Baby Bettas

[betta_]

I was recently at a local Petco and they were selling baby Bettas that were of undisclosed sex and type.

They're absolutely tiny and comparatively cheap.

I just want to gather other people's input and/or experience with these young Bettas ?


New fish.

 

[Trainer_Ruby_]

Go for it. If you get them young and raise them together then you are more likely to have male bettas that won't kill each other. Keep them in a large tank and monitor them until mature and remove on any sight of aggression



Keep calm and drum on

 

[Andy Sager]

Here's a possible problem with getting these Baby fish: Bettas are one of the fish that, according to what I've read over the years, secrete a hormone in the water to stunt the growth of their siblings in a spawn. What these fish can be are older fish that have been subjected to this stunting so they still look like a baby fish, and they create a way for the breeder to not lose money on these tiny fish, but they are not guaranteed to be "baby" fish.
That said, when I started breeding bettas again a couple years ago, ( You can see some of my fish in my photo albums in my profile) in many of my spawns, I was finding a few of these stunted fish and experimented with them. What I found was that when kept by themselves ( as in, with no other Bettas) some would eventually start to grow again. SOME, not all. So if you ask my opinion, I would say "steer clear" of the babies and spend the extra pennies and get a more matured and sexed fish so you know what you are dealing with.

Hope this helps.

 

[betta_]

Thanks for the word of caution Andy!


New fish.

 

[RackinRocky]

Also, beware of the "mature" ones, because it's very hard to tell a betta's age. I got two males that both died soon after I got them, and I believe it was from old age. I think breeders sell their breeding stock to Petsmart and Petco that are no longer able to breed due to age, and then they are sold to the public. I have cycled tanks, and the bettas got the best of care, yet died anyway. Then I went back and got a young male. I knew this because his fins were not as long as the others there. And sure enough, he lived. His fins are growing too, so he was younger. I have gotten a few of the "baby bettas" too, and have had varying luck. Some die (probably due to all the stress of shipping, etc) but some have lived and grew up to be beautiful fish. It's kind of a hit and miss type of thing. Some of them are so darn tiny!

 

[Andy Sager]

Thanks for the word of caution Andy!


New fish.

No problem The first time I saw them I chuckled because I thought it was just crazy to sell them. Then, in thinking about it, I could see it as a way to get rid of stock and at least make some money off them. Made me go Hmmmmm
Unfortunately, aging bettas is not easy. I have a buddy whose 1 year old Bettas are HUGE compared to my 1 year olds. His secret..... outdoor pools. More food ( natural and prepared) there, constant water change and space got them growing larger. I just couldn't duplicate that indoors. But both our fish were only 1 year old. You just couldn't tell.

 

[betta_]

No problem The first time I saw them I chuckled because I thought it was just crazy to sell them. Then, in thinking about it, I could see it as a way to get rid of stock and at least make some money off them. Made me go Hmmmmm

Unfortunately, aging bettas is not easy. I have a buddy whose 1 year old Bettas are HUGE compared to my 1 year olds. His secret..... outdoor pools. More food ( natural and prepared) there, constant water change and space got them growing larger. I just couldn't duplicate that indoors. But both our fish were only 1 year old. You just couldn't tell.

Wow. I've never thought of even trying to raise them outside in pools.

A stupid moment for me since they're fish ?


New fish.

 

[Andy Sager]

These are done in S. Florida so the weather isn't an issue. Not possible to do everywhere. ( Just an FYI. )

 

[Autumnsky]

Just be cautious. I had purchased a couple of these babies since they aware ones not that tiny and coloring up so i could see beautiful possibilities. Then they were with the females and after awhile I had dead fish, after observation found one.....a pretty little baby was indeed a young male (still had short fins so seemed female) and decided to kill the other fish. After finding out the hard way I would do single specimen in tank by itself only.

Also if you aren't planning on a rows of 10 to a hundred fish (spending tons of money for a ton of them, in other words), you might just find the one or 2 or 3, with the color you like and get them. Then you know you will pretty much always love that fish!

The tinyist of babies you don't even know what you will get.

 

[TheresaM]

I bought one of the babies from Petco. It never grew to full size but we had it for close to five years

 

[betta_]

Seems to me that it is a mixed bag and that your individual experience may vary. But at $1.99 it may be worth a shot at giving these fish a better home


New fish.

 

[wildroseofky]

I would take the chance. They may stay tiny but could turn out to be beautiful. There is a breeder over on plantedtank.net that had an extremely tiny Beta. It was about the size of a small danio. They said it was small at birth and just never grew. It was a very pretty fish. You would need to separate the males though. Nine times out of ten they will fight once they reach sexual maturity. I have been researching breeding Betas and was saddened to learn that most store Betas are way past their prime. They have such short lives anyway and most pet stores want Betas that have large fins so breeders usually ship Betas that are already around a year old. They only live around 2 years so we do not get to enjoy them long.

