamander (likely will be able to reach HM with flare practice) with EE geno (basically colored pectorals but not large like EE)


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## Nova betta

she's adorable! A weird question, but what does a elephant ear baby look like? Does it have the same rule as 1/3 of the body or is it different?


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## lilnaugrim

Nova betta said:


> she's adorable! A weird question, but what does a elephant ear baby look like? Does it have the same rule as 1/3 of the body or is it different?


Yes, same rule. They may not be AS big, but you will see a clear difference. The pecs will be more elongated and fully colored up. Pecs take a long time to grow (or regrow) so they will grow with the baby and where the other fins may be at the full potential, the "ears" will still be growing out. Of course, fins never actually stop growing, they do slow down but they just keep going and going until the fish dies


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## Nova betta

lilnaugrim said:


> Yes, same rule. They may not be AS big, but you will see a clear difference. The pecs will be more elongated and fully colored up. Pecs take a long time to grow (or regrow) so they will grow with the baby and where the other fins may be at the full potential, the "ears" will still be growing out. Of course, fins never actually stop growing, they do slow down but they just keep going and going until the fish dies


 thanks for the quick reply!


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## grobin1

She's cute! She looks very similar to mine! Yay! Another baby!


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## AngesRadieux

Squirtle (and all my fish!) are ich free and seems to be doing fine again.

















For comparison, here he is the day I brought him home:


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## mattchha

so many cute babies *_* glad to hear squirtle's doing well again!

Spicy's starting to grow out of his baby looks! His fins are growing very quickly and I find that his face looks a lot more like an adult's. I think he's going to be red with a royal blue wash 

I'm starting to think my new baby (Xian) is a girl after all! I love the way he/she's looking though, you can kind of see it in the photos, but the way the light hits him/her brings out her colors - either turqouise or a rusty orange/red. I've never seen that on a betta before! And I think I was mistaken on the tail type. Any opinions on the gender?


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## mattchha

Ho boy... now I'm pretty postive Xian is a girl. I'm pretty sure she's showing breeding/agression bars (you may be able to make them out in my picture, but they're very faint there) and an egg spot. I'm really perplexed by the breeding bars - none of my other girls have showed them before. I have her in a split tank with a male - could this be why? neither of them are acting strange and they only catch glances of eachother occasionally (Divider is double layered black craft mesh). Should I move her to another tank?


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## lilnaugrim

Xian is definitely a girl. Breeding/submission/vertical bars don't mean anything for gender. Males will show them as well, both types, just like females will. And same goes for the egg spot, that's no way to tell sex as many young males also have fake egg spots. But you can see the outline of the ovaries on that first picture.Tail type could be PK due to how short the anal fin is, but we won't know that until she's actually grown up.


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## kittenfish

So my cellophane "boy" grew ovaries.










You can actually see them develop if you compare the three photos I've posted - here they all are together.


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## mattchha

oh, I didn't realize that! thanks for the confirmation! I guess Petco got another one right  I'm actually really happy to have another girl and that might be a plakat, since I've been wanting another female and my first plakat.


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## Aquastar

Gender help again. Palm is starting to look suspiciously female. The spiting image of one, minus the size. You can really see the colour in this picture, Palm looses the stripes if he needs food. Palm is about 1.72 inches, give or take.

Would Palm be considered a masked betta? I know he/she will probably be blue with a red wash one the anal fin, anything else?
I love the face picture, all credit to my sister.


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## lilnaugrim

Palm looks like a female to me still. I can see the shape of the ovaries bulging behind the stomach; boy's wouldn't have those. She's a CT though! Not a great one, females tend to have less web reduction over all, she might be the result of CT x VT or CT x HM, can't say for sure.

As far as Masks, no. She's a Turquoise with red wash. Mask is part of the Dragon Scale gene, a fish needs to be Dragon Scale in order to have a Mask of thick scales on their face. She has a regular black head, normal for blue Betta's.


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## Aquastar

Yeah, I figured she wasn't a perfect CT. One of the rays on her caudal fins is all messed up. I don't know how to describe it, it's just all curly and scrunched up.
Palm really looked male when I first got her, the anal fin was so big compared to the rest.

I love everyone little babies!


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## kittenfish

Today she felt like having red fins.



















Love her bright copper penny eyes.


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## SerratedRose

Hello all, to be honest I could not believe when I saw "baby girl" on one of the cups as well. I wound up buying the two baby girls here in Auburn and I'm buying the other 2 from Rocklin. Feeding them crushed betta pellets currently and going to try some diced up blood worms tonight.


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## grobin1

lilnaugrim said:


> Palm looks like a female to me still. I can see the shape of the ovaries bulging behind the stomach; boy's wouldn't have those.


Lilnaugrim, do you remember when I brought mine home a few weeks ago labeled as female and you said he looked male? Can I ask if you still think that? Someone told me recently they think he's a she and now I'm so confused. Lol!


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## lilnaugrim

Still looks male to me, but how big is s/he?


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## grobin1

Probably an inch. Maybe slightly over that.


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## lilnaugrim

Then at this stage, it is likely a female. She has tiny ovaries at the moment which makes it difficult, ovaries come in all shapes and sizes so some females will show more than others.


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## grobin1

Interesting! Thank you!!!


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## akinsey15

I bought my baby betta a few weeks ago. She has had stress stripes for a good portion of that time now. I asked an another page a while ago and someone said some babies show stripes for camouflage. However she was such a pretty color at first (and rarely shows her colors now), so the stripes are really bothering me. Any help?


Housing 
What size is your tank? - 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? - 77 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? - yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? - no
Is your tank heated? - yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? - none


Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? - Hikari Micro Pellets / frozen blood worms (1 or 2 once a week) 
How often do you feed your betta fish? - 3 pellets twice a day... one day a week I give her a part of a pea to help with her digestive system


Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? - 1-2 a week, depending on water quality
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? - 40-50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? - water treatment, as I use tap water (can't remember the exact name off the top of my head)


Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? - At first she had a really pretty blue / purple color, but now she is mostly grey with blue stress stripes
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? - thats the weird part, she is just as happy as when I first got her! she eats, greets me, shows off, her fins aren't clamped, etc. 
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
How old is your fish (approximately)? - I bought her as a baby betta at Petco and have had her for 2 weeks. She is about an inch long

**that is that best photo I could get of her...she is very camera shy**


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## Animalforest

Everything sounds good for your baby except you should not feed peas. You might also want to try raising the temperature a little and maybe that will help


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## akinsey15

ok...i will cut out the peas...i read somewhere else they can help, but i mostly find Gracie just likes to play with them


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## kittenfish

Hmm, did you change the decor at all? Sometimes fish will change colors to match the surroundings, so dark substrate/background can deepen their colors and vice versa.


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## akinsey15

No, I haven't changed the decor, besides adding a larger plant that looked exactly like the smaller one. Actually that's what I loved so much...She had the same aqua and purple coloring of her decor! She just seems so happy.


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## SplashyBetta

Raise the temperature to 80-82 degrees, 77 is a little on the low side for a growing baby.


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## mattchha

Spicy's red sure is coming in ^_^


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## grobin1

mattchha said:


> Spicy's red sure is coming in ^_^


Ha that's funny! I was just coming to post the same thing and that Cheese Fish is in a fiesty mood tonight! She's overt here slowly surfing around like a shark and flaring. First time I've seen her really do it. Tried to get pics. They aren't the best but you can see the red popping out a little at her gills. Hilarious! I love watching them grow up! Spicy is looking gorgeous!


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## mattchha

grobin1 said:


> Ha that's funny! I was just coming to post the same thing and that Cheese Fish is in a fiesty mood tonight! She's overt here slowly surfing around like a shark and flaring. First time I've seen her really do it. Tried to get pics. They aren't the best but you can see the red popping out a little at her gills. Hilarious! I love watching them grow up! Spicy is looking gorgeous!


wow, she sure is turning out gorgeous! she looks so different from when you got her. feels weird to call CF a her. I love her fins and the iridesence on her body. So feisty, it's so cute that she's flaring like that. I wonder what has her all riled up? Dulcé is so precocious, it's really endearing. When I had her in a sorority tank, she was the alpha even though she was the tiniest! I'm thinking Xian might be a bit naughty, too. I tried making Spicy flare with a mirror today, I think he was trying but couldn't get it yet. He always approaches me looking so intently. I really wish I could get my camera to focus on his face more. Have you thought of anymore names, or is Cheese Fish sticking?


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## grobin1

I think she was seeing her reflection because all the lights were off except the tank light. It is weird to think of her as female, right? I'm not sure cheese fish is a good name for a girl lol but it has stuck. I'm not surewhat's happening with the name yet. I'm still torn. :/ I bet Spicy will flare. I thought this one wasn't going to because I hadn't really seen it yet but then she was doing it out of nowhere. Spicy is just waiting until he's ready. Maybe he's the kind of guy who just does things in his own time and can't be pressured to conform. Haha


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## akinsey15

*Can someone figure out the sex of my betta?*

Here is my little Gracie. She was marked as a baby girl from PetCo, but I just want to make sure she is a girl. Gracie would be a strange name for a boy! Here are some pics of her...sorry they are not the best she is camera shy!


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## grobin1

She's cute!


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## lilnaugrim

That's funny, Gracie looks like s/he's siblings to my Snowcap 

Hard to tell sex, ventrals are longer, anal fin is pointed but can't see if ovaries are developing or not. Can you either keep her in the tank or cup her and shine a light at you and take pictures like that; you should be able to see through the fish then. The light may blind you but that's okay lol!


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## mattchha

so Xian is still showing vertical bars and Akira, who shares the tank with her, keeps building bubble nests... Will sharing a tank stress these guys out?


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## lilnaugrim

No, you just need to make sure you do more frequent water changes, definitely daily with two babies in it.verticle bars aren't stress, that is submission bars and contrary to what you may think; showing submission bara makes that one dominant over the one that isn't displaying. The only thing its flipped, is during breeding but even still, it shows the male that the female is strong and ready, a male doesn't want to breed with a weak female! But at this stage, its only sub/dom, not breeding.


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## mattchha

Thanks for the info, I've never housed a male and a female together before. 

Here's a comparison of little Xian, the day I got her about 3 weeks ago. Her blue's looking a lot darker now, but still has hues of turqouise.


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## akinsey15

Here is little Gracie today...her coloring has really changed dramatically the past few days! I love the red showing up!


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## totalnoob

akinsey15 said:


> Here is little Gracie today...her coloring has really changed dramatically the past few days! I love the red showing up!


She's lovely!


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## grobin1

Is it just me or is CF outgrowing her 2.5 gal? Might have to upgrade sooner than I planned!


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## totalnoob

grobin1 said:


> Is it just me or is CF outgrowing her 2.5 gal? Might have to upgrade sooner than I planned!


I know that feeling! I am preparing a 5g for Nugget as we speak! XD


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## grobin1

Ok so it's not just me lol. It's crazy isn't it? I remember when I got this thing I thought it was big. All of a sudden it seems inadequate.


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## totalnoob

grobin1 said:


> Ok so it's not just me lol. It's crazy isn't it? I remember when I got this thing I thought it was big. All of a sudden it seems inadequate.


Hahaha, no, I totally get you. Here's a picture of Nugget now (it's not that good, but dang if he hasn't grown the heck up!!)..Our little babies all grown up and...saving China!! (Mulan quote..<_< I'm a nerd)


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## grobin1

Aw he's cute! I'm sure he'll love his new bigger home once it's ready for him. I have to learn more about bigger tanks that don't come as kits now so I can make sure I get everything she needs. And i need to go read about fish-out cycling for the new tank because this fish-in cycling stuff is a pain!


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## lilnaugrim

Fish-in cycling isn't that bad. Have you read Hallyx's post about it? If not, here it is: Cycling: The Two Sentence Tutorial, super easy! It doesn't harm your fish either 

And technically, a Betta won't outgrow a 2.5, a 2.5 is perfect size for them. Of course, you can totally upgrade, not trying to block you, just don't want you to feel obligated at all! All mine are in anything from 1's to 20 longs so it's all dependent on the fish


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## ChelsRaeLynn

So I was just in my local Petco and found a baby betta, a male or so they have labelled it. I told myself that if he was still there tomorrow I'd get him. The thing is...I've never had betta fry before. I currently have a 5.5gal with other fish (3 male guppies and 5 ghost shrimp) if I put the fry in a breeder net can I put him in my 5.5gal? If not I have the resources to set up a roughly 1-2gal tank with heater and sponge filter. Which would be the best option for him if I do get him? Also what would I feed him. He is already showing colors and one of the Petco associates that actually is helpful and I think he might be either a vt or a delta.


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## grobin1

lilnaugrim said:


> Fish-in cycling isn't that bad. Have you read Hallyx's post about it? If not, here it is: Cycling: The Two Sentence Tutorial, super easy! It doesn't harm your fish either
> 
> And technically, a Betta won't outgrow a 2.5, a 2.5 is perfect size for them. Of course, you can totally upgrade, not trying to block you, just don't want you to feel obligated at all! All mine are in anything from 1's to 20 longs so it's all dependent on the fish


Ok I think I'll wait to upgrade until I know more about what I want in the long run with fish keeping. Thanks! As for the cycling, I did read that sticky a few times. It's extremely helpful! But im going on week 5-6 I think and it's still not cycled. There was a fiasco with some cheese (hence the name Cheese Fish) and I had to totally empty and scrub the tank. I'm sure that set me back with establishing the cycle. Then there was the substrate change that I did. I was having issues getting everything out of the gravel and the ammonia was high no matter how many times I cleaned/changed water. So I got rid of that and am using bigger rocks/marbles now. I'm sure that also messed up the cycle. And since the tank is only 2.5 gal, I'm doing 50% water changes every day or two to keep ammonia below 0.5. Been doing it for weeks now and it's getting frustrating because I just want to see the cycle get established. Ahhhh! The filter definitely has bacteria growing on it. It's just not enough yet apparently. I could be cleaning too often. But I am afraid of getting lazy and losing this fish since the two others didn't make it.


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## grobin1

@ChelsRaeLynn I'm pretty new to this myself but I think you would need to put the betta in a different tank just because your 5.5 gal is already pretty full. Someone else can tell you more and can correct me if I'm wrong.  
2.5 gallons is the minimum recommendation for tank size for one betta from what I have seen. Heater and filter are necessary. And they need to be fed more often than an adult betta. 2 or 3 times per day.


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## grobin1

Frozen blood worms, frozen brine shrimp and New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula are what I fed my baby betta and she is growing very nicely. They tend to love the frozen shrimp and worms.


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## kittenfish

Out of nowhere, after about 3 weeks of good growth, my baby betta stopped eating, then got raised scales and a bit of fin rot. Reminds me of what happened with grobin's other betta. I got her at the same time as two other bettas and all three have been having problems. One got dropsy shortly before the baby, the other is just starting to seem off. All my other bettas are fine, so I'm guessing that somehow their time in the store predisposed them to this, if that's even possible.

The other weird thing about these guys is that the dropsy seems to be advancing pretty slowly. The first fish to get dropsy is still alive after at least a week, though it's steadily getting worse and not responding to treatment. I'll probably have to euthanize all three of them.


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## totalnoob

kittenfish said:


> Out of nowhere, after about 3 weeks of good growth, my baby betta stopped eating, then got raised scales and a bit of fin rot. Reminds me of what happened with grobin's other betta. I got her at the same time as two other bettas and all three have been having problems. One got dropsy shortly before the baby, the other is just starting to seem off. All my other bettas are fine, so I'm guessing that somehow their time in the store predisposed them to this, if that's even possible.
> 
> The other weird thing about these guys is that the dropsy seems to be advancing pretty slowly. The first fish to get dropsy is still alive after at least a week, though it's steadily getting worse and not responding to treatment. I'll probably have to euthanize all three of them.


Aww man that is so sad


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## totalnoob

I wanted to ask someone who may know -- how big is Nugget supposed to be right now? I got him in mid July. He is definitely growing, and getting handsome! But I am not sure if he is growing big enough? 

Does anyone know their stages of growth/size and how big they are supposed to be at what age?


----------



## grobin1

kittenfish said:


> Out of nowhere, after about 3 weeks of good growth, my baby betta stopped eating, then got raised scales and a bit of fin rot. Reminds me of what happened with grobin's other betta. I got her at the same time as two other bettas and all three have been having problems. One got dropsy shortly before the baby, the other is just starting to seem off. All my other bettas are fine, so I'm guessing that somehow their time in the store predisposed them to this, if that's even possible.
> 
> The other weird thing about these guys is that the dropsy seems to be advancing pretty slowly. The first fish to get dropsy is still alive after at least a week, though it's steadily getting worse and not responding to treatment. I'll probably have to euthanize all three of them.


That's very sad.  I'm sorry. I had two out of three die and one who is magically completely healthy. So if three of yours are sick, it really makes me think it has to do with the pet store. I'm pretty sure my pet store only fed them once a day. Their water was not heated. That's probably too much for them to handle at such a young age. Maybe the healthy one I have hadn't been in the store as long. I don't know. I'm sorry. I hope your babies make it somehow.


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## grobin1

totalnoob said:


> I wanted to ask someone who may know -- how big is Nugget supposed to be right now? I got him in mid July. He is definitely growing, and getting handsome! But I am not sure if he is growing big enough?
> 
> Does anyone know their stages of growth/size and how big they are supposed to be at what age?


I've been wondering the same thing. I think their body's grow to about 2 inches but that's all I know.


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## lilnaugrim

This is a good rough image chart of what their growth should be. Some vary so some may be larger or smaller at a certain stage but it will usually even out in the end.


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## totalnoob

lilnaugrim said:


> This is a good rough image chart of what their growth should be. Some vary so some may be larger or smaller at a certain stage but it will usually even out in the end.


Are we measuring from tip to tip? EG: nose to tip of tail? Or just body length?

Cuz body-length wise, I don't know that Nugget has reached 1.9, lol. If we go tip to tip, he has. His finnage is getting impressive. He just seems like he's still runt-y to me, lol.


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## kittenfish

grobin1 said:


> That's very sad.  I'm sorry. I had two out of three die and one who is magically completely healthy. So if three of yours are sick, it really makes me think it has to do with the pet store. I'm pretty sure my pet store only fed them once a day. Their water was not heated. That's probably too much for them to handle at such a young age. Maybe the healthy one I have hadn't been in the store as long. I don't know. I'm sorry. I hope your babies make it somehow.


The weird thing is the other two aren't babies, they are adult females. :/

Meanwhile all my actual babies (bred at home) are doing great, so it's unlikely to be my water.


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## lilnaugrim

It's likely just the petstore. I believe I note in the PetCo Baby Care Thread that these are fish that have gone through stresses and things they shouldn't have, as a baby and so they are much more likely to be compromised, lowered immune system, susceptible, things like that. So I'm not so surprised, it stinks though. Even with some of the adults; most have been power-grown by the breeders to get out as much as they can, so they are also younger and less hardy than they should be. That's why most of the "fancy" ones tend to live only a year-year and a half, some of course will live much longer but that's the average that tends to be.


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## totalnoob

Soooooooooooooooooo I might have gotten suckered in by a poor little baby at Petco over my lunch break.

He was floating on his side all sad like and I walked by and he caught my eye...And I picked him up, debated internally on the pros and cons of taking him home, and tried to justify in my brain bringing home ANOTHER betta....

Obviously it worked because here I am. <_< Meet Chester. So far I've gathered that he does not have ovaries that I can see, and looks like at least his fins will be red, and DT. 

One quick question, I am re-reading lil's PetCo Baby Betta Care thread, and having raised Nugget I know about the water change requirement - but I do not see how long we are supposed to keep up the changes? I am still doing Nugget's, even though I have had him for 3 months. Is there a point in their maturity at which they stop releasing GSH and we can resume normal water change schedules? Also, the same question for food - at what point do we resume normal feeding as opposed to multiple meals throughout the day? 

 Thank you!


----------



## lilnaugrim

I thought I mention that. They slow down and stop releasing when they hit maturity, that's at different times for each fish and each sex but males will start building more elaborate bubblenests (not the little ones we see often) and are usually around 3-3.5 months of age. Females will develop their ovaries and become eggy but they will continue to produce for a while longer and it should be kept up until they are at least 3.5 months of age. Or roughly 3 months with you-ish. And food should be kept up until they are at the adult size of 1.5-2 inches in body roughly.


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## totalnoob

lilnaugrim said:


> I thought I mention that. They slow down and stop releasing when they hit maturity, that's at different times for each fish and each sex but males will start building more elaborate bubblenests (not the little ones we see often) and are usually around 3-3.5 months of age. Females will develop their ovaries and become eggy but they will continue to produce for a while longer and it should be kept up until they are at least 3.5 months of age. Or roughly 3 months with you-ish. And food should be kept up until they are at the adult size of 1.5-2 inches in body roughly.


You do mention maturity ages, but don't specifically state to keep up the water changes until then. Being married to an engineer has made me incredibly literal, lol. My apologies.


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## twohuskies

Chester is adorable!!! Bless you for rescuing him.


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## totalnoob

twohuskies said:


> Chester is adorable!!! Bless you for rescuing him.


 Thank you!


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## jrtague

*Normal baby behavior?*

Hello everyone! 

Last weekend I caved and got one of the baby bettas at my local petco. Most of the bettas were in pretty bad shape. They only had two babies, and little Rex won me over immediately. 

He seems to be doing well. He is active and eating well. I also find him resting in the floating anubias at the top of his tank sometimes. Oh, and his fins have gotten much brighter red/orange.

I have him in a 5 gallon heated tank. It has a filter but it's too strong so I'm experimenting with different baffling methods. In the meantime I'm doing water changes every other day.

I saw a few bubbles around the top of the tank the other day and didn't think anything of it. Then this morning there were distinct clumpings of bubbles in the corner where his floating plant and hammock are. Could these be some sort of practice bubble nest? He explores the entire tank, but that seems to be his favorite corner.

I know he's much too young for mating or anything. But could this be a sign he's comfortable? Has anyone heard of babies bubble nesting before? I don't see how anything else in the tank could be making those bubbles, but I've attached pics of the tank in case anyone has insights. I'm not too concerned about it yet - just curious!


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## lilnaugrim

The bubbles are much too large for even an adult to make. Likely they're from the tank settling in but he could have pushed them around to try to arrange them. Either way, it isn't a real bubblenest but just a trial, this is very normal.


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## akinsey15

So, i brought home my Gracie for break and she has been acting funny. She has been shoving herself between the filter and the side of the tank. At first it didn't bother me, as that is where she always sleeps. But she hasn't really moved at all, all day, only when I've messed with her.

Also, I checked her water temperature earlier today and it was around 87.2, which i thought was way too warm, so i unplugged her heater (it's warmer in my house than my dorm). Would the warm temperature be causing her to be lethargic? She was fine Friday and yesterday morning. I wasn't home yesterday afternoon or evening to check her behavior, but she has been acting weird today.


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## kiwiifish

I brought my baby betta home three weeks ago and she's been doing well! She has a varied diet of crushed fish flakes and hikari betta bio-gold along with frozen blood worms. She has some tank mates too, 7 Harlequin Rasboras, around 30 assassin snails (I have to find something to do with them, they keep breeding!!) and probably more than 30 Cherry Shrimp. She's gained so much more color than when I first brought her home and is very active, I think she'll be helping me keep my shrimp population under control once she gets big enough!! There's lots of places for her to hide and feel safe as it's planed and has some hardscape (mopani wood) too. I don't have a name for her yet because like the original poster, I was also a little concerned about how healthy it could possibly be to sell bettas that small.

Everything's going good for me so far though! I figure it's nice to make sure they're in a good home at an even younger age at least!


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## lilnaugrim

kiwiifish said:


> I brought my baby betta home three weeks ago and she's been doing well! She has a varied diet of crushed fish flakes and hikari betta bio-gold along with frozen blood worms. She has some tank mates too, 7 Harlequin Rasboras, around 30 assassin snails (I have to find something to do with them, they keep breeding!!) and probably more than 30 Cherry Shrimp. She's gained so much more color than when I first brought her home and is very active, I think she'll be helping me keep my shrimp population under control once she gets big enough!! There's lots of places for her to hide and feel safe as it's planed and has some hardscape (mopani wood) too. I don't have a name for her yet because like the original poster, I was also a little concerned about how healthy it could possibly be to sell bettas that small.
> 
> Everything's going good for me so far though! I figure it's nice to make sure they're in a good home at an even younger age at least!


Sounds great! Have you read through this yet? http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## Fin Fancier

I wanted to post a quick update. This month last year, I found the most perfect baby double tail at petco. I'd been stalking the baby section as I did have a tank ready, but I never found that one that clicked with me. After a bad day at work I stopped in on the way home and found my little guy. He'd just been shipped in the day before and was still bright and perky, interested in everything and the most adorable light blue. It took all of 2 seconds to decide he was coming home with me and I haven't regretted it ever since. This is Finn, my little baby all grown up a year later.









Finn a couple weeks after coming home









One year later, he still feels he should be fed 3 times a day like he was when I brought him home.


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## Sadist

Oh, all grown up! What a gorgeous fish!


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## jrtague

*Baby tail type? And feeding a new female*

Good morning,

I've read some threads about identifying tail type in young bettas, but I am still confused! I've had my baby Rex for about 3 weeks now and he appears to be doing well. He was gray and striped with a slight red tint to his fins when I got him. Now he's bigger and his body has turned a deep brown, with red coming in on the scales above his anal fin and shiny blue streaks here and there. 

I am guessing he is going to be a veil tail? His anal fin is already so long. But I'm not sure how to count the radials or whatnot on his caudal to know for sure. He is too fast to take good pics! So I've attached a variety. I saw him flare for the first time last night when I brought home a new little lady (their tanks are next to each other, but their view of each other is blocked now).

Which brings me to my second question....I brought home the girl in my last two pics last night. She was just so pretty and so sweet and I had an extra heater and hospital tank. I'm quickly losing willpower to not own all the bettas! Anyway, she was marked as an adult female CT, but she looks so small to me. 

Do you guys think she's full grown? Her body is bigger than Rex's, but not by much. She's my first lady betta, so I don't know if that's normal size. She was VERY interested in food last night. I fed her in her cup while getting her tank set up and she ate everything. Then she wanted more in her tank too. This morning I accidentally overfed her and Rex on thawed frozen bloodworms (it was my first time feeding those) so I am no longer worried about her starving or anything. My adult male betta I feed 1x a day. Usually a small pinch of Omega One flakes (he doesn't like the pellets). Rex gets 2 crushed Omega One pellets 3x a day. Should I feed her like my other adult, or do you think I need to fatten her up for a little while?

Thanks so much for your help!


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## lilnaugrim

Rex will end up as a Delta or HM if he get's enough flare training and depending on his genetics. He is 2 rayed at the moment but he has a nice spread so far. The anal fin being longer doesn't mean anything, if it's slanted and has a point and is long, then yes, likely a VT, but his is nice and square.

The female's generally are young but they'll be the same (or mostly the same) size as males when adults. Feed her like you would feed a baby. Lots of food all day long and she'll grow for you. Water changes are a must for both of your babies to grow healthily ^_^


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## jrtague

Yay! Thank you for the quick reply! I'm excited to see how his tail grows  I haven't had a Delta or HM before. How often would you recommend flare training? I have one of those floating mirrors for my adult that Rex could borrow.

Also, Rex is in a heated 5.5 gallon which is filtered now (got a baffler working so it doesn't swoosh him around). I am doing 50% water changes 1-2x a week (ammonia and nitrites are down to 0). Is that enough, or do you think it still needs to be more often because of growth stunting hormone?

Goldeen is in a 2.5 heated tank with no filter. Would 50% change every other day be good, or does she need more? I have one small anubias in with her now, but I have a shipment of plants on their way so I can add to that soon. Also, her tank came with a glass lid that has no holes in it. Right now I'm not using it. I left 2 inches at the top of the tank with no water so I don't think she can jump out. Do you think that lid is okay to use, or would she be better off with something else? It will never fit completely flush since the cord of the heater is in the way, so maybe that will allow more oxygen?


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## akinsey15

My little Gracie is getting so big and pretty! Didn't think she was growing very much until I found this picture!


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## NightStars

Gracie is a cutie.


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## jrtague

Aww! So cute!!


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## beccadsl

I just got my first baby betta. The store claims it is a boy by the packaging, but I am not 100% in that though. He/she is in a 2.5 gallon heated tank right now. My only concern are the stripes running down the body. Is this normal?


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## akinsey15

I'm no Betta expert but my baby Betta just got past the strip stage. She is in the game tank environment as your. 2.5 and heated. I asked about the striped too. A lot of people told me babies have stripes to help camouflage. I think part of it was getting used to her environment too. Her stripes went away after about 2 weeks. She is fine now and only gets stripes when I put her in a cup to do a full water change! Hope that helps some! 

I posted a couple before and now pictures on the feed a few days ago of Gracie. Her stripes aren't super prominent in the first but believe me they were there!!


