Gah... Apprx. 10 Fry Dead In 24 Hrs

[Bre_B]

Blah... while i admit right now i havent done too many spawns, ive done enough to know this isnt normal to happen within 1 day... I've found about tenfry (it was already a small spawn of about 35-40) dead and floating at the top of the tank... i found yesterday night about 5 floating at the top, dead... a couple of them looked like they had problems, like ones back was extremely crooked, etc... but others looked fine. Now it seems every time i glance over theres a new baby floating around, dead.

They seem normal, all i can say is that theyre floating, and generally their head and tails are dangling below, while their midsection is floating. I dont even know if that means anything... i've never had any die like this before, really... theyve either not hatched, been eaten by dad/mom, or they were fine.

What should i do? I'm afraid to try any meds, cuz I number 1, do not know if the dosage is too much for babies, and number 2 i dont even know what i would do because they dont show any odd symptoms...

I just found 3, possibly 4 more =/ i also noticed some of htem are sitting there (not swimming, just floating) with their heads down. they swim normal, but when they just sit there they have their heads down. perhaps that has something to do with it. It may also have to do with 2 larger fry that i should be seperating soon..

UPDATE:!!! I just found one still alive but its looking like its gunna die... it has a weird dark spot on it, and it just starts freaking out suddenly, cant seem to swim normally.... Heellp!! i wanna save the little one

Update 2: The thing on the baby is moving, and my baby looks to be dead... i dont know... he's not freaking out anymore, just sitting there....

Update 3? : the thing on the baby might be a baby snail... i just noticed apparently i got snails in there (i just put in a new plant... grrr...... forgot to wash it first.. blah) but im still having problems... found another dead.... theyre dying really fast...! I'm scared that im not seeing something- theyre still really small, so icant see much on them..

 

[Mr.September15]

Blah... while i admit right now i havent done too many spawns, ive done enough to know this isnt normal to happen within 1 day... I've found about tenfry (it was already a small spawn of about 35-40) dead and floating at the top of the tank... i found yesterday night about 5 floating at the top, dead... a couple of them looked like they had problems, like ones back was extremely crooked, etc... but others looked fine. Now it seems every time i glance over theres a new baby floating around, dead.

They seem normal, all i can say is that theyre floating, and generally their head and tails are dangling below, while their midsection is floating. I dont even know if that means anything... i've never had any die like this before, really... theyve either not hatched, been eaten by dad/mom, or they were fine.

What should i do? I'm afraid to try any meds, cuz I number 1, do not know if the dosage is too much for babies, and number 2 i dont even know what i would do because they dont show any odd symptoms...

I just found 3, possibly 4 more =/ i also noticed some of htem are sitting there (not swimming, just floating) with their heads down. they swim normal, but when they just sit there they have their heads down. perhaps that has something to do with it. It may also have to do with 2 larger fry that i should be seperating soon..

UPDATE:!!! I just found one still alive but its looking like its gunna die... it has a weird dark spot on it, and it just starts freaking out suddenly, cant seem to swim normally.... Heellp!! i wanna save the little one

Update 2: The thing on the baby is moving, and my baby looks to be dead... i dont know... he's not freaking out anymore, just sitting there....

Update 3? : the thing on the baby might be a baby snail... i just noticed apparently i got snails in there (i just put in a new plant... grrr...... forgot to wash it first.. blah) but im still having problems... found another dead.... theyre dying really fast...! I'm scared that im not seeing something- theyre still really small, so icant see much on them..

I wouldnt really know anything about spawing or even breeding bettas so I cant help you there. Maybe if you go in the Emergency section people with knowledge about this stuff usually hover around there. But good luck on the other babies. Yeah. The baby snails look so cute...But wait until they spawn it can turn into a snail yard. Don't know how they come but they do. Just get a washed peice of lettuce and they go eat it and then take it out quickly oh yeah ... Take out the plant B4 you put the lettuce so they have nowhere else to go...Good luck!

 

[Bre_B]

i know how to get rid of them, but i cant since the babies cling to the plant and stuff... i might take out them by accident... so i just gotta wait till the babies are big enough to move.

it just sucks how i see other threads that get posted on SO FAST but mine always take forever, even if every second counts and hteyre dying soo fast i dont even know what to do with myself

 

[John_Nicholson]

Normally it is poor water conditions that causes the problem of fry die offs. This can be caused by overfeeding the fry. Personally we maintain good water conditions by changing water on the same day that we start feeding the fry.

Good Luck.

-john

 

[Bre_B]

I have been changing water, and ive never had this problem in the past and im doing everything the same.. Plus, we just tested the water, so i doubt thats the case.

 

[Mr.September15]

It is pretty hard coping with the loss of such small cute betta fry. I wouldnt know but I can imagine it. Just to see dead fry at the top. Good Luck. Hope everything works out.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Bre, how old are they?

Generally, it seems that when betta fry die...they sink. This is quite alarming to hear from you, what do they eat? What's the water temp? Give all the details you can.



