There is always the trouble of finding foods to feed your betta babies when they are still small, but ready for more than just bbs.
The old stand by is grindal worms, but I have been surprised and happy with how well my juvies do on spring tails.
First, springatils are a bombproof culture.
I haven't figured out HOW to kill these things.
Let me give you an example. I got a grindal culture in a zip lock snack bag... not even a sandwich bag, a SNACK bag. It had spring tails in it.
I emptied the bag, but there was a line of dirt still in the bag... and a few spring tails.
I left the bag, sealed, and forgot about them... 3 months later, there were still springtails in that bag.
I fed them a smidgen of grindal food, and a week later, it was crawling with them.
This was beyond amazing.
They are just as easy to keep as vinegar eels!!!! Truely a set it and forget it culture.
BUT there are few tricks that I have learned.
Though they like the same conditions as white and grindals medium wise, if you make it a bit more wet, it will keep them on top of the medium, which is where you want them.
They will not be as easy to collect after you feed them, so the day before you are going to use a culture, feed them just a smidgeon of food, so that it will be gone the next day.
Collecting them is the easiest thing.
Just open the culture, position it over the tank, and give a good puff.
They will sprinkle the top of the tank, and STAY there!!!. I have had some floating TWO days later when I have over fed, lol.
The spring tail babies are super tiny. I think that 2 week old fry would be able to eat everything that gets blown to them in a spring tail feeding... Younger than that, and the baby might burst it's belly or choke, since the adults are a nice size.
BUT they are soft bodied buggies, so a baby would be able to bit them in half with ease.
I am pleasently surprised at the versatility spring tails have given me with feeding my fish. If a grindal culture is lagging, and the bbs won't hatch, there is alwats the spring tails!!
Oh boy, I feel bad now, I killed my springtail culture hehe.
If you want more, PM me your address, and I will send some to you.
And how did you manage to kill SPRINGTAILS!!??? THIS I HAVE to know, lol.
Cool ........ I guess I should have said I want more when ya mailed me the snails the other day. hehehe But I could use more, and microworms if ya have any. hehehe
Oh yeah, you dropped the ball on that one, I could have hooked you up, lol.
OK, I am restarting my micros again, they are acting funny, but in a week or so, I should have plenty to spare.