When to jar betta babies?

[On_a_dishy]

My oldest batch (and first ever!) batch consist of 4. They are 4 weeks old and currently in a 34l Fluval tank with baffle sponges on the pump, sweet almond leaves, twice daily water changes (around 25%) and plenty of hiding places which they are not interested in.
They have become interested in each other, though, and have started up nosing up to each other's backsides, into each other's sides, and generally making a nuisance of themselves.
I have jars ready, and a vivarium heater-mat to put them on, but I can't imagine the babies would prefer that to the tank they're in now...although the chasing would stop, of course.
There is a lot of conflicting advice around, and my LFS advised me to jar them now.
When is the best time?

 

[Slaphppy7]

I have never heard of "jarring" betta fry (?)

 

[On_a_dishy]

I'll only want to keep the females, if there are any, and I have a LFS interested in taking the others. But there is that time when they start to become aggressive and they need protecting from themselves, so breeders (I read) put each betta into its own jar. First so they can see each other, but then they "card" them, which literally means blocking their view of each other to reduce the stress from constantly flaring.
Water changes are easy, because you just move the betta from dirty jar to clean jar, and that's apparently what breeders do.
Mine are very young but are starting to get on each other's nerves a bit. Each one is cocky and gregarious, so they don't hide from each other but rather keep facing-off and then chasing in little spurts of activity. I'm not sure what would be better - to jar them or leave them.

 

[Slaphppy7]

To jar or not to jar, that is the question.

Interesting...

 

[Guyb93]

I'll only want to keep the females, if there are any, and I have a LFS interested in taking the others. But there is that time when they start to become aggressive and they need protecting from themselves, so breeders (I read) put each betta into its own jar. First so they can see each other, but then they "card" them, which literally means blocking their view of each other to reduce the stress from constantly flaring.
Water changes are easy, because you just move the betta from dirty jar to clean jar, and that's apparently what breeders do.
Mine are very young but are starting to get on each other's nerves a bit. Each one is cocky and gregarious, so they don't hide from each other but rather keep facing-off and then chasing in little spurts of activity. I'm not sure what would be better - to jar them or leave them.

I can see the practicality of jars , surly each jar would need an air stone ? I have no experience with Betta but as fry are they really in that much danger from each other

 

[EllRog]

Jar when you notice nips in fins. It's usually the biggest of the spawn which are the offender's. In such a small spawn, they will be easily identifiable. You can try jar the biggest first and see how the others react, if the nipping stops. When they're in jars, huge waterchanges are needed daily. I tend to use an airhose the suck the water out while pulling up debris. Drain the water as far as possible, fill the jar back up to half way, then do it again before filling the jar back to the top. This should dillute the nasties. Be careful not to catch a fin in the airhose as you do it and remember that the water will have to be perfectly matched to temperature

 

[Colin_T]

I can see the practicality of jars , surly each jar would need an air stone ? I have no experience with Betta but as fry are they really in that much danger from each other

Bettas and gouramis are labyrinth fishes. They have an organ in their head that allows them to take air from the atmosphere and get the oxygen out of that. This allows them to live in stagnant puddles of water with low oxygen levels in the water. Subsequently they don't need aeration when they are more than a month old. However, baby fish don't have a developed labyrinth organ and need oxygen rich water until the labyrinth organ has developed properly.

Male Betta splendens (Siamese fighting fish) are highly territorial and will fight to the death. So when they are sexually mature and start arguing with each other, breeders separate the males to stop them killing each other. They use glass jars so the fish can see each other and display to each other, but can't harm each other. Unfortunately having them in glass jars causes their stress levels to build up because they are in a constant state of arousal, and they usually die of old age before they should. If they are kept in ice-cream containers and can't see each other, they normally live longer because they aren't trying to kill their neighbours all the time.

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For the OP, you might be able to leave all 4 fish in the tank. Just monitor them and if they start fighting, then separate them. Otherwise leave them where they are and they might settle down.

You don't need to do a 25% water change twice a day. You are better off doing a 50-75% every day or every couple of days. If you had more fish in the tank then a big water change every day helps them grow faster and reduces the chance of diseases. But 4 fish in 30 litres of water will be fine with a water change every few days.

Do a gravel clean when you do a water change.

 

[On_a_dishy]

Thank you! I'll keep them in their current tank with those 50-75% water changes every day. If fin-nipping happens then I'll jar them, and block their view (except for when I want to take nice photos of them flaring!)
Really good, detailed advice from the forum folk - thanks again!

 

[itiwhetu]

Jarring bettas is common with breeders, when you have a hundred fry growing you need to house them. When a fish shows aggression it is time to isolate it. I have always preferred to build a bank of small tanks linked to a sump, to house bettas, Each compartment is about 2 liters. Takes space and management. At one stage I had problems with this system as I thought the hormones produced by one fish effected the other fish. Not sure that is the case. Everyone has different opinions on how to manage Betta fry. My bank of tanks could handle 200 fish and worked well most of the time.