Betta fry question.

[Flyin Jawaiian]

Aloha everyone I’m back, I have a quick question and I’m sure it’s somewhere here but I’m having trouble searching it, but what age or size do betta fry need to be to be fed baby brine shrimp? I’ve just started my hatchery when the first few babies started becoming free swimming, I already have small organism colonies to feed them til they get larger, I’m just wanting to know when would be a good time to introduce the bbs? I don’t want them to just be in the tank and create more waste. Thank you for any assistance and hope you have a blessed weekend. 

[Daniel]

I would begin to put baby brine shrimp in a day or so after the betta fry become free swimming.

[gardenman]

The eyeball test is your best bet. If the fry look big enough to eat baby brine, then plop a few in and see what happens. If they eat them, they're big enough to eat BBS. As long as you've got other small organism colonies to feed them, there's no rush to transition to baby brine. If they have to eat ten pieces of infusoria to equal one BBS they'll eat ten pieces of infusoria. BBS are just typically easier than other cultures to raise and maintain. If you've got other cultures up and going well, there's no need to rush to BBS.

[Flyin Jawaiian]

Ok thank you so much for the info, now I may have a lil problem, I threw in probably a pinch or more of bbs into each fry tank and that little bit looks like a lot now in the tanks, the babies don’t really seem to be eating them they’re a little bit smaller than their heads. I went to Check on them before work and the population seems to have gone down just a bit but the floor is covered in bbs. My main concern is they will start to die off eventually today or tommorow and I’m pretty sure the baby fry won’t eat all of it, is there any easy ways to get rid of the bbs? I made a siphon out of a thin metal straw and air tubing but even with that precise vacuum I have sucked up a few baby fry and just gave up trying to pick them out of a fine net I just dumped the net back into the tank instead of risk killing the fry. 

[Sonny08jms]

If you have any "pest snails" they'll help keep the dead bbs under control.

You can also use fine sponge on airline tubing to avoid sucking up fry for smaller water changes. Also good for when you "jar" them (without the sponge) can syphon most of the waste without running out of water to syphon. I happened to have oxygen tubing that has hard tips, works well if you've got it.

[Flyin Jawaiian]

Would you guys know if it’s ok to put in some baby plecos into my betta fry tank?? I was thinking one baby for each tank just to try keep the gunk off the bottom somewhat at bay. 

Edited April 12, 2021 by HanaHoo808

[Daedalus]

You can go with bbs right from the start. I usually go with green water and infusoria right after they hatch but Ive seen many people go straight to bbs right after theyre done with their yolk sack and they get good results. 

[gardenman]

16 hours ago, HanaHoo808 said:

Would you guys know if it’s ok to put in some baby plecos into my betta fry tank?? I was thinking one baby for each tank just to try keep the gunk off the bottom somewhat at bay. 

That should be fine. Baby plecos tend to be pretty docile little critters.