Betta Fry Acting Strangely

[fry_forever!]

Hey guys. My betta fry have been free-swimming for 5 days now, and as far as I can see, I have only lost 3. (1 to a birth deficiency and the other two.... I'm not sure why, to be honest) Okay, well, they are in a mature 10 gallon tank with no filter and a huge clump of java moss. I feed them a little bit of liquid fry food, newly hatched bbs, and infusoria. They are eating a lot, with their bellies nice and full, and orange. (Because of the bbs. ) BUT, I have noticed that they swim a little weirdly. They go in really short, quick bursts, and I have even seen a couple do loops. It seems like they're irritated by something. I saw one rub against the java moss, which just about made me want to scream. The parents didn't have any diseases, and I treated the tank with a parasite clear before breeding, so I am a little surprised that the contracted any diseases. So what should I do? Should I treat? Should I leave them. Other than that, they seem perfectly healthy, and are growing actually pretty fast. I am really worried though, and since I already lost two to unknown causes (probably the diseases) I know I will lose more in the near future.

Thanks in advance.

-f_f!

 

[Duff83]

i cant help you but i sure would love to see a pic of them.

 

[fry_forever!]

I would love to post a pic, but my camera doesn't pick up things that small. They look like normal betta fry... They just swim around a little erratically and quite obviously have a parasite.... But I don't know if I should treat them or not.....

 

[silverrabbit]

Have you tested your water? If you haven't got a filter running (I thought you could have sponge filters turned down really low with a line clamp in fry tanks tbh) then to me it sounds like there could be ammonia building up, esp with all the feeds.

 

[fry_forever!]

Have you tested your water? If you haven't got a filter running (I thought you could have sponge filters turned down really low with a line clamp in fry tanks tbh) then to me it sounds like there could be ammonia building up, esp with all the feeds.

I'll test and come soon with the results. (And yes, it's a liquid test kit)

 

[silverrabbit]

coolios

 

[fry_forever!]

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
ph: 7.5


Hmm...

 

[silverrabbit]

Hmmm indeed... have you been doing water changes? Otherwise I can't see how it would be zero. Confusing!

Apart from that though, I don't know what could be wrong, i'm sorry

 

[fry_forever!]

Umm, I've done a couple water changes, but decided it was too risky at this age, so stopped a couple days ago.... The java moss could be helping a bit.... Live plants work wonders. I also have some duckweed in there.

My theory is that it's some kind of parasite, because they seem agitated by something. I even saw what looked to be a white dot on one of them. I turned the temp up a little bit a day or two ago, (to 82F) but so far nothing's happening. I hope they can live through this, whatever it is.....

Thanks for the help,

f_f!

 

[silverrabbit]

Hope they make it, must be worrying

 

[Mauricia]

Well I don't have personal experience with this but I would think aquarium salt would be ok to add, things like velvet can be cured by just adding salt. I googled it and found sites recommending salt for betta fry and didn't see anything seeing it was dangerous, but no promises.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi fry_forever!

I haven't raised any betta fry myself, so I won't comment on what is natural behavior for them, but I would caution you about using a liquid fry food without doing water changes. It can quickly pollute the water and feed a growing population of harmful bacteria. Any other uneaten food will do the same. Add that to the fact that your water is at a high temperature and has no aeration and you could run into trouble with bacterial infections developing. The presence of a large number of these bacteria will not show up on any water tests.

You might try using a length of fine airline hose to do the water changes. Try to suck the water from the bottom of the tank and return fresh water the same way.

 

[crissylou]

Betta fry do tend to swim in quick darting movements, i have some 3 day old fry at the moment and the only time you can see them is when they start whizzing around. You really shouldn't be doing water changes for the first week, just use a piece of airline tube to syphon debris off the bottom of the tank and any uneaten food. Liquid fry food isn't really any good for them, it just pollutes the water very quickly. The best starter food are worm cultures (micro, walter, banana, vinegar eel) or dried foods moving onto introducing bbs as you have. Being a week old i would avoid treating them, tbh if everything is as you say i cant see them getting any sort of parasite.

I would keep an eye on them for the minute, give the tank a partial water change in the next couple of days and make sure as much is syphoned off the bottom as possible. If you have a sponge filter you could start running it but restrict the flow to only a few bubbles a minute. It is really common to lose some in the first few weeks, often for no apparant reason. I hope things go well and your fry grow quickly and healthily

 

[fry_forever!]

Thanks for the help. After I turned the temp down a little, they are doing a little better now.

And I wouldn't lie about my water stats. They are as I said. 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 10ppm nitrate, 7.5 ph.

Thanks again,

-f_f!