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## jrtague

Same here. My baby looked like this when I got him, but the stripes went away within 2 weeks. Good luck with him! He's super cute


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## lilnaugrim

Take a look at my thread here, I go over the striping: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330

And @beccadsl, yes, you've got yourself a little VT boy! Likely will be a Turquoise with red wash or red fins (the usual) ^_^


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## akinsey15

*Help*

Pleas help!!!

I went on a day trip on Saturday and long story short I didn't get home until this afternoon, instead of Saturday night.

When I got back I noticed my fish was acting weird and then noticed her fin has a huge chunk missing! 

Did she eat her fin? It doesn't look like it was torn and would it rot that fast? I changed her water friday night and she was fine when I left!

Please help a worried baby betta mom!


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## lilnaugrim

Is this about a PetCo baby? If not, you should make your own thread, but since I'm here anyway. It just bit it's fin, it's pretty common. Take a look here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=346377 Pectorals take forever to regrow but they will, it will be a few months before it's full again. Be patient.


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## akinsey15

She is a petco baby so i thought it was fine to post here. Thanks!


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## lilnaugrim

akinsey15 said:


> She is a petco baby so i thought it was fine to post here. Thanks!


It's okay! Wasn't sure if it was or not since it looked older, but it's all good!


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## andersthebetta

*My Petco baby Betta!*

I just got my baby boy from Petco yesterday, he is a whitish color with blue and green iridescence. He is incredibly small! I checked a size chart that said he is four weeks old but I'm not sure that's right since that chart said he would be bigger in a week and the Betta expert at Petco said he would start growing in a couple months... I think maybe his time in that little tub stunted his growth? You can see in the third photo the blue colors (he's behind his pagoda) and the last one (where I accidentally turned on flash) you can see the green really well! His pellets are super tiny but they still don't fit in his mouth! He bites off a chunk and spits out the rest, goes to catch it, repeat... he also plays with his food a lot. 
So far I'm really happy with Petco, especially the one guy who was helping me a lot. He has seven Bettas shock and gave me a lot of good advice. I'm stoked to watch this little guy grow. He spends a lot of time hanging around his ceramic pagoda and trying to eat the roots of his bamboo.

I also don't know his fin type yet but I'm less eager to know than others seem to be. Of course I hope he ends up with gorgeous enormous fins but then again that's kind of the only option for a Betta, right?


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## beccadsl

Thank you everyone for the information on my new baby betta and my concerns about the stripes he was displaying. They have already faded a bit after a day in his heated tank! It was hard getting a picture of him tonight. He is more active and hides when he is resting at all.


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## Emparios

Sadly, I have no pictures of my two girls when they were babies. I fell to this "Cuteness Trap" twice already (though it was more of "I don't have $5 to spend on a fish, but $2 is OK").

But here they are now. The first [Serenity] seems to have a bit of a metabolism issue (She switches from looking fine to looking starving then back multiple times within a few months). This is one of the better pictures of her (had taken a few before, and the flash made her clamp D: Also, the image is too large for here :c):
http://i59.tinypic.com/2q21h08.jpg
Without flash, she's a dark blue-green

This is my youngest, Baby Blue. I have still to figure out what she is. May post a thread for it, but putting her here first:
http://i61.tinypic.com/vnhxz7.jpg
She's more of a white-ish blue in normal light, with black or darker scales around her face


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## lilnaugrim

Baby Blue is a Combtail Multicolor


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## Emparios

Thank you! ^-^


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## Boshia

Just brought this one home, male or female? 









Are these photos too big? I can't tell with mobile.


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## lilnaugrim

Looks like a male to me: pointed anal and dorsal (females usually have shorter anal and dorsal at this point and aren't as pointed), eyes are kind of neutral size (males usually have larger eyes than females). I don't see signs of ovaries just yet but s/he may be too small as well. Each betta will get them at a different time as well, not all get them exactly at 2 months or so, some can be late bloomers. But for the time being, it looks male to me.


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## Sadist

lilnaugrim said:


> Looks like a male to me: pointed anal and dorsal (females usually have shorter anal and dorsal at this point and aren't as pointed), eyes are kind of neutral size (males usually have larger eyes than females). I don't see signs of ovaries just yet but s/he may be too small as well. Each betta will get them at a different time as well, not all get them exactly at 2 months or so, some can be late bloomers. But for the time being, it looks male to me.


+1


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## Boshia

Thanks, lil! I got some better pictures today, what color and tail type would you say he is?

























A picture showing his tail fanned out, the stuff around him is baby brine shrimp:









He was working on flaring at his reflection today, so cute!


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## lilnaugrim

Could be a nice Super DeT or regular DeT ^_^ New pictures make me unsure of sex now lol. There's definitely space for ovaries, longer body usually means female. Sometimes it's hard to see proportions in close-up pictures which make it hard to tell at what stage the baby is at since the fins and body will look different at each stage depending on sex and age. But the anal fin is nice and squared so I don't think s/he will be a VT, VT's usually have sloping anal fins and more pointy/long dorsal fins. Plus, the caudal rays are already splitting into 4, VT's can only have 2 rays max ^_^

I think we'll have to wait a little bit until s/he settles in to find out sex!


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## Sadist

Is it normal for the rays to stick out like the beginnings of a crown tail when they're little?


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## lilnaugrim

Yep. Rays grow quicker than the membrane does. You see it most notably on the caudal and sometimes the anal fin. Real CT's would already have web reduction and it would be on ALL of their fins including ventrals and even pectorals half the time. Eventually the membrane catches up on the other tail types.


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## Boshia

Do females usually have a long anal fin like that? Or is that a DeT trait? Either way, I've named the little one Bobby and I love him/her.


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## lilnaugrim

Depends on the tail type and genetics. We get some very very long finned females so that can make it difficult to tell sometimes. But females usually have a rounded anal fin, shorter dorsal (this is a big key usually), smaller eyes, longer body, more pointy (from above). But at this stage, both sexes usually look the same for the DeT to HM tail types, VT is usually exaggerated so you can see the difference at this stage (_usually_)


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## Sadist

I really hate that I just supported this, but here's Sky! (S)he is emaciated but otherwise seems healthy. Turquoise with speckles on the fins! 

I went in for airline tubing and some plants for Mrs. Fish, but I just shared a connection with this little one!


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## RianeS

I ended up buying two babies from petco! I still haven't named them yet! Im pretty sure the dark one is a male, I found his bubble nest today while I was cleaning! and his fins have grown exponentially since I got him just about a week ago! He also lets me pet him when I feed him!!! The light one I'm guess is female! I've had her about 3 weeks and she hasn't changed much except get some color and maybe grow in size a little! Any Ideas if I'm correct!?! Also anyone suspect what kinds they are!


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## Sadist

The blue one looks like a female veil tail to me, but I'm not 100%. 

Here's another one of Sky today. Her back isn't crooked like that, and she has ventrals. Her ventrals are only out when she's still, and she snakes her back around when she's looking at things. It's not showing in the picture, but her anal fin is a bit darker today. She also has lots of cute speckles on her caudal and dorsal! I love speckles! She's super friendly to me, too.


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## lilnaugrim

Raine: top is female Turquoise VT with red wash. Bottom is definitely male VT with red wash.

Sadist, that's actually a little male that you have! Look how big those eyes are and the anal fin is! Females tend to (except on rare occasions) have shorter anal fins than their caudals at first, males are the opposite; their anals are the same or longer than the caudal at first until they grow up more.


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## Sadist

Thanks! I couldn't tell with him being too young for ovaries. I don't see any, but I thought the long body and (I thought) small eyes were a female. The ventrals line up with the front of the anal fin. Boy or girl, I'm still smitten! He's so friendly. I got him to eat 3 tiny bites of blood worm this morning and a tiny speck of frozen community formula (ground up fish with garlic and vitamins). He actually has a tiny bit of round to his belly, now. I was afraid he'd starve to death as skinny as he was when I brought him home.

Edit: 

For all you experts with the babies:

Right now, my baby is in a 2.5 gallon, barebottom tank with a heater, some plants, and no filter. A filter is coming in today. Since I'm already changing the water every day, would doing a fish-in cycle with the little guy hurt him worse than waiting for the filter to cycle elsewhere?

Also, he tried to flare at one of the food pieces. He didn't quite make it, but it was adorable!


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## RianeS

Thank you!!! do you think he is a VT because of his dorsal fin??? here is a better picture of his fins!


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## Sadist

RianeS said:


> Thank you!!! do you think he is a VT because of his dorsal fin??? here is a better picture of his fins!


He has a two ray tail and a pointed anal fin. I don't know much about dorsals except where they show double tail genes.


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## lilnaugrim

Sadist said:


> For all you experts with the babies:
> 
> Right now, my baby is in a 2.5 gallon, barebottom tank with a heater, some plants, and no filter. A filter is coming in today. Since I'm already changing the water every day, would doing a fish-in cycle with the little guy hurt him worse than waiting for the filter to cycle elsewhere?
> 
> Also, he tried to flare at one of the food pieces. He didn't quite make it, but it was adorable!


Fish-in cycle won't hurt and the tank may not actually cycle or it will take longer than usual since you'll have to do daily/every other day water changes depending on live plants and whatnot. But either way, it won't hurt him 




RianeS said:


> Thank you!!! do you think he is a VT because of his dorsal fin??? here is a better picture of his fins!



Cutie patootie! And I was looking at his anal fin slant, though it's not clear indication of course. He does only have 2 rays at the moment (definitely indication of VT), however, that can all change. He does have a nice rounded dorsal though which is not normal for a VT (usually pointy and slender in comparison unless DTVT), so he certainly could be a DeT depending on his genetics. It's hard to tell for sure at this stage.


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## Sadist

lilnaugrim said:


> Fish-in cycle won't hurt and the tank may not actually cycle or it will take longer than usual since you'll have to do daily/every other day water changes depending on live plants and whatnot. But either way, it won't hurt him


Thanks so much! I thought the same since I already do water changes on it every day. His tank was my "grow diadoms on rocks" tank for the otos, so there's a lot of algae that I clean up every day along with waste and food specks that I miss when he's eating.

I gave him a mysis shrimp for lunch. His tummy is nice and rounded. He was nice and curious during water change (50%) and not afraid of anything.


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## lilnaugrim

Great! He sounds like he'll be a fantastic little fish!


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## Sadist

I took some more pictures today while he wasn't snaking his tail around. To me, the caudal looks bigger than the anal. As a bonus, you can see the hint of speckles in his dorsal on the no flash one.


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## lilnaugrim

Hmmm, do you have pics with the ventrals down? That's usually an indicator as well of sex, though, it can be hard for CT's. There is certainly room for ovaries and possible small ones started up. Don't suppose you have the classic glass thermometer that you can get a comparison picture with him/her next to it so I can get a feel for size? If it's a bigger baby then it could definitely be female. It's hard to tell sometimes when I can't get a feel for the size of the baby since at some points they look the same while others, they look different >.<


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## Sadist

I managed to get one picture with ventrals, but the angle (and photo) is bad. My finger is exactly 1.5 centimeters wide for size comparisons. The times when I've been able to see the vents, they line up with the front of the anal fin web reduction.


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## lilnaugrim

Lining up isn't what I'm looking at. Both female and male (usually) line up with their anal fin depending on fin type. I'm looking for how slender or fat the ventrals are. Slender and fuller generally means male, fatter at the top but coming to a thin point usually is female.


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## Sadist

You can sort of see the vent shapes here. I'm sorry I'm so bad at pictures. You wouldn't think that I basted the diadoms out by looking at my pictures, but I did!


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## lilnaugrim

That's okay! And I think I'll stick with male for now ^^


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## jrtague

I love this thread! Everyone's babies are so cute and I'm learning a lot about identifying sex and tail types.

I'm curious about something. I've been reading a lot about betta sororities - most of which boils down to, they're a difficult and delicate thing to set up and maintain and they often fail so don't do it (and if you do, make sure you have enough tanks, dividers, and heaters to house everyone separately). But I've read that they are more likely to succeed if you can get baby girls from the same spawn and raise them together. 

Obviously if I were to buy multiple babies from Petco, I'd have no way of knowing if they were from the same spawn. And then there's also the risk of them being mis-labeled and getting a boy (or several) in there. So I'm not seriously considering doing this, but hypothetically, say you could pick out very young female babies, probably from different spawns, and tried to raise them together, do you think they would be any better off than if you got adults and introduced them to a sorority? Does their aggressive, solitary nature usually set in at a specific age? Also, I imagine they would need tons of water changes because of the growth stunting hormones. Like, probably multiple changes a day?

When I went to Petco today they had so many impossibly small, hungry-looking babies on the shelf, it made me wish there were a way to save a whole group of them - without getting like 8 separate tanks, heaters, plants, etc. So then I started thinking about the logistics of it and ended up with a lot of questions


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## Sadist

I personally wouldn't try it with the babies. They're too small to properly sex (mine was sold as a girl, but lilnaugrim keeps pointing out all these masculine fins to me). Plus, even raised together, there's no telling who's going to be too aggressive for tank mates.

ex. My male fish was bought as an adult about a year ago. Around February/March this year, I added tank mates (oto catfish, small and drab) because he was so laid back and timid. He wouldn't even flare, ever. After 6 months, he became aggressive and attacked several. I didn't find out until I found a dying one trying to hide between the wall and thermometer. I thought that was the only casualty, but I've recently seen several with scars in the same area as the dead one's injuries. My adult female is 10 times more aggressive than he is.


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## jrtague

That's a good point, @sadist. It is hard enough to gauge temperament when they're adult. And like you said, that can change seemingly at random. And when they're so small, if they do fight, their injuries are probably more dangerous to their overall health (especially since these Petco babies are often sold in bad shape to begin with).


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, disease would especially be a huge thing with them. Shipping babies is a huge stress on them already and that leads to lowered immune systems for a while which leads a huuuugeee opening for diseases to run rampant! So then putting them all together in a tank, even if it is heavily planted and filter, it still causes them stress to be around them all the time which means...dead babies if you don't catch it early enough >.<


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## Sadist

Sorry for all of the questions and bad pictures! I managed to catch him by the thermometer for size comparisons. Of course, he was swimming with his ventrals tucked in.

Also, is this a good belly bulge for after eating? More? Less? After these 3 days here, he doesn't look emaciated from the top like he did when I got him. The tail end still looks thin, but the area behind his head has filled out. I don't want to over feed.


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## lilnaugrim

Yep! That's a good belly size! The rest of his body is supposed to be thin so don't worry about that too much, he'll grow into it as he ages! Okay, still looks like a male here so until he spontaneously grows ovaries (totally possible, I've had it happen before lol), I'm sticking with a he ^_^


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## Sadist

He has the beginnings of an egg spot, but we both know that doesn't mean much. Unless some ovaries grow above it, he's just blending!


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## IshtheFish

I nearly got a baby when I was at Petco getting Ish; they were super tiny and did not look like they'd be ready to live in a tank on their own. I almost got one but then realized that I don't have the experience necessary to raise one. I don't know why they would sell fish that young.


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## Sadist

I really hate that I bought one because I hate that they're sold at all. I think only experienced breeders should have babies because of all the care needed. He's so small that I have problems finding him even when he's out in the open!


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## FrankieandRoseForever

I've returned, yet again! Since I have been on my bab girl Melanie has gottèn so much bigger! It will be her 4 month anniversary on the 23rd! Can anyone tell me what tail type and color she is? I'm suspecting royal blue and Veiltail?


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## lilnaugrim

Royal Blue is dark almost like purple. She'll be a Turquoise with Red Wash VT girlie ^_^


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## mattchha

Been a while since I've stopped by! My babies, Spicy and Priya (previously Xian) are doing great! Since Spicy will outgrow Priya, I switched their tanks-- Priya is in my 2.5 BettaBow and Spicy is in a split 10 gallon. I haven't taken pictures of Spicy, lately, but here's how Priya's looking! I really love her turquoise/gold iridescence :3


----------



## Sadist

What a cutie!


----------



## mattchha

thank you! ^_^

Came back today with some not-great pictures of Spicy. his tank's in a dim area and this poor little guy really dislikes the flash. He was always so friendly and curious, but nowadays he usually seems a little skittish. I'm not to concerned - he seems healthy in every other way, although perhaps a little bloated.

the first pic is on the day I picked him up, about 2.5 months ago! Little guy sure has come a long way!


----------



## banana0217

Little Eponine  I've had her for about 5 days. Sorry for the sideways pics, not sure how to fix that!


----------



## Sadist

Aww, they're all cute.

Sky is still doing well. I've got a sponge filter in there with him now so I don't have to do 100% changes. I'm still doing 30-50% a day to keep down the growth stunting hormone. He seems to be able to see his reflection in the heater as well as some of the walls.


----------



## banana0217

I might be getting another baby today. I've got a 2.5 gallon planted tank that would be perfect


----------



## Sadist

Good luck!


----------



## banana0217

There was one baby female buuuut there was also a gorgeous adult black crowntail female...so I got her instead. She's not much bigger than Eponine actually. Not quite an inch long.


----------



## Sadist

I would have chosen her, too!

I still haven't managed to get a picture of Sky with his ventrals down, but I do see that he's adding some red wash to the ends of them. He's a pet, so I don't mind.


----------



## banana0217

Eponine and Javert  One day I'll figure out how to take good pictures of fish!

Seriously, does anyone have any tips? Might just be that my phone is too slow.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Sure!

Always use flash so your shutter speed is quicker.
Always angle phone or camera to the tank, never directly on because you'll get the flash glare! But angling down or up will help out a lot!
Take lots of pictures and delete the bad ones, you'll likely end up with a couple good ones if you take lots of pictures!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Also, Snowcap is growing very well!


----------



## banana0217

Thanks! I'll try that with my new girl. Though I guess I shouldn't post pictures of her in this thread since she's not a baby


----------



## banana0217

She (?) is gorgeous, Lil!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yep, little girly! You can see her very apparent ovaries lol. And thanks! She's a fantastic little fish!


----------



## Sadist

banana0217 said:


> Eponine and Javert  One day I'll figure out how to take good pictures of fish!
> 
> Seriously, does anyone have any tips? Might just be that my phone is too slow.


I also take videos than find the one part where they're still and save it as a picture.


----------



## jrtague

Awww! She's so pretty and cute! I love her coloring


----------



## Cleigh9579

*just an update . and wanting opinions*

This is my sweet boy(??) He has grown so much in the past few months. I just wanted to show him off and see if everyone still thinks he is a black yellow half moon. I don't really care what he (??) Is i love em. Just curious. He won't flare at anything and could care less when shown a female. And his fat tummy has me second guessing if he is actually a he. Lol cant wait to hear from yall.


----------



## Sadist

To me, it looks like there's an ovary bulge there. I'm not great at telling genders, though.

Here's my little Sky playing with me.


----------



## Cleigh9579

I wsas thinking ovary buldge as well. You sky is gorgeous.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh yes, definitely female with those huge ovaries!! :-D


----------



## banana0217

Finally got some pictures of Cosette! That last one is her trying to find a way around the divider to get to Noir's half of the tank.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Has your baby been clamped this whole time? Or is it on and off?


----------



## banana0217

lilnaugrim said:


> Has your baby been clamped this whole time? Or is it on and off?


On and off. I had just finished setting everything up and moving her into the tank when I took those pictures so I think she was a little stressed. No clamping now though


----------



## Sadist

Cleigh9579 said:


> I wsas thinking ovary buldge as well. You sky is gorgeous.


Thank you! He's so full of energy and friendly.


----------



## banana0217

I thought the red around Cosette's gills was just coloring but I was able to look really closely at it today (she's hiding less and less!) And it almost looks like they were damaged somehow, at least the left one. The red has been there since i got her. I added a tsp of aquarium salt to the tank as infection preventative and I'm doing 50% water changes every other day anyway, but I was wondering how much aquarium salt I can add without it hurting the plants (or the other betta!). It's a 5.5 gallon tank. Also if there's anything else I should do to help with the healing process, let me know!


----------



## Sadist

I'm hesitant about medicine recommendation. There's a possibility that she has ammonia burns from the pet store. They might have something about ammonia burns in the disease/emergency part of the forum. Meth blue baths might help, but make sure you ask someone who knows medicine better. Mousie might know.


----------



## banana0217

In any case I don't have any meth blue on hand so I'll do AQ salt and Stress Coat for now. And some more research of course!


----------



## lilnaugrim

I agree, does look like minor burns. M. Blue is the way to go in that case. StressCoat isn't a med by any means, the aloe actually doesn't do anything for the fish except make the fish keeper feel better >.< Salt is good, but it won't help oxygenate the blood like M. Blue will. I do recommend getting it and using it in a bath for your baby. Same as adult; double dose (comes to 9 drops per gallon) and 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon also in the bath. Let the fish soak half an hour and then remove and place back into aquarium; turn out lights for the night so the fish can rest. I like to do baths at night because then they can rest the entire night in darkness. It's good to put on a blanket or towel to increase darkness as well.


----------



## banana0217

Well! I'm sad I have this huge bottle of Stress Coat since it doesn't actually do anything. Ah well. I'll get some M. Blue on my way home from work tonight. Do they sell it at Petco or Petsmart?


----------



## lilnaugrim

I mean, it's still a water conditioner so you can use it at that, but it doesn't magically "heal" your fish like it claims >.<

I'm not sure, it depends on the store. You may want to call ahead first, one of my LFS's has it.


----------



## banana0217

Thanks for the info!


----------



## banana0217

lilnaugrim said:


> I agree, does look like minor burns. M. Blue is the way to go in that case. StressCoat isn't a med by any means, the aloe actually doesn't do anything for the fish except make the fish keeper feel better >.< Salt is good, but it won't help oxygenate the blood like M. Blue will. I do recommend getting it and using it in a bath for your baby. Same as adult; double dose (comes to 9 drops per gallon) and 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon also in the bath. Let the fish soak half an hour and then remove and place back into aquarium; turn out lights for the night so the fish can rest. I like to do baths at night because then they can rest the entire night in darkness. It's good to put on a blanket or towel to increase darkness as well.


How many times and how often should I do this?


----------



## lilnaugrim

banana0217 said:


> How many times and how often should I do this?


You can do it once a night for a couple days to see if there is any improvement. I usually do it at night so the fish can rest in total darkness (under a blanket or towel) for the rest of the night and that also helps in healing. But you can easily do it a week or so if you find that it's helping!


----------



## banana0217

lilnaugrim said:


> You can do it once a night for a couple days to see if there is any improvement. I usually do it at night so the fish can rest in total darkness (under a blanket or towel) for the rest of the night and that also helps in healing. But you can easily do it a week or so if you find that it's helping!


Do I need to change out the water each time or can I save it and use it a couple days in a row?


----------



## lilnaugrim

banana0217 said:


> Do I need to change out the water each time or can I save it and use it a couple days in a row?


Never save bath water, always use new water and medication. It's like saving a bandaid to reuse later....its not very sanitary


----------



## banana0217

lilnaugrim said:


> Never save bath water, always use new water and medication. It's like saving a bandaid to reuse later....its not very sanitary


Good point haha thanks for all your help!


----------



## banana0217

At least one of my girls is healthy. Eponine is doing great! She's grown so much in the almost two weeks I've had her.


----------



## Sadist

What a cutie! She's got some long fins! I love the white tips of her ventrals.


----------



## banana0217

Sadist said:


> What a cutie! She's got some long fins! I love the white tips of her ventrals.


Thanks!! I adore her. Such a great personality. The ventrals are interesting. Those tips are starting to look light blue, so I'm wondering if they'll eventually darken up. Either way I love watching her swim around  I've gotten her to flare a couple times, baby beard and all. It was adorable.


----------



## Sadist

I love my girl's lady beard. It's so cute that she's trying to scare me away!


----------



## TahitiHawaii

Hey everyone! So my mom surprised me with a baby boy from PetCo and I'm not too sure how to deal with raising him!

http://imgur.com/URmVeZs

This is him. Are the stripes okay? He's very active, eats well, swims like a maniac! He's in a 2 gal that I try to keep at about 80. I feed him the Hikari brand mirco pellets.


----------



## banana0217

TahitiHawaii said:


> Hey everyone! So my mom surprised me with a baby boy from PetCo and I'm not too sure how to deal with raising him!
> 
> http://imgur.com/URmVeZs
> 
> This is him. Are the stripes okay? He's very active, eats well, swims like a maniac! He's in a 2 gal that I try to keep at about 80. I feed him the Hikari brand mirco pellets.


Check out this thread! http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330 lots of good info on baby betta care


----------



## banana0217

*Photo Dump Incoming...*

Cosette is definitely perking up! Today she finally started eating like a little piggy and spent a lot more time in the open with her fins extended.
















However...I don't think I'm seeing any ovaries! Is my baby girl actually a baby boy?




















And finally a silhouette of her full baby tummy. I love it!


----------



## Sadist

TahitiHawaii said:


> Hey everyone! So my mom surprised me with a baby boy from PetCo and I'm not too sure how to deal with raising him!
> 
> http://imgur.com/URmVeZs
> 
> This is him. Are the stripes okay? He's very active, eats well, swims like a maniac! He's in a 2 gal that I try to keep at about 80. I feed him the Hikari brand mirco pellets.


He's a cutie! As babies and juveniles, the stripes are for camouflage to keep them safe. He's got his fins nice and extended, and he's active. Good luck with him!




banana0217 said:


> Cosette is definitely perking up! Today she finally started eating like a little piggy and spent a lot more time in the open with her fins extended.
> View attachment 664626
> 
> 
> View attachment 664634
> 
> 
> However...I don't think I'm seeing any ovaries! Is my baby girl actually a baby boy?
> View attachment 664650
> View attachment 664642
> View attachment 664658
> 
> 
> And finally a silhouette of her full baby tummy. I love it!
> View attachment 664674


What a cutie! I don't see ovaries yet, either, but some are late bloomers. I'm seeing super long, thin ventrals, though. That leans me towards thinking she's a he. I love that little tummy!


----------



## TheAfterhourPanic

Hello! I'm new to this site and I've been lurking on this thread for a bit and I've been wanting to share my own experience! 
Late in June I bought a blue and black female veiltail from my local Petco, she was in the cup labeled 'Baby Betta'. She was much larger than the other babies and was probably just mislabeled since she seemed to have been there awhile already. So I decided to take her home. She's been doing great and I'm currently in the process of teaching her a few tricks. She's a real sweet heart! I couldn't have guessed she would be so affectionate.


----------



## Sadist

Awesome! What a good find, too.


----------



## Kisiel

TheAfterhourPanic said:


> Hello! I'm new to this site and I've been lurking on this thread for a bit and I've been wanting to share my own experience!
> Late in June I bought a blue and black female veiltail from my local Petco, she was in the cup labeled 'Baby Betta'. She was much larger than the other babies and was probably just mislabeled since she seemed to have been there awhile already. So I decided to take her home. She's been doing great and I'm currently in the process of teaching her a few tricks. She's a real sweet heart! I couldn't have guessed she would be so affectionate.


we need pictures!


----------



## TheAfterhourPanic

How do I add pictures? I still haven't figured that out. The name of my little girl is Sapphire Shores. She's in very good spirits today so I'm hoping for good pictures of her!


----------



## Sadist

If you hit "post reply" instead of filling in the quick reply area, there's a "manage attachments" area. You can upload pictures with that.


----------



## TheAfterhourPanic

*Sapphire*

My little girl, well not so little anymore.

Picture came out sideways, oh well.


----------



## Sadist

What a cutie! I'm so jealous that you found those colors at a pet store.


----------



## TheAfterhourPanic

I'm guessing she was from a new shipment, because the guy who was there with the fish was showing them off. That and it had been the first time I had seen baby bettas being sold. The babies there at the time seemed in okay conditions and the water was clean looking. Some of them didn't even have their colors yet. Most of the adults were in pretty good shape too.
I'm planning on going back soon to pick up another baby! They're so cute!


----------



## TahitiHawaii

SOmeone please help me! I think I've gone and killed my baby! T-T I went to feed him this morning and he ran away from the food and now he's just sitting at the botom of his tank and uggghhh I feel like sobbing, I'm like failing this baby and all my other fish please help!


----------



## Sadist

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330&highlight=baby+betta+care Here's some really nice information about baby betta care. They're more fragile than adult bettas and likely to die just from being moved from the breeder to the pet store.


----------



## banana0217

Ah babies. Little Cosette/Marius has clamped fins today. No other symptoms, water params are perfect, still eating, nothing different going on in the last few days. Can't figure out what's wrong. But I'm doing a water change today anyway.


----------



## NightStars

Jewels' update. She's a baby betta I got awhile back. She has gotten bigger. I think she's a hmpk.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Hey! Jewel looks like the twin to my Snowcap! And yeah, definitely an HMPK or at least a PK if her tail doesn't reach 180 degrees. Lovely little EE girl! My girl only has EE geno though so she has the colored pectorals but they won't get huge ^_^


----------



## banana0217

Marius is flashing today, fins still clamped too :/ not sure what to do since I'm already using Paraguard.


----------



## lilnaugrim

banana0217 said:


> Marius is flashing today, fins still clamped too :/ not sure what to do since I'm already using Paraguard.


