what happens in the wild?

[shadow]

What happens in the wild when bettas mate? since no one is there to move around the fishes what do they do? does the female just run? Does the male leave the fry after they start free swiming? and other stuff those were examples and questions too. Sorry but im rushing this post, busy day and this is my only free time to post for now... Thanks in advance

Shadow

[Crystal]

Yup - you guessed it....

Because they live in larger areas - the female has lots of room to run. The males will leave the fry (or eat most of them) once they are free swimming and the level of sibling-ocide (don't know the word for that one right off hand) is so high, the population stays very much in control.

Have you seen a wild betta? They look so different than the domesticated version....

Crystal
HB

[shadow]

Oh so thats what happens lol. Yup i saw the wild bettas.

I dont want to flood this message board with my garbage so ill just post it here.
When you guys feed your 1 week old fry do you see the fry eat the food? Im feeding them brine shrimp right now.

[Emily]

I'm a newbie, so excuse my ignorence.
But kinda going along with the previous question...
Since Bettas are so sensitive and always require a very clean environment, what happens in the wild? Obviously the water is not clean as we keep our tanks. Again, forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I was just curious.

[Jenny]

In the wild there is a whole ecosystem, fish, plants, bacteria, algae, and many others to keep the water in a specific condition. Our tanks do not have the whole system, so they require cleaning by us.

[Megan]

Shadow, yes, you can see them eat the food... you will also notice that their bellies are round and orange if they are eating bbs, or round and white if eating microworms.

[shadow]

could i find micro worms in a pet store? if not why?

[Megan]

No, you can't get them in a petstore.

They have to be cultured in an oatmeal and yeast mixture, it's what they eat and reproduce in. You have to change the oatmeal mixture about once every two weeks, would probably be a major pain in the butt for pet stores to do, which is probably one reason they don't carry them. Another reason is that there would not be a big market for them, and they are really inexpensive and tiny.

You can get a culture online for under $5.

[shadow]

dont you get eggs then start the culture? nvm.
I WANT SOME!
Any nice soul in here to give me a tiny bit to start a culture? ;D
i wish
im serious though if there is a nice soul out there plz tell me.

[Betta MVP]

shadow,
I will send you a starter culture. PM your address to me and I will also give you instructions on how to raise them if you need it. They are very simple and easier than brine shrimp.

[shadow]

Really?
Wow ok thanks ill pm it too you right away!
THANKS!

[Betta MVP]

Yep, I'll put them in a little baggie and in an envelope. You really don't need much to start with.

When you get them, mix up some oatmeal, baby cereal or cornmeal with some water until it is wet but not soupy. Sprinkle a little yeast on top and add the culture. Then you just sit back and wait. You will know when they are ready to use when they start climbing the walls of your container. Then just take a q-tip and scrape a little of the sides and swish it in the tank. It's best to use a container with a lid on it, but poke a few little holes in the top so air can get in but not big enough for fruit flies.

It's best to always keep two or more cultures going in case one crashes. If you do this, you can keep these going indefinitely without ever having to get more. Also, keep them in a cool place, warmth speeds up their life cycle and you will have more than you know what to do with.

I'll mail them tomorrow, let me know when you get them.

[shadow]

you got my pm right?
anyways how big does the container have to be? what will happen if its to big or too small? What kind of yeast?
looks like im gonna need an info sheet along with that lol.
How long do you think it will take to get here I will tell you when it does though.
I got 2 weeks and 1 day old fry so far but their only pet store bettas which really dont matter to me now.

THANKS!

[Betta MVP]

I got it your pm. I missed the mailman today and didn't want to let them sit in the mailbox forever, so I will get them out to you tomorrow. It will probably take 4 to 6 days according to the post office but they should make the trip just fine since the weather has cooled down.

It doesn't matter what size container you use, I use the little gladware disposable plastic containers but I have used smaller before too. It helps if the container is see through though so you can see them on the sides better. Any kind of yeast will do, I use bread machine yeast, just because that is what I have available.

Your fry might be too big for the microworms by the time you have some to feed them, but you can try and see if they will eat them. You can use them for your next batch if you breed again. The microworms are a great first food because they are even tinier than baby brine shrimp.

When you get these in the mail, it's going to look like there is nothing there but a little liquid. Pour them on top of the culture you fix up and if you look really closely, you should see a shimmering, which is actually the tiny worms wiggling.

[shadow]

Interesting I love learning about new kinds of stuff on fishes.

if you could send some instructions along with it (lack of memory )
that will be great

so how do i start a new culture?

Thanks