breeding betta fish and raising fry

[coltin]

Looking forward to seeing the little ones grow, would love to get updates and some pics of their progress.

[lilynx]

I'm back after a bit of a break. The betta fry are thriving, their dorsal fins are starting to grow in, which is amazing to see. I've got a quick question though, I'm going away for a couple of days and I've arranged for someone to feed them while I'm gone. I was wondering if it would be okay to leave the tank as is for the two days I'm away, I'll do a water change as soon as I get back. Would this cause any issues or would they be alright?

[roygun_1]

I'm trying to breed Bettas and I've had some success before, but I'm running into some issues now. I've got 4 8-week-old fry from a previous spawn, but the male I used before is probably too old now and the female he bred with passed away from dropsy. So, I got a new male to breed with my other female. I'm still pretty new to this, but I can tell you about the fry tank - it's a 10-gallon plastic container with daily 20% water changes, Hikari micro pellets, and bloodworms for food. There's also an aquarium plant, moss ball, air stone, sponge filter, and a heater set to 26 C. The light's on for about 15 hours a day and the pH is around 7, sometimes a bit more acidic. I'm conditioning the water first, of course.

I'm not sure if this setup is okay for the fry, so I'd love some feedback before I breed more. I'm currently trying to breed the new pair in a 5-gallon tank, but I'm worried it might be too small. This isn't the male's permanent tank, and he's not making a bubble nest. The female doesn't seem interested either. I've got some Indkento4 almond leaves coming tomorrow - will those help? I'm also concerned about moving the fry at this age. I know some people move them to a grow-out tank when they're young, but I don't want to risk losing them. My LFS wasn't much help when I asked about breeding Bettas - they just told me to put a male in a sorority tank and they'd breed quickly. I know this is a long post, and I'm sorry to bother you all, but I'm really unsure about what to do.

With betta fry, daily water changes are the norm, but I've gone up to a day in between at a push. I'm not sure I'd want to risk two days without a clean, so I'd rather someone with more experience chimes in. Glad to hear your little ones are thriving, fingers crossed the person feeding them has been paying attention to your instructions. I've always been a bit too paranoid to leave my fish in someone else's hands.