Have any new pictures? Could possibly be Velvet, babies are good at getting Velvet unfortunately >.< Pics with flash from top and sides would be helpful, non-flash would also help too if you can get all of that.


----------



## banana0217

lilnaugrim said:


> Have any new pictures? Could possibly be Velvet, babies are good at getting Velvet unfortunately >.< Pics with flash from top and sides would be helpful, non-flash would also help too if you can get all of that.


Photo dump incoming. I moved him to one of my hospital tanks to make it easier but I forgot to wipe down the outside so there are some smudges.

Non-flash





























The rest are with flash.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh boy, s/he's got some serious fin rot going on! I recommend Methylene Blue baths for him (9 drops per gallon and Aquarium salt at .5 tsp per gallon) 30 minutes, once a night. Dump out bathwater after use and then cover him with a towel or blanket overnight so he can rest. Start with that for about 5-7 days and if he doesn't improve then we can look at antibiotics since fin rot is indeed a bacterial infection.


----------



## banana0217

lilnaugrim said:


> Oh boy, s/he's got some serious fin rot going on! I recommend Methylene Blue baths for him (9 drops per gallon and Aquarium salt at .5 tsp per gallon) 30 minutes, once a night. Dump out bathwater after use and then cover him with a towel or blanket overnight so he can rest. Start with that for about 5-7 days and if he doesn't improve then we can look at antibiotics since fin rot is indeed a bacterial infection.


Damn, and just when I thought I was done with the methylene blue baths. I don't understand how he could have suddenly gotten fin rot :/


----------



## NightStars

lilnaugrim said:


> Hey! Jewel looks like the twin to my Snowcap! And yeah, definitely an HMPK or at least a PK if her tail doesn't reach 180 degrees. Lovely little EE girl! My girl only has EE geno though so she has the colored pectorals but they won't get huge ^_^


Hey! I looked at Snowcap's picture in your journal and they do look like twins. Maybe they're sisters. Snowcap is adorable ^^ & Cool I didn't know Jewel was an EE, I thought she just had the geno.


----------



## lilnaugrim

banana0217 said:


> Damn, and just when I thought I was done with the methylene blue baths. I don't understand how he could have suddenly gotten fin rot :/


Stress is usually a big factor.



NightStars said:


> Hey! I looked at Snowcap's picture in your journal and they do look like twins. Maybe they're sisters. Snowcap is adorable ^^ & Cool I didn't know Jewel was an EE, I thought she just had the geno.


Might just be geno if her pecs don't grow to be at least 1/3 the body size at least


----------



## banana0217

lilnaugrim said:


> Stress is usually a big factor.


That's why I stopped the baths a little earlier than planned after using them to treat his ammonia burns. Having to transfer him in and out of the bath every day was really stressing him out :/ Maybe if I had continued for the whole week he wouldn't have gotten the fin rot. I don't know what would have caused the stress afterwards though. He's been in the 5.5 gal for 5 days, it's heavily planted, kept at 80+ F, water changes every other day. He had seemed less stressed actually. Was (and still is) actually coming to the front of the tank when I went to check on him or feed him, not hiding as much. 

I guess he must have just been more fragile than Eponine at baseline.


----------



## Leotah

Well, here I go again. I lost little man yesterday after he successfully jumped out of a tank with a lid. I have no idea how he managed to do it but I found him after the fact.  my poor handsome guy. 

I went to petco today to buy some algae wafers for my snail and stumbled upon the "baby bettas" where I happened to find this precious thing! Of course, he suckered me in. Did not expect to have another one so quickly after losing little man. 

Anyway, he's already been introduced to his new tank and is doing fairly well. I'm calling him Cozumel. After the beautiful blue water that I saw while vacationing there last year. 

Anyway, I did have a couple questions. Can he eat micro pellets or should I be buying something else? How old would you estimate he is? (the petco cup makes him look larger) How long until we can tell his tail type?

((edit: sorry idk why the pics are all weird))


----------



## Leotah

Okay so every in tank photo that I am taking makes him look much more blue than he really is because he is iridescent. But he has black in him too. Spots in tail and stripes on body. His ventrals are pointy and have red tips already. That top fin looks really pointy though... Isn't that a sign of veil tail? 

BTW, the tank was just cleaned. That white stuff on the wood is fungus. It's a new piece. It will go away on its own and isn't harmful for him.


----------



## Sadist

What a cutie! I'm not good at seeing ovaries on the dark colored fish, but there is room for some. There's a chance that he's a she! Just the opposite of my little guy that I bought as a girl. I'm sure an expert will chime in and correct me.

I can't quite tell how many rays there are in the caudal. The pointy anal (bottom) fin does point to veil tail, but a ray count would be better.


----------



## Leotah

Alright maybe these will help. 

Thanks for the quick response!


----------



## lilnaugrim

I'm quite sure it's a little boy! He's a Turquoise which is why his blue changes during different lighting. He has a black base as many Turquoise do so that's also why you can see some black in him as well. For age, he looks to be around 2-ish months old if he was power-grown like many of them are (are bigger at younger ages but fins grow slower). For tail type, might not know for a little while, currently he does only have 2 ray's which is a nice start for a VT. His anal fin isn't as slanted but his dorsal does have a point to it which all usually means VT but there is a good possibility that he'll be a DeT or Super DeT!


----------



## Leotah

I can't wait to see him grow and find out what he's going to look like! I don't really care so much about the tail type, just didn't want a double tail and he isn't. I don't even want to worry about any extra health problems associated with double tails. I'd probably lose it if I had issues with a baby so soon after Zen. 

Cozumel already has an awesome personality! He's very active, social, and hilarious to watch. I think he declared war on my frogbit roots. Lol every couple of minutes he swims up and bites at one. He's also eating really well so that makes things easy. 

BTW, the red plant he is next to in one of the pictures is about as big as my thumb. That gives you a size comparison for him. All the plants in this tank are new trimmings. Even the sword in the back is a baby plant. Idk why but my camera keeps warping the picture making him look bigger. I'll try and get a better one soon.


----------



## Leotah

Btw, if anyone lives near greenville SC, our petco is now selling baby EEs. I saw one really cute one that appears to be all white/platinum already. Tempted to go back and plop it into my snail tank since cozumel is in Zen's old tank. 

Oh and here is another pic.


----------



## banana0217

Soooo...I know the presence of an egg spot does not necessarily mean a fish is female. But if a fish previously had a prominent egg spot and it is now gone, does that mean it is male? Because I can no longer see Eponine's egg spot.


----------



## Sadist

Maybe. Can you post a picture?


----------



## banana0217

Sadist said:


> Maybe. Can you post a picture?


I tried to get a bunch of different angles. My phone kept focusing on the plants though.


----------



## Sadist

I can't tell if there are ovaries there or not. I have trouble telling with the darker fish.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, Eponine is a male. I had been wondering in the other post you'd shown us.

Males often have fake ovipositers and some will lose them as they age and some will keep them through their life. They'll never be as large as a female's egg spot, especially when they get eggy but, they can still be seen usually.


----------



## Leotah

Cozumel may be a girl? 

This morning while feeding him I noticed a white spot beneath his belly. Is this the egg spot everyone is talking about? It kind of hangs a tiny tiny bit...


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, looks like a false spot to me, not large enough to be girl. Still looks male to me.


----------



## banana0217

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, Eponine is a male. I had been wondering in the other post you'd shown us.
> 
> Males often have fake ovipositers and some will lose them as they age and some will keep them through their life. They'll never be as large as a female's egg spot, especially when they get eggy but, they can still be seen usually.


Well! So much for my female babies haha. Guess I need a new name.


----------



## Leotah

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, looks like a false spot to me, not large enough to be girl. Still looks male to me.


Thanks Lil!


----------



## Leotah

I feel like I am bombarding this forum with pics and questions. Here's yet another for you guys! 

Cozumel's eyes seem to have turned red. Is that normal? Also, his top fin seems to have rounded out a little more. The pic where it looks pointy is because of the way he is curved while swimming. He never stops moving!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Fins change shape and length as they grow, that's very normal. And eyes are normal too. Betta's have any colored eyes; yellow, blue, dark blue, brown, dark brown/black, red, and orange!


----------



## banana0217

Marius seems to be improving now. He's currently in a breeding net to make moving him for baths less stressful so it's hard to get pics, but I decided to go with a combination of antibiotics (Kanaplex and Furan-2) after a few days of no improvement with the methylene blue alone. He never stopped eating or got really lethargic, which is good. The last two days his fins have been noticeably more open and the black on the edges seems to be going away. Last day for this course of antibiotics so we'll see how he is tomorrow.


----------



## Sadist

My little Sky is still doing well. He's colored up and looks more like he's going to be blue with red wash, just like Mrs. Fish. I can't really get a decent picture right now, though.


----------



## banana0217

Question: Marius is looking much better now, his fins are fully extended and everything, but the edges are still dark. I just finished a course of Kanaplex and Furan-2. Should I continue to do methylene blue baths until the dark edges are gone and his fins are completely normal? I also stopped using AQ salt in the baths after 10 days. The Furan-2 package also says I could do a second treatment course but the Kanaplex doesn't say anything about that.


----------



## Sadist

Can you post a picture so they can see if it's still rot or natural coloring?


----------



## banana0217

First two without flash, last two with


----------



## Sadist

I don't see any, but I didn't see it in the clamped picture, either. I'll let one of the experts take a look and see what they see.


----------



## lilnaugrim

No, its definitely still rotted but much better now! Continue with a new course of the KanaPlex and Furan-2 to finish it off. After that, you should be okay to continue with Methylene Blue + AQ Salt to finish it off completely unless it's still black like that.


----------



## banana0217

lilnaugrim said:


> No, its definitely still rotted but much better now! Continue with a new course of the KanaPlex and Furan-2 to finish it off. After that, you should be okay to continue with Methylene Blue + AQ Salt to finish it off completely unless it's still black like that.


Thank you!


----------



## Leotah

Cozumel has learned that my pinched fingers over the tank means that I am about to feed him. He now jumps out of the water to bite at the food in my fingers. It surprised/startled me the first time it happened... Now I just think the behavior is adorable! It amazes me that something so little could be so bold.


----------



## 46below0

I raised a petco baby girl she got bigger than my other Betta's I bought as juv/adults, I had her for over a year in a community tank and one day she just passed away with no visible signs of sickness and never any signs of foul play so I guess she just lived her life I'm happy to have given her a life in a big healthy tank most bettas don't get that treatment I just wish she got to enjoy it longer


----------



## banana0217

Leotah said:


> Cozumel has learned that my pinched fingers over the tank means that I am about to feed him. He now jumps out of the water to bite at the food in my fingers. It surprised/startled me the first time it happened... Now I just think the behavior is adorable! It amazes me that something so little could be so bold.


Marius and Grantaire have learned this too though they haven't started jumping yet, they'll dance with their faces turned up right at the surface. It is so cute.


----------



## BumbleBetta

I love looking at everyones post so I thought I would show off my little baby too.

I got him at Petco on November 11th and have had him 20 days so far! He suddenly has all this color and is looking amazing!!

I was wondering if any one had any idea of what kind of betta fish he will grow up to be, I'm having a hard time figuring it out. 

This is him on November 11th








This is him today! I can't believe how much he has grown in such a short time!


----------



## banana0217

BumbleBetta said:


> I love looking at everyones post so I thought I would show off my little baby too.
> 
> I got him at Petco on November 11th and have had him 20 days so far! He suddenly has all this color and is looking amazing!!
> 
> I was wondering if any one had any idea of what kind of betta fish he will grow up to be, I'm having a hard time figuring it out.
> 
> This is him on November 11th
> View attachment 671786
> 
> 
> This is him today! I can't believe how much he has grown in such a short time!
> View attachment 671794


Ah I'm jealous! I've had Marius since the 10th and it doesn't seem like he's grown much at all. I know he was in bad shape when I got him and now he's gone through treatment for ammonia burns and fin rot but the poor thing is still so tiny. You can only tell that he has any color in photos with flash.

Meanwhile Grantaire seems to get bigger every day. He and Marius were in the same shipment but I got them a week apart. They started at about the same size so the difference now is astounding.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Bumblebetta, he is a turquoise with red wash VT boy ^^ glad you were able to get rid of that nasty rot on his fins too!!


----------



## Leotah

Well, I bought a betta trio divided tank last week. I think I may be going to get some more babies soon.  I'm obsessed


----------



## lilnaugrim

Lol, just make sure you have enough plants and do your daily water changes of at least 25-50% to counter act that Growth Stunting Hormone! The more babies you have together or in sight of each other, the more you have to do water changes or do the other two options to help counteract it (plants and other baby fish to grow up along side them)


----------



## Leotah

Oh I bought a ton of plants and the dividers for this tank are solid black acrylic. I'd be surprised if they are able to see each other. 

So it looks like cozumel doubled in size overnight. He's about half the length of my thumb now! Don't mind the fingerprints on the tank glass, that would be the work of my visiting little brother. It'll be thoroughly cleaned when he leaves.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Beautiful!

That's nice, but if they share the same water, they'll sense each other's pheromones as well so it's not all about sight. I don't know exactly what tank you're talking about so for all I know, it could be separate systems lol.


----------



## Leotah

It's all one system. It just filters through the back of each compartment. I will stay on top of water changes.


----------



## Leotah

It's seems that the white spot thing under his belly has grown too. Just noticed how low it is hanging. Is that something to worry about? I saw little worms on the glass earlier in the week. Haven't seen them since. Starting to think they may not have been planaria or detritus worms... Because that looks like it sticking out of him...


----------



## Sadist

Is he constipated? Do you have any daphnia to help him pass the worm or whatever it is?


----------



## BumbleBetta

lilnaugrim thanks for letting me know he is a vile tail ^_^ He has definitely been more feisty lately and I think its because his fin rot is gone. I'm excited to see him grow up in the next few months!


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## Leotah

No he isn't constipated. He poops regularly. It comes out and curls into a ball. TMI sorry haha


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## lilnaugrim

Leotah said:


> No he isn't constipated. He poops regularly. It comes out and curls into a ball. TMI sorry haha


Not tmi at all, it's good to observe their poop to monitor for disease and parasites. He looks fine though, looks like he'd just gone poop recently. Sometimes it will hang lower after they do poop. If you see it start to become red and stick out more, THAT'S when you worry. Otherwise, he's fine


----------



## lilnaugrim

And just going to show off my older baby and recent baby purchases :roll:


So this is Fresco! A beautiful marbled female baby! I found her and couldn't set her down. Helps that it was Saturday and so the 50% off sale was still going. Plus my best friend works at PetCo and so I get her extra 20% off as well, so 80 cents for a Baby betta? Yep. They came home with me.






















And this is Tempera! Yep, going with the art techniques here! She's big for a baby and is clearly a PK girl. Wild type coloration. She's normally not striped up but she was new to home so it's pretty normal. She's gorgeous and eats vigorously already! Fresco has some trouble and only goes for falling food since it moves. Tempera doesn't care, she lounges at it all lol






























And the little rascal herself, Snowcap has bitten her anal fin and caudal >.> it happened last week but then it got worse when she continued to bite. It amazes me that even with her short fins, she can still manage to turn and bite herself. Crazy fish. :roll:


----------



## Leotah

Awww they are all to cute! Excited to see how the other two grow!  

Someone is practicing his flaring...


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh man! Look at that dorsal spread! Hot diggity! He sure is a handsome boy! With that kind of dorsal, there's a good chance he's a DeT or Super DeT if he keeps practicing like that! He's still only two rayed for the moment which means VT but if they split again then he's a DeT for sure!


----------



## Leotah

That would be a nice surprise! How long does it usually take for splits to develop? I mean is it common for it to happen gradually over time?


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## lilnaugrim

Oh yes, happens over time. As long as the tail is growing, the rays can keep splitting depending on genetics. And it's different for every tail type. Some DeT's are the result of HM x VT or something similar and that will cause the fish to have a low count of rays and so he could potentially just be 2-4 rayed and it may take another month or two to develop that. Or, he could just be a VERY nice VT boy ^_^


----------



## Sadist

Updates on Sky. Sorry for the low quality; I'm surprised he held still long enough for anything besides a blur. Still look like a boy? He's also looking more blue than turquoise to me, now.


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## lilnaugrim

Do you see any bulge of ovaries? Have you tried flaring him to anyone else to check on beards? Most female beards don't extend as far as males so that's something you can look for, tho of course there are exceptions!

Turquoise is blue, it's a tricky color since in most lights it will look like a nice dark blue but then in other lights it turns almost aqua and green. He's definitely a Turquoise. Royal Blue is almost to the purple edge and Steel Blue is more like steel colored; grey/slate blue.


----------



## Sadist

Mrs. Fish is across the room and where he can't see her. I can't see a bulge for her ovaries (at least not a cone shaped one), either, just a big fat belly from her eggs. I'll try a mirror again. So far, he just flirts and begs for food from anything next to the tank.


----------



## kimmiekazi

Hi! I've been stalking this thread for a while now because a little more than a month ago, I purchased a baby betta from petco labeled as a boy. He seems very happy and healthy so far, but he hasn't grown all too much in the month I've had him. His fins also aren't very long, so I'm beginning to question whether he is actually a he. I was hoping if someone here could help me figure out if he was sexed correctly, and maybe some guesses at fin type?

Anywho, this is Prince (please excuse the camera quality, all I have to take pictures with at college is my phone). The picture without the colored cave in the background is a couple days after I brought him home, the rest are more recent.
Thanks in advance!


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## Secants

Hey all. So I went to Petco 3 days ago telling myself I'd only walk out with one fish and... well, you know how it goes. I got a little guy labeled as a baby male betta and he's quite the character! He already comes over to check out what I'm doing whenever I'm watching him.

12/2 (just got home)

















12/5 (today)
Maybe it's just the lighting, but I'm kinda shocked how different he looks in these pictures.

































So, what do you guys think? Do I have a boy? What tail type might he be? I'm so excited to see how he turns out! :-D


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## KynKatan

I wish my petco would be selling baby bettas but they are not participating.... I was hoping to get at least 10 and build a sorority on my 20G tank.... Well I guess that I'll keep that tank empty for now


----------



## Leotah

The coloring looks like it may end up being a lavender or salamander right now. So jealous. My avatar is of my fallen angel Zen who was a salamander. Love them! 

As for sexing, I'm not the most educated/informed to be able to positively tell you... But it looks like a female to me. The ventrals at tiny, I see an eggspot, and that dorsal fin it pretty far from the tail. I'll let someone else chime in but that's what my eyes are seeing. Can you try shinning a light through it to check for ovaries?


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## Secants

Here's some pictures with a light behind the baby real quick before work. He was Very Mad to be back in his little cup.


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, that's a female and likely a CT due to the fact that rays are protruding from all her fins. Most of the time rays will protrude from the tail as it grows and people mistake that for being CT, rays will grow quicker than the membrane between them in the fins. But, because she has it all the way around, likely a CT or at least a mix so she might not have very good web reduction. And for coloration, no lavender or salamander, she's blue bodied with red fins; bicolor essentially.


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## Leotah

That's why Lil is a pro. Haha


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## banana0217

The lighting ended up terrible (those darn tannins!) But Grantaire had some fun with flare practice yesterday.


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## Secants

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, that's a female and likely a CT due to the fact that rays are protruding from all her fins. Most of the time rays will protrude from the tail as it grows and people mistake that for being CT, rays will grow quicker than the membrane between them in the fins. But, because she has it all the way around, likely a CT or at least a mix so she might not have very good web reduction. And for coloration, no lavender or salamander, she's blue bodied with red fins; bicolor essentially.


Haha, I gotta wonder who they have sexing their babies at Petco. So, tell me, could you see the ovaries in the backlit pictures? I'd like to become more proficient at sexing myself, but it's so darn hard with these tiny bodies. Also, glad to hear you think she's a CT or mix! One of the reasons I picked her up was because I was wondering if she'd end up being a CT. Thanks a bunch! I can't wait to see her gain more color as she ages. 



Leotah said:


> The coloring looks like it may end up being a lavender or salamander right now. So jealous. My avatar is of my fallen angel Zen who was a salamander. Love them!


I forgot to say so this morning, but the fish in your avatar was gorgeous. I would have been honored if my baby ended up being a salamander as well.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Secants said:


> Haha, I gotta wonder who they have sexing their babies at Petco. So, tell me, could you see the ovaries in the backlit pictures? I'd like to become more proficient at sexing myself, but it's so darn hard with these tiny bodies. Also, glad to hear you think she's a CT or mix! One of the reasons I picked her up was because I was wondering if she'd end up being a CT. Thanks a bunch! I can't wait to see her gain more color as she ages.
> 
> 
> 
> I forgot to say so this morning, but the fish in your avatar was gorgeous. I would have been honored if my baby ended up being a salamander as well.


It's not any of the employee's that's for sure. I visit frequently and talk with them about anything really, one day I had asked about the babies and they said they came in labeled by the breeders/sellers. So the company on the other side is the one doing it  Sometimes they're right but half the time the babies are still too darn young to be sexing at all. Half the time you can't tell until they're reaching maturity at age 3 months!

And yes, in the last photo of her being backlit, she doesn't have any eggs yet and so they're kind of shrunk now but behind her stomach is a small red section that males don't have. I'll outline it later, have to get going now!


----------



## maidance

I don't have a baby betta, but I just thought I'd like to add: for all those who don't think their Petco is participating you might be surprised. I go to Petco all the time and I've never seen one but yesterday there was just 1 on the rack in the back of the store. So even if an employee says they're not participating (like the one at my store did) they might be.


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## EasternSierra

I went into Walmart for the first time in years on my way back home in the mountains...only place to buy what I needed for current betta. Saw this big lady shoved in the back, her little cup totally filthy. And now I have two fish. 

She's in a QT tank right now until I can upgrade her in the next few days. Other than being maxed stressed, she seems relatively healthy.

Below is a photo of the ammonia lever in her water AFTER I did a mini 50% water change right there in the parking lot!!! She's already perking up a bit, shining a little bit of blue. She even ate a light dinner


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## lilnaugrim

She's adorable but this thread is for PetCo babies only technically. You can show her off in the Betta Photo section though!


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## banana0217

Marius is definitely stunted and I worry about him ever reaching full adult size, but he has improved a lot in the month I've had him.


----------



## Atomsk

Is this a baby? If she is, then Petsmart is getting into the action too.


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## Leotah

Petsmart has always sold really young female betta.


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## themamaj

*Timothy...aka Tiny Tim*

I decided I wanted to raise another Petco baby since had a 2.5 gallon tank available now. I have raised 3 others to adulthood and they are still thriving and doing well. After much looking around, I ran across this cute little guy who I have named Timothy. (Tiny Tim). Lil if you will verify with me, but I think he will be a blue male veil tail. I didn't see ovaries and the fin length indicates male to the best of my understanding, but I have been wrong before! I acclimated him as I have all my other fish floating cup and making sure water, temp, everything ok before release. I netted him into the tank because his cup water was so dirty and didn't want to contaminate new water. I have done that with all new fish with no issues. Timothy freaked out when I netted him. He curled up and then sank to the bottom like he was dead. I think the fish actually fainted. I have never had this happen. Lil??? I gently nudged him with the side of the net and he snapped out of it. His breathing stayed normal and I knew the water perimeters were all fine. Very strange. He hid for a long time but gradually started swimming and exploring. He is still very timid and not eating though not surprised with how stressed he was. He seems to be more interested in the java moss and maybe looking for food on bottom of tank. He will nip at the moss. Still not as active and interactive as I would like to see him, but color darkening up. I plan to try some frozen daphnia later and see if that incises him to eat. Here are some pictures.


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## lilnaugrim

Yep, little boy VT! And sounds like he was faking. Fish sometimes do that when they think that they're in danger, it's just a defense mechanism that a lot of animals have. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't lol. I wouldn't worry about it unless you find that he's being lethargic or doing other weird things lol.


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## themamaj

lilnaugrim said:


> Yep, little boy VT! And sounds like he was faking. Fish sometimes do that when they think that they're in danger, it's just a defense mechanism that a lot of animals have. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't lol. I wouldn't worry about it unless you find that he's being lethargic or doing other weird things lol.


That little stinker!! He ate like a complete piggy tonight and patrolling tank looking for more. Loves daphnia and I added my multivitamin that has garlic in it to entice him a bit. His color has blued up more today. I think he is going to do fine, but definitely the first of big acting performances I have had. haha


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## Sadist

Wow, I've seen snakes do that but never fish! Silly boy.


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## themamaj

Is Ocean Nutrition Formula One Frozen food an appropriate food for baby betta? It is primarily seafood and algae based. Mysis shrimp, spinach, brine shrimp, salmon, etc listed. My Petco baby's mouth is still too small for the mini pellets. I have been feeding him daphnia which he is doing well with. I know I can crush the pellets but have fed the Formula One to my guppy fry before so wondered if it was ok for bettas as well. It is one you don't thaw but drop in and it immediately dissolves in the water. I plan to pick up some more brine shrimp too. Just like to have lots of options to rotate food.


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## Leotah

Cozumel has become a bit of the chunky monkey lately. Haha he's huge! And the fins are longer every day. I'm amazed by his growth. Looks to be a veiltail.


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## TripleChrome

Since I had a die off of bettas and African Dwarf Frogs a few weeks ago, I actually got yet another baby betta last Sunday. His name is Speedy because he is so fast. He refuses to eat anything except frozen brine shrimp(could there be anything else he could eat other than Brine Shrimp that would be okay for him that he may actually like? My other baby bettas that are grown now just about ate just about anything I gave them in the way of fish food), and he is a little devil. He flares at anything that moves, even my guppy who is on another bookshelf next to the dresser his tank is on. He flares at the cat of mine, which is strange. Any idea on his tail type? I am thinking VT. I know he is a turquoise color, though. I'll get better pictures tonight hopefully and put them on here tomorrow.


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## Leotah

I love his colors!! Especially the touch of red on his ventrals. I think that adds character! 

I've been trying to get better photos of Cozumel but he won't sit still.


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## Secants

Here's Jody! I can't believe I got this fish 8 days ago. She's completely different. I'm so excited about all of her gorgeous blue coming in and she Never. Stops. Swimming. It was SO hard to get ONE decent picture of her. Pretty much all the rest are just a blue and red blur. Guess I have a healthy girl on my hands. =P

Here's one of her day one pictures for a comparison.


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## lilnaugrim

themamaj said:


> Is Ocean Nutrition Formula One Frozen food an appropriate food for baby betta? It is primarily seafood and algae based. Mysis shrimp, spinach, brine shrimp, salmon, etc listed. My Petco baby's mouth is still too small for the mini pellets. I have been feeding him daphnia which he is doing well with. I know I can crush the pellets but have fed the Formula One to my guppy fry before so wondered if it was ok for bettas as well. It is one you don't thaw but drop in and it immediately dissolves in the water. I plan to pick up some more brine shrimp too. Just like to have lots of options to rotate food.


Yep, it's fine!


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## themamaj

lilnaugrim said:


> Yep, it's fine!


Thank you!


----------



## ghosthunters2002

Yay &#55357;&#56832;


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## Sadist

Sky, checking out his tank mate during acclimation. It was blood worm day, so he's extra big. So far, he's leaving Spiral alone, and I even managed to feed a blood worm to the snail!


----------



## banana0217

Snails eat bloodworms??? I have a bunch of MTS in my tanks now. Good to know.


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## Sadist

I've read that assassin snails can be fed a blood worm once a week. I'm not sure about MTS. If they're scavengers, you can probably hide some blood worms in the substrate for them to find. Too much food might make them breed faster and give you a problem, though!


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## Aquastar

This is my new addition! 
As a Canadian, she was $9.99:-( but I couldn't let her die, especially since some other small ones were dead. Is she female? Her fins are shorter than Palm at her age, sorry for the bad picture, my good ones are on my apple (no wifi). I think I'll call her Mist.
None of the babies had stripes this time?


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## twohuskies

She looks like confetti! Love her colors, and bless you for saving her.


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## jrtague

Omg she's beautiful!! So cute! I've noticed that the light-bodied babies at my local Petco never have stripes - it's only the darker colors.


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## OUOhYeah2016

I just got a baby betta! I'd never seen baby bettas anywhere before today. My mom has been betta-less recently and I knew she wouldn't be able to leave without a new finned friend, but I wasn't expecting to come home
with this little baby! Any ideas on what he might grow up to be? Or about how old he might be?


----------



## Aquastar

Some sort of CT


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## OUOhYeah2016

That's what I was thinking too. His tail has that look to it already


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## themamaj

Aquastar said:


> This is my new addition!
> As a Canadian, she was $9.99:-( but I couldn't let her die, especially since some other small ones were dead. Is she female? Her fins are shorter than Palm at her age, sorry for the bad picture, my good ones are on my apple (no wifi). I think I'll call her Mist.
> None of the babies had stripes this time?



Oh Aquastar she is beautiful! She looks like one of my crowntail girls Sassafrass. Love the name Mist. Very fitting! Congrats!


----------



## kitkat67

How good is Petco at ID'ing which are boys and which are girls?


