You might wake up to a baby Betta fish in your tank, or you might have added one.
Either way, you are about to embark on a journey to raise a baby Betta into a healthy adult betta fish.
Raising a baby Betta fish can be both rewarding and challenging, which is why you have to pay close attention to what you are feeding it.
Nutritious food plays a huge role in how healthy, and strong the baby Betta fish is going to be.
You must keep in mind that Betta fry and baby Betta fish have a pretty weak immune system.
Hence, you have to be incredibly careful while feeding and maintaining it.
Betta Fry Food in the First 3-4 Days
When a Betta fry hatches, it spends the next three to four days absorbing its remaining yolk sac.
During this time period, the Betta fry receives nutrition from its yolk sac and does not need a lot of additional food.
However, to make sure that your baby Betta fish does have food if it needs it, you can provide it with water fused with cooked egg yolk.
You can easily do this by hard boiling an egg and using its cooked yolk.
Dissolve the cooked egg yolk in some water by stirring it vigorously and pouring in a small amount into the Betta fry fish tank.
Liquid Food or Infusoria (After 3-4 Days of Hatching)
The baby Betta fry will start to accept small amounts of food once it becomes free to swim.
After the baby Betta fish has dissolved its own yolk sac, you can bring it on a liquid diet.
For this particular Betta age, the most popular popularly used food is Infusoria.
Infusoria is a liquid baby fish food that works excellently for Betta fry.
It is ideal for newly hatched fish fry as it is small enough to be eaten by a baby fish.
The liquid Infusoria enters the tank in a bubble form, which is attractive for the baby fish as it moves around in the water.
You can simply use a small eyedropper to drop a few drops of Infusoria directly into the tank.
You have to remember that the betta fry is still relatively small at this stage and cannot accept larger food.
Hence the liquid Infusoria diet is ideal.
Baby Brine Shrimp (When Fry can Eat Small Food)
After a few days of Infusoria diet, the baby Betta fish should have grown large enough to accept small live foods.
This means that the baby Betta fish are ready to eat baby brine shrimp, which is a highly nutritious food source for young Betta fish.
It is high in protein and quite easy to eat for a fish fry.
You can easily purchase brine shrimp from your local fish or pet store and follow the procedure on the packaging.
Typically, you can use an eyedropper and capture as many brine shrimps as you can and drop them directly into the baby Betta tank for them to feed.
Live, Frozen, and Freeze-Dried Solid Foods (When 3-4 Weeks Old)
Once your Betta fry is at least three to four weeks old, it will be able to accept larger foods.
This includes a variety of live, freeze-dried, and frozen foods as well as dry food pellets.
However, you must remember that dry pellets are pretty large. You have to crush the pellets before sprinkling them in the baby Betta tank.
Now is the time for you to provide your baby Betta fish with various live food diets.
You should always purchase your food from a reliable supplier to ensure the health of your baby Betta fish.
Let’s discuss these different types of Betta fish foods in detail:
Live/Frozen Food
Betta fish are carnivores by nature.
You should try to replicate their natural habitat as much as possible to ensure their optimal growth.
Providing them with a live food source is an excellent and nutritious way of making them feel at home.
Live or frozen food is incredibly nutritious for baby Betta fish as they are in their growing stage.
Baby Betta fish may not accept crushed dry pellets initially, which is why you have to focus on high-quality live food.
That being said, be very careful about sourcing live or frozen Betta food.
They can get contaminated with bacteria and parasites if they are mishandled even slightly.
Refrain from feeding your baby Betta fish any worms or insects that you caught outdoors because it may not be safe.
What is the difference between live and frozen baby Betta food? – There are no differences between the two apart from freshness and physical form. Frozen food is live food in storage and serves as a more accessible alternative if you cannot get your hands on fresh live food for your baby Betta fish.
Mosquito Larvae
Mosquito larvae are an excellent choice for baby Betta fish as they are found in their natural habitat as well.
It may be difficult for you to get your hands on mosquito larvae during the winter months, but they are regularly active during summer, especially in warmer climates.
You can either purchase a culture and harvest them yourself or contact a local supplier.
They can be fed live or in frozen form, whatever suits you best.
However, you should only thaw the amount of frozen food you intend to provide the baby Betta fish and keep the remaining frozen.
Freezing thawed fish food again can be dangerous as it can have bacteria.
Bloodworms
Baby Betta fish love bloodworms, live or frozen.
These bright red worms are an ideal variation and even the pickiest baby Betta fish enjoy them.
However, you must note that bloodworms should not be an exclusive source of fish food because they do not contain amino acids.
Live bloodworms can be a bit challenging to handle due to their gross appearance.
If you do not prefer live bloodworms, opt for frozen or freeze-dried ones instead.
Aquatic Worms
Aquatic worms are a good way to go because you can add them to the tank while they are alive.
These worms can live happily in your baby Betta’s tank till it decides to eat them. You can either opt for grindal worms or blackworms, depending on availability.
This is also very convenient in terms of cleaning and maintenance as other kinds of food waste can start to contaminate the tank water.
Suppose a baby Betta fish does not decide to eat the worm. In that case, it can continue living in the tank without rotting and disturbing the environment.
Freeze-Dried Food
Even though freeze-dried food products are not as nutritious as live or frozen foods, they are still a great option.
You can use freeze-dried fish feed to introduce new variants to your baby Betta’s diet.
Remember, freeze-dried foods have a ton of fillers in them to keep them stable as they do not have any real moisture content.
Hence, this shouldn’t be the primary source of food for your baby Betta fish.
A freeze-dried diet can cause constipation and bloating issues. Hence, alternating it with live or frozen food is an excellent way to go.
Some fish experts recommend soaking freeze-dried products in water before feeding your baby Betta.
This gives the food some moisture and hydration, making it better for the baby fish.
On the other hand, freeze-dried food is readily available in all fish or pet stores.
The freeze-drying process ensures the product doesn’t contain parasites or bacteria. This makes it a relatively safe option.
Moreover, they are more cost-effective compared to live and frozen baby Betta foods.
You can easily get your hands on some freeze-dried bloodworms, brine shrimp, Mysis shrimp, and even freeze-dried tubifex worms in your local pet stores.
Crushed Dry Food Pellets
Pellets are the most commonly used betta fish food worldwide.
Although it is a convenient way of feeding your fish, dry food pellets are not for baby Betta fish.
At their young stage, most baby Betta fish will reject dry food pellets.
As they grow older and begin to accept other solid foods, you can add crushed dry food pellets to the mix if you want to.
Pellets expand once they are in the water tank, which is why you have to be extra careful about the quantity to you feed your fish in.
Excessive dry food pellets can cause stomach issues for your Betta fish.
Bottom Line
Learning about baby Betta food is definitely a lot of information to absorb.
With numerous options available, choosing the best food for your Betta can get a little confusing.
Always do your research on a particular food item before buying and feeding your baby Betta fish to ensure that you are making the right decision for your baby Betta’s health.
It is your responsibility to provide your baby Betta fish with a nutritious and well-balanced diet so that it can mature and grow beautifully.
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