- KEEP SEPARATE
- WIDE VARIETY OF FOOD
- PROPERLY HEATED WATER
- MORE FREQUENT WATER CHANGES
- SPONGE FILTER OR NO FILTER
HOUSING: KEEP ALONE IN 1 GALLON OR MORE PER baby betta
Though baby bettas are small, that's not a reason to permanently keep them in a tank smalller than one gallon. They need to grow, and tanks smaller than a gallon may stunt growth and put health in danger. Baby bettas should be kept alone in order to prevent stress and being picked on unless being kept peacefully with siblings. Even a snail could be harmful — the curious betta may be poking around near the snail, hoping to find food, when the snail snaps shut right on the poor baby. Please wait until the baby is full size until adding tank mates.
feeding: WIDE variety of food
A baby betta's diet should be much more diverse than adult size bettas. In order to keep the baby growing and healthy, you'll need to feed it more than just pellets its whole life, especially while it is still growing. Live foods such as grindal worms, tubifex worms, white worms, blackworms, and mosquito larvae are exceptional for young bettas. However, if you cannot get your hands on them, nonliving foods can do well also. My favorite nonliving foods to feed baby bettas. along with crushed pellets, are freeze dried tubifex worms, frozen brine shrimp, and Repashy gel foods. Frozen bloodworms can also be fed but I have found that they make a mess since the babies chew up the insides and spit out the outer shell of the worms. Freeze dried tubifex worms seem to make the least mess, and are available at most fish stores. These can be fed as a treat as freeze dried foods do not hold much nutrients. Frozen brine shrimp is usually accessible at most pet stores, and the babies seem to grow well on them. As a breeder, I like feeding Repashy gel foods, specifically soilent green and meat pie, to all my tanks for the fry to graze on all day. However if you are just keeping one or two bettas as a pet, then the gel foods may not be as suitable for you unless you have many fish to feed and are willing to pay the price/extra effort.
TEMPERATURE: 76-84F/24-29C
Like regular bettas, baby bettas need warm water. I try to keep the temperature at least at 80F/27C. Colder water will especially stress a younger betta, and makes them prone to disease. It also seems to slows down appetite. Information on heaters for bettas and basic betta care can be found here.
CLEANING AND FILTERS: ADDITIONAL WATER CHANGES AND SPONGE FILTERS
Since young bettas need to eat more frequently than adults, they'll need extra water changes. This is especially for if you are keeping siblings together as they seem to stunt each others growth. Add additional water changes to your schedule depending on the size of your tank. If you are going to be using a filter please USE A SPONGE FILTER! Other filters such as power filters may suck up your baby betta or the strong current may injure the betta. A filter is not necessary if you are going to be doing very very frequent water changes.