Raising Fry
So now your pair is spawning and you are anxiously counting the
eggs 103, 104, 105 all good and well but now is the bad news.
Every breeder should know and realize that you will lose about
50% of your spawn within the first 3 weeks, but i will explain to
you how to minimize your losses as long as you follow a few
general rules. First i will begin by saying that its very
important that when you first place the pair into your tank they
are well fed to begin with and should have been for a couple
weeks prior (do not feed the pair while they are in the tank as
this will disturb the pair which are generally more interested
in showing off for each other and spawning rather than eating)
and also because the food will just lay on the bottom and after
a few days the bottom will be covered with bacteria, algae, and
the like and if the pair spawned, will prove extremely difficult
to clean and impossible after the fry hatch, as it will hamper
proper development and could be harmful if not fatal.
Secondly, it is a good idea to turn off the filter as this will
usually distract the pair, and is the reasoning behind why i say
not to feed the pair while in the spawning tank because, if so
like i said above it will become an algae bloom.
Thirdly, it is a good idea to have the filter off because after
the eggs are in the nest and have hatch and are free swimming
they may get sucked into it.
After the male has built his bubble nest, and the pair spawn, and
the eggs begin falling to the bottom, the male and sometimes the
female will begin picking up the eggs and blowing them up into
the bubble nest. After the spawning is finished the female should
be removed so the male will not kill her. For the next 3 days the
male will be hard at work keeping the fry in the bubble nest.
After the fry are free swimming generally around the 4th or 5th
day the male is to be removed, because now it will be too hard
for him to keep the fry in the nest.
Around 7-14 days the fry will begin to develop their labrynths
, and you will also be able to see their ventrals as well as
their caudal fin developing. Between week 3-5 is when i would
advise a 20% water change and a good tank cleaning, and the
filter can be turned back on. The fry will continue growing
normally, and around month 3 the bettas are ready for market.
At about 4-7 months is the best time to spawn them if that is
what you are planning on doing, but they reach their sexual
maturity at about 3 months old.
Thanks for visiting my site and please come back soon.
