I Got A New Koi Betta! Questions:

So for a couple of weeks I was on a hunt to find a new koi betta (I am very obsessed with koi betta), and ideally it would be a female since they are half the price as males and just as beautiful. I went to Petco (They are the only chain pet store that sell koi betta), and they had these baby female koi! They were so cute, and I picked out the female with more growing spots that were red and black. She had more potential. She probably seemed around 2-4 monthes old since she is so tiny and has not fully developed her spots, but already has streaks in her tail. Her fins are short and thin.
After floating the water and poured her out into the 5 gallon I have set up for her, she instantly started zooming around and exploring her new tank. I named her Star since all my pets (dogs, cats, other fish) are named after something in space. Star ate like a pig, she was super vibrant and lively. So much sass and spunk.
I woke up this morning and saw that Star had built a bubble nest! I know this can happen in female bettas, but not in babies really? And I swear that her coloring is so much more vibrant and colorful then when she was in the cup! Funny thing is that my dad said that, when Star was in the cup, she seemed not very energetic.
Currently, since she is the only animal in the tank, just put in some aquarium salt for good measure. Also feeding she bloodworms for most of the time and slowly to high-quality fish pellets.
Tried to do research on juvenile bettas and so far not much has come up. I have some questions:
-How many bloodworms should I feed per day and how many meals?
-Normal for baby female bettas to make bubble nests?

 

It's normal for any betta to make a bubble nest, it's their instinct to female betta fish do it even though it serves them no real purpose. And I only feed my betta fish about 3 freeze dried blood worms after they've soaked in tank water. So since she's a baby, I would say only 1 or 2. That should be more than adequate for her! Post some pictures! I'd love to see what she looks like. I'm going to try and convince my boyfriend to let me set up another tank for a female betta, and koi betta are gorgeous!

 

Back when I used to own bettas I would only feed them once a day with normal floating pellets and one or two bloodworms.

To answer your second question, it is normal for Betta fish to build bubble nests although I don't think its a bubble nest exactly. Betta fish breath air just like you and me. They have a special organ in them which enables them to breath directly from the atmosphere. When they breath they form a bubble and eventually the bubbles will pop or go away.

The reason why your Bettas color drastically changed was because it was confined to a small cup which is not ideal for a Betta fish and is quite inhumane as sometimes the cups aren't even filled enough. But it appears as though your fish is happy with its new home so good job.

Good luck with your new friend.

 

I have a baby Betta and I feed him 2 blood worms. However since yours is a couple months younger than mine I would say 1 or 1.5. I tend to mix up the blood worms and pellets.

I totally agree!

 

Post a few pictures, sometimes baby bettas are miss-labeled as male/female. I have a baby "male" double tail but it is actually a female (that's why I bought her, never seen a double tail female for sale).

As for the bubble nest, it might be foam created by the filter as well. I've seen it several times, the foamy bubbles from filters. I've heard of females making bubble nests, but I've never seen any of mine do it.

For the food, when my babies were still babies I was feeding them Omega one mini pellets. I actually feed all my girls mini pellets and they are just the right size. The smaller girls would get about 2-3 and the adults get around 6-8. I also feed them frozen brine shrimp and they love it. I don't bother with freeze dried blood worms anymore, having to soak them is a pain, thawing a block seems easier (I'm feeding 12 bettas at one time though)