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## OUOhYeah2016

I'm curious about this too... I bought mine today and it says baby boy, but I'm prepared for it to go either way.


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## Julie7778

Is there a way to tell what gender your baby is for sure in the store or what tail type it will be?


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## NightStars

Aquastar said:


> This is my new addition!
> As a Canadian, she was $9.99:-( but I couldn't let her die, especially since some other small ones were dead. Is she female? Her fins are shorter than Palm at her age, sorry for the bad picture, my good ones are on my apple (no wifi). I think I'll call her Mist.
> None of the babies had stripes this time?


Mist is too cute.


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## StellaBetta

May I just say I am really glad a thread like this exists because I'm always afraid to talk about buying baby bettas because of how much hate people give it. I think as long as you have the proper information and means to keep them healthy its ok.

Anyways off my soapbox. I recently purchased my own baby boy from Petco (after telling myself I wouldnt get anymore bettas of course :lol: ) I chose him specifically because there wasnt many babies left and most of them were girls but I really wanted a boy betta this time. He was the only one with color as all the others were white and he was also the biggest looking one out of all the babies and I felt this gave him a better chance. The only thing that kind of had me concered was the big tear in his anal fin. I dont really know how he would get a tear straight up and down like that as I imagine he sadly has only been in shipping and a tiny cup all up until recently.

He is still really small so for now I have him in a 1 gal heated tank with a small plastic plant which he loves and a little krusty krab cave that he doesnt spend alot of time in because he loves being out swimming and begging for food from anyone who walks by. 

They had him marked as a baby boy but I don know if thats true or not. I've never had a male betta so I dont know what to look for or even what kind he will turn out to be but im very excited to find out. Is there any way I can tell from so early on what gender and type he is?

These are the best pictures I have of him as my camera isnt the best quality. He also has small blue dots along his body that you cant see very well


----------



## lilnaugrim

Aquastar said:


> This is my new addition!
> As a Canadian, she was $9.99:-( but I couldn't let her die, especially since some other small ones were dead. Is she female? Her fins are shorter than Palm at her age, sorry for the bad picture, my good ones are on my apple (no wifi). I think I'll call her Mist.
> None of the babies had stripes this time?


Yes, female and a CT.
Babies constantly change from stripes to non-stripes to vertical bars back to non-stripes and so on and so forth. So you probably just hit them during that point is all, it doesn't necessarily mean anything however.



OUOhYeah2016 said:


> I just got a baby betta! I'd never seen baby bettas anywhere before today. My mom has been betta-less recently and I knew she wouldn't be able to leave without a new finned friend, but I wasn't expecting to come home
> with this little baby! Any ideas on what he might grow up to be? Or about how old he might be?
> 
> View attachment 681713


Not a CT. Rays grow faster than the membrane does and so at certain points, the fish may seem like a CT because it has rays sticking out but unless it has rays sticking out on all fins and not just the caudal (tail) then it's not a CT. He looks more like he'll be a DeT if anything. He's likely only just about 2 months.



kitkat67 said:


> How good is Petco at ID'ing which are boys and which are girls?


PetCo doesn't ID them, they come in ID'd from the breeders but they only hazard a guess. Sometimes it's accurate but most of the times, it's not. Even I've been fooled before by a fish that was larger than most PetCo babies, totally looked female and then suddenly the next day, BOOM! it was male.



OUOhYeah2016 said:


> I'm curious about this too... I bought mine today and it says baby boy, but I'm prepared for it to go either way.


Answered above.



Julie7778 said:


> Is there a way to tell what gender your baby is for sure in the store or what tail type it will be?


No. Unless you have a good eye and know what you're looking for. I've covered it slightly in my PetCo baby care thread here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330

The only way is to look for ovaries. Most are too young to find ovaries though so it doesn't help. I go over slight differences in that thread but it's not always true. As for tail type, that's a gamble as well, they can even fool people into thinking they're CTs when they really aren't! If you show me pictures, I can give you a good educated guess.


----------



## lilnaugrim

StellaBetta said:


> The only thing that kind of had me concered was the big tear in his anal fin. I dont really know how he would get a tear straight up and down like that as I imagine he sadly has only been in shipping and a tiny cup all up until recently.
> 
> They had him marked as a baby boy but I don know if thats true or not. I've never had a male betta so I dont know what to look for or even what kind he will turn out to be but im very excited to find out. Is there any way I can tell from so early on what gender and type he is?


Whoops, sorry I missed your comment.

The tear is likely just from biting himself or from water changes. They get tossed around a bit for changes and that's where most of them get tears from. Nothing to worry about, it's already healing up anyway. If you keep 1 teaspoon of Aquarium Salt per FIVE gallons ratio, that's a good preventative measure which is totally safe for babies and will help keep infection away as well as help their kidney's function better.

It is a male and he's a VT. Coloration is Turquoise Red Multicolor.


----------



## Sadist

Stella's betta looks like it has more than two rays on the tail to me. Am I seeing something not there?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Sadist said:


> Stella's betta looks like it has more than two rays on the tail to me. Am I seeing something not there?


Oh yeah, he does. My bad. DeT then, I was in a rush


----------



## OUOhYeah2016

Lilnaugrim, Thanks for the educated guess! My other betta had an injury recently and so I've noticed that tendency for the Rays to grow quicker so I wasn't sure. Hence asking all of you! I look forward to comparing his baby pictures to what he looks like when he's bigger!


----------



## StellaBetta

lilnaugrim said:


> It is a male and he's a VT. Coloration is Turquoise Red Multicolor.





Sadist said:


> Stella's betta looks like it has more than two rays on the tail to me. Am I seeing something not there?





lilnaugrim said:


> Oh yeah, he does. My bad. DeT then, I was in a rush


Thank you guy's for the help! I dont see any ovaries or any other sign that hes female but I wanted to be sure because sometimes they come mismarked. As for the type I know that a VT is a veiltail but I'm not really sure what a DeT stands for


----------



## lilnaugrim

StellaBetta said:


> Thank you guy's for the help! I dont see any ovaries or any other sign that hes female but I wanted to be sure because sometimes they come mismarked. As for the type I know that a VT is a veiltail but I'm not really sure what a DeT stands for


Sorry, it's Delta. DT is Double Tail and so that abbreviation was already taken so we use DeT for Deltas ^_^


----------



## StellaBetta

lilnaugrim said:


> The tear is likely just from biting himself or from water changes. They get tossed around a bit for changes and that's where most of them get tears from. Nothing to worry about, it's already healing up anyway. If you keep 1 teaspoon of Aquarium Salt per FIVE gallons ratio, that's a good preventative measure which is totally safe for babies and will help keep infection away as well as help their kidney's function better.


Thank you its a relief to hear that the tear is healing I've been feeling bad for the little guy and didn't really know what to do to help :/ I will definitely do the aquarium salt thing because I keep seeing a lot of people use that for tears and other things


----------



## hannah51715

These are my two petco babies, Olaf and little May. I got them a couple of months ago, but I just found this thread so I thought I'd share some pictures of them.

This is Olaf when I got him.









This is Olaf now. Nearly 2.5 months later. Sorry for the blurry photo. It's so hard to get a decent picture of him. He gets so excited when he sees me he doesn't stay still for a moment.










This is little May. I wish I could find the picture of her when I got her. Her coloring has changed so much. She started out white with a few speckles of black, a bright orange head, and clear fins with a small spot of red on them. This is how she looks now I've had her for almost 2 months. She's a bit more photogenic than Olaf and actually stays in one spot and poses for the camera.










Any ideas on what the tail types or coloring would be called for these two? Also I'm pretty sure May is a girl but I can't tell for sure. What to you guys think?


----------



## Olivia27

hannah51715 said:


> Any ideas on what the tail types or coloring would be called for these two? Also I'm pretty sure May is a girl but I can't tell for sure. What to you guys think?


OMG score!! Olaf is an EEPK!! Those guys are not common at all! Say, is it just your picture or are his anal and dorsal solid white like his caudal? I was about to call steel blue/white bicolor but then I realize that the blue bleeds into the dorsal and anal. Or not. Maybe it's just poor lighting when you take the pic. Either ways, there's an idea 

And May is a red VT, like my old girl Memory  love her googly eyes. Oh and yes, it's a "she" indeed. Assuming most fries sold in Petco are around the 4th week mark they'll be fully mature within 7-8 weeks after purchase. So since you've had May 2 months, she's not gonna change so much anymore  so yeah. That's a girl.

EDIT okay I got a bit carried away. EEPK = Elephant Ear Pla Kat. Plakats are short-finned Bettas, and Elephant Ear refers to his larger-than-normal pectorals (the pair of fins on both sides of his head). VT is Veil Tail, which refers to the oval-shaped tail that droops down "like a wedding veil" (says some sources). If you want to get technical, I was told that what makes a VT is no more than 2 rays in each branching on the caudal (and that's the tail), which as far as I can see is what May has. Dorsal is the fin on top, and anal is the one below. Ventrals, that I didn't mention, are the pair of fins that look more like pieces of ribbons instead of proper flippers.


----------



## DZIM

Went to Walmart today to pick up a supply for my fish. Checked out the betta selection to find that there were only two cups left. In the cups, there were two very young betta fry. 

Apparently even Walmart is picking up on this stupid trend.


----------



## Aquastar

Please tell the worker that they wont live and take them for free? 
It's probably a mistake, where I got Palm and Mist, they told me they are females because they have shorter fins and are smaller than the males... Even though they have other females bigger than males.


----------



## DZIM

It wouldn't do any good for me to take them. I don't have the room nor the money for another tank setup. They're definitely going to die, though, probably even if someone manages to buy them before the negligence of Walmart employees does them in. It's a shame. Fish that young shouldn't be sold to inexperienced people.


----------



## Aquastar

STILL. If you have a breeder trap or a large container? You could always rehome them when they are older?


----------



## Aquastar

Meet Taiya!

Any ideas on colouring, she is the same age as Mist, so just smaller than an adult, very thin compared to Mist. I've got them sitting next to each other in a breeder trap until I can start a sorority (1 week?), Mist sees food and panics, its great...


----------



## Tealight03

*New baby*

I just picked her up tonight. She was labeled baby girl. I think I see ovaries so I'll go with girl. Unfortunately she's left floating in her cup in another tank as the preset heater isn't heating her tank properly. She got a partial change with Prime added and some pellets crushed up. Shopping trip tomorrow. 

Name suggestions welcome!


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## DZIM

The last pic is adorable.


----------



## Crash

Aquastar said:


> This is my new addition!
> As a Canadian, she was $9.99:-( but I couldn't let her die, especially since some other small ones were dead. Is she female? Her fins are shorter than Palm at her age, sorry for the bad picture, my good ones are on my apple (no wifi). I think I'll call her Mist.
> None of the babies had stripes this time?


Oh my gosh, what a gorgeous betta :shock: Never seen colors like that; She'll probably end up coloring up as she ages but man, that's adorable.


----------



## DZIM

Crash said:


> Oh my gosh, what a gorgeous betta :shock: Never seen colors like that; She'll probably end up coloring up as she ages but man, that's adorable.


My male betta had that same flesh-color with the pearly iridescence, though his fins were white rather than clear. He's turning black now, almost completely. Bet OP's new fish will marble as she gets older. I sort of wonder how common it is for cellophanes to stay cello their whole lives.


----------



## Aquastar

> My male betta had that same flesh-color with the pearly iridescence, though his fins were white rather than clear. He's turning black now, almost completely. Bet OP's new fish will marble as she gets older. I sort of wonder how common it is for cellophanes to stay cello their whole lives.


My Nyx was probably cello at some point, complete black with blue and lime green highlights, almost orchid now. She's gathered some grey grizzle on her fins, her colouring is a messy Thai Flag. The white opaque is hard to come by.


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## lilnaugrim

Aquastar said:


> Meet Taiya!
> 
> Any ideas on colouring, she is the same age as Mist, so just smaller than an adult, very thin compared to Mist. I've got them sitting next to each other in a breeder trap until I can start a sorority (1 week?), Mist sees food and panics, its great...


Looks like Royal Blue with red wash, will have to get a pic when she isn't stressed out so we can really see her color, she might be Turquoise instead.


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## Sadist

Tealight03 said:


> I just picked her up tonight. She was labeled baby girl. I think I see ovaries so I'll go with girl. Unfortunately she's left floating in her cup in another tank as the preset heater isn't heating her tank properly. She got a partial change with Prime added and some pellets crushed up. Shopping trip tomorrow.
> 
> Name suggestions welcome!


Shimmer pops to me as a name. She's a cutie.


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## OUOhYeah2016

We've had my moms baby boy for a week now! He's getting more blue by the day and is about an inch long including his tail. He's extremely active and inquisitive about everything going on around him. As of yet he's not officially named, but we've been referring to him as Small Fry.


----------



## lilnaugrim

OUOhYeah2016 said:


> View attachment 684961
> 
> 
> We've had my moms baby boy for a week now! He's getting more blue by the day and is about an inch long including his tail. He's extremely active and inquisitive about everything going on around him. As of yet he's not officially named, but we've been referring to him as Small Fry.


Cutie-patootie! Seems like a small tank though, you are doing daily water changes and it's heated, right?


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## OUOhYeah2016

Yepp! He was just so small when we got him we didn't think we'd be able to find him in much more. It also isn't filled all the way yet. He'll get a bit more space when he grows up a bit. My mom has been reluctant to name him until he lived for a week, so it's time to start considering names for the little one. I leave to go back to college in two weeks and I'm
sad I won't be here to see him grow up firsthand.


----------



## Tealight03

Aquastar said:


> This is my new addition!
> As a Canadian, she was $9.99:-( but I couldn't let her die, especially since some other small ones were dead. Is she female? Her fins are shorter than Palm at her age, sorry for the bad picture, my good ones are on my apple (no wifi). I think I'll call her Mist.
> None of the babies had stripes this time?


She is gorgeous! Congrats!


----------



## goodgollyitsmol

Just got a little guy called Miko I didn't see this thread until I made my own though... Here are pictures(excuse the giant format) http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=6880465#post6880465


----------



## Sadist

An update on Sky! He's got his vents up in this one, and they are mostly red. He's still quite the sweety, and he's loving the days he gets fruit flies. He still eats mostly a variety of frozen foods.


----------



## banana0217

Marius is sick again...he hasn't eaten in a few days, doesn't even acknowledge the pellets. And today his fins are clamped. No other symptoms yet. Sigh. Not to mention that he is still baby size and still has horizontal stripes. Meanwhile Grantaire is very close to adult size now.


----------



## themamaj

Sadist said:


> An update on Sky! He's got his vents up in this one, and they are mostly red. He's still quite the sweety, and he's loving the days he gets fruit flies. He still eats mostly a variety of frozen foods.


He is gorgeous!


----------



## Sadist

Thanks! Here's the same picture cropped so maybe he'll be big enough to see. I swear he never has his ventrals down long enough to get a good picture of them!


----------



## Aquastar

Guys. 
Mist is probably big enough for pellets, and was about the same size as when Palm started eating pellets as well. So, being that over enthusiastic food loving fish she is, she ate it. And spat it out. I cut them up and same results. Is it that she only wants frozen? Palm only got Brine Shrimp so maybe pellets were tastier to her?


----------



## goodgollyitsmol

Update on my little baby: I was away last night but I came home today and my baby was bigger and more colorful! Just overnight!


----------



## themamaj

Sadist said:


> Thanks! Here's the same picture cropped so maybe he'll be big enough to see. I swear he never has his ventrals down long enough to get a good picture of them!


Really great picture!


----------



## themamaj

6890961 said:


> Update on my little baby: I was away last night but I came home today and my baby was bigger and more colorful! Just overnight!


Wow what a transformation! What a lucky find in your store too. Cant wait to see changes as grow. Will definitely be a beautiful fish! How long have you had it now?


----------



## themamaj

Aquastar said:


> Guys.
> Mist is probably big enough for pellets, and was about the same size as when Palm started eating pellets as well. So, being that over enthusiastic food loving fish she is, she ate it. And spat it out. I cut them up and same s. Is it that she only wants frozen? Palm only got Brine Shrimp so maybe pellets were tastier to her?


Sometimes they get a bit spoiled on frozen food and reject pellets. Keep trying to offer variety and she will learn to accept it. Another thing is you can try a different brand pellets. I usually alternate between omega one and ocean nutrition but new life spectrum is also very good food. That is good to crush them or cut up until able to take full pellets.


----------



## OUOhYeah2016

Today I went back to the PetCo where I got my moms new baby betta and almost cried... We only got Small Fry a week and a half ago and he was one of probably 8 baby bettas they had there on a smaller end cap style rack in the store. It looked like they'd probably gotten their Christmas shipment in because there were plenty of beautiful bettas and only one adult was dead and only one other seemed to have an apparent case of SBD. I'd been impressed because the PetCo near where I used to live had never been a place I'd trusted to buy live fish. 

Today unfortunately was completely different... There were significantly fewer bettas there and I remembered a number of them from my last visit so im assuming they haven't gotten any new shipments. So I bent down to look at the area where I'd found my baby to find that there were three dead babies, one of which was starting to decompose it had been there so long, and there were only three others still there and alive but not looking very well. I'm so thankful to have gone when we did the first time and saved one from that fate, but it killed me to not be able to save the few that were left...


----------



## goodgollyitsmol

themamaj said:


> Wow what a transformation! What a lucky find in your store too. Cant wait to see changes as grow. Will definitely be a beautiful fish! How long have you had it now?


Today is day 4! I'm also lucky that he'll eat anything I put in for him (crushed pellets, hakari first bites, bloodworms)!Here he is this morning


----------



## Sadist

Not sure. She may not be used to that texture as a food. Sky eats everything that I put in his tank including an algae wafer for the shrimp (which I removed so we don't have any more problems).


----------



## Tealight03

OUOhYeah2016 said:


> Today I went back to the PetCo where I got my moms new baby betta and almost cried... We only got Small Fry a week and a half ago and he was one of probably 8 baby bettas they had there on a smaller end cap style rack in the store. It looked like they'd probably gotten their Christmas shipment in because there were plenty of beautiful bettas and only one adult was dead and only one other seemed to have an apparent case of SBD. I'd been impressed because the PetCo near where I used to live had never been a place I'd trusted to buy live fish.
> 
> Today unfortunately was completely different... There were significantly fewer bettas there and I remembered a number of them from my last visit so im assuming they haven't gotten any new shipments. So I bent down to look at the area where I'd found my baby to find that there were three dead babies, one of which was starting to decompose it had been there so long, and there were only three others still there and alive but not looking very well. I'm so thankful to have gone when we did the first time and saved one from that fate, but it killed me to not be able to save the few that were left...


Petco has a nice online complaint form on their website. I have used it four times I think and have gotten a call or email from a manager each time.


----------



## OUOhYeah2016

Oh I sent one in in, better believe it! Those babies weren't old enough to be cupped for sale and underfed to keep their tiny cups clean to begin with, but that's just neglectful.


----------



## Tealight03

Good. I love that online complaint form. I've had managers take the problem seriously and actually make changes. I just got a baby from a Petco I complained about a couple months ago. I should go give them some positive feedback. The bettas were lethargic but all clean and no visible diseases.


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## goodgollyitsmol

I was really impressed with my petco so I complimanted them and they told me that they'd reward the store and the employees for doing a good job


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## themamaj

Good idea Tealight. I think it is important to also give positive feedback when we see things are done right. Healthy stock = happy customers


----------



## themamaj

goodgollyitsmol said:


> Today is day 4! I'm also lucky that he'll eat anything I put in for him (crushed pellets, hakari first bites, bloodworms)!Here he is this morning


He looks great! Is that a craft mess tunnel? Very cute


----------



## Tealight03

themamaj said:


> Good idea Tealight. I think it is important to also give positive feedback when we see things are done right. Healthy stock = happy customers


You're absolutely right. I've been meaning to do it just hadn't gotten around to it. Off to the Petco website I go.


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## goodgollyitsmol

themamaj said:


> He looks great! Is that a craft mess tunnel? Very cute


Yup! Since his tank is so small I didn't want it floating though... I'm doing daily updates on him on my YouTube channel and my instagram


----------



## themamaj

Lil please tell me I am seeing things and this fish hasn't suddenly developed ovaries? Pictures at home coming 12/11 and today. Doing very well, coloring up and growing. I had originally thought blue male veil tail. Now I have no idea. What do you think?


----------



## lilnaugrim

themamaj said:


> Lil please tell me I am seeing things and this fish hasn't suddenly developed ovaries? Pictures at home coming 12/11 and today. Doing very well, coloring up and growing. I had originally thought blue male veil tail. Now I have no idea. What do you think?


Hard to say now, the egg spot is sticking out pretty far, males don't *usually* stick out that far but they certainly can at this age. Anal fin is now rounded, ventrals are still long but the actual webbing part of the fin is shorter; males *usually* have full webbing to the end of the ventral but that's just a speculation, it all depends on genetics. It is possibly female, I don't see any clear evidence of ovaries just yet, might be a slight bulge there but hard to tell from the pics only. Though, caudal hasn't seemed to have grown much at all, more like she just grew into her fins. I suppose you can call her a she until we see otherwise. The first pic really looked male to me though, just goes to show how surprising Betta's can be! lol


----------



## themamaj

lilnaugrim said:


> Hard to say now, the egg spot is sticking out pretty far, males don't *usually* stick out that far but they certainly can at this age. Anal fin is now rounded, ventrals are still long but the actual webbing part of the fin is shorter; males *usually* have full webbing to the end of the ventral but that's just a speculation, it all depends on genetics. It is possibly female, I don't see any clear evidence of ovaries just yet, might be a slight bulge there but hard to tell from the pics only. Though, caudal hasn't seemed to have grown much at all, more like she just grew into her fins. I suppose you can call her a she until we see otherwise. The first pic really looked male to me though, just goes to show how surprising Betta's can be! lol



Any guestimate on current age? At what age can you usually confirm sex? The caudal is one thing I have noticed as well. It seemed it wasn't developing as fast as other males I have had at this stage. Obviously genetics plays a big role in fin length but as you say certain features start sending up flags of potential girl. Probably need to start naming my babies non gender names. Have had 4 Petco babies. Only one of four turned out to match the gender label. Of course, that is part of the fun of raising little ones is you never know what surprises are around the corner  In the development of girls, is it unusual to go from hard to tell to bam ovaries?


----------



## lilnaugrim

themamaj said:


> Any guestimate on current age? At what age can you usually confirm sex? Probably need to start naming my babies non gender names. Have had 4 Petco babies. Only one of four turned out to match the gender label. Of course, that is part of the fun of raising little ones is you never know what surprises are around the corner  In the development of girls, is it unusual to go from hard to tell to bam ovaries?


Can't guess age yet since I have nothing to go off of. If you can get him/her next to a thermometer or something universal so we can see what size it's at, it may help. Likely it's just approaching 2 months of age. And it's different for each, some you can tell from 1.5-2 months and others you can't tell until 3.5-4 months old.

Yes, that tends to happen, hard to tell and then suddenly ovaries. They either have them apparent from a young age or wait until they're just getting to sexual maturity at 3-3.5 months


----------



## nmagers22

*I fell victim to the cuteness too!*

So I was in the market for a new betta (mine had passed before the holidays), and the only place around me that sells them is Petco. I went back with the intent to buy an adult male, but saw this cute little guy and thought I'd be doing him a favor by saving him from the store.

Now I say "him" because Petco had him labeled as a "baby boy," but I'm posting here to join the community and see if I can get any expert advice. I'm not a first time betta owner, but I am still learning. 

Any idea what type of betta this is? Do we think it's really a male or too early to tell? He is healthy, very energetic and able to eat a pellet at a time (I've only fed him one so far as I've only had him a few hours). He's also very responsive to my finger and seemingly happy.

Any and all advice is welcome! I'll browse the thread in the meantime : )


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## themamaj

What a little cutie! Congratulations


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## hgual22

So other than smaller food pellets and warmer water, do the babies need anything special like a smaller tank size? I am currently looking for a new betta, hopefully a male, and have been thinking about a baby. But my available, cycled tank is 10 gallons. I do have a tub for quarantine which is about 4-5 gallons, is that too much space? Or does it not matter for babies?

I would probably get a slightly older one just for a better chance of getting a male, as I already have a female. But i've still only had young adults!


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## OUOhYeah2016

It's basically luck whether or not the labels are right on those babies, and they're so young that even after doing your research and guessing for yourself may not do much good. They're the same to care for though. I would start with the smaller tank at first just because they're so small they can be hard to find/see, and lets face it, half the fun is watching them grow up. Also I like to be able to see mine eating in that smaller tank so I can monitor that.


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## Tealight03

Agree. I have mine in a 1.7 gallon with daily partial water changes. It makes it much easier to monitor stuff like food.


----------



## ReneeMariee123

Hey I'm new to this forum so I'm not sure how it works but I have some questions about my new baby beta. He is about 11 weeks old I think and I have been feeding him frozen blood worms and he loves them. He has no trouble with them unless it's a really big one then it just takes him some time to eat it but other than that he has no problems. I was just wondering when he is old enough to start feeding him pellets? And also I found pellets in petco saying they were really good for his color so I was wondering if those actually work and if they are good for betas?


----------



## Sadist

ReneeMariee123 said:


> Hey I'm new to this forum so I'm not sure how it works but I have some questions about my new baby beta. He is about 11 weeks old I think and I have been feeding him frozen blood worms and he loves them. He has no trouble with them unless it's a really big one then it just takes him some time to eat it but other than that he has no problems. I was just wondering when he is old enough to start feeding him pellets? And also I found pellets in petco saying they were really good for his color so I was wondering if those actually work and if they are good for betas?


I would try Omega One or New Life Spectrum brand pellets and see how it goes. If it's too big for his mouth, you can try cutting it in half. Any high quality food will help his color, as color is often an indication of health in adults. I feed my baby a combination of frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis shrimp, Frozen Omega One community formula, pellets, and live wingless fruit flies. He's colored up quite a bit, which happens naturally as they get older and in a good environment with good food.


----------



## OUOhYeah2016

I've had adult bettas who couldn't eat full sized pellets and I used to crush theirs with the back of a spoon. As for my current baby betta I broke down and bought the micro pellets. I forget what the brand is but I read the label for protein content etc. It actually smells a bit like krill etc so I believe it's all in there.


----------



## Aquastar

Guys, Mist and Taiya just won't eat pellets. I've fasted them for a few days since: 
1. They are bigger
2. Really fat

So I would need to fast them anyway, but even after lack of food they just aren't interested. They will jump for it, but don't eat it. Help? I cant feed frozen forever. I am crushing them and making past out of it, but the spit it out or ignore it all together.


----------



## Tealight03

ReneeMariee123 said:


> Hey I'm new to this forum so I'm not sure how it works but I have some questions about my new baby beta. He is about 11 weeks old I think and I have been feeding him frozen blood worms and he loves them. He has no trouble with them unless it's a really big one then it just takes him some time to eat it but other than that he has no problems. I was just wondering when he is old enough to start feeding him pellets? And also I found pellets in petco saying they were really good for his color so I was wondering if those actually work and if they are good for betas?


I crush NLS pellets and give frozen brine shrimp and rarely bloodworms.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Aquastar said:


> Guys, Mist and Taiya just won't eat pellets. I've fasted them for a few days since:
> 1. They are bigger
> 2. Really fat
> 
> So I would need to fast them anyway, but even after lack of food they just aren't interested. They will jump for it, but don't eat it. Help? I cant feed frozen forever. I am crushing them and making past out of it, but the spit it out or ignore it all together.


You can post in the disease section and I can try to help you there. Fill out the form and give us before and after pics please?


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## Aquastar

They aren't sick, just not wanting pellets. Is there any way to get them to eat them? I'm trying crushed NLS. They eat frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp and sometimes a fruitfly, just not pellets.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Aquastar said:


> They aren't sick, just not wanting pellets. Is there any way to get them to eat them? I'm trying crushed NLS. They eat frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp and sometimes a fruitfly, just not pellets.


Well I still need all the info background to really understand what might be going on. If you don't want to, that's fine, just don't want this thread to go off track is all since it's more about just showing off the babies 

If they're still eating frozen then that's totally fine, just keep going with that. pellets are great but as long as they get a variety of frozen foods, it's just as good. Don't feed solely worms as it's all fat, it's good for babies but you also don't want them getting too fat! Alternate with crustacean's to keep their stomachs cleaned out and healthy.


----------



## ReneeMariee123

*How old is my baby beta?*

Hey guys does anyone know how old the baby betas are from petco?


----------



## OUOhYeah2016

It really depends.. Sometimes they get them at only several weeks old, but they could be in those cups for a while too. I'd say it is going to be more about the specific store. I could be wrong about that. When I got mine I googled betta growth charts and really didn't have That much luck. I also got the opinions of the people who know much more than I do on this forum. He was probably about 6 weeks old or so? A little older? I've had him for two weeks and a few days now.


----------



## DZIM

Confused about the labeling on the cups. How can the breeders be certain if a fish that young is male or female? They all pretty much look the same.