 

[Fishobsessed7]

I would take the chance. They may stay tiny but could turn out to be beautiful. There is a breeder over on plantedtank.net that had an extremely tiny Beta. It was about the size of a small danio. They said it was small at birth and just never grew. It was a very pretty fish. You would need to separate the males though. Nine times out of ten they will fight once they reach sexual maturity. I have been researching breeding Betas and was saddened to learn that most store Betas are way past their prime. They have such short lives anyway and most pet stores want Betas that have large fins so breeders usually ship Betas that are already around a year old. They only live around 2 years so we do not get to enjoy them long.

Well cared for bettas can live 5+ years!


Fishobsessed7

3 tanks and counting! (6 if you count the bettas)

 

[Andy Sager]

I would take the chance. They may stay tiny but could turn out to be beautiful. There is a breeder over on plantedtank.net that had an extremely tiny Beta. It was about the size of a small danio. They said it was small at birth and just never grew. It was a very pretty fish. You would need to separate the males though. Nine times out of ten they will fight once they reach sexual maturity. I have been researching breeding Betas and was saddened to learn that most store Betas are way past their prime. They have such short lives anyway and most pet stores want Betas that have large fins so breeders usually ship Betas that are already around a year old. They only live around 2 years so we do not get to enjoy them long.

While I do agree with needing to separate the males once they are identifiable, I need to challenge your comment that they only live for around 2 years. Bettas, when properly kept, have been known to live over 5 and in some laboratory settings, as long as 10+ years. ( This info was found in the book "All about Bettas" as well as a documentary I watched on heart health.) So having a 1 year old Betta is not the worst thing possible. Also, when I started breeding Bettas again a couple years ago, all my breeders came from the chain stores or the supply houses the chains get theirs from so if what you are projecting is true, they were still virile and producing good spawns. You can see some of my fish in my albums in my profile.
As I previously stated, these "baby" Bettas may not really be babies and can not last all that long either. Bottom line, you take your chances.

 

[wildroseofky]

I need to check out the book you mentioned. The site I found on breeding Betas said 2 year life span. It also said breeding from pet store stock was a bad idea. I should have done better research. I am glad to hear they have longer life spans. I would hate to loose my boy. I am very attached to my fish.
I don't mean to hijack this post but could someone recommend some reputable Beta breeding sites or books? My local pet store want me to start breeding for them. I already breed mollies and endler guppies for them.

 

[Andy Sager]

I need to check out the book you mentioned. The site I found on breeding Betas said 2 year life span. It also said breeding from pet store stock was a bad idea. I should have done better research. I am glad to hear they have longer life spans. I would hate to loose my boy. I am very attached to my fish.
I don't mean to hijack this post but could someone recommend some reputable Beta breeding sites or books? My local pet store want me to start breeding for them. I already breed mollies and endler guppies for them.

Well, I would hesitate to go on that site's advice since they started with getting the lifespan wrong. All about Bettas is an old book from TFH publications. ( Actually, most of my books are old books. lol )
Bettas do have a relatively short lifespan compared to other fish so you need to know this going in.
For breeding stock, consider this: most stores will not sell high ticket Bettas as much as your common "cheap" varieties. Store bought varieties should be yielding multiple colored spawns as well which is more desirable to the masses over the hobbyist. Look at what your store is selling now. Ask them what they are paying for their fish. Consider these before spending lots of money on high end breeder fish. If they pay cheap, you don't need to start with super "A" quality fish. Breed what you can get a few times then offer them back for sale once they heal. Keep some of the spawn for future breeding. Be prepared with lots of places to separate your males as you can have spawns of near 90% males or 90% females with the optimum being a good mix of both. But you need to be prepared.

Lastly, the Bettas you get from chain stores are not always garbage. The difference is that they are not "color true" breeders or fin perfect fish. For most stores, that's fine.

Hope this helps.

 

[wildroseofky]

Yeah all that helps a lot. My local store sells Betas for around $7. She has to travel a long ways to get stock because shipping to her store usually results in a lot of casualties. We live in the middle of nowhere. She knows I take good care of my pets and was very impressed with my mollies I traded for a pea puffer and food the first time. After that she started taking all my extra mollies and asked if I would breed guppies for her. I usually just take store credit which keeps me in supplies and any new fish I might want. I am not breeding for show quality, just healthy, nice looking pets. I will just pick the nicest ones I can find and start from there.