# Emergency fry food!



## Lumos27 (Jan 24, 2006)

My dogs ate my microworm culture (long story) and I have 5 day old fry to feed. I have another culture on order, should be here in a couple days. What can I feed them until it gets here? I have been feeding them with infusoria, I guess their eating, it's hard to tell. I have frozen bbs that I bought by accident a while ago. Should I try that? I don't want them to starve.

Thanks


----------



## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

How big are the fry? What species? Are they big enough to eat powered flake food.


----------



## Lumos27 (Jan 24, 2006)

Their tiny 5 day old Betta fry.


----------



## kristian18f (Oct 31, 2005)

I've seen around the forms that you can grind up flake food really fine and try that. Also petco and petsmart usually have little packets of fri food. I don't know if that works for bettas or not, I've heard they need live food. *Shrugs* hope that helps some.


----------



## Imbrium (Feb 7, 2005)

Try flake food crushed as small as you can get it. Or if you can find First Bites that would be better, they should be big enough to eat it. I'm not sure about the frozen shrimp, I've only used live bbs so I'm not sure how big the frozen stuff is.


----------



## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Crushed food and even first bites are way to bif for betta fry @ 5 days. Stick with infusoria or boil and egg yolk, take a very small amount and squeeze it in a hankerchief. Swish this (the hankerchief not the yolk by itself) in the tank for a cpl of seconds. Be very careful though. It pollutes water fast. 5 day old fry have just entered the freeswimming stage so the only filtration you should have is a sponge filter. Not effective for removing egg yolk particles.


----------



## craftyflalady (Jan 25, 2006)

You can also stick some Java moss in there with them too, if you have a healty planted tank. You would be surprised what they can find in there to eat. I have never had Betta fry yet, but with my angel fry, I stick in a couple Apple Snails and some Java or Naja Grass for the first few days. Or until they are big enough to eat BBS. It is so hard to see if they are eatting when so small..but it's is alot easier to see if they are pooping...so I look for poop to know that they are eating. { sorry to have gone there, but that is what I do ;-}

Good Luck,
Kathy


----------



## Imbrium (Feb 7, 2005)

Oh, you're right Simpte. I was thinking 5 days from free swimming for some reason. Sorry. I've had some fry that could take first bites at 5 days old, but they were big for betta fry. Actually, all my spawns from that male produced really big fry, it was weird.


----------



## Lumos27 (Jan 24, 2006)

Thanks everyone. They started free swimming this past Monday. I ended up getting some First Bites but what I do is soak them in water and then strain them through pantyhose. What's left over are tiny particles that the fry can eat. I can see them eating, some prefer to eat as the food sinks and others wait and eat off the bottom.

Thanks again!


----------

