Betta Fry: Day 2
I took these pictures through a magnifying glass... they are so, so, tiny. So fragile and frail. My ruler can't take an accurate measurement of their length but I estimate them to be about 1.7mm from mouth to tail.
Some have already developed eyes, and a few, fins. Most have already consumed the bulk of their yolk sacs, so I have taken the liberty of adding a drop of Liquifry No.1, which stimulates the development of infusoria (micro-organisms). Meanwhile I have also checked on the status of my brine shrimp hatchery... all good... I see minute little orange specks swimming about - the newly-hatched of those two drops of shelless brine shrimp eggs. If my timing is right, the fish fry should have fresh baby brine shrimp once they are big enough.
My only concern now is keeping them alive... and for that I'm hovering around the tank on a 24-hour basis. Making sure the water temperature is ok, that the conditions are ok, that they haven't started dying in batches, that there are no signs of algal, bacterial, or fungal infections... ... lots of worries. I've taken Huxley out; his job is done, and if I leave him with the fry for another day he might just eat his babies. Some of the fry have begun to swim horizontally, and the rest are just propelling themselves up and down. Most of the time they look dead, lying on their sides on the tank floor.
The most tedious period of fry-rearing has yet to come; the next few days are crucial. Even for experienced breeders, the survival success rates can still be extremely low. There are just too many reasons why they won't be able to make it. I still need to get a suitable sponge filter, and other emergency fishy stuff.
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