----------



## OUOhYeah2016

DZIM, the short answer is that they don't know for sure. Here's how it was explained to me: They come to the store with the breeders best guess. The store isn't really in the business of determining sex of really anything they carry (I know plenty of people who got "males" and ended up with 6 extra hamsters, etc) so it's really not their fault I guess? But admittedly I wish they'd just say "likely male" or something :roll: Anyway, from what I've seen on this thread it may be slightly better than 50/50 odds that the label is right or not. I've had mine for 2 weeks and I swear every three days I change my mind if I think he's a male as labeled. It's kinda fun and also kinda frustrating. And it won't be another several weeks until it's definite one way or the other.


----------



## Sadist

At these tender ages, the breeders (and experts on the forums) look at things like various fin sizes and shapes. It's hard to say for certain until ovaries appear or don't appear.


----------



## themamaj

It is extremely hard to tell sometimes especially with a darker colored fish. I have had 4 Petco babies. 1 out of the 4 was labeled correctly. Bought 1 "girl" who turned out boy, and 2 "boys" turned out girls. The one that was correct was a "girl" and I could visually see ovaries because she had such a pale body. Even when you know specifics to look for, you can get surprised. It is all part of the fun of having a baby but I know also frustrating when have one name and it turns out different.


----------



## Sadist

My Sky's ovithingy sticks out so far, and his belly bulges just like Mrs. Fish. His caudal is still growing more quickly and fully than his anal. Maybe he's both.


----------



## themamaj

I know they go through a period that both sexes look very similar. I am still on the fence about "Timothy". One minute I look and say ok relax it's a boy and the next I think oh that looks so much like ovary development...or is it just a very full tummy? I keep feeding shrimp to help fins grow faster so maybe I can tell haha.


----------



## SplashyBetta

According to the fish department head at the local petco (he's a good guy), the baby bettas aren't examined to check if they're male or female. They just stick a label on the cup and that's that.


----------



## themamaj

Update pictures of Petco baby. Has been home 6 weeks now. Lil what do you think before I rename fish? Any doubts official girl now?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Nope, girl all the way! She's got some real nice ovaries going on! :-D


----------



## Sadist

Wow, I can actually see the ovaries, too! Is that tiny Tim? Maybe Timiony and can still call her Tim for short ;-)


----------



## themamaj

Sadist said:


> Wow, I can actually see the ovaries, too! Is that tiny Tim? Maybe Timiony and can still call her Tim for short ;-)


Yes that is Timothy who probably needs a new name name. lol She literally developed mega ovaries overnight. Next Petco baby I get will have a generic name from the start haha.


----------



## pupper

I got this baby betta from petco last week. It was labeled boy but now I'm not so sure now... any ideas?


----------



## themamaj

Looks just like mine that was labeled boy. Pretty sure yours is a girl as well. Pretty prominent ovaposter. Can't see ventricles from picture but I assume they are small and narrow?


----------



## Sadist

I dunno, with those big eyes and big caudal, could still be a boy. My little Sky has a huge ovithingy, but he's got the super big caudal.


----------



## pupper

themamaj said:


> Looks just like mine that was labeled boy. Pretty sure yours is a girl as well. Pretty prominent ovaposter. Can't see ventricles from picture but I assume they are small and narrow?


It's hard for me to tell without a point of reference. how narrow is narrow? they're small be he/she is pretty small too


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## lilnaugrim

Those are actually small eyes. It's definitely female  Small ovaries so far but yes, prominent ovipositer, short anal fin and rounded is a good sign of female.


----------



## Cheeeeps

*Male or Female baby?*

Got this baby probably about a month ago. Still can't tell if its male or female.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Cheeeeps said:


> Got this baby probably about a month ago. Still can't tell if its male or female.


Oh wow, he's going to be a stunner male CT!


----------



## Cheeeeps

lilnaugrim said:


> Oh wow, he's going to be a stunner male CT!


Thanks


----------



## Sadist

What a gorgeous little guy! I can't wait to see him grown up.


----------



## IncessantRain91

What's his tail type? :] 

I think he's two months old.


----------



## Crash

IncessantRain91 said:


> What's his tail type? :]
> 
> I think he's two months old.


Oh my! I love his marbled coloring right now!

What a cutie <3


----------



## pupper

thanks for the info! my last baby betta was female so i was hoping for a male this time but that's ok. Is it ok if i keep her in a tank near my male betta's? Will it stress her out?


----------



## lilnaugrim

IncessantRain91 said:


> What's his tail type? :]
> 
> I think he's two months old.


Likely a DeT of some sort, either regular or Super. It depends on how much he's flared daily (helps to stretch out the fins as they grow) and his genetics. Not an HM, too rounded for that and he's not a VT either so somewhere in the middle there 



pupper said:


> thanks for the info! my last baby betta was female so i was hoping for a male this time but that's ok. Is it ok if i keep her in a tank near my male betta's? Will it stress her out?


Yeah you can keep her next to the male. If you find that she's constantly looking at him and has stress stripes (horizontal stripes, not vertical) then you can just put a piece of paper or something between the tanks and they'll be fine. Otherwise, she'll likely ignore him.


----------



## SydneyA

Just got a "baby boy" betta. I think it is a boy. Here is pic, excuse the bubbles!


----------



## SydneyA

Another view


----------



## Witchipoo

Tiny, fragile little things, poor babies are.probably only a couple weeks old at that size. They need to be in their warm, clean brooder tank at that age, not a cold little cup! I feel so bad for them I can't hardly look any more. Selling them that young is as bad as selling unweaned baby puppies, in my very loudly voiced opinion.


----------



## DZIM

Witchipoo said:


> Tiny, fragile little things, poor babies are.probably only a couple weeks old at that size. They need to be in their warm, clean brooder tank at that age, not a cold little cup! I feel so bad for them I can't hardly look any more. Selling them that young is as bad as selling unweaned baby puppies, in my very loudly voiced opinion.


Agreed. I find the sale of an extremely fragile, difficult animal that isn't yet finished developing to be unethical. Keeping an adult betta, with a fully developed body and immune system, can be challenging enough. I'm just glad to see the ones here are going to people knowledgeable about how to raise fish. Most of those fry aren't going to be so lucky.


----------



## Witchipoo

DZIM said:


> Agreed. I find the sale of an extremely fragile, difficult animal that isn't yet finished developing to be unethical. Keeping an adult betta, with a fully developed body and immune system, can be challenging enough. I'm just glad to see the ones here are going to people knowledgeable about how to raise fish. Most of those fry aren't going to be so lucky.


I know! Poor little things. I know this sounds harsh, but, the more "we" take out of there the more demand there is for the next batch. Saving this batch only dooms the next one and the next one and.so on.
It's a cruel practice and needs to be stopped.


----------



## trahana

So I went to Petco to see if they had any king bettas, and came home with an extra small. 
This little guy was too cute! Unlike most of the bettas, even the adults, he came over to look at me and showed off his shimmer. I felt the need to give him a fighting chance in the world, by, of course, buying him.

I'll be setting up a new tank(already have settled water) for him, but in the meantime, any advice?
He's about less then a half an inch long, and really lively. I plan on feeding him small shreds of the defrosted 4way(bloodworms, cyclops, etc) that I feed my catfish.


----------



## ReneeMariee123

*SOS my baby betta fell*

So I have a baby beta and he is probably about 12 weeks now. He is happy and healthy but I'm teaching him to jump and he latched onto my finger and fell out of my bowl onto my desk and then fell from the desk to the floor. I got him back in his bowl and he is swimming fine and acting normal, just had stripes but he always gets those when he is scared. I fed him and he ate like usual. But I'm still so worried about him and I'm worried he won't make it through the night. Is he okay? Is there anything I should look for? Is there anything I can do to help? Please help I'm really worried about him!


----------



## Witchipoo

He's probably fine, if he's swimming normally and eating I doubt if you have anything to worry about. If he was injured he would not be acting normally.
A lesson though, on the dangers of encouraging your Betta to jump
, eh?


----------



## Witchipoo

Please go read the stickies about Betta care and housing, your baby will thank you.


----------



## Aquastar

I wouldn't keep him in a bowl permanently, but he should be fine.


----------



## DZIM

Don't teach your fish to jump. Do you want him to jump out of the water and wind up on the floor again when you're not around? Because fish, especially bettas, are known to do that even without encouragement. Make sure his tank has a lid.


----------



## themamaj

trahana said:


> So I went to Petco to see if they had any king bettas, and came home with an extra small.
> This little guy was too cute! Unlike most of the bettas, even the adults, he came over to look at me and showed off his shimmer. I felt the need to give him a fighting chance in the world, by, of course, buying him.
> 
> I'll be setting up a new tank(already have settled water) for him, but in the meantime, any advice?
> He's about less then a half an inch long, and really lively. I plan on feeding him small shreds of the defrosted 4way(bloodworms, cyclops, etc) that I feed my catfish.



Oh he is beautiful! Great find. Congrats! Baby bettas are very fun. It sounds like your little guy has lots of personality and is very healthy. Such pretty colors. Small pieces of blood worms are ok. Baby brine shrimp and frozen daphnia are excellent choices for a baby betta. New Life spectrum has a small fish formula and their food is an excellent quality. I also like Omega One pellets. I would crush them to a smaller size to prevent any choking hazard. As they grow, they will be able to accept a full size pellet.


----------



## hannah51715

Well, I went to Petco to get one fish, ended up coming home with two. Here are some pictures of my newest 2 Petco babies. Any idea on gender for both and tail type for the smaller one? 

Double tail









Little one


----------



## lilnaugrim

DT looks female to me.

Little One looks boy to me and it's a Turquoise with red wash. Likely a VT but will have to wait until he's grown up more to really tell anything.


----------



## Crash

Witchipoo said:


> Tiny, fragile little things, poor babies are.probably only a couple weeks old at that size. They need to be in their warm, clean brooder tank at that age, not a cold little cup! I feel so bad for them I can't hardly look any more. Selling them that young is as bad as selling unweaned baby puppies, in my very loudly voiced opinion.


I feel the same. It also appeals to the little children who get their first betta, thinking they're "so cute and tiny" plus with their low price they become a prime target. But we know these parents most of the time know nothing about betta care, let alone how to care for one so young :/ poor things.


----------



## Crash

trahana said:


> So I went to Petco to see if they had any king bettas, and came home with an extra small.
> This little guy was too cute! Unlike most of the bettas, even the adults, he came over to look at me and showed off his shimmer. I felt the need to give him a fighting chance in the world, by, of course, buying him.
> 
> I'll be setting up a new tank(already have settled water) for him, but in the meantime, any advice?
> He's about less then a half an inch long, and really lively. I plan on feeding him small shreds of the defrosted 4way(bloodworms, cyclops, etc) that I feed my catfish.


I love that light blue color he has going on! I also went to Petco for a king last week, and while the babies were adorable, I don't have much faith in myself to raise one :lol:


----------



## jstalk

*Baby Betta with a Swollen Belly*

Hi everyone!

I found this thread while looking up information about my new baby betta, and it seemed like a good place to come for all of my future betta-related questions. I had a betta fish last year that I really really liked, but it died after getting an extremely swollen stomach that wouldn't go down (I think it may have been constipated, but I didn't know enough to save it...). I decided to try again this year, since I have the tank, and my roommate and I fell in love with an adorable baby betta!
He is currently in a large bowl (about 2 gallons), and gets fed TeraBetta plus floating mini pellets. He was labelled as a baby boy, although of course I'm not sure. We liked him because he was a bit bigger than the others, and had more color. I chose a bigger one because when my friend adopted a "baby betta" before, it stayed the exact same tiny size and color for about three months. I'm wondering if it was somehow not a betta...
Anyway, when we brought him back he had two long black stripes running down his body, and was more active in my room that he was in the store (I think it might have to do with the much warmer temp of my room). Overnight his stripes disappeared, he turned a much more brilliant blue, but he also got a really swollen belly. Worried that he was going to die like my other fish, I started fasting him, and I turned the room temperature up a little bit. I was worried about his stripes disappearing, but after reading more they may have been stress stripes. Last night his bloating when down a little but isn't completely gone. His tummy seems to be much whiter and is shiny, but it's hard to tell because when we bought him his entire undercarriage was white. I can't tell if he's just happier and his scales show it, and more well-fed, or if something's going on.
I tried to attach an image of him just when we brought him home and another one I recently took. Quality isn't good but it's the best I can do with an iPhone. Anything anyone would be able to tell me about his sex (if it's wrong), his belly, his changing of stripes, his age, and his tail type would be appreciated!


----------



## lilnaugrim

She is adorable.

Have you seen this thread? You should definitely read through it, it will answer some of your questions: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## SydneyA

My baby betta must be one of the bigger babies. He's like a thin female one, little shorter.


----------



## BeautifulBettaFishies

I'd probably class Atalanta as a baby, but she's a PetsAtHome baby, and she's actually growing up very fast :,) maybe not a baby anymore, hehe.

Loving all the cuties! Most of mine weren't babies. Orion certainly wasn't, he was small but fully developed. He was one of the lucky ones - before my LFS adopted a weird little betta fountain of 0.2g boxes that hold two TSP of water. I can't complain, it's all filtered and heated though. I cant help but feel sorry for the mislabeled guys though. That annoys me too. They haven't had females in ever since I've been there! What happens when you have a sorority??

Anyway rant over, good luck with all your cuties!!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Showing off my baby's growth! Some turned out to be boys when I thought they were girls but oh well!

*Starfyre* does need a home if anyone wants him! No fee just pay shipping ($12 for priority) (can't ship immediately but can arrange for it in a week or two--whenever my heatpacks come in!)
When I first got him!
Early December








1/20/16








*Fresco*
End of Novemeber








And her growth, picture from today
1/20/16








*Tempera*
Purchased same time as Fresco








1/20/16








*Snowcap*
Mid September








1/20/16
(sorry her pic sucks, she's been elusive!)
She's on the right








*Mosaic*
Mid December
Turned out to be a boy








1/20/16
Sorry he's not alone here to show. He will be taken out of sorority shortly before they destroy his pretty fins!








*Silhouette*
Mid December








1/12/16








*Solas*
Beginning January
Also a boy








1/20/16








So as you can see, not all babies grow up quickly. I don't follow rigorous water change schedules due to having other fish in their tank as well as fully planted which both help to mitigate the growth stunting hormone. It's best if you can do all three--I'm just not home enough. Do as I say, not as a do! I don't usually suggest sororities either but I do have one that these babies are in. Can I say that it's peaceful? Absolutely not, you can see that the girls have some nipped fins, that's normal. Some were terrors when they were put in but have since calmed down. Each sorority is vastly different in their attitude, this one is laid back with the number of girls I have in there right now (more girls than just the PetCo babies, the ones I showed were just the babies, I have adults as well). My tank is densely planted with floating plants as well as planted ones which are necessary for sororities! Always take out males when they pop up as well, sometimes they can really disguise themselves as you all have found out on this thread!!

But anyway, I just had to add that disclaimer. I don't like to promote sororities in any way but you all would have figured it out due to my pictures anyway. Hope you enjoy the pics at least and the progress photos!


----------



## trahana

themamaj said:


> Oh he is beautiful! Great find. Congrats! Baby bettas are very fun. It sounds like your little guy has lots of personality and is very healthy. Such pretty colors. Small pieces of blood worms are ok. Baby brine shrimp and frozen daphnia are excellent choices for a baby betta. New Life spectrum has a small fish formula and their food is an excellent quality. I also like Omega One pellets. I would crush them to a smaller size to prevent any choking hazard. As they grow, they will be able to accept a full size pellet.


Thank You! 
I just checked my frozen food, there is two types, one has mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, krill, and some veggies. the other has bloodworms, brine shrimp, watercress, cyclops, and daphnia. I hear brine shrimp can cause swim bladder disorder if given in large amounts, so hopefully he will have a balanced diet with everything else in there.
He certainly has personality plus. When I look in he comes swimming over to look at me. Even funnier, it looks like hes already been trained to except food from a toothpick, either that, or he is super curious and hungry. I fed him small portions of thawed food and he eats it before it falls to the bottom. I fed him three meals already, and will give him a fourth later tonight. 

I got his tank fully set up, its two gallons full of water with a sponge filter, heater, driftwood with windov java fern, and a few rocks. Its set up next to my ten gallon, so I made a 'safe' corner for him were he can only look out two sides by wedging a black piece of paper to block the view of the fish next door. Here he is exploring.


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## mattchha

Wowee, lilnaugrim! You sure have some gorgeous babies!

Not sure if I've ever given Dulcé a proper update! Unfortunately there're a lot of water spots, but here's how she looks today. I brought her home early August 2015. I really love how violet she is in the light. She's turned out pretty cute. but her eyes still look pretty hilarious from the right angle. She's a tough little cookie - and my most precocious female. She shares a split tank with another female, and is always nipping at the divider, but is too lazy to do more than that. She has to keep up appearances, though. 

If I knew how to attach two images from mobile, I'd show my other babies too  Spicy's a really sweet little guy - pretty timid. His body's all inky and its hard to find his eyes sometimes because they're also dark. His fins are red & blue, and his body seems to be a bit chubby, but it may just be because he's not done growing/ slightly overfed/ is a veiltail when I'm not used to seeing them  He's pretty shy and seems to hide a lot, but he builds bubble nests everyday, lol. Has a split tank with one whose always flaring at him, but he never responds agressively. pI've had him since early September 2015

Unfortunately, poor Priya appears to be on death's door  though she's never been sick before, I had a feeling she would be my "unlucky" baby... had her since early October 2015.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Thank you!

She's a beautiful Copper girl mattchha! Copper tends to look different in each light so it's possible for it to seem like a whole new color sometimes depending on the layers ^_^


----------



## BeautifulBettaFishies

Lilnaugrim! ... I may just have to steal Silhouette and Snowcap. My gawd they are all so stunning!! If either of those are up for grabs ever, do let me know, I'd happily swipe them off your paws! :lol:
Silhouette has such a yummy shine that some blacks (especially melano IMO) don't seem to have. And Snowcap, I have no idea what is going on with her colouring but I love the really opaque fins.

I caved today. I have 2 almost baby bettas. I'd estimate about 2-3 months, super cute. Wild types, trust me. I now have smaller cersions of girls I already have. If I wanted my tank to look bright I'd rehome some of them, but eh I've already fallen in love. The next two Ill just import.


----------



## lilnaugrim

BeautifulBettaFishies said:


> Lilnaugrim! ... I may just have to steal Silhouette and Snowcap. My gawd they are all so stunning!! If either of those are up for grabs ever, do let me know, I'd happily swipe them off your paws! :lol:
> Silhouette has such a yummy shine that some blacks (especially melano IMO) don't seem to have. And Snowcap, I have no idea what is going on with her colouring but I love the really opaque fins.
> 
> I caved today. I have 2 almost baby bettas. I'd estimate about 2-3 months, super cute. Wild types, trust me. I now have smaller cersions of girls I already have. If I wanted my tank to look bright I'd rehome some of them, but eh I've already fallen in love. The next two Ill just import.


Thanks! Haha and it's likely they'll be leaving any time soon but if something happens, you'll be the first in line ^_^


----------



## Stella

I bought a baby petco betta on Sunday who has since passed, and I am wondering if I did something wrong with the care I gave to him, or if he was just sick. 

I got him on Sunday on impulse because he looked so sad. He was the smallest one there and was not swimming at all. He was about ⅝th's of an inch with no color at all, from the research I did he appeared to be about 6 weeks old. I was told my the petco guy that the care was exactly the same as for adults. I got him home, and did some research and found out that the care was not the same at all. I put him in a spare 1.5 gallon tank that had a small filter and a standard heater. I had been planning on putting him in my 10 gallon tank, but I read that that was too big and could stress him out. I didn't have special food so I crushed up normal betta pellets so he could fit them in his mouth and he ate probably the equivalent to two pellets. The next day I went to petco and I bought a 5.5 gallon tank, a special heater so I could set the temp higher, and special food (frozen blood worms, freeze dried brine shrimp, and something else I can't remember). I set him up in his new tank. He was doing great, swimming around and was hyped, he really loved the new food. Then on the second day of having him he stopped eating, and the third day he seemed really lethargic. I wasn't sure what to do so I just kept his care the same as it had been, with daily 50% water changes (I would keep him in the small cup until the water came to temperature) and feedings (well attempted feedings) every 6 hours. Then on the fourth day he was still incredibly lethargic and I wasn't sure what to do so I put him in the small cup so he would have an easier time to get air, and he died shortly after. 

Where there any major flaws in the care I provided for him, or was he sick?


----------



## jess32247

lilnaugrim, silhouette is just gorgeous! i'd take her in a absolute heartbeat if i had the chance.

mattchha that girl is gorgeous too! her eye in the second picture are precious, her expression is adorable. do you have any pictures of her without flash?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Stella said:


> I bought a baby petco betta on Sunday who has since passed, and I am wondering if I did something wrong with the care I gave to him, or if he was just sick.
> 
> I got him on Sunday on impulse because he looked so sad. He was the smallest one there and was not swimming at all. He was about ⅝th's of an inch with no color at all, from the research I did he appeared to be about 6 weeks old. I was told my the petco guy that the care was exactly the same as for adults. I got him home, and did some research and found out that the care was not the same at all. I put him in a spare 1.5 gallon tank that had a small filter and a standard heater. I had been planning on putting him in my 10 gallon tank, but I read that that was too big and could stress him out. I didn't have special food so I crushed up normal betta pellets so he could fit them in his mouth and he ate probably the equivalent to two pellets. The next day I went to petco and I bought a 5.5 gallon tank, a special heater so I could set the temp higher, and special food (frozen blood worms, freeze dried brine shrimp, and something else I can't remember). I set him up in his new tank. He was doing great, swimming around and was hyped, he really loved the new food. Then on the second day of having him he stopped eating, and the third day he seemed really lethargic. I wasn't sure what to do so I just kept his care the same as it had been, with daily 50% water changes (I would keep him in the small cup until the water came to temperature) and feedings (well attempted feedings) every 6 hours. Then on the fourth day he was still incredibly lethargic and I wasn't sure what to do so I put him in the small cup so he would have an easier time to get air, and he died shortly after.
> 
> Where there any major flaws in the care I provided for him, or was he sick?


Have you read this thread at all? http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## Sadist

I would guess he or she was a bit stressed from all the changes breeder to store to home. There's a chance that the stress compromised the immune system and he or she died of something that a healthy, nonstressed fish would have been able to get through easily.

If you bring home another, I think it's better to leave the fish in the tank for water changes and preheat the new water before adding it to the tank. You know your water better than we do; some people use warm tap water and then treat it, some use cold tap water, treat it, then put a heater in the bucket until it's warm. Whatever works.


----------



## BettaMommaHeather

I have gotten one baby betta from PetCo female ofcourse, we have had pretty good luck getting our fish from PetCo. She is still going strong, healthy and the Queen B of her tank. The most recent two females we have gotten are from PetSmart, kind of on the fence about that. They are definitely young, but we have had bad luck with the fish we get from there so fingers crossed. 

http://imgur.com/a/IrWBf some pictures of my girls.


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## Sadist

I think Sindragosa is a veil tail. They're all gorgeous!


----------



## BettaMommaHeather

It is quite possible, as I know the label on the lids are not always true. Thanks Sadist for the info.


----------



## justineatsoda

Here's my girl I got probably about a week ago. She's gotten a lot faster and happier. She loves to eat, & swims around like a maniac whenever I'm near, doing 360 degree spins even. I can never get a good picture of her. 
Here she is today, does anyone think those blue scales mean she's going to become blue?










Oh & she was also labeled as a "male" for those in the same shoes as me. I don't mind, I'm just excited to watch her grow.


----------



## mattchha

jess32247 said:


> lilnaugrim, silhouette is just gorgeous! i'd take her in a absolute heartbeat if i had the chance.
> 
> mattchha that girl is gorgeous too! her eye in the second picture are precious, her expression is adorable. do you have any pictures of her without flash?


I took some pictures of her for you without flash; I need to take more pictures of my babies anyway  She's hard though, constantly
moving! and unfortunately my camera doesn't like to focus on her face when she comes up close head on, I could've had some really cute shots! The last picture is her a day after I brought her home 

But yeah, I absolutely love the way bronzes have different dimensions of color - without the flash, she has a lot of blue  I remember how excited I was to find Dulcé - I had never seen a bronze betta before, and haven't seen any locally since!

Btw - my profile picture is my baby, Spicy, mostly grown up. He's such a chub, and I've never had a betta as shy as him! It's really cute, I never knew they could be like that. He isn't stressy like my other mellow betta - very laid back, but likes hiding.


----------



## mattchha

had a brain fart and talked about "bronzes" instead of coppers xD
had another one and can't figure out how to edit my post! oh wellll.

hope everyone's babies are doing well 

@justineatsoda
that's kind of how my boy Spicy started out (profile picture)  she or he will probably have some blue wash, like you can see in Spicy's fins (his body is red with blue wash, so that's why he's so dark). Very cute baby! Have you decided on a name yet? Pretty sure you have a little girl there, I *thiiiink* I see ovaries, but I've been wrong before xP


----------



## Secants

I have a weakness. It's small, blue, and comes in many plastic cups.


























Turquoise male CT, I'm thinking. We'll see.


----------



## BeautifulBettaFishies

Awh!

One of my rescue babies, Hestia, sadly passed away from dropsy.
I'm going to try and make sure Nyx is safe though...

I've lost two bettas in two days. One to dropsy, and Orion, to ick. The heartbreak right now is insane... Sometimes I wonder if I'm really cut out for this...


----------



## Secants

I'm so sorry for your losses! =(


----------



## rocketshipwalker

Hello, everyone!
I was out shopping for a bigger tank for my Betta, Roger, when I saw this little cutie.
This is my first baby Betta, so I'd love some input of how she looks. Does she look healthy? She's very active and lively.
The cup labeled her as a 'baby girl', but I'd like some opinions on that as well. I've read too many stories where they had been labeled wrong. Haha


----------



## themamaj

Oh what a cutie!


----------



## Sadist

What a cutie! Well, her fins are nice and spread, and she's active. That's good.

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330&highlight=baby+betta+care

There's the thread about baby care. It'll help you out with her.

I see some yellow on her fins, but I don't have enough experience with young fish to know if she's going to turn full yellow as an adult or not. She/he's very cute!


----------



## SunnySideIvy

Hey guys!
I wanted to share an update on Wanda, my baby betta I got last year. It's hard to believe that it has almost been eight months!


----------



## kittenzuponi

It's PAT!


----------



## Sadist

SunnySideIvy said:


> Hey guys!
> I wanted to share an update on Wanda, my baby betta I got last year. It's hard to believe that it has almost been eight months!
> View attachment 710738
> 
> View attachment 710746


Awesome, getting all grown up!


----------



## bettasforeverrescue

I wish I got pictures of this baby at Petco the other day. "He" was labeled as a male...but he/she was so tiny I'm not sure how they came to that conclusion. I've never in my life seen such a tiny baby at the stores, and I thought they were all small and teeny but this one....he was half the length of my pinky nail. My boyfriend yelled at me from half the store away to come and look at this spec of a fish in a cup. 

I might go back and get pictures because....half the length of my pinky nail is barely 1CM <.< Anyone else seen one this small? It was pretty much too small to even eat baby betta pellets...


----------



## lilnaugrim

bettasforeverrescue said:


> I wish I got pictures of this baby at Petco the other day. "He" was labeled as a male...but he/she was so tiny I'm not sure how they came to that conclusion. I've never in my life seen such a tiny baby at the stores, and I thought they were all small and teeny but this one....he was half the length of my pinky nail. My boyfriend yelled at me from half the store away to come and look at this spec of a fish in a cup.
> 
> I might go back and get pictures because....half the length of my pinky nail is barely 1CM <.< Anyone else seen one this small? It was pretty much too small to even eat baby betta pellets...


That's how most of them are. They're either extremely tiny, about 3-4 weeks old or they're at least almost the size of the small females they carry. Each store varies. The sellers (not PetCo) also just give educated guesses is all on sexes, sometimes they're right and sometimes they aren't.


----------



## rocketshipwalker

Is there any way to tell what type of tail the baby is going to have? 
Is it obvious?
I've only had my baby since Sunday and I've already been noticing some changes in it. Definitely more yellow on its fins.
I wish I could tell what gender it is, I've been holding back on naming and that's one of my favorite things to do.


----------



## SydneyA

*Is this a boy in your opinion?*

Would you consider this a boy? He was labeled as boy. Thanks!


----------



## lilnaugrim

rocketshipwalker said:


> Is there any way to tell what type of tail the baby is going to have?
> Is it obvious?
> I've only had my baby since Sunday and I've already been noticing some changes in it. Definitely more yellow on its fins.
> I wish I could tell what gender it is, I've been holding back on naming and that's one of my favorite things to do.


