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What to feed betta fry?

23 11:20:25

Question
Hi
i would like to breed my two betta. When the fry hatch what should i feed them? How do i get the food?
My breeding tank:
Tank: 2.5
Temp: 78*F
Filter: Yes
Plant: one oxygenating plant
Thank you very much!!

Answer
Hi Quanl,
Breeding bettas is not easy.  I will give you some information, but cannot write everything down here.  Your female must be pregnant.  You know this when she is chubby, and has a little white dot near her anal fin.  You then prepare a 5 gallon tank with lots of hiding places for the female.  You put the male, and the female into the 5 gallon tank at the same time.  She will hide, and he will blow his nest.  She will try to go to him, but if his nest is not ready, he will chase her with intent to kill.  This is why you must have lots of hiding places for her.  When the male is ready, he will give her a sign, and she will go to him.  He will wrap himself around her to squeeze out the eggs.  The eggs will float into the nest, and the male will arrange them.  Some will fall to the bottom.  As the little female goes back down, she will pick up the fallen eggs making sure that the male does not see her do this.  When the male is ready again, he will give her another sign.  She goes back to him, and as he wraps himself around her, she will blow the eggs she picked up from the bottom without him knowing into the nest.  This may go on from anywhere from one to four hours or more.  You must never take your eyes off them during the spawn.  The male can kill the female in a fraction of a second.  Be ready to take her out at any given moment.  After the spawn, she will be very weak.  Put her back into her tank, and provide good food for her to regain her strength.  The male remains with the fry for about three days, after this time he must be removed as he will eat his spawn.   
To raise the fry, you must have a microworm culture ready.  You will find how to do this on the web, or maybe your pet store can help you out.  Baby bettas are so tiny, they cannot eat anything else.  You begin to feed them once they have left the nest, and are free swimming.  Breeding bettas is hard work.  The fry are slow growing, and once they can recognize each other, you will have to house them separately in 8-16oz jars, as they will begin to attack each other.  You will have to change the water in the jars everyday, and you will have to do water changes in the tank everyday also.  
I do not recommend breeding these little fish.  The main reason is that they are so mistreated on the market, having to live in those horrible little cups.  The second reason is that you will make no money with them, as the vendors buy them for about 25 cents each, which means you will be lucky to get 5 cents each.  The third reason is that the little female always comes out of a spawn weak, and sometimes sick with torn fins.  You will have to feed her good quality food for her to regain her strength after the spawn.
If you still want to breed them, then watch them carefully while they are spawning, and gather all the information you can on the web, or in books concerning the betta.
I hope this helps.
Lynda