betta ate all the fry this time

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flumon
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Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2022 3:30 pm

betta ate all the fry this time

Post by flumon »

This is 4th time I bred him and out of 4 times he ate 2 spawns. I'm still unable to figure out why he ate all the fry this time. I conditioned him for 2 weeks, fed him 3 times a day. Both of them were fed in the breeding tank with a separator until the female was ready to spawn. Then he made a good bubble nest in 2 days but they made a lot of waste so I stopped feeding them. After they mated, I removed the female and he took care of the eggs for 2 days. But then he started eating the fry. Some of them fell to the base and he ate them all. What could be the reason he ate all the fry? I made sure there were no disturbances.
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infold
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Re: betta ate all the fry this time

Post by infold »

I've had similar issues in the past, and what I found was that the water depth made a big difference. I think the males get stressed trying to catch the eggs and fry that fall to the bottom, especially if they're not free-swimming yet. When I kept the water around 4 inches deep, they seemed to have an easier time picking them up without having to chase after them.
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coltin
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Re: betta ate all the fry this time

Post by coltin »

When he was taking care of the babies, were you still feeding him?

Considering the water depth, try reducing it to around 8-10 inches if it's higher than that. It might help him to easily grab the fallen eggs and fry.

If this happens again, you might want to remove him before the eggs hatch, to avoid him eating the fry.
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flumon
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Re: betta ate all the fry this time

Post by flumon »

infold wrote: Tue Apr 08, 2025 6:20 am I've had similar issues in the past, and what I found was that the water depth made a big difference. I think the males get stressed trying to catch the eggs and fry that fall to the bottom, especially if they're not free-swimming yet. When I kept the water around 4 inches deep, they seemed to have an easier time picking them up without having to chase after them.
Water level was fine, not too deep, infold. coltin, I didn't feed the adult while he was looking after the babies. I stopped feeding them after they made a lot of waste. But I will try your suggestion next time, take him out before they hatch.
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flumon
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Re: betta ate all the fry this time

Post by flumon »

coltin wrote: Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:06 am When he was taking care of the babies, were you still feeding him?

Considering the water depth, try reducing it to around 8-10 inches if it's higher than that. It might help him to easily grab the fallen eggs and fry.

If this happens again, you might want to remove him before the eggs hatch, to avoid him eating the fry.
No, I don't feed the male when the fry are present. I actually learned this from my first breeding experience - I fed him when the fry were there and he ended up eating all of them. Since then, I only feed him once I've removed him from the spawning tank.
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coltin
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Re: betta ate all the fry this time

Post by coltin »

If he's hungry, fry are an easy snack. Feeding him something that doesn't resemble baby fish might help, and do it far from the bubblenest so he doesn't associate food with the eggs or fry.
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