Not always and usually we can't tell for sure until it's older. Most babies do tend to be VT's. Things to look for on a VT baby: Dorsal will be thin and very pointy and anal fin usually will slant more and be pretty pointy as well, it will generally have longer fins. For babies who are not VT, HM's and Super DeT's tend to have more squared anal fins and the dorsal is wider and rounded generally. Again, this is a generalization, they won't always follow these rules unfortunately--fish can't read after all lol. And for CT, many think that their babies are CT's when they see spikes on the tail but in reality, the rays simply grow faster than the membrane and so as they grow, they may be spiky at one point but not at another. CT's will have web reduction ALL the way around on all fins, not just the caudal and dorsal. 

And have you read through this? I give a little info on telling sexes but it can still be very confusing. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330

If you can feed your baby very well so the stomach is very round, then take it out in a cup and have a light shining through it from behind so the light is pointed at you and then take a couple pictures like that so we can try to see through it, that can help in sexing it. At a certain age, ovaries come in and that's one way to try to see them. It doesn't work too well for dark fish of course unless they pale up very lightly, most blues don't though. So if you do that and just get a couple normal pictures with flash, we can try to help you sex the baby 



SydneyA said:


> Would you consider this a boy? He was labeled as boy. Thanks!


Yeah, that's a boy ^_^ And looks to be VT possibly. Definitely Turquoise with Red Wash--the usual.


----------



## SydneyA

Thank you! I figured he was looking boyish. I am partial to veil tails so great! Can't beat the price either


----------



## rocketshipwalker

*lilnaugrim,*
I posted a few pictures the other day. They're on the previous page. Are those okay? I'd be worried of stressing the baby out if i had to put it in a cup.
I've read through that thread, it's just all so confusing to me. I've tried comparing the information to pictures of babies where people knew what gender they were, but that didn't help either.


----------



## lilnaugrim

rocketshipwalker said:


> *lilnaugrim,*
> I posted a few pictures the other day. They're on the previous page. Are those okay? I'd be worried of stressing the baby out if i had to put it in a cup.
> I've read through that thread, it's just all so confusing to me. I've tried comparing the information to pictures of babies where people knew what gender they were, but that didn't help either.


Ah, the yellow one. Is the anal fin pointy at the end? And if you could get another picture when the baby has a full stomach and is nice and round. One where it's swimming like the second pic you had, not against the gravel, we need to see all fins as well


----------



## ThatFishThough

Bum ba da buuuuuummmmm! Meet my two new girls!

Harmony is Teal, Melody is Royal Blue. They are sisters, and will go into a sorority when they're older.


----------



## Witchipoo

Cute girls. It kind of looks like the darker one might be getting her tail nipped. You might think about dividing the tank for them until they're big enough to go in the sorority.


----------



## ThatFishThough

LOL. Thats not nipping, thats her ripping her fins on the driftwood. I literally just took it out to sand it more and cut some sharp pieces off. <3

Edit: 110% Sure it is the driftwood.


----------



## BeautifulBettaFishies

Tail nipping is normal anyway when you have girls together. You should see the hunk missing from Nyx's tail which my dominant girl did. Sheesh. :S
When you have girls together there will be tears. That's all I say lol. Even if it is the driftwood, it is normal unless she shows signs of distress or constant discomfort in the tank. Some gorgeous girlies you got there


----------



## ThatFishThough

Thanks.  And I figured. Mel clamped up yesterday, so I moved her to a spare 3G.  Imma try acclimating her again to see what happens. Thank god for long holiday weekends.


----------



## oliversmom

*new baby*

Hi! I just got this little guy from PetCo on Monday! He so far is doing really well, eating a lot, swimming around, following my fingers, etc. His temp is probably going from 74-81 during the day. I know thats a huge range, but the heater I have is not so good at keeping his temp constant. I have a new heater coming Monday and I also will be moving him into a bigger tank this Monday. Can anyone approximate how old he is, or what kind of Betta he is?? I know that is hard when they are little but any guesses? Also I am wondering if theres anything else I should be doing to keep him healthy? I dont have access to fancy foods or tanks, etc because I am only a college student and have a limited budget but I still want to do what is possible! Im worried that he is bored all alone so i try to "play" with him when I am home but he is a fish so... Okay, thank you!!!


----------



## ThatFishThough

1st - I feel like 'he' is a 'she'. Not sure, but s/he's got sorta a yellowish belly.

2nd - Don't quote me on any of this, i'm still realitvely new to this. 

3rd - Almost forgot, Welcome To The Fourm!

4th - Royal Blue Halfmoon Betta.  Looks to be 2-ish months?

5th - He isn't bored, he's begging for food LOL. They do that. You can definately interact with him, though. Don't tap the glass, but like... My betta loves it when I do jazz hands on either side of my face. Like fluttering fins.


----------



## oliversmom

Thank you! His belly does have a touch of yellow but so far I can't see an egg spot. Either way, he or she is a cute  Thank you!


----------



## XTashX

Oh my! Some of these betta's are so tiny and adorable! I haven't seen any babies where I live in Australia. Not that I have been actively looking mind you.


----------



## Sadist

Updates on Sky. I brought him home as a baby girl November 2015. He still isn't fully grown, and his egg spot persists. The fins still look male to me, but maybe someone can correct me.

Also, his tank isn't tilted; I'm horrible with a camera. He has a ramshorn snail that hatched from an unquarantined plant, and it's made the glass look funny where it's eaten the algae and left little mouth prints.


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## ThatFishThough

Huh. Interesting; He has the fins of a male, but plump like a female.

Maybe a long-finned female? IDK.


----------



## lilnaugrim

He's only plump because he's fed well, that's what a babies tummy should look like after being fed daily. I don't see any ovary shape though, he'd have full ovaries by now if it was a female. I still say male. Can you get closer pictures?


----------



## Sadist

Sure. I can't tell where my female's ovaries are either. She's also a blue crowntail, and she just has the persistant tummy like that. But she has female fins, and this little guy has male fins.

Sorry for the reflections and bad quality.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh, nope, yep, that's a female. You can see the cone shape behind the stomach. It didn't look so prominent from a distance but up close it's definitely there! Sorry for the flip-flop!

For reference, here is a little boy whom I had thought to be girl until I fed him well and he flared >.< Before this, he seemed like he had ovaries and his fins were short for his age. He had a growth spurt after this lol


----------



## ThatFishThough

Baby Sky is a girl!


----------



## BeautifulBettaFishies

I was gonna say, I was sure he was a girl. Just overall shape, I guess I'm used to having to pick out females from the "sorority" tanks at the pet shop. You learn to spot the males quickly. Although that's not exactly fool poof in the end, it gives me a good idea. 

I was going to be the oddity - thinking nobody had posted after the first pics. I must sound like the wise one after it has been pointed out, but eh.

At least "Sky" is fairly unisex, so it suits a little girl or boy.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Having seen Sky grow up, she's had very male features for a long time now, the only thing you can tell for sure is ovaries when it comes to sexing. Babies are very confusing to sex, they aren't as easy as juvies and adults and can often flip flop on you very much like a teen going through puberty lol. It's not always easy to know until they're older.


----------



## Sadist

Wow, so little Sky is a girl after all! She has big fins.


----------



## BeautifulBettaFishies

I follow Sadists journal but I haven't seen much of Sky, lol. 

Yeah, I understand that. Babies can be confusing, and for a moment when I had Hestia (SIP), I did panic she was male, but she did turn out female. Thank goodness.

I don't know, she just looked like a girl from her shape to me, although her fins do look kind of male ish. Sorry if I sounded a know it all. If I had to make a split decision though, I'd of said female, that's all.


----------



## Sadist

I had most of Sky's pictures over here. The journal was originally supposed to be for my guppy breeding project, which has failed.


----------



## lilnaugrim

BeautifulBettaFishies said:


> I don't know, she just looked like a girl from her shape to me, although her fins do look kind of male ish. Sorry if I sounded a know it all. If I had to make a split decision though, I'd of said female, that's all.


From the new pictures, sure, but not from her baby pictures.


----------



## BeautifulBettaFishies

I've not seen any of her proper baby pictures, so I couldn't of said. My judgement was made on the pictures at the top of page 441, so yes, her current photos. ^^


----------



## BubbleBetty

Here is baby Dumbledore! I got lured in while I was at Petco getting dog food. I have had him for about 5 weeks, back then he literally looked like a tadpole lol. I have been feeding him frozen BBS and Tokyu betta pellets from Thailand. When I bought him they said he was a male, but did not know his breed. Does he look like a male? And does anyone have an idea of what breed he may be? 

Hes the cutest little baby. He eats like a piglet and is super active. He is a "law firm fish" and lives in my office


----------



## Sadist

What a cutie! Telling gender and tail type is easier from a full side view. I'm not good at guessing, but some others are.


----------



## ThatFishThough

Mmmmmppph.... I say female. 

Ask Lil.


----------



## BeautifulBettaFishies

Lilnaugrim is best, but I too think female.


----------



## lilnaugrim

^_^

Yeah ,we do need a good side profile to see anything though and preferably with the fins extended as well instead of tucked up. Feed it well so the tummy is nice and big and then take a couple pictures of the side. I'm also betting female due to the size and relation to the fins at the moment but that could always change lol.


----------



## BubbleBetty

Here "it" is, picture is from a couple weeks ago


----------



## BubbleBetty

I am estimating that she/he is around 11-12 weeks old. I brought her/him home around 5 weeks ago, and from pictures online looked to be around 6 weeks when I bought him.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Do you have any recent pictures? babies change fast and so what they looked like a couple weeks ago can change vastly from what they are now.


----------



## BubbleBetty

Okay, this is the only picture that came out, he is having a fiesty morning! doing zoomies all over his tank. I can try to take more...


----------



## lilnaugrim

BubbleBetty said:


> Okay, this is the only picture that came out, he is having a fiesty morning! doing zoomies all over his tank. I can try to take more...


I'm about 97% sure that is female. Still need an actual profile though to say more, need to see behind her stomach to find ovaries.


----------



## IncessantRain91

update :] 

Edward (left) and Frederick (right)


----------



## rocketshipwalker

*lilnaugrim*, 
It's been a few days, but I've gotten some more pictures of my baby. She is so hard to photograph. Between her light colors and her never staying still...
I did finally name her, even though I don't know if she's 100% a female fish. Haha
I've been calling her Bonnie.


----------



## amarie551

*Tank advice needed*

I got an adorable female baby betta from petco in August and named her Penelope. She has been living in a 2 gallon tank identical to the one I keep my adult betta Jenifer in and while the adult has been growing, the baby has not. I recently started a 5 gallon tank with 3 black skirt tetras and 1 African Dwarf frog. Two of the tetras died and I got a new frog and was content. However, I recently read that tetras and ADF's are fine if put with calmer female bettas. I know that Jennifer is not a good match because she has jumped out of her own tank and into other fish's before if they were too close, but Penelope is so small and laid back. I was thinking about adding her to my 5 gallon tank and would like some advice first. Penelope is about an inch long so the tank would not violate the general gallon of water per inch of fish rule. I also have lots of plants for them to hide in/lay on. I have a filter as well. None of the creatures in there currently seem to be aggressive and I am going on break from college in a week, so if I combine I will do it then when I can watch them more closely. I just don't want any of my little buddies getting hurt. Thank you


----------



## Sadist

amarie551 said:


> I got an adorable female baby betta from petco in August and named her Penelope. She has been living in a 2 gallon tank identical to the one I keep my adult betta Jenifer in and while the adult has been growing, the baby has not. I recently started a 5 gallon tank with 3 black skirt tetras and 1 African Dwarf frog. Two of the tetras died and I got a new frog and was content. However, I recently read that tetras and ADF's are fine if put with calmer female bettas. I know that Jennifer is not a good match because she has jumped out of her own tank and into other fish's before if they were too close, but Penelope is so small and laid back. I was thinking about adding her to my 5 gallon tank and would like some advice first. Penelope is about an inch long so the tank would not violate the general gallon of water per inch of fish rule. I also have lots of plants for them to hide in/lay on. I have a filter as well. None of the creatures in there currently seem to be aggressive and I am going on break from college in a week, so if I combine I will do it then when I can watch them more closely. I just don't want any of my little buddies getting hurt. Thank you


Is she quick enough to get away from the frog if it mistakes her for food? Frogs will eat anything they can fit into their mouth if it doesn't get away quickly.

That said, I've read that frogs and bettas make excellent companions. You'll have to watch her personality with the tank mates to make sure she doesn't become aggressive. My most shy, laid back bettas turned into blood-thirsty killing machines when put with tank mates.


----------



## BeautifulBettaFishies

^ Sadist, your talking about your little terrorsome girl Sky right? Hehe.

Personally, I wouldn't keep anything with a baby betta. Stress isn't good for them and you want there so fragile. But that's my opinion. I'm sure you know what's best for her.


----------



## Anemonee

Was lurking through this thread last night after adopting this little cutie from Petco. He was the most lively out of the few they had (all labeled baby boys) and I'm curious as to if he's really a boy and what kind of tail type he might be! He appears to be flaring at everything and he keeps trying to bite at his plant and the spots on the teacup in the tank.
I named him Wade (having just come from seeing the Deadpool movie) and right now he's in a 1.5 gallon on my desk. He'll have a heater by tomorrow night (arriving tomorrow from amazon) and he's been eagerly eating Hikari micropellets. He's got a plant and a marimo in with him. I took out my tetra 3i whisper filter as I was worried it might be too much for him and am working on building my own little sponge air pump filter which will also be in there by tomorrow night.
I've never had a baby before so I'm trying to do everything I can that I've been seeing here to keep him happy and healthy!


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## kimmiekazi

New baby I picked up a couple days ago. Labelled as baby boy, but what do you guys think?


----------



## Sadist

BeautifulBettaFishies said:


> ^ Sadist, your talking about your little terrorsome girl Sky right? Hehe.
> 
> Personally, I wouldn't keep anything with a baby betta. Stress isn't good for them and you want there so fragile. But that's my opinion. I'm sure you know what's best for her.


Sky was aggressive with guppy fry. Mrs. Fish seemed very laid-back and shy before I tried tank mates. She's my real killer.


----------



## BeautifulBettaFishies

Haha! You somehow have two little terrors when it comes to tank mates. Mine were too scared to touch a neon, they hid when they saw him. Haha.


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## Sadist

Mrs. Fish would probably rip the bag open while they were acclimating. Sky is still small, so she would just look like an excited puppy.


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## BeautifulBettaFishies

Gee 0_0 Mrs Fish sure is one scary fish. Lol


----------



## SydneyA

She sounds like my BABY fish. He went from baby to flaring crazy monster who jumped a very high strong barrier to practically destroy a dumbo over night. He lives alone now


----------



## Sadist

Aww, he's probably going through fish puberty.


----------



## ThatFishThough

LOL Sadist.


----------



## oliversmom

*How old do you think he is?*

I don't mean to be annoying, but I really can't figure out how old Oliver is!! I'm pretty sure Oliver is a boy now... I came home to a nice little bubble nest today  Thank you!! 
(also, his belly is big because he just ate and the flash makes it look super yellow for some reason!)


----------



## lilnaugrim

It's because he's a Turquoise, they look different depending on the lighting conditions.

We can't tell you exactly how old he is since for one, we don't have a size reference (photos can make huge things look small and small things look huge), and we don't know when you got him for how old he was. Most of the tiny Betta's the come in are roughly a month old because they've been power-grown. Some of the larger ones might be a month and a half to two months old. We can't tell you simply by looking at fins or body shape since each fish will develop their fins differently.


----------



## Sadist

Is veil tail a good guess for that guy, or is it too early to tell if he'll have more than the 2 rays I see?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yep, that's a good guess. His anal fin isn't very square (though, it's closer than most VT's) and is more angled which usually means VT. Dorsal fin is more pointed and lengthy versus broader and rounded. And yes, he does only have 2 rays at the moment. It could change and he could become a DeT depending on his genes but we'll see!


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## Sadist

Yay, I'm learning!


----------



## ThatFishThough

My 3 Girls. Harmony (Teal), Melody (Royal Blue), and my newest, Angel (Cellophane).


Will Angel marble? And are they all HM?


----------



## BettaMommaHeather

I have a Cello, and she looks almost identical to your little Angel, she only has a spot of color on her anal fin. She is about 5 or 6mos old now.

Edit: Watch them like a hawk. I had my three girls in a sorority and it all started well then it went down hill fast. Especially since Angel looks so much smaller than your other two.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Uh yeah, Angel is a boy, I'm like 99% sure. That's why you can't use the Baby Betta's for sororities; many can look female but turn out to be boys.


----------



## PixieGrace

*So I just purchased a baby betta fish from Petco and now I am trying to find out exactly how to keep him alive... I'm ordering a new tank and getting everything together. Apparently there is a lot more to caring for a Betta than I had originally realized but I am okay with that. I just need help now that i have him on finding the best tank for him and caring for him in the best way possible so he can grow up to be a healthy adult Betta*


----------



## justineatsoda

@PixieGrace
I'm not an experienced betta keeper by any means, but I got my first baby betta in January and she's been doing good so maybe my experience can help!  This is just my opinion on what I actually needed so other's might have more input than me.

Items I Needed:
-Simple 2.5 gallon rectangular tank (cheap, & if you have the room get a 5 gallon because bigger is better)
-Adjustable 25W heater (I got a Theo Hydor 25W adjustable heater) (or more according to your tank size you may need more heat power)
-Thermometer (to maintain a constant temp)
-Small pellet food (unsure of brand of small betta pellets I'm sure someone can fill you in here)
-Water conditioner for water changes
-API Master test kit for checking water parameters
-Some plants/ silk plants to play/hide in

What you may not need right away:
-Air pump rated for the tank size
-Airline tubing w/ adjustable airflow piece if your airpump isn't adjustable
-Sponge filter (These can wait if you're ordering one off ebay, or make a DIY one)
-Gravel (some like to see the bowel movements easier)
-Tank decorations

Things you need to do:
-Watch water parameters, and do water changes accordingly
-Keep water temperature pretty constant
-Feed 2-3 times a day
-Warm clean water is key 

There is a baby betta care thread on here somewhere I'm not sure of the link, but it covers all the basics of caring for your baby.


----------



## ThatFishThough

0.0 Is s/he really a boy? Please dear god, no.


----------



## lilnaugrim

PixieGrace, you can also read this: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


----------



## PixieGrace

ThatFishThough said:


> 0.0 Is s/he really a boy? Please dear god, no.


*It said that he is a boy, If I can take a good picture I'll upload it here to see if that even helps to determine the gender.*


----------



## lilnaugrim

PixieGrace said:


> *It said that he is a boy, If I can take a good picture I'll upload it here to see if that even helps to determine the gender.*


ThatFishThough was responding to me, not you ^_^


----------



## VinceIII

Hi, this is my first post here. I'm planning a 5.5 gallon aquarium for a male betta and see that this is a good place for info.

I was at Petco today and saw the rack of baby betta. I kind of like the idea of having a fish that I can raise from such a young age, but I don't know how delicate they are. I also want to be sure I get a male. I saw a blue and red one that looked like a male Plakat, but I want a second opinion. I'll go back to the store when my aquarium is set up and ask some questions. The staff at this Petco seems knowledgeable, so hopefully I can get some good advice. If it starts looking risky, I'll just get a fully grown betta.

If I do a get a baby betta, I'll probably go with either a UGF or sponge filter. How often would I need to vacuum the gravel with a UGF, silk plants, and such a little fish?


----------



## justineatsoda

VinceIII said:


> Hi, this is my first post here. I'm planning a 5.5 gallon aquarium for a male betta and see that this is a good place for info.
> 
> I was at Petco today and saw the rack of baby betta. I kind of like the idea of having a fish that I can raise from such a young age, but I don't know how delicate they are. I also want to be sure I get a male. I saw a blue and red one that looked like a male Plakat, but I want a second opinion. I'll go back to the store when my aquarium is set up and ask some questions. The staff at this Petco seems knowledgeable, so hopefully I can get some good advice. If it starts looking risky, I'll just get a fully grown betta.
> 
> If I do a get a baby betta, I'll probably go with either a UGF or sponge filter. How often would I need to vacuum the gravel with a UGF, silk plants, and such a little fish?


Well if it says anything, I had two male bettas one after the other that passed away within a month & then I cautiously got a baby betta and she's been going strong for over a month  I vacuum gravel once a week in addition to a sponge filter, and do water changes every other day to 2 days usually. 

My word of caution: I've seen people have difficulties sexing baby bettas and my baby was labeled a male and happened to be female. but I really wasn't dissapointed getting a female haha but if you feel confident you can detect the sex (I could not lol) then you're good


----------



## ThatFishThough

Edit: Looking at the wrong page, XD.


----------



## Anemonee

Got some really nice shots of my baby this morning!!
I've had Wade for a little over a week now and he's looking really good I think!! I'm about 90% sure he's a boy (I believe that's a beard I spotted when I got him to flare for the first picture), but I'm still curious as to what tail type he'll be and if his coloring will stay the red with black edging. He's even got spots on his dorsal and he shines a royal blue in light!
https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t35.0-12/12755154_10207761266381417_317939160_o.jpg?oh=d8372e8ab137a3dd8107bb4505b97d04&oe=56CE60E0
https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t35.0-12/12765572_10207761266581422_2064927443_o.jpg?oh=628c3180c6cd2ccce71ca7745dfcd1d0&oe=56CF80B6
https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xal1/v/t35.0-12/12772940_10207761265701400_695020695_o.jpg?oh=b6066c36431bdd9f7a11ecee172e5eed&oe=56CEA1D9


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yep, Wade is a boy!

However, female Betta's also have beards too so that's not a reliable way to sex.

With those long vents, slanted anal, pointed dorsal, and already drooping caudal, He's a VT. And coloration is Wild Type.


----------



## Anemonee

lilnaugrim said:


> Yep, Wade is a boy!
> 
> However, female Betta's also have beards too so that's not a reliable way to sex.
> 
> With those long vents, slanted anal, pointed dorsal, and already drooping caudal, He's a VT. And coloration is Wild Type.


Oh cool! Thanks! 
My last male was a VT as well :3


----------



## kimmiekazi

About a month ago, I brought home the cutest baby betta named Comet. He had a white body with red fins. Over the month I've had him, Comet's color has slowly faded to being completely transparent. Other than the color change, he seems very healthy, eats like a little piggy and is extremely active. Fins are never clamped and he's growing like a weed. I attached a picture from the day I brought him home and a couple from his water change today. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong??


----------



## lilnaugrim

kimmiekazi said:


> About a month ago, I brought home the cutest baby betta named Comet. He had a white body with red fins. Over the month I've had him, Comet's color has slowly faded to being completely transparent. Other than the color change, he seems very healthy, eats like a little piggy and is extremely active. Fins are never clamped and he's growing like a weed. I attached a picture from the day I brought him home and a couple from his water change today. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong??


She's just marbling! Cambodian (flesh color with red fins as she started out as) is an often result from a koi or marble spawn and so it's totally normal to change color ^_^


----------



## kimmiekazi

lilnaugrim said:


> She's just marbling! Cambodian (flesh color with red fins as she started out as) is an often result from a koi or marble spawn and so it's totally normal to change color ^_^


Wow that's a relief! Thanks so much! I noticed you said she... is Comet actually a girl? If so, that'll be the second "baby boy" from petco that turns out to be a lady. I also have a little girl named "Prince"


----------



## ThatFishThough

Yep. She. 


Edit: I got a Cello "Baby Girl"... not. Apparently he's a boy. XD So don't worry; its a common mistake. So, now I have a Cello Boy named Angel.


----------



## CollegeBettas

Comet looks just like my little Squirt in the first picture! Comet looks like a boy to me, but I am no expert. I am glad he is growing though because I have seen almost no difference in the last week and a half, so I am hoping Squirt will still grow.


----------



## kimmiekazi

It's so exciting to watch the babies grow and change!  
With Prince, it seemed like every other day I would change my mind about if she was a boy or not lol


----------



## CollegeBettas

Frankly, I have had some doubts about Squirt's gender, but I am fairly certain he is male.


----------



## torileeann11

Oh man... I got one... a little EE labeled as a "baby boy". Thoughts on gender? 

*WHO* could turn down those little flappers??


----------



## NightStars

torileeann11 said:


> Oh man... I got one... a little EE labeled as a "baby boy". Thoughts on gender?
> 
> *WHO* could turn down those little flappers??
> 
> View attachment 734842
> 
> View attachment 734850
> 
> View attachment 734858
> 
> View attachment 734866


I don't know what gender he/she is but just wanted to say she/he is too cute! I've been looking for a baby ee at the Petco's near me but I have had no luck yet. I used to have an ee girl from Petco that I got as a baby but she passed away a month ago.


----------



## ThatFishThough

I reaaaalllly want an EE girl for my sorority o.o I wish.


----------



## masshiimarro

Hi guys, its been so long since Ive been here, its good to be back! I am once again bitten by the betta bug when I passed by the betta section in petco. I picked up a baby betta which was marked as a boy. He was the only baby left and I wanted to see what he would end up looking like. Hes a tiny little thing, doesnt really even have color yet. He ate some crushed pellets last night and today I placed him in a heated, planted tank. Since then hes been hiding in the java fern and refusing to eat. However his color seems to be coming back, hes got a bit of a turquiose shimmer now. Im trying to get him on a diet of bloodworms and pellets, but he only seems to recognize pellets right now. How do I get him to eat bloodworms?


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## Sadist

Have you tried holding the bloodworm and wiggling it in the water? Maybe wiggling it across the tank surface? Some people have special tweezers that they use for this, but I'm not sure what they're called or how to find them. How big is the bloodworm next to the fish? (S)He may be more likely to try it if you can cut off a tiny, pellet-sized piece of it. Once the smell of it is accepted as food, maybe a half one can be tried and eaten.


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## Boshia

Does anyone want to tell me the gender and tail type/color of these three? I'm considering getting one but I don't know which one. In all honesty I'm looking for a male...
*Baby 1* - easily the smallest and saddest of the three.
































*Baby 2*
























*Baby 3*

























Sorry if the pictures are still huge, I've tried to resize them twice now.


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## lilnaugrim

They're all males and all likely VT as well. Turquoise with red wash, the usual.


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## Sadist

Boshia said:


> Does anyone want to tell me the gender and tail type/color of these three? I'm considering getting one but I don't know which one. In all honesty I'm looking for a male...
> *Baby 1* - easily the smallest and saddest of the three.
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Their fins all look male, especially the first and third one (pointy anal fin). I would guess veil tail like lilnaugrim. I really liked the red wash on the first one the best, but since he's smaller, he might be the most vulnerable and less likely to survive coming home.


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## alyssadaq55

The first two pictures are from the first day I got my baby Betta from petco (Saturday) and he has grown so much in only five days!


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## CollegeBettas

You got a tiny one! He is so cute! Mine was almost an inch already when I got him two weeks ago, and he is slightly bigger. My boy is starting to change color.


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## Sadist

What a cutie and growing so fast!


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## A Betta Future

Lol yes, that's how I found Primrose and Zoë


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## Shidohari

so cute great finds all three.


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## Sadist

I saw a marble baby at petco yesterday! (S)He has blue speckles on the body and red on the caudal. Maybe grizzle with red wash? So cute. Too small to really tell the gender.


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## Witchipoo

I can't even look at the babies at my Petco, the tiny fragile little things bring me to tears. I just can't "save" them. There are too many.


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## Sadist

I usually steer clear of the betta area as much as possible. I was keeping an eye out for a pink fish for someone and had to check the little babies.

There was another baby that looked like it had butterfly marking starting! I was really amazed to see any color at all on something so small, skinny, and in those conditions.


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## CollegeBettas

So today I noticed something I hadn't before, my betta has grown bright red vents! Looking back at pictures, he did not have them when I got them (and if he did the were tiny and clear) and the pictures from last week show small almost clear, but slightly red ones. Has anyone also noticed this after buying their baby? I looked it up and the vents are supposed to grow at about 6 weeks. Are these bettas really that young or are they just that late of bloomers?


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## Sadist

The ones I usually see look like the 6-8 week sized ones on growth charts. It could be that yours was even smaller when you got him/her. It could also be that the horrible conditions of being sent to the store and being in the cup made him/her a late bloomer.


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## CollegeBettas

Thanks! I think he is a late bloomer because he hasn't grown all that much yet, and I have had him for a month.


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## hannah51715

So, I got another baby Betta about 2 weeks ago. I wasn't really planning on getting another, but when I saw him I just couldn't leave him there.

I named the little guy Rocket and this is what he looked like when I brought him home. You can't tell from the pictures, but he was probably one of the skinniest baby Bettas that I had ever seen. He was also the pickiest eater out of the baby Bettas I've brought home. For the first day or two he spit out everything except for the thawed frozen bloodworms. But after a few days I convinced him that crushed pellets were good too. 









Fast forward a couple of weeks and this is what Rocket looks like now. His body color really surprised me. I didn't expect him to darken up as much as he did, but I really love his coloring.


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## Sadist

Wow, Rocket is gorgeous!


