Fry Still Dying

[Styx]

I’ve changed everything that I thought might be killing them. Turned the heater down to 80-84, siphon differently, and they’ve been getting (and eating) live BBS. But they’re still dying in huge numbers. I’ve looked at their dead bodies under a magnifying glass and the only thing different between the dead fry and the living fry is that the dead ones’ inside is opaque-white. I have no idea what to do because I have no idea what’s killing them.

Soon, I won't have any fry left. ;_;

 

[Mr Miagi]

Water params?

Could it be the food? Try baby flakes for livebeares. That should be good. Maybe the BB are too big, or have something nasty on them?

 

[Styx]

I doubt it's the BBS, they were dying like this before I ever fed that to them.

I'll have to check on the water params; I'll get some new test kits.

 

[GuppyDude]

well styx i dont know what to tell ya man, betta fry are just hard to keep alive. u can ask anyone here who has bred bettas and their tell ya that in their first spawns, they either had none survive or only a few. i know its frustrateing, you'v just gotta learn throgh trial and error as u go

 

[Styx]

Maybe I'm taking out too much water and doing it too much. I was told repeatedly to do so every day. But is that too much? Should I stop or cut back?

 

[GuppyDude]

no no, water changes are great! you've got that right, perhaps its wat is in the water that is the problem. describe to me ur setup in detail, everything in the tank, meds, plants, how many times a day are u feeding them?

 

[Styx]

Okay.

10 gal, 1/2 full, submersable Whisper heater and fry. That's all that's in the tank, nothing more. Over the top is plastic cling wrap and a towel. I feed them twice a day on live, and frozen (warmed and thawned before feeding) BBS, and I have some First Bites, but I haven't put any in yet. I siphon out the water down to the heater every day and siphon it back in, getting the temp as close to what's in the tank as possible. I use Chlor out and some other chorine remover like Stress Coat to remove heat metals and such. I have all sorts of meds, but none in the with them because I don't know what to treat them for.

I used to put Black Water Extract in there with them, but after I do, I get this film in the bottom, as if it were dust. And I thought that might be bad for the fry, so I eased them off of it, that was a while ago.

 

[yeeviabetta]

Did you aged the water and conditional them? It is good to aged at least 2 days. If you got indian almond leaf or black water, that will be great too.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Okay.

10 gal, 1/2 full, submersable Whisper heater and fry. That's all that's in the tank, nothing more. Over the top is plastic cling wrap and a towel. I feed them twice a day on live, and frozen (warmed and thawned before feeding) BBS, and I have some First Bites, but I haven't put any in yet. I siphon out the water down to the heater every day and siphon it back in, getting the temp as close to what's in the tank as possible. I use Chlor out and some other chorine remover like Stress Coat to remove heat metals and such. I have all sorts of meds, but none in the with them because I don't know what to treat them for.

I used to put Black Water Extract in there with them, but after I do, I get this film in the bottom, as if it were dust. And I thought that might be bad for the fry, so I eased them off of it, that was a while ago.

They need to eat much more than twice a day. More like eight.

But don't beat yourself up,sometimes they're just weak and they aren't survivors. Do stay on top of your water changes and start feeding more often.

 

[Styx]

I don't age because it's cold here and the water would be below 60 when I put it back in. I have absolutely NO way or heating aged water right now.

Should I buy a new heat pad to age the water on?

Yeeviea, what about that gross film?

Augh! Every single website said twice and day and NOT to overfeed. >_<

Went to check on them and today alone over 20 died. I barely have any left. *Cries*

 

[nashnut]

Is the tank covered so that they are breathing warm moist air? They are about at that stage where they are starting to develop the breathing organs and can catch pneumonia if they get any cold air into the canals.

 

[aznmidnite]

I don't age because it's cold here and the water would be below 60 when I put it back in. I have absolutely NO way or heating aged water right now.

Should I buy a new heat pad to age the water on?

Yeeviea, what about that gross film?

Augh! Every single website said twice and day and NOT to overfeed. >_<

Went to check on them and today alone over 20 died. I barely have any left. *Cries*

Hi Styx,
If you age water in an empty water bottle or well cleaned (no soap) empty milk jug, you can just reheat it up to temp by placing that container of aged water in a big bucket of warm/hot water.

By placing the container in a big bucket of warm/hot water, you can easily warm the aged water back up. Just make sure you test out the temp of the water before placing it back into the fry's tank.

It may seem like an extra step, but I think it's worth it!

Hope it helps.

Thanks.

 

[Styx]

Yeah, I did say I was keeping it covered.

I took out three dead ones and put them under a mircoscope. It's a cheap one, so I didn't get a very good look, but their seemed to have tiny dots on them, so I'm treating with Maracide.... or whichever one treats parasites.

 

[Joby]

So sorry to hear you are losing so many

I used to feed mine almost constantly. Everytime I went into the kitchen where the tank was, if there were no microworms on the bottom, then I'd put some more in. I only lost 4 in the first 2 weeks so I don't think overfeeding was a problem.

I did 50% water changes every other day at first then everyday. I boil a kettle full of water to make the temperature right for the tank and floated the thermometer in the bucket for a while to make sure it was correct. I used to just jug it back in quite quickly too and never had a problem, never bothered with ageing the water.

I hope you manage to get to the bottom of the problem if there is one, perhaps its just this batch of fry

 

[yeeviabetta]

Well, I have a suggestion for you. You can get a 10 gallon tank with a heater. This tank is for only aged water with black water and conditioner.
And also get one or two 5 gallons bucket with lid on. This bucket also for aged water with only conditioner.
You only scope out the aged water from the tank to the babies tank only. This will help you not to get the film from the black water at the bottom. After finished then pour the cold bucket aged water back to the tank to fill it up again. Add black water solution equally. The heater will help you to heat it up again.
Remember, always using aged water with the same temperature for the babies. They are the most delicate babies and can easily dead if you didn't do it right. I hope this will solve your problems especially in cold climate.
I also use a plastic bucket and heat it up in the microwave. It works. LOL