I could have sworn I saw a post yesterday while browsing the betta board that said "dead fry" and I looked back and couldn't find it so I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I'm sorry you haven't had more replies.

 

[Bre_B]

They are exactly 3 weeks old today. We fed them frozen bbs... and i noticed that too, i thought they generally sunk, hence why i thought to mention it... but a majority of htem are floating at the top, some of them floating in the middle, none are at the bottem. the temp is at around 75... i like to keep it at 80 but for some reason the tank hasnt been getting there (or maybe i need a new thermometer???) And the only thing real spetacular about test results was that my nitrates and nitrites both were zero... i dont remember which, but isnt one generally not zero, or very hard to keep at zero, therefore quite rare? Thats all i know.... besides that... umm.... Is there anything specific i should look for? I dont see anything in particular, but if i had specifics of what to look for on the dead ones perhaps i could find something then.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Yeah, it's the nitrates that rarely give a reading of zero, maybe your test kits have gone bad.

But, I never have fry in cycled tanks at such a young age, if you're getting a 0 ammonia reading, I doubt nitrites are your problem (by the way, are you getting a zero ammonia reading?)

I'm really at a loss here. Has there been anything odd happen, like cleaner around the tank? Are you using an air pump?

This is about the time that they start going up and searching for air,is there surface disturbance, so they can break the surface for air?
Maybe they need to be a bit warmer, is it dropping below 75 at night in their tank? Did you lose anymore today?

 

[Bre_B]

This morning I checked the heater and raised it to 85, im assuming that its just not heating up the entire tank, not to mention its chilly outside the tank, so maybe that will help. the temp has gone up a little, which is good, and we only had one baby dead when i came back from being out for apprx. 5 hours! It's a start, but definately better considering every time i saw the tank (minutes apart, sometimes) I'd find a dead one at least. I do have an airpump, however iw as NOT using it most of the time before, and i am using it now (at a low speed though... poor things would be traumatized with it going full blast... heck, my adult bettas hate that.) so perhaps that could be helping something?

also, I dont think my test kits have gone bad, we got them recently and on other tanks they show normal readings, but either way we're getting a new one soon so yeah..

oh.. i just reread before posting (good thing) and realized i missed a few questions Ok, Yes ammonia is fine, and no there havent been any cleaners nearby.

I'm hoping it has something to do wit hthe airpump that's helping them, since then that means i wont be losing too much more... Thats the only change i can remember really, and they seem to be dying less...... there are a couple who are floating as though they are dead but when i go to take them out they swim away so im not sure what THATS about...... but there was only 1 possibly 2 doing that..... Theres only like 10 left. Hopefully the worst is passed... I guess tomorrow will tell.

 

[lljdma06]

Isn't it at 2-3 weeks or so when they start forming the labyrinth organ? Could it be that the surface air temp was too cold, and they caught a chill? I haven't bred them, but from what I've read, the tank needs to be tightly covered and the air temperature warm and humid for this organ to form properly. The snail munching on the fry could be after the fact. I'm just shooting questions into the air, trying to pinpoint a possible cause since water conditions have been ruled out.

 

[Bre_B]

i do have a cover, but since it is still chilly out i wont rule it out completely. Even if i had a cover (perhaps its just not doing enough), does anyone know if that could be a problem here?

 

[Styx]

Cover the lid tightly with plastic wrap, cover all the holes and make sure the temp stays at something warm and stable, 72 will work, whatever, as long as it stays there. When you change the water, be very careful about the temp and siphon back in. Try adding Methelyne Blue into the tank on your next WC and keep adding it, follow the directions.

That's all the advice I can give. I had an episode like this happen, had 50 fry die in one day, but they did NOT float. Whatever was happening ripped through half my spawn before stopping, never did find out the cause - nobody else knew either. I looked at my babies under a microscope, didn't help for me, but it might for you.

*Big Shrug* Wish I could help.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Isn't it at 2-3 weeks or so when they start forming the labyrinth organ? Could it be that the surface air temp was too cold, and they caught a chill? I haven't bred them, but from what I've read, the tank needs to be tightly covered and the air temperature warm and humid for this organ to form properly. The snail munching on the fry could be after the fact. I'm just shooting questions into the air, trying to pinpoint a possible cause since water conditions have been ruled out.

This is common myth, Dr.Lucas has since made public that the *real* reason is that it helps maintain a stable temperature in the tank. Although this makes me wonder.

I believe that it is ultimately because they've had no aeration and such low,unstable temps..
Winter spawns are always tougher.

 

[Bre_B]

Just woke up, Checking on them now, hoping that the temp has gone up and that no babies are gone, or at least a low number....



-suspense...-







YAY! None dead that i can see!

however, the tank temp is still lower than i wanted... the same as it was last night.... 77.... do you guys think my heater is busted or something??? seriously, i set it at 85! ugh...


oh well, the good news is that Theyre not still dying!


however, does anyone know what the heck i should do about heating the tank up? I'm going to get a better heater hopefully next time i have the money (meh.... in a bit of debt right now) but are there any short term and cheap solutions until i can get a new one? (probably1-2 weeks till then, just so you know)