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## aprilmarie

I just got a baby betta myself, ive had her/him about a month now and im not sure how to tell if its male or female or how old it really is. Any way i can figure these things out


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## lilnaugrim

aprilmarie said:


> I just got a baby betta myself, ive had her/him about a month now and im not sure how to tell if its male or female or how old it really is. Any way i can figure these things out


I give a bit of information on that here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## aprilmarie

lilnaugrim said:


> I give a bit of information on that here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


Thanks! really helpful. my only problem is my baby betta seems really bloated all the time even if i dont feed her what should i do


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## lilnaugrim

aprilmarie said:


> Thanks! really helpful. my only problem is my baby betta seems really bloated all the time even if i dont feed her what should i do


can you post pics of her?


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## Olivia27

So I didn't get a Petco Baby. I got a little female from a breeder in the forum, so I hope it's still alright to ask a question here. Sorta hesitant to start a new thread when my questions are probably gonna be the same as everyone else here. Anyway. AAAAHHH!!! I HAVE A BABY!! Help me figure out feeding schedule. She's hatched 1/11, so she's roughly ten weeks old. Her BO count is just under an inch. Latest photo attached below.

Questions list:
1) I suppose she's still in that "eat more grow more" period. So I plan to feed her three times a day - a mix of pellets and frozen food. Is this okay, or should I stick exclusively to frozen for now? I tried Nichi on Omega One today though. The mini color she ate up immediately. The Betta Buffet she spat out ._.

2) I don't know what ten-week old babies are supposed to look like. When they're younger they're supposed to have a balloon belly, I read. But when do we stop "ballooning" them up? Currently I just go by the rule I use with my adults: stop when they look round. The attached picture below is right after feeding time. Is that round enough?

3) I have mysis, brine shrimps, blood worms and daphnia. Is there any one of these that is better than the rest? I can pick up other stuff too if needed. I'm not keen on getting black worms or other gross wriggly stuff ( sorry ._. ) but I can easily pick up BBS, spirulina brine shrimp, beef heart or (almost) anything else. What would you recommend? In short: what does she need? More fat? More protein?

Last but not least, here is Nichi in all her pot-bellied, ventless glory. Thanks in advance!


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## CollegeBettas

She's a cutie! Did you get her from SusieG? My current Petco baby refused the pellets that I had crushed at first, but when I switched to frozen bloodworms he started eating again. I plan on trying to get mine to switch now purely for simplicity, so I am going to get him some higher quality mini pellets in hopes I don't have to crush them to feed him.


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## Olivia27

Yep LOL not that hard to find out, huh? I was told that she was fed Omega One Marine Mini Pellets among many other things growing up. So it looks like she's biased towards Omega One now lol


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## CollegeBettas

Well, that is good to know. I will have to look for the Omega One Pellets. I am getting one of the males next week.


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## themamaj

Sadist said:


> I saw a marble baby at petco yesterday! (S)He has blue speckles on the body and red on the caudal. Maybe grizzle with red wash? So cute. Too small to really tell the gender.


If you run across a double tail baby or something very unusual in color let me know


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## themamaj

Olivia you are right on track with food. I feed my babies crushed pellets or mini pellets along with frozen foods. Daphnia, brine or mysis shrimp and small blood worms. They seem to do well on smaller portions more frequent meals when going through big growth periods. Love your girls color pattern! Have you gotten all imports from same breeder?


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## Olivia27

Thanks themamaj! I'll thaw some shrimps today so she'd have some variety. Try not to get too attached to her colors lol Nichi is a marble through and through! 

And yes all my imports come from the same guy. He doesn't have an AquaBid page, which is a shame. He does have a Facebook sales page though 

Here is Nichi last Friday lol


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## Sadist

themamaj said:


> If you run across a double tail baby or something very unusual in color let me know


I saw one starting a butterfly pattern! I'm not sure he/she will be there still when I can get to the store again. Daughter home on Spring break and has a sick tummy.


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## Rennie Sky

Olivia27 said:


> <snip>
> 
> And yes all my imports come from the same guy. He doesn't have an AquaBid page, which is a shame. He does have a Facebook sales page though
> 
> Here is Nichi last Friday lol


I'd be interested in the FB page if you'd be willing to share!


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## Olivia27

Rennie Sky said:


> I'd be interested in the FB page if you'd be willing to share!


Sure! It's actually his personal FB now that I take another look :roll: just punch in Betta Ibc Huang to the search bar. Nobody else has that name. His current profile picture is a blue-white marble HMDT


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## Niece

Got this little guy or girl yesterday. 
Edit:: It says boy on the cup but I have doubts lol I can't tell.


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## Niece

Ok I took better photos. 
Still think it's a girl.


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## SilviaAndScales

Dear lord that's adorable


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## Niece

I know lol he or she has been swimming around all day loving the tank.


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## Niece

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDlwZFmFBJW/ video let's you see him/her betta since my pics are obviously awful lol. You guys think it's a girl?


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, it's a girl


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## Niece

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, it's a girl


Thought so lol. 
She was labeled boy, but you know how that is.

Most of them at petco that day were in terrible condition. I had to even tell one of the workers that one had passed away. It honestly looked like it has been there for a couple days like that.


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## SplashyBetta

Here's my new baby, Strawberry: 








Anyone have an idea on sex and tail type?


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## lilnaugrim

Possible female and likely a PK as most Salamander's tend to be that


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## Sadist

Let us see a picture when (s)he relaxes and opens up the fins! If you can get a picture -- mine was so wiggly by that time.


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## Niece

How cute!


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## oliversmom

*Growth Record for Oliver!*

I bought Oliver at Petco in February and estimated him to be about 7 weeks because he was already pretty colored! He's happy, blowing bubble nests and eating like crazy!

Does this look like OK growth for a baby? Seems slow to me.... His body is just over 1 inch long!


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## Anemonee

I've had Wade for almost 2 months now and he's grown so much! His body alone has at least doubled in size. I tried getting some photos of him flaring today so I thought I'd post an update.
When I brought him home on Valentines Day;








And here he is Today!


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## ashleynicol3

He looks great! Makes me want to get a little baby so I can be surprised by what they look like as they grow!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Sadist

Wow, what a lovely flare!


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## AstrosMom

At what point can you tell what sex the baby is and what type of Betta he/she is? The Betta I got from Petco is about an inch maybe a little bigger and super camera shy so the pictures always come out blurry. Mostly grey with a little red. I know a picture will help, I will try and post one tomorrow. I have a eight hour shift starting soon. :lol:


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## themamaj

Baby progress looks great! 

On male vs female. Each baby seems to develop at own rate but if see ovaposter or obvious cone shape (look with flashlight) can be declared female. Males typically have longer fins and longer ventricles. I have had several I thought were male and then suddenly develop ovaries overnight. Lil might be able to give us better age range to go by.


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## CollegeBettas

I just figured out my little "Baby Boy" is actually I female. I had had some suspicions at first because I couldn't tell if there were ovaries or not, but now I can tell, especially now that Squirt has an ovaposter. I still call her 'him' though most of the time. It's hard not to ask my fish, "How are my little boys?" when I come back from doing something.


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## AstrosMom

Eight hr shift turned into 12 hrs. :lol: Any guesses on sex thus far?


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## Sadist

It's hard to tell at this size. Some indicators would be long, narrow vents and a pointed anal and bigger eyes for male. Even those aren't 100% ways to tell. To me, it looks like your baby is too small to grow ovaries yet, and that's the only 100% way to tell it's a girl.


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## Olivia27

@CollegeBetta: ovipositor may also be present on young males though. Do you have a picture?


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## CollegeBettas

Right now my best picture is my profile picture, but I will get a better one today.


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## CollegeBettas

Here is the development of my little baby. I got Squirt in February as a "baby boy", but now I am thinking he is a she.

February Picture:








March Picture:








April Picture (from today):









Overall, Squirt hasn't really grown, which could be because he spent the first 3 weeks and 2 weeks last month in a 1-gallon and stopped eating for a while, because (s)he didn't like the cheap crushed pellets I was feeding originally. The pictures aren't really all that clear because Squirt is very active and rarely stops moving.


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## CollegeBettas

I also think Squirt is a Cambodian Delta. Thoughts?


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## lilnaugrim

She is a Cambodian VT. She only has two rays in her tail which constitutes a VT. More than 2 rays and she becomes a DeT.


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## CollegeBettas

Thank you so much! So you think Squirt is a girl?


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## lilnaugrim

She is absolutely a girl. You can see the ovaries behind her stomach. There is literally no doubt.


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## Twstdtink

Hi! New to the board. I went to Petco last Friday and came across a rack of "baby boy" Bettas. Half were already dead . I felt so bad for the remaining few that I decided to rescue one. Which was a stupid idea, considering I hadn't had time to research how to care for our new pet. Per the suggestion of an employee, I bought one of those awful, tiny kits. Fortunately, he (he?) seems to be doing great despite the cramped conditions. I have a 1.5 gallon tank and heater coming via Amazon tomorrow. Can anyone tell me if this is a male or female Betta and what type? My son has named him/her Sunny. <3


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## lilnaugrim

Definitely a little male! Likely a Turquoise with Red wash VT boy.
This may help you ^_^ http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=457330


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## Twstdtink

Thank you so much! I will definitely read your guide. Last thing I want to do after rescuing the poor guy is kill him with incompetent care.


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## Veganswithbettas

*New Betta fry!*

Hi guys so I actually work at Petco and have been eyeing these little cuties for a while. I finally got one last night. It was labeled as a boy but I think it may be a girl. I have a temporary setup right now until I can get my 3 gallon from my parents home. I do have a heater to keep the water at about 78 degrees. What do you all think, boy or girl? Also what are you all feeding your fry? Thanks


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## lilnaugrim

Looks boyish to me for the moment. It may grow ovaries overnight lol.

Take a look at my PetCo Baby guide a few posts up to see about their care and feeding.


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## Twstdtink

Quick, tell us all the behind-the-scenes Petco secrets.


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## CollegeBettas

You new baby is adorable! I started mine with crushed pellets but then moved to frozen bloodworms and now I am feeding the Omega One Betta Buffet pellets, which are still a little big for Squirt who never really grew.


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## Veganswithbettas

Thanks guys. I actually order some microworm cultures the other day because it seems as if I have a very picky Betta on my hands. I've tried pellets crushed up, freeze dried blood worms, and frozen brine shrimp with no luck. I have one more question, I'm getting my old tank Saturday but I'm having a problem with a heater in my current setup. If this 50W heater can't heat less than a gallon tank it definitely can't do the job for a larger tank with a filter. I'm actually considering buying a new tank tonight. I was thinking 3.5 gallon but is 5.5 gallons too big for one Betta?


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## lilnaugrim

Veganswithbettas said:


> Thanks guys. I actually order some microworm cultures the other day because it seems as if I have a very picky Betta on my hands. I've tried pellets crushed up, freeze dried blood worms, and frozen brine shrimp with no luck. I have one more question, I'm getting my old tank Saturday but I'm having a problem with a heater in my current setup. If this 50W heater can't heat less than a gallon tank it definitely can't do the job for a larger tank with a filter. I'm actually considering buying a new tank tonight. I was thinking 3.5 gallon but is 5.5 gallons too big for one Betta?


5.5 is perfect for one Betta! Even a baby. Don't worry about too much space, there is no such thing. The only thing you do want to be concerned about is having enough fake/real plants to create a good environment for the Betta. Betta's naturally live in highly vegetal area's which are very shady. Betta's are streamlined fish for the purpose of swimming between plants all day long so ideally a Betta tank should be chock full of plants! If you do that, the size of the tank doesn't matter even if it's a 45 gallon!

Anything 2.5 gal and over is perfect though. 1's are just fine if they're maintained properly (1-2 changes per week depending on how it may be planted or not) but the larger the tank, the easier it is to care for! ^_^


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## Sadist

+1 lilnaugrim! I want to add that the adjustable heaters will work better. I have to set mine at a higher temperature when the room is cold and a lower temperature when the room is warm. 50W should be plenty for a 5.5 gallon, and your betta will love the more stable tank parameters.


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## CollegeBettas

The 50 watt will certainly heat the 1 gallon, and by heat, I mean WAY over heat. I have a 25 Watt in my 1-gallon and I have to monitor it very closely (my room is usually 70-75 degrees because the central air in ancient buildings sucks). It is usually on less than a fourth of the day. I would stick with the 50 Watt and closely monitor it until your new tank comes in. I just ordered a 3-gallon for my other baby, who is a brat, Eric and I plan to use my Tetra 50 watt heater, because I got a new heater that isn't preset for my 10-gallon.


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## Veganswithbettas

Thanks. I think since I have to buy a new heater, I won't buy a new tank and will just use my old one. I eventually want to get another baby so I will one day need another tank. I also will hopefully one day start a betta sorority. I am getting a 20 gallon tank soon since they're $1 per 1 gallon at Petco right now so I'll probably get that started before I get another baby. Chamu is currently doing well. I got him a hammock and he's using it, didn't even have to teach him.


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## lilnaugrim

Pro-tip: don't use PetCo babies for a sorority. For one, they're hardly ever sexed properly and even I have trouble sexing occasionally. Once they hit sexual maturity it will likely become a bloodbath if there is a male in there and it's generally not male against female, it's all the females gang up on the male to hurt or kill him. You may get lucky but I wouldn't chance it. Also PetCo babies tend to have shorter life spans anyway due to how they are treated as babies and improper growth rates. Sororities greatly reduce female life-span rates to about a year on average in the sorority when they normally live 2 on average if not more.

I recommend getting females from a breeder or buying the normal 3-4 month old females that are adults.

Vegan, your baby looks very clamped and not healthy. Looks like you have a lot of open space there and he isn't comfortable. Are you also getting more plants? Betta's don't have to be taught how to sit at the surface; it's what they naturally do


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## Veganswithbettas

If I were to do a sorority I wouldn't get them as babies but just to clarify, the babies at my store are pretty old and are easily able to be sexed. The one I got cannot because I got the smallest one. I've heard of people have sorority bettas live the average amount or longer. Also I don't think the babies will it's a necessarily have shorter lives, that's like saying a human baby or puppy won't live as long because they had a rough start. I don't think the start is going to make or break an animal as far as life span goes. If it can make it through a tough first start, then I think it can live a long time. Also I've only had mine for 3 full days, ofcourse he doesn't look super healthy. He was living in a small dirty cup with no filter. Yes my tank is small but I have another one at my old house that's 3.5 gallons with a filter. At least my little tank currently has a heater and I've done water changes everyday until I get the other tank.


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## Veganswithbettas

lilnaugrim said:


> Pro-tip: don't use PetCo babies for a sorority. For one, they're hardly ever sexed properly and even I have trouble sexing occasionally. Once they hit sexual maturity it will likely become a bloodbath if there is a male in there and it's generally not male against female, it's all the females gang up on the male to hurt or kill him. You may get lucky but I wouldn't chance it. Also PetCo babies tend to have shorter life spans anyway due to how they are treated as babies and improper growth rates. Sororities greatly reduce female life-span rates to about a year on average in the sorority when they normally live 2 on average if not more.
> 
> I recommend getting females from a breeder or buying the normal 3-4 month old females that are adults.
> 
> Vegan, your baby looks very clamped and not healthy. Looks like you have a lot of open space there and he isn't comfortable. Are you also getting more plants? Betta's don't have to be taught how to sit at the surface; it's what they naturally do




Also do you have any tips for feeding? I have 4 different foods and my betta doesn't seem to be eating any (maybe why he looks so unhealthy? Flat belly) 
2 are pellets, one is freeze dried blood worms, and the last is frozen brine shrimp. Should I pick up frozen blood worms and try those? I bought microworm cultures that should be here Tuesday. They were about $22 with shipping so expensive for a fish food. If he's not eating the 4 I have do you think the micros will be successful? I've read bettas will eat about anything but some are very picky. I'm not sure if mine is picky or just getting used to environment. If the latter is the case, will switching tanks tomorrow make matters worse? I've read that sometimes Betta fry in large tanks can become stressed. Has anyone had a problem with that? It's also not a problem with the water temp. The temp isn't where I want it to be but its not freezing cold and I have him in a warmer room to help with air temp as well which I don't think is a problem because he hangs out around the surface. Sorry for all the questions. I care greatly about animals even done to some of the littlest like this little guy. My dad is a fish guy but he isn't knowledgable about bettas, he's more of a guppy, goldfish, discus, and cichlids kind of guy. I want to guy not to only live but thrive. Most betta fish live (in small tanks, no filter, no heater) but I want mine to thrive and be happy. Also I am picking up more plants today for his new tank tomorrow. I had one but took it out. I put it back since you said something and he moved away from the surface and is swimming around again so thank you. I'm getting fake plants right now, going to try and do silk to prevent fin tearing but some will be plastic. I also have a marimo ball in there right now. Sorry for the long rants, just want to make sure I do things correctly


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## universe

Well, my female from Petco, Nema, ended up passing. I checked all water parameters and it seems as though the spinal deformity grew more severe and overtook her. I went back today and exchanged the poor little thing for a baby boy. He's already pretty mature so I'm not worried about his transition being too rough. Decided to go with the name Vista.














He's a really nice pastel purple/pink so as soon as I saw him I knew I wanted to take him home. I don't want to assume tail type so if anyone who's better at typing juveniles wants to give me an opinion I would appreciate it.


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## Olivia27

Vegan, Lil wasn't talking about what she _thinks. _She has seen and raised enough Petco babies to know their typical lifespan. And I don't believe she's trying to attack you by saying your fish doesn't look healthy. It's simply an observation - one that you probably should know about. As a heads up: if he's still clamped after three days, something is wrong.

As for feeding goes, live food can't hurt. I do prefer to start young ones at frozen or live, and then transition to dry, but mine were already on dry food before she got to me at 10 weeks of age. I'm not a fan of freeze-dried anything. They have almost no nutritional value, and may cause SBD if fed too often or not pre-soaked. Mine was on Omega One Marine Mini Pellets and Ken's Growth Food when she was still with the breeder. Here, she stepped up to Omega One Mini Colors and Betta Buffet. As for frozen food she can handle anything from daphnia, brine shrimp, to blood worms. But then again she's much older than most Petco babies when she got to me.


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## Engel

@universe

I love your new boy! I'm a sucker for light colored bettas, and I would have snatched him up if I had seen him at my LPS!


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## OUOhYeah2016

I just bought a baby betta that is labeled a girl. I plan to raise her (I'm already prepared to have her turn out to be a him), and possibly integrate her into my sorority eventually if everything works out. I'm a little concerned that she might have a slight deformity in her spine very near her tail, but also hopeful that some clean, heated water will help that. 

I bought her in Illinois so she won't be in her permanent home until tomorrow when I get back to my college apartment. I'll take some decent pictures of her then.


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## universe

Keep your receipt. I just lost my petco female that I also bought in Illinois to a spinal deformity.


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## OUOhYeah2016

I'll keep that in mind. I won't be here to return her to the store though so if I lose her then I probably won't be able to return her


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## universe

You might be able to return her to a store closer to you id something happens. I've done that at the chain Pet supplies plus and they never give me any flack.


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## MrsBalla

Hi all!

So yesterday I picked up a Betta baby boy from my local Petco. After reading about how mistreated these poor little things are, I'm glad that my husband and I can give him (now named Jonah) a good home, even if he life is shorter. Which is what I'm gathering will happen. It breaks my heart and I'm so in love with him, so I'm determined to help him fight the odds! I'm just so new at this. I've got him in a decent sized tank. I'd like to get him into a 5 gallon, but that's going to take a week or two before we can afford it. I've been feeding him a mix of pellets and bloodworms, and tomorrow I'm going to change his water for the first time. I really want to give Jonah the best chance at life so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!


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## MysticSky22301

I got 2 one clearly female royal blue with red wash beautiful little thing the other I'm thinking it's male with the natural tan body irid scales and beautiful red and green fins I am pretty much in love with both of them and have successfully kept them alive for almost a month!


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## Boshia

I just picked up this little guy today, any guess on tail type/color? Definitely thinking he is male.


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## Sadist

I think he's a turquoise-based blue veil tail boy. My eyes aren't too great, but it looks like just two rays for the caudal. The fins do look very male to me, but I've been tricked before. I thought my baby was a male forever, then one day BOOM! Ovaries. She still has very long fins.


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## fernielou

my petco doesn't sell baby bettas and I should be happy about that, but this thread always makes me wanna run grab one. I just like the mystery thing. Of course I always end up with blue LOL


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## themamaj

What a cutie! Congrats!


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## BettaStarter24

I have two petco babies. This is Skye my little crowntail (still not 100% sure exactly what his color would be called. I've been calling him a multi grizzle)


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## BettaStarter24

And this is Draco. He is a multicolor veiltail


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## MysticSky22301

I had 2 Petco babies supposed to be female but only my pretty little blue and red Gem was a girl the little red monster turned out to be a bicolor vt male who is absolutely beautiful red fins and red scales with green <3 he calmed down after going into my guppy fry grow out tank because chasing so many of them just didn't work lol hey! I just thought of his name! Oscar!


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## hannah51715

I said I wouldn't get any more, but who could say no to this face?









Not me. So I brought the little one home. 










That was a few weeks ago.

This is what she looks like now.


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## Sadist

What a cutie!


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## Boshia

Gosh I love this thread, baby betta faces make me so happy. 

I've had my baby betta home for four days now, and the transformation never ceases to amaze me. This is today:

































I saw what might have been a small eggspot on Baby, but I'm unsure if I can see ovaries or not. Beforehand I was guessing male because of the longer fins and the cup also said it was a baby boy, which I know isn't reliable but still. haha.


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## jxssa

Just picked up my second baby betta today from Petco. Not sure what kind he is, but man he's cute. I picked the one with the littlest amount of color. We've named him Dax.


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## fernielou

Has anyone found koi baby bettas (for the $2.99 price?) elephant ear? Just wondering what percent are veil, crowns, etc and if any oddities show up 


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## MysticSky22301

Both of mine were vt although they are pretty ^^


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## lilnaugrim

Nearly 95% are veil. A few more are DT, I've very rarely seen CT from anyone here or at my stores, few are PK but typically not HMPK. Some EE's out there, I've had one myself though she was a partial EE.

Colorations are typically Turquoise with red wash, or Black with red fins (Black Devil), or Cellophane. Rarely a real yellow, marble (though some pop up occasionally depending on where you are), Black Orchids or regular Blacks, Reds, white, or copper. Koi are extremely rare in babies, I doubt you'd find one. If you did, it's a needle in the haystack kind of thing


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## fernielou

How can you tell pk vs veil if both are single Ray and are young 


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## fernielou

Risking double post - how do you distinguish pk and veil with both being 1-2 rays


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## lilnaugrim

Can't technically.
VT typically have a slanted anal fin and a pointed dorsal. PK's with have an even anal fin with a point at the end and usually a rounded dorsal. This is not always applicable but it helps sometimes. PK's also tend to have shorter anal fins versus a VT which will already be longer at the time they are sold. But it's always a gamble. Sometimes female VT's look like PK for a time until everything starts to grow out.


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## CollegeBettas

My first baby girl is a cambodian crowntail, which is probably the third most common baby here. Most common is blue and dark with red fins. Those are the only three I had really seen. The little girl I picked up today is blue and I think she may be a veiltail, but considering she is about the size of a neon tetra, it's hard to tell.
Also, I am seeing less and less babies being put under the baby betta title. I was actually surprised to see so many today. I think there were six, though I did see a tiny chunky CT and a couple other babies labeled as other things. There was also a "baby betta" that I am pretty sure was just a small female.
So to go along with that here is my new baby Destiny:


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## fernielou

yeah unfortunately the baby betta trend just led petco to believe they could sell younger and younger fish. I went to the one that carries babies looking for RCS and they had only 3 babies out of maybe 40 betta, but one of them was HUGE and there were tons of what I would consider babies mixed with females. 

I can't help it, though...I will always be on the lookout for some amazing baby deal.


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## Amberjp

Hey guys! I just got a new betta and I'm pretty sure this guy is a baby betta as he's about the half-to the size of my pinkie(he's still acclimating in his bag) any thoughts if he is? also, any name suggestions?


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## lilnaugrim

Lucky you! HMPKEE Salamander male ;-)


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## Amberjp

Ah really? Nice to know he isn't just a "Dumbo" like his label says, he's super feisty so far(was attacking the bag he came in) & energetic  Thankfully this site has people who can identify betta fin types


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## lilnaugrim

Dumbo is the same thing as EE = Elephant Ear


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## Amberjp

I should really read some more betta sites about finnage and stuff, thanks for telling me that EE'S and Dumbos are the same thing though lol >.< His pectorals are super cute, I can't get over them


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## lilnaugrim

Np! It's just kind of one of those weird things lol. Dumbo for the Elephant and because "Elephant Ears" people just say Dumbo sometimes instead. Got to love marketing and stuff >.<


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## Amberjp

I love when stores mislabel either the gender or fin type, my petsmart has the adults(they don't sell babies) in cups with their genders and fin types on the cup but at petland(where I bought him) they don't say, they just have the betta types with the prices below the shelf where they keep them & you gotta kind of guess to know which one is which or know your stuff

Also, I was wondering if you are able to tell if he is a baby or not? I'm reading the thread back from 2013 and people say to do daily water changes for baby bettas so if he is I'll have to know for tomorrow


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## lilnaugrim

He's very young. Not quite a baby I think but young still. I would still do 25% daily water change for a few weeks and then cut back to every other day when he's a bit older then. Males mature when they start making actual bubblenests. Small and disorganized ones don't count lol. But you should still continue daily changes until he's an adult size of 1.5 inch in body length.


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## ThatFishThough

Do-oh, then my newest is still a "baby"


ETA: (As he's making an actual bubblenest. Ugh, boys. >.<)


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## Amberjp

Thanks for the reply lilnaugrim, I'll start doing 25% water changes then, thank you for the help!


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## astrummortis

Can someone tell our baby that he's not actually hungry? Everytime we walk by his tank he's at the feeding hole LOL


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## Sadist

My adult ones are the same way.


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## jrtague

*Baby questions*

Hello! I have two separate Petco baby questions.

I bought two baby girls about 2-3 months ago. A few days ago I had to do some tank switches with some of my other bettas, and I moved the baby with the more chill personality into my 10 gal community tank that currently has 3 cories and some rapidly reproducing assassin snails in it.

She seems to like exploring the bigger tank, but she has lost a little color and her stripes are more visible than they were in her smaller tank (though they hadn't gone away completely yet like her sister's have). How long would you give her in the 10 gallon before you considered moving her back? 

I'm attaching some pictures of her stripes. Please note, she has a notch in her dorsal fin that was there when I got her. I thought it would grow out as she got bigger, but it's just grown along with her and I think it's kind of cute. Also what do you think about tail type? I thought she was VT but found one extra ray branching off from a pair.

2nd question: I was at Petco yesterday looking at plants and...I ended up buying ANOTHER baby. I don't know what happened. She was just so impossibly tiny and before I knew it, I was leaving with her. For now I have her in a 1.2 gal tank that I only really use for emergencies. And I have an extra mini HOB filter that will work in there. But she needs a heater asap. Do you know of any heaters that are safe to use in a tank that small? I know most of the lower wattage heaters are the "always on" kind, so I'm afraid to try one without a recommendation.

Alternately, I have an extra 50 watt adjustable heater. And I think I could just about squeeze another 2.5 gallon tank onto the counter with the other 2. Do you think a 50 watt heater would be too much for a tank that size? I can try trial and error, but just wanted to see first if anyone had experience with those size tanks and heaters.

Thanks so much! I love seeing all these baby betta pics


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## lilnaugrim

@jrtague are you saying that you're keeping the two older ones together? Or you just have one in the 10 with the 3 cories and the other elsewhere? That girl is a Turquoise and is likely from an HM spawn with her rounded dorsal and even anal fin. VT would have pointed dorsal and pointed anal fin on both girl and boy. Have you read through this as well? http://www.bettafish.com/30-betta-fish-care/457330-petco-baby-betta-care.html

Are you able to purchase online? If so, go with this heater, works perfect in 1-8 gals with the 25 watts: Aquarium Heaters: Hydor Theo Heater 44

If you can't purchase online, go with a 10w heater. Preset is perfectly fine, just have a glass thermometer along with it just to make sure it's working and it's working properly. 7.5w heaters are junk. I don't know of any or many 15w heaters (could be out there, I'm sure, just not around me is all) but those would work okay. Only 25w heater I would suggest using is an adjustable one, not a preset one. As with all heaters, make sure you get a glass thermometer not a stick-on one (inaccurate) (Wal-Mart has glass ones for a dollar and a half roughly, nice and cheap!) to always monitor/adjust temperature as you need it. Adjustable heaters will never heat at the temperature you set it so make sure to start off low and adjust upwards from there so you don't fry the fish. All heaters should be acclimated to the temp of the tank as well, let it sit in the tank for a couple hours before turning it on.


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## jrtague

Thanks for the info!!

Sorry, my original post was confusing. Before I moved them around, each of the older babies were in separate but identical 2.5 gallon tanks with Azoo mini HOB filters and 25 watt Hydor adjustable heaters. I think they're the same heaters you linked to! I wasn't sure if that would be too much for a 1.2 gal, so I'm glad to hear it would be okay. 

