Betta Fry fish takes around four months from hatching to the point where they reach full maturity. Of course, they are at their most vulnerable during that time period, and it’s a good idea to boost their quest towards maturity if you can.
To Boost the growth cycle of your Betta Fry fish, you will simply efficiently accommodate their needs while making some small changes, such as how often you feed them, what you feed them, the size of their environment, and their tank maintenance.
Four months isn’t too long, and you can’t shorten that time period somewhat; however, you don’t want to overdo it on the feeding, and you definitely have to have a practical, routine schedule for your tank maintenance.
How Long Does It Take For Betta Fry To Grow?
The typical amount of time that it takes Betta Fry to grow is roughly 4 months, give or take a week or two. That’s from the moment they hatch to the moment that they are considered to have reached maturity.
They’re typically 1.8-1.9 inches in length around 11 weeks, and even though they reach maturity sooner, their fins won’t reach their maximum potential until seven or so months have passed.
Their maximum size will end up anywhere between 3 and 4 inches long, not including all of the extra range they get with their fins. However, there are several things that go into their growth rate, and professional breeders are often very outspoken about how they are able to mature them in 2 to 3 months.
Is It Possible To Speed Up The Growth Of A Betta Fry?
It’s definitely possible to speed up the growth of a Betta Fry. In fact, it’s quite common for professional breeders to conduct what is called “power breeding” in order to get them to maturity much faster than what is considered normal.
In order to power-grow your Betta Fry, you’ll have to be pretty dedicated on a day-to-day basis, and you don’t want to miss a beat. You also need to monitor them carefully and be very meticulous during feeding time in terms of how much and when you feed them.
So if you decide to power-grow your Betta-Fry, be sure you have the resources and the time set aside each day to do it correctly. There’s no sense in trying to push them to maturity fast if you lack the desire to deal with it on a daily basis.
How To Make Betta Fry Grow Faster
You’re basically going to be doing the same things that you normally do, just in an expedited manner with a few changes along the way. There are several surefire ways to expedite their growth rate and do exactly what the professionals do.
Remove the Female
Once the female has laid its eggs, the male will gather them together in a bubble of its own creation. Now is the time to get the female out of the tank because the male is going to be really violent and aggressive for a while.
Of course, his aggression towards the female is not conducive to an early, happy, and productive life for the brand new Betta Frys in the tank, so you want to remove her and place her in her own tank until this period has passed.
Growth Inhibiting Hormone
Growth Inhibiting Hormone (GIH) is something that Betta Frys produce while they are growing in the tank. If there is a significant amount of them, they can produce quite a bit of the stuff too, which will seriously slow down the growth rate of all of the Bettas in the tank.
The best way to counter this and keep their growth rate nominal is to change a minimum of 50% of their water each and every day. You’re effectively dumping out the GIH and keeping a steady flow of freshwater coming in so that the Frys aren’t inhibited.
Culture of Infusoria
It’s all about microscopic organisms when you first start feeding your newly hatched Betta Frys. You should actually get started a few days before they hatch, ensuring that they have plenty to eat when they ear finished sucking down their yolk sack.
You’ll want to feed them this for a few days after they hatch before you graduate to anything else. You can keep the infusoria in their own water until it’s time to feed the Betta Fry. Keep the infusoria alive by boiling lettuce for a few minutes before placing it in a jar for them to eat.
Remove the Male
Other Betta fish may eat the little youngsters; however, the male that cares for them will typically not do so. It’s just a good idea to remove the male after the Betta Fry has consumed their egg sack because it will just make it simpler to care for the young.
After the male is out of the tank, you’ll be able to take care of the Betta Fry with the infusoria alone for about four days. After that time has passed, the Betta Fry should be large enough to start taking in bigger meals.
Newly Hatched Brine Shrimp
Feed your Betta Frys small amounts of newly hatched brine shrimp several times throughout the day, or you can shorten it to twice a day with larger amounts. Depending on your setup, you can either purchase the brine shrimp on your own or culture them yourself.
As they continue to grow, continue with the brine shrimp; however, you want to add a little variety to their diet as well. Betta Fry fish love artemia, micro worms, freeze-dried bloodworms, and Daphnia.
Upgrade Your Tank Size
At roughly six weeks of age, it’s important to upgrade your tank size to 10+ gallons. While fish are not reptiles—meaning that they don’t grow according to their environment—the size of their living space has a lot to do with their growth potential.
The reason being is that it gives them the opportunity to really spread themselves out and stretch their legs. They can get more exercise, they’ll swim a lot more, and it will make them genuinely happy fish, which is incredibly important for growth and reaching maturity quickly.
Individuality
You should, at some point after eight weeks of age, separate them into their tanks. These can be smaller than 10 gallons since they will no longer be sharing tanks with a bunch of others.
Now, you can feed them individually and focus more precisely on maximizing their individual diets. There’s no more competition for food, so each Betta Fry can get everything they need to boost their overall growth and expedite their maturity.
Here’s a useful article on how you can tell if your Betta Eggs are fertilized
What to Avoid
You want to stay away from micro-pellet foods and powders. While it will feed them and keep them alive, it does very little to create the kind of growth potential that you’re looking for.
You also want to avoid any plant matter foods throughout the entirety of their growth cycle. Betta Fry that consumes too much of any kind of plant matter will experience a lot of “bloat” that will definitely cause them problems in their growth along with their overall health.
So long as you follow the above steps and avoid micro-pellets, powders, and plant-based foods, your Betta Fry should grow at the following pattern:
| One Week | 0.2″ Long |
| Two Weeks | 0.25″ Long |
| Three Weeks | 0.34″ Long |
| Four Weeks | 0.45″ Long |
| Five Weeks | 0.6″ Long |
| Six Weeks | 0.85″ Long |
| Seven Weeks | 1.1″ Long |
| Eight Weeks | 1.3″ Long |
| Nine Weeks | 1.55″ Long |
| Ten Weeks | 1.7″ Long |
| Eleven Weeks | 1.9″ Long |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Betta Fry Need an Aerator?
Not typically, and the biggest reason not to go with one is that it creates a current in the water since you want your Betta Fry to swim and get around as much as possible; having that current in their tank will inhibit their ability to do just that.
How Do You Make Infusoria for Betta Fry?
All you need to do is take some leafy vegetables, such as lettuce or kale, place them in a jar of warm water, and leave them out in the warm sun so that bacteria grow. Be sure to use water from an existing Betta tank and transfer the infusoria with an eyedropper.
How Many Times per Day Should You Feed Betta Fry?
You should keep a rigid schedule where you feed them between 3 and 5 times per day.
How Many Frys do Bettas Have?
The female will typically lay about 50 eggs; however, that amount can vary by a lot, depending on tank size and the health of the fish. Fifty is an average number, but they’ve been known to lay eggs well into the hundred.
All Things Considered
Betta Fry will grow exponentially if you set aside the time and the patience to follow a solid schedule throughout each and every day. That means owning multiple tanks, multi-feedings per day, and routinely changing their water.