Question About Betta Fry

[guppymommy]

The topic pretty much says it all. There are betta fry on the bottom of the tank, the nest is completely gone and dad is no longer holding vigil. The ones on the bottom of the tank aren't really moving. Is it all over? Should I dump the tank and start again? Or will the ones on the bottom still make it even though they aren't trying to swim up? This is my first spawn and I'm not sure what's going on. Thanks for any help.

 

[K.J.]

I'm notreally sure but - they probably will die if the daddy isn't bubblenesting and they aren't moving yet, sorry.

 

[wuvmybetta]

I wouldn't dump living fry...no, never. You can give them a gentle nudge by blowing water in the tank with a turkey baster. They should swim up and hopefully adhere to the glass or plants.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Agreed with wuv; never, ever dump live fry, or live fish of any sort for that matter. You could give them a hand using wuv's message, and if all else fails and you think you need to cull them (though they'd probably die on their own), at least do it humanely - which means no dumping, flushing, or other unpleasant deaths.

 

[guppymommy]

I would never dump them if they are alive!!! Please understand that I said in the above post that the fry aren't moving. They are just laying on the bottom. I've blown into the tank with a turkey baster and even put an air stone (on WAY slow) to circulate the water a bit, but they aren't moving on their own AT ALL! That is why I thought they were dead and suggested dumping the tank and starting over.

 

[wuvmybetta]

They'll stay pretty still, no worries. If they were dead they would just melt away almost instantly. The air bubbler should definitely help!

 

[guppymommy]

Whew! Okay I'll give it a few days and see if they start swimming on their own.

 

[liz2]

dunno about betta fry but mollies and livebearers often look as if they are dead, but when they are actually dead they do sort of just disappear Hope some will be OK

 

[guppymommy]

Well I still see a couple of their round fat bellies so they haven't completely disappeared. They really don't move at all though but I'm going to keep an eye on them and see what happens. Maybe they are already free swimming and are hiding. I did notice one that was swimming horizontally this morning, but I thought I was seeing things because I thought it was WAY too soon for that to happen as they just barely hatched the night before. I haven't seen any skimming along the top or anything though. I do have lots of plants including some java moss in the tank though, so it is possible that they are hiding. I'll keep things going and see what happens over the next several days. Thanks all!

 

[Wisperian]

When I had a spawn like 2 years ago, the dad just left the fry on the floor. As wuv said, I just used a turkey baster to swirl them around to get them moving. GL with your spawn

 

[guppymommy]

Okay, the only things in my tank this morning are tiny white wormy things. Those aren't baby bettas are they? they are moving along the sides of the tank, but some are swimming in the water. They are TINY and totally white. They move like worms. Are they a parasite?

 

[lisie]

Wuv mentioned those in another topic:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?s=&sho...dpost&p=1303423

 

[guppymommy]

Okay, thanks for the link. At least I know what happened to the fry.

 

[wuvmybetta]

awww, sorry to hear that Guppy Mommy. Don't be scared to try again, just use a clean bare bottomed tank the next time around.