I have an extra heater that's the same thing in a 50 watt. Do you think that would overheat a 2.5 gallon? I could move one of my 25 watt heaters over into the 1.2 gal tank and then use the spare 25 watt in one of my 2.5 gal tanks. If that's no good, I'll order another 25 watt heater (luckily, I can buy online).

Do you think the stress stripes on my turquoise baby are a bad sign? Or should I give her more time to adjust to the 10 gal.


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## lilnaugrim

As I mentioned in the Care Thread, stress stripes are not always due to stress. It's mostly about camouflage and many continue to keep them up even until they are matured and over an inch in size. Typically seeing stress stripes in babies isn't due to stress. When you see the lines and the fish is very pale, that would be stressed out. But what you showed in the picture looks to be a normal baby girl, she's attempting to blend in so that predators don't eat her--of course, they don't know that there aren't predators around and so they just do what their instincts tell them to do and that is: hide.

Does your 10 have many tall plants? If not, I definitely recommend getting them, live or silk doesn't matter. Stay away from plastic as they cut fins. But Betta's are top dwellers and they don't like big open spaces so in order to make her feel safe, by having many tall plants that arc over the surface, she will feel much safer and will likely begin to color as she ages more.

I wouldn't put a 50watt in anything smaller than a 8 gal tank. Unless it's adjustable but even then, a 2.5 will be pretty small for it, I wouldn't risk it.


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## themamaj

The 25 watt adjustable is ideal for size you mentioned. I use the hydor adjustable in almost all my tanks. You can also order them off Amazon.


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## jrtague

I have a decent sized java fern mat in the 10 gallon. It used to be taller but the original leaves all died off and the new leaves aren't quite as tall yet. But they're growing in nicely. And I have a few big floating anubias plants and one rosette sword to help break up the space. Maybe I will get some silk plants to fill it out a bit more.

I'm glad to hear her stripes look normal. The other baby I got at the same time is a little bigger and her stripes are gone. But she's a different color (mostly red with a hint of purple), so I was having a hard time deciding which kind of stripes my turquoise had.

I will play it safe and buy another 25 watt hydor for the new baby girl. Should get here quick with Amazon prime shipping.

Thanks to you both!


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## NightStars

I got her as a young female from Petco and I know they can mess up with labeling fish. I'm thinking she might be a male.. What do you think? 
The pic of her in the cup is when I first got her the second is more recent. 





















Also, sorry if this is in the wrong spot.


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## Sadist

I see ovaries. That conish shape behind her belly is ovaries.


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## NightStars

Oh okay, thanks! @Sadist


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## Sadist

You're welcome!


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## NyanRose

I have seen the tiny 'baby bettas' at the petco near my house. They are so tiny, I feel a bit sad. The petsmart I work does have some small females every so often, but it seems rare and they arne't marked as babies. Chiyo was one of these and she has just always been small. She is going on 5-6 months with me, and is still smaller than any betta I have had before but is a feisty little thing!


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## Hyunjicho

2weeks ago, I got one of em and he's adorable. He has 2 tails, but they aren't split evenly. His colors are a bit dull, but when the light hits him right he's a purplish blue. The other female betta is a pineapple crowntail betta I've had for 2-3 years, and I got her as a 'baby betta' at Petco. The new baby betta was bold at first, but when I did the water change, I forgot to stand a book between his tank and the female crowntails. When I came back, he was jumping all over the place. He's really skittish now. Is there any way to calm him down?


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## Hyunjicho

And (sorry for double posting) what is it's tail type and gender? What color would you guess it'll be? He's a weird lil dude. He's been pecking at little air bubbles on the sides of the tank for fun lol


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## themamaj

Sadist said:


> I see ovaries. That conish shape behind her belly is ovaries.


I agree...girl


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## Sadist

Hyunjicho said:


> And (sorry for double posting) what is it's tail type and gender? What color would you guess it'll be? He's a weird lil dude. He's been pecking at little air bubbles on the sides of the tank for fun lol


Hard to see the little guy's dorsal to say if he's a double tail. Hard to say his coloring right now, too. Some IAL and some plant cover might help calm him down a bit. Here's the baby care sheet that's been put together http://www.bettafish.com/30-betta-fish-care/457330-petco-baby-betta-care.html


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## lilnaugrim

Hyunjicho said:


> And (sorry for double posting) what is it's tail type and gender? What color would you guess it'll be? He's a weird lil dude. He's been pecking at little air bubbles on the sides of the tank for fun lol


Little boy and he has DT geno technically. He is DT but not a full one. His dorsal isn't as long but the lobes wouldn't be split like that otherwise. It's common to see uneven lobes like that though, they typically come from parents who have DT geno but aren't actually DT and just pass the genes along so some of the kids get partial DT splits and stuff like that. But he does have the peduncle (end of body) split which then causes the double tails to happen, so he is a DT.


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## Hyunjicho

Does he look alright? Am I feeding him too much? Should I take out a couple plants? I just want to make sure that he's as comfortable as possible. And what color would he be? Sorry about all the pictures.


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## CollegeBettas

He looks fine to me. How much are you feeding? Also, I didn't see a heater in any of the pictures. How are you heading his tank? The more plants the better though, they will help with cycling.


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## Hyunjicho

I live in Georgia and my house is heated at a steady 78 degrees and the little light about overheats a bit so it's 80 degress when the light is on and 78 at night. I'm trying to feed 2 omega one pellets 2 times a day and some blood worms in between


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## CollegeBettas

Perfect. Are they frozen or freeze dried? Freeze dried can cause bloat if fed too often.


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## Hyunjicho

Freeze dried. My parents won't let me get live or frozen foods, but I think I might get him some Sea Monkeys (basically BS)


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## fernielou

Yes I got that tank at goodwill and the light really does keep yhe water toasty 


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## Hyunjicho

Guess what I found today? A BUBBLE NEST WOOHOOOOOOOOO!He's changed so much in the month that I've had him


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## fernielou

Wow good job!


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## Sadist

Aww, he's growing up and making bubble nests!


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## Hopefish

Wow, it's amazing how much he's grown and changed!


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## Hyunjicho

Yep, I have an album where I post pics of him everyday (or atleast I tried to) and the change is crazy! And it's only been a month


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## Hyunjicho

@lilnaugrim
Just wondering, but how can you tell the baby's tail type?


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## lilnaugrim

Sometimes you can't until they're full grown. Your guy looks like he came from an HM spawn but will only be a Delta or Super Delta depending on how much flare practice he gets. If you flare him a couple minutes a day (usually up to 15 minutes is good exercise) then his spread can increase as he stretches out his muscles and finnage.

But telling tail type isn't always easy. VT's always only ever have 2 ray's as do traditional PK's (though sometimes 4). Anything long finned that is over 2 ray round, becomes a Delta, then Super Delta and HM depending on spread. CT's will be recognizable fairly quickly with all fins have web reduction. There is a point in the baby Betta's that their rays grow quicker than their membrane in the tail and so many believe they have a CT but really it's just a long fin that's membrane hasn't caught up to the rays just yet. CT will always have reduction on all fins, not just the caudal. So, it's really about spread in the end and the length of the fins for PK's versus HM/DeT etc. And of course, DT will be seen right away as well with the split caudal and long dorsal fin.


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## Lookoutbello

Got this little guy last week, fully expecting it to be a female. But over the last couple days, it's been showing rather masculine features. Ventrals have grown dramatically, along with the rest of the fins and has a lack of an egg spot. It also is possibly the most aggressive fish I've owned. It tries to murder its own shadow! Anyways, now I'm thinking it's possibly a DTPK male. I'd like to get other opinions though. 

http://i.imgur.com/e59Qv4q.jpg


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## fernielou

Very cute - would love to see a pic when you got him. 


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## Lookoutbello

fernielou said:


> Very cute - would love to see a pic when you got him.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Oh whoops I meant to include that! 
Here he is about 10 days ago 

http://i.imgur.com/RcR3yX5.jpg

His cup said boy, but I never trust them. It's funny, I saw him in the store and liked him but decided I didn't have the money for a whole new set up for him. So I left, but I regretted it about 5 minutes down the street and 50 bucks later I walked out with him, a heater and a brand new 3 gallon. I didn't eat for a week but he was well worth it.


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## Sadist

He looks male to me for now, but it's hard to tell. My petco baby looked male until one day BAM ovaries. She was also extremely aggressive and killed all the pest snails in the tank and flared at me all the time.


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## ElizabethBickford

I just got a baby betta from there for free because it was in such rough shape. I'm so nervous it is not going to make it and it is SO tiny. Any suggestions will help!


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## CollegeBettas

Warm water and frequent water changes. At least change water once a week, it not twice, so you baby can grow. Frozen brine shrimp it good (saw you got it in your other thread) as well as crushing up flakes (I used crushed Omega One for my most recent baby). Babies do need small pellets for a while before they can eat the bigger ones (i would say about 6 months on the micro pellets).
Are there any obvious signs of illness? I personally dose Seachem's ParaGaurd for at least a week after getting a new fish to ensure they don't have any parasites since signs don't always show right away.


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## ElizabethBickford

Very very small! Always clamped up. I was nervous to give him/her anything because of the size.


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## ElizabethBickford

CollegeBettas said:


> Warm water and frequent water changes. At least change water once a week, it not twice, so you baby can grow. Frozen brine shrimp it good (saw you got it in your other thread) as well as crushing up flakes (I used crushed Omega One for my most recent baby). Babies do need small pellets for a while before they can eat the bigger ones (i would say about 6 months on the micro pellets).
> Are there any obvious signs of illness? I personally dose Seachem's ParaGaurd for at least a week after getting a new fish to ensure they don't have any parasites since signs don't always show right away.


I put to much shrimp last night, should I do a full water change or wait until tomorrow so it's less stress?


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## CollegeBettas

Your baby looks fine to me as far as health goes. Never do a full water change, just do 25% every few days. Try not to ever do more than 50% unless absolutely necessary.


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## BettaStarter24

You can also crush up NLS or Omega One pellets as well. Bloodworms, etc. Baby looks great!


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## ElizabethBickford

Thank you! So much work as she used to just lay on the bottom in a c shape. Since she's doing so much better I may use bettafix tonight just in case. Pictures to follow!


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## ElizabethBickford

Finally showing some color!


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## ElizabethBickford

CollegeBettas said:


> Your baby looks fine to me as far as health goes. Never do a full water change, just do 25% every few days. Try not to ever do more than 50% unless absolutely necessary.





BettaStarter24 said:


> You can also crush up NLS or Omega One pellets as well. Bloodworms, etc. Baby looks great!





ElizabethBickford said:


> Finally showing some color!


Thank you!


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## NeroBubbles

sooo this is my adorable mutt Neroin. gee I wish video was a thing here He is so energetic. I have a 5 gallon and I have had him for about 3 weeks and he is already trained to answer to his name, follow my finger on the glass and inside the tank. very fast learner! His favorite things are water changes and changes of decorations exept if I touch the leaves in the front of the tank that are popping out of the sand if I dare touch those he starts nipping hahaaahahah! He also loves my turkey baster because of the bubbles. He is obsessed with leaves! He looks at them and always swims through them with glee. Here enjoy photos of him lol idk what would help you tell me what kind he is so I just kinda eh, here you go! I'm sorry they are not the greatest I don't have my camera with me. when I first got him home he was immediately a very enthusiastic fish. (I will say though I took alot of care into acclimating him and taking it easy the first few days. He has only one eye and I believe he is a feather, half-moon, split tail dumbo mutt.... with one eye hahaha! Let me Know what you think! is he even a HE???


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## NeroBubbles

also I was sold this guy for 2 dollars because he was "missing a body part"


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## Sadist

I don't know why, but I want to say girl because of the fins. I'm probably wrong. When he or she gets to a certain age. ovaries will or will not appear and you'll know for sure. My baby betta had very masculine fins for the longest time, then one morning there were ovaries!


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## ThatFishThough

Today is the 1-year Gotcha Date of my two baby girls, Harmony & Melody. SIP, my beautiful babies. I will never forget you. <3

Passed on 10-24-16 and 11-16-16.


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## themamaj

ElizabethBickford said:


> Finally showing some color!


Your baby looks to be doing well. Keep up the good work! I saw a baby yesterday at store I was so taken with. May have to go back. Looking at these posts give me baby fever again. haha One of my babies I have raised is the fish I have had the longest. If you take good care of them they can live a very long life. Fun to watch them change as they mature.


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## NeroBubbles

Gender Crises... 

Is it a boy a girl? and what fin type is it I think its HM split tale... Kinda EE?
it was labeled a boy. I have some back lit photos now.


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## Sadist

I see ee geno and double tail geno for sure! I thought the split tail was an injury at first because the lobes are uneven, but that dorsal looks like a double tail dorsal to me. It's hard to see the ovary area with those big pelvic fins in the way, but I don't see any where the area is uncovered. That doesn't mean much with babies. Males can have fake egg spots, and my female had very long fins. Your guy doesn't have the super pointy anal fin that I'd expect on a male, but it could just be the mixed genetics in play.


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## NeroBubbles

Thank's how many months could it take for ovaries to develop?


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## ElizabethBickford

It's so addicting! Plus at the store they look so sad and on the verge of death.


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## ThatFishThough

Just remember... The more you buy, the more room for more babies there is on the shelves. I admit, I did get three babies. I supported it. That was when I first started fishkeeping, this last January. I was a N00B, LOL.


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## ElizabethBickford

ThatFishThough said:


> Just remember... The more you buy, the more room for more babies there is on the shelves. I admit, I did get three babies. I supported it. That was when I first started fishkeeping, this last January. I was a N00B, LOL.


My petco was trying to say they were "ending the baby betta" nursery section but when I looked at the regular bettas some were just as small as the so called babies! I got her/him for free because of the rough shape she was in and the only one left. I am curious to see when I go back if they have more.


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## themamaj

I sure wish our stores carried something other than veil tail babies. I love veil tails but would be thrilled to see an EE baby. I saw one double tail about a year ago. Kicked myself ever since for not buying it. About 90% of babies I see around here are female.


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## BettaStarter24

I saw a EE baby at my petco a few months ago. My friend got a DeT from a Petco baby. I thought I got a CT baby but at this point in time idk what in the world he is. (Anal and Dorsal say CT, Caudal says ???) And then my butterfly VT baby in my avatar. 

I haven't seen much besides VT since.


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## ThatFishThough

I will probably attempt another bab soon. I don't like supporting the industry, but I saw a cute peach-orange with cello fins and red spots baby "boy" who looked to be a pretty dang nice DT. My other three were nice, but they didn't live long. I'll try to keep this one alive if he's still there.


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## Sadist

NeroBubbles said:


> Thank's how many months could it take for ovaries to develop?


I'm not sure. I think I'd had mine for a month or so when her ovaries sprouted over night.


----------



## themamaj

It can be really challenging sexing them so young. I try to look for additional signs of thicker ventricles and longer caudal for males. The best way to look for ovaries is to shine a flashlight from behind fish if possible. That helps illuminate the internal organs. If not shine from the front and look for the cone. Very young females may have an ovary bud but really hard to tell if very young. Typically the ones I have raised ovaries will present within a month of coming home. Most of the time is it bam they are there and you are like where did that come from?! The give away with the one male I raised was that the caudal keep getting longer and longer and his colors really came out. Regardless of what you end up with they are both very fun and rewarding to raise from a young age.


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## Hyunjicho

I went to the Petco near my school after my classes and they had baby bettas so I got another one. I've never had one die on me within a year and this is my 4th one so fingers crossed! I still have my 2nd baby from 3 years ago with me and I got my 3rd Peeve in November last year. I'm think8ng about naming him Anchovy the Second. I'm on my phone so here's a link to his pic http://tinypic.com/r/33ygjux/9


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## NeroBubbles

themamaj said:


> I sure wish our stores carried something other than veil tail babies. I love veil tails but would be thrilled to see an EE baby. I saw one double tail about a year ago. Kicked myself ever since for not buying it. About 90% of babies I see around here are female.


Go back one or two pages and you will see and EE baby he's mine!


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## NeroBubbles

themamaj said:


> It can be really challenging sexing them so young. I try to look for additional signs of thicker ventricles and longer caudal for males. The best way to look for ovaries is to shine a flashlight from behind fish if possible. That helps illuminate the internal organs. If not shine from the front and look for the cone. Very young females may have an ovary bud but really hard to tell if very young. Typically the ones I have raised ovaries will present within a month of coming home. Most of the time is it bam they are there and you are like where did that come from?! The give away with the one male I raised was that the caudal keep getting longer and longer and his colors really came out. Regardless of what you end up with they are both very fun and rewarding to raise from a young age.


I have good back lit photos a few padges back


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## Hyunjicho

I've gotten a crowntail, a double tail, and one who's tail is seriously messed up lol. I can't tell what tail this guy has got- could someone tell me? I know he's not a veiltail


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## ThatFishThough

Hard to tell. Could be a "Half-Sun", or a fish from a CT/HM or CT/VT spawn.


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## Hyunjicho

Here's another picture- maybe it's more clear http://www.bettafish.com/members/hy...t-he-had-no-stress-stripes-fully-colored.html


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## CollegeBettas

Could be a crowntail. My girl's rays didn't lengthen for a few months. I do think she is a CT mix, though since CTs are usually considered to have half the fin length as extended rays and she only has about 1/3rd extension.


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## Sadist

Not sure. My crowntail baby was very obvious, and I've read sometimes the other tail types will have rays sticking out as babies when the rays are growing quicker than the webbing can keep up.


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## Hyunjicho

]First bubble nest from Anchovy from 2 days ago! I'm starting to think that hes a veiltail but then I feel like his fins are a bit too spikey, even though the webbing is supposed to grow slower. I know it's sort of evil, but I really do love taking care of these baby bettas. I feel like I've had great luck with them, and Pineapple has lived with me far longer than the other bettas that I've got as adults.


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## Tourmaline

My baby, Guppy. The top picture is from March 5th, the day I got him. The second picture is from today.


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## Sadist

Aww, he's growing up so fast!


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## Snowlily

I wasn't gonna get another one but couldn't alas here we go
Was labeled as a baby boy but I think I see ovaries. (Not that that means anything, I thought I saw ovaries where there were none before.)


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## PTG

*Little Minos*

I just rescued this one....I think he is way too young. Any advice on the best care would be so helpful. I feel I'm in over my head! They told me to crush up Betta Flakes, and I have but am I doing the right thing? He seems lethargic.


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## cakes488

PTG said:


> I just rescued this one....I think he is way too young. Any advice on the best care would be so helpful. I feel I'm in over my head! They told me to crush up Betta Flakes, and I have but am I doing the right thing? He seems lethargic.


There is a thread on this forum where Lilnaugrim (spelling is probably wrong) has outlined comprehensive and excellent baby betta care. Please do an advanced search of the forum with the key words: baby care and I think it will pop up for you. If you can't find it I will try to do it later for you.


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## PTG

Thanks! I'll take a look around. Poor thing looks like a tadpole.


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## cakes488

Here I found it. It should be a sticky...seems like the longer you keep betta the more likely you'll end up with one of these babies. 

http://www.bettafish.com/30-betta-fish-care/457330-petco-baby-betta-care.html


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## BettaMama96

So I've been working at a PetValu for a couple months now. I come in for work one morning and see a handful of itty bitty bettas that have arrived. Apparently a woman has been calling around all of the pet stores to see if they have baby females(sigh), so my manager had ordered some babies to keep up with PetCo and such. I was convinced these little guys wouldn't make it through the week, we already have a difficult time keeping full grown adults alive in these 67 degree cesspools of ammonia. Anyway, I fell in love with one in particular that looks white with light blue fins and speckles, but I didn't buy it because 1. I already have a betta 2. I didn't think I could keep a baby alive 3. I don't know how I feel about supporting this whole shipping-baby-fish-to-pet-stores thing. However, several weeks have gone by and plenty of these guys have managed to hang in there. This morning though I came into work to find one of the other babies floating dead in his cup, I didn't want to watch the same happen to my little guy, soooo... I caved


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## BettaMama96

I tried awhile ago to feed him/her a pellet of food, and they couldn't even swallow the thing! I'm glad I came on here to see you can at least crush them up for size. I do have some frozen blood worms, would these be suitable as well? Any advice is appreciated!


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## OrionPiscesLove

BettaMama96 said:


> So I've been working at a PetValu for a couple months now. I come in for work one morning and see a handful of itty bitty bettas that have arrived. Apparently a woman has been calling around all of the pet stores to see if they have baby females(sigh), so my manager had ordered some babies to keep up with PetCo and such. I was convinced these little guys wouldn't make it through the week, we already have a difficult time keeping full grown adults alive in these 67 degree cesspools of ammonia. Anyway, I fell in love with one in particular that looks white with light blue fins and speckles, but I didn't buy it because 1. I already have a betta 2. I didn't think I could keep a baby alive 3. I don't know how I feel about supporting this whole shipping-baby-fish-to-pet-stores thing. However, several weeks have gone by and plenty of these guys have managed to hang in there. This morning though I came into work to find one of the other babies floating dead in his cup, I didn't want to watch the same happen to my little guy, soooo... I caved


Pics?


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## ReticentTeacup

I have not had good luck with baby bettas so far. My first baby lasted about 4 months. Didn't grow much and was very stunted/runty, and one night the power went out and his water got down to like 71 F. He got a horrible internal bacterial infection that screwed with his swim bladder and made him swim in this corkscrew pattern. He died despite treatment.

My second baby I got about 2 months ago. She was growing at a good rate, eating well, very spunky. Then she went downhill and died within a few days. All I can guess is some sort of organ failure.

I won't swear off babies, but I'll avoid them in the future unless one really steals my heart.


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## BettaMama96

OrionPiscesLove said:


> Pics?


Here he is on the car ride home, and then in his *temporary* set up: a .5 gallon with a heater, java fern, moss ball, terra cotta pot, leaf hammock, and no filter. Not sure if you can see, but his fins are pretty jagged, I suspect fin rot. Treating him with aquarium salt, and gonna try to get him an adjustable filter for a 2.5 gal I have on hand.


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## kattiq

Meet Lewis.. not sure what type of betta he is yet though.. and I'm 95% sure he's a male?? I'm just feeding him crushed up pellets.











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## OrionPiscesLove

my petco has .4 inch long lil babies probably about barely over a month, planning on get one.  saw one that was real sick if its there tomorrow its gone lol


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## kattiq

I'd be careful getting one that small unless you're prepared for extra care. I got the biggest one they had baby wise and he still can barely eat the pellets I have. I had to get more food on order that was smaller..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ohheyyouitsme

Hello!
I’m new here and after losing my first Betta (a gorgeous veil tail I had for 18 months in a ten gallon with a mystery snail) I decided to get a baby boy today. Trying to figure out how to add pictures, but I’m looking for help on his coloration or tail type? He’s got a single black line down the length of his body and is eating well. My local petco is fantastic with their fish section and as closeto spotless as they can get. Never had a problem with any of their fish. (I also have a full stocked and partially planted 30g)


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## trahana

ohheyyouitsme said:


> I’m looking for help on his coloration or tail type? He’s got a single black line down the length of his body and is eating well.



The line is a stress line, it'll fade or completely disappear once he's comfortable in his tank. Looks like a turquoise, his tail will change as he grows. My veiltail had the same tail when I got him. 



Also, Grown up pics! This is Purplefish, he's almost a year old, I bought him as a petco baby(I can't find and baby pics, otherwise I would show the difference!). He's almost 2.5" long. 

Pro tip for baby bettas: lots of water changes! It helps them grow.


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## Guest

*New baby betta from Petco Thread*

Hi guys so I just got a new baby from petco marked boy and I was wondering if Toby is a boy or actually a girl.


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## Hyunjicho

my baby passed away recently (https://www.bettafish.com/members/276538-hyunjicho-albums-baby-betta-growth-log.html
This was his growth log, but the last pictures were from 2016 because I forgot my password to this website ahh


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## bettatanksalot

So I recently just lost one of my baby bettas (poor Ben SIP) and today I fell in love with the smallest little guy. I told myself I wasn't going to attempt another baby for a while but I have the time to put in the extra care and work. He is super tiny...I saw him yesterday and then today went back for him. I figured I'm one of his better chances of survival. Anyhow, I have some other babies who were much larger when I purchased...they are doing well....I have two adult bettas as well who are thriving. I only really had major issues with the last guy and I can't really say what went wrong. He was very scared, never really seemed excited over food, and I think stunted as he never really grew. Even this tiny little guy seems to have more spunk at half the size. I hope good things for him. With that said I was wondering about what you guys do for you baby bettas, especially the super tiny ones. Someone recommended 25% water changes daily. What temp do you guys keep your little ones at and what food and how often? There are so many differences in opinions so I'm trying to get a general idea of what everyone has tried and what has worked or not worked!


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## aglick792

Stella2013 said:


> Hi guys so I just got a new baby from petco marked boy and I was wondering if Toby is a boy or actually a girl.


Looks like Toby is still a bit too young to tell! Could go either way still! Be sure to post more pictures when Toby is bigger. Be on the look out for a white egg spot on the bottom though, as this indicates that Toby is actually a female.


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## BubblesDaBetta

How much would you feed babys?


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## Guest

Thank you!!!


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## BubblesDaBetta

I just got this little guy (or girl) at Petco. I named him/her kaido. It's Japanese for little dragon 😀


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## BubblesDaBetta

Hullo could someone also help me identity her/ his type? Have absolutely no idea. Also clueless with gender. Sry bout kinda blurry photos. The thing sticking out of her/his mouth on one of them is a bloodworm. Tried to cut it up but it still wasn't small enough. Kaido just spit it out and ate tiny bites.


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## Srowl

Hi all! New to the forum and fell prey to this scheme as well, but slightly informed before going in. I just wanted to rescue one little baby from a short demise in a tiny cup. I ended up rescuing 2 cause my daughter couldn't pick just one. One was labeled boy (red fins) and one was labeled girl (all white- though over night her tiny front finds have turned red. I'm hoping it is because she's happy.) 

Currently they are in small tanks, unfiltered, and no heat as our home stays in the mid 70's most of the time. I don't want to go hard core just yet if they're not gonna survive the week. They both have live plants (cleaned and reused from a previous non-betta tank, but betta friendly. And yes, boy will be getting more soon.) And they have a couple nerite snails also from the previous tank. 

We have survived day 2, they are eating well and playing in their new little homes. If they survive well, once they're a little bigger they will be getting an upgrade to a 10 gallon (will be divided) with a filter (have to find out if the one I have is adjustable, if not a new filter will be acquired) and possibly heat. The old tank stayed around 73

Boy doesn't like to hold still for pictures. Girl does for a minute, then darts off to play. 

Anyone wanna take guesses as to what type these 2 might be when they grow up? I know, it's way too early to tell, but just for fun. And any guesses if they're gendered correctly? They both had a stare down contest when I set them next to each other for a minute.


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## BubblesDaBetta

My "female" also looked like that. A bit older now and has what I think is an egg spot. I'm not sure though cause males can have a fake egg spot.


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## Lyonfish

I just too fell into the trap of the baby betta, after my last betta passed I started looking for a new one. Everywhere I went had a terrible selection. The last time I went to Petsmart they literally only had two bettas. So I finally went to Petco and the selection was crazy! They had so many bettas! I fell in love with this little guy. He was the oldest looking baby of the group. I'm having trouble getting him to eat pellet food, so if anyone has advice on that it would be helpful. The only thing I've gotten him to eat is frozen brine shrimp and I know that's not healthy for him to only eat that. Also, I'm pretty sure he's a boy because I haven't seen an egg spot, but if anyone thinks otherwise let me know. I'm not 100% sure.


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## BubblesDaBetta

Aww he looks so cute!! At first my baby didn't like the pellets either. I did a mix between frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp and tubifex worms. This had worked for me so far. I personally like the flakes better because they are softer so the betta can tear them and take pieces. You could also try softer pellets or the micro food that they have available. My baby girl's egg spot didn't show up for a couple of months. Give it time and I'm sure the signs will add up.


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## jfrayj

Hello!! 

I picked up this little “guy” at Petco yesterday. There was a STUNNING blue crown tail that I passed on bc curiosity got the best of this cat. I am not good at sexing yet, can anyone tell if this a guy or a girl and what type of tail we’re working with?? Has anyone else had one that started out looking similar?

Thanks!


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## Lyonfish

Now thinking my new baby, now named Milo after the main character Atlantis: The Lost Empire, might in-fact be a girl. S/he's got that large tummy that females tend to have. I haven't seen an eggspot yet, not that I'm very good at seeing those. I suppose what I'm wondering is whether or not males also get that belly when they're young? I know I'll probably just have to wait and be surprised as to whether Milo is a male or female, but the anticipation of seeing how s/he grows up is killing me.


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## Lyonfish

Also, Jfrayj, best guess I would say veiltail female for yours. I'm not all that great at sexing, and there is no way to see if there is an eggspot in those pictures, so my guess is based on the fin shape and body type which isn't totally reliable.


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