betta fry

[big tank]

i have two dozen betta fry that are 5 weeks old. i have noticed that they stay at the bottom of the tank all the time and have a hard time staying a float or swimming to the top. Are my betta fry in trouble? is that normal behavior? I feed them micro-worm and some dry flakes. i have no plants and i do a water change once a week.

[ChilDawg]

If they cannot get to the surface, you need to lower the water level. Also, I have heard that betta fry water needs to be changed after each and every feeding.

What sort of dry flakes are they being fed? If the flakes are not specifically for fry, they are not getting the proper nutrition. (Think of it like puppy/dog chow and the differences between the two.)

I will probably write more about betta fry raising when I have more time this evening, but I thought that this would be a good start. HTH,

Matthew

[fishman156]

Check out bettastarz.com. It is an excellent site for Bettas, She has a guide for care of Betta fry. There is also a forum with people who have been breeding bettas for a long time.

Depending on the tank size you should be doing a water change everyday at a minimum. At 5 weeks you should be able to start feeding BBS and crushed Betta bits. Also what temp do you have the tank at and how deep is the water?

bettastarz (www.bettastarz.com)

[Heady]

Also do you have a filtration? I.e. sponge filter?

I changed some of my water every day or every other day at most, about 10% of the water each time. This is especially important for a first-timer, when you are unsure exactly how much to be feeding at each meal.

You might do well to place some plastic or real plants in there at various heights, so they have some place to rest while still being close to the surface.

I assume you are crushing the flakes so they're small enough to fit in their mouths.

I kept mine in a large rubbermaid tub with no filtration but frequent water changes.