poefox

I find it hard to feed my Betta. He seems to be so busy when near the surface and doesn't respond like other fish do to food. Even when I give him some time to relax when I have the cover off the tank he doesn't seem to realize he's being fed or something.

beckers4oranges

bettas can be surprisingly picky eaters...i suggest trying some new foods....what r u feeding him right now?

vin

Ever try Betta Bio-Gold floating pellets? Most fish won't touch them but the bettas usually love them. Try giving him some freeze dried blood worm too.

chickadee

Bettas make the pickiest of eaters easy to please. It is all trial and error (mostly error). The truth is vin is right. I have 3 and 1 will eat Hikari Betta Bio-Gold pellets, 1 will eat Hikari Freeze-dried Bloodworms, and the other is still on the fence as to what she will eat (I have only had her 36 hours). I do not recommend Fresh food because of the risk of introducing bacteria to your tank. The freeze-dried versions are the same nutrition content without the risk. Don't spend a lot of money on different kinds until you try the two listed above. I can nearly promise he will eat one or the other. Just don't overfeed. 3 pellet of the Bio-Gold twice a day or 6 - 7 bloodworms twice a day is all or you will have a very constipated Betta. (The way to tell that they are constipated is they shimmy when they swim or they stay at the bottom and don't want to swim at all) If that happens, get some frozen peas at the supermarket. Take one and put it on a saucer and Microwave it for 30 seconds or until it is just defrosted. Remove the skin and chop into very small cubes about the size of a small seed. Feed him 2 or 3 pieces or the amount equal to about half the size of his eye. You should see results before the end of the day (swimming and happier).

Rose

poefox

Thanks for the advice. I've heard worrisome things about live bloodworms, should I get the frozen kind then? I was told by someone else that all he needs are the pellets but he doesn't seem to want them, nor does he want the flakes I bought that are supposed to be Betta flakes.

chickadee

bettas mouths are not shaped for flakes no matter if they make flakes for them or not. they just cannot seem to get them down. also the Betta-Bio-Gold is the only pellet that is the right size for a bettas mouth that I found until I found the new food for the little one (baby) the other day. I do not recommend the frozen bloodworms either. The only safe ones that I am aware of are the Freeze-Dried. The others either Live or Frozen sitll carry the chance of introducing bacteria into your tank. You can make up your own mind on this issue. I am just one overprotective Betta Mom and anything that says bacteria isn't going anywhere near my tank. He can do just fine on the pellets alone, but if he doesn't want them and they are not the Hikari brand, most of the other brands for bettas are too big for their mouths and they won't even try them. It doesn't do any good to break them up, they just sink. Try the freeze-dried bloodworms. A can will last 6 months before it needs to be rotated, so get a small one. I don't think the brand matters. If he will eat the fresh or frozen he will also eat the freeze-dried.

Rose

poefox

It's actually mildly annoying. I have the Topfin and the HBH pellets and he's not interested at all. You may have something with the mouth size thing though; he tried swallowing one of the Topfin pellets and then spat it out, and ignored the following one. Anyway, the Corys rather seemed to enjoy the small amount of flakes I tried earlier.

poefox

Just an update: he seems to be eating well now. He ate 3 pellets this morning and possibly another but he was nuzzling in the duckweed and I'm not sure if it fell down or he ate it. Someone mentioned that their Betta liked algae wafers but he's shown not the slightest interest in them, so I'm not worried about overfeeding. Thanks for the advice!

0morrokh

Hey, I saw that Omega One makes Betta food. Has anyone ever tried it, is it any good? They are flakes, but you could always crumble them into small pieces. That's what I did when my two baby Guppies started to show interest in flakes.

vin

Just an FYI - Stay away from live bloodworm- not only are they full of bacteria that can harm your water, but that same bacteria can harm humans.

Also, do not handle the freeze dried bloodworm, but rather shake a few into the cap of the container and sprinkle them into your tank. The dust from these worms can be very harmful if inhaled. I only open a small corner of the foil on the container and sprinkle a few into the top. Then sprinkle those into the tank and immediately cover the container again.

You can't be too carefull with that stuff!

Neen

My betta gobbles up the freeze dried bloodworms. I thought he may be constipated from them but he has become very sick since I started changing his diet. Can the freeze dried bloodworms contaminate your water?
Gina

Gunnie

Gina,
What else have you been feeding him? If he's bloated, try some veggie flakes.

chickadee

I tried the Omega One Betta Food and while the nutrition information made me wish they would eat it, the small pellets were too big for their mouths. If I broke them up they sank right away before they ate them and Marty won't eat anything but bloodworms so I ended up selling them on the swap section of this forum. I sure wish they could have eaten them because they would have been more nutricious than what they are eating. I also wish more manufacturers would truly make their pellets small enough for bettas to put in their mouths!

Rose
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poefox

I'm using topfin which seems to have assorted pellet sizes in the bottle. BTW, don't you have kind of young bettas? Maybe that's why their mouths are too small? Mine just gobbles up that topfin pellet stuff, though I'm glad to see that he's not as greedy as other fish are.

vin

I've only had luck with the Betta-Bio-Gold pellets as they are small enough. The only two things my betta would eat were the pellets and the freeze dried bloodworm....which he ate practically before it hit the water!!!

Neen

I was feeding him Betta Min tropical flakes. He did really well with those. Then for variety, I added the freeze dried bloodworms. I tried the frozen pea. I bought the hikari pellets & I tried the veggie flakes. I thought he was constipated, but he was sick with something else.. There were no other signs of illness.

I'm sad to say that he died last night. I tried the melafiix & I tried raising the temp. (bought a new heater) but it was already to late. This has been going on for a long time & until a week ago there were really no visible signs. At least he isn't suffering any more. I had him for almost two years. It's crazy how losing such a tiny animal can be sooo upsetting.

For now I think I am going to clean out the tank & maybe start over again later. I have learned a lot & will do it again, just not right now. I'm to sad. (Am I a dork or what?)

Thank you all for your help. Gina

chickadee

Noel is 8 month old and probably almost as big as he will get. *Marty is 5 months old and doesn't eat the pellets anyway. *Misty is 2 months old and I have baby pellets for her that are tiny as poppy seeds. *She can eat them but the Bio-gold pellets are even too big for her. *

No there is a lot of size difference in the Bio-gold and the Wardley, Tetra, and Omega One. *The other brands would make 3 of the Bio-gold pellets. *Not that he would eat the Wardley or Tetra, he turned his nose up at them without even trying them, but he did try to eat the Omega One, *He just couldn't stuff it into his mouth. *I even tried to break them up but they sank before he could eat them. *

Rose

chickadee

I am so sorry and sad about your betta. Every time we lose a fish it is devastating. When you are ready to start again don't worry the new little guy will swim his way into your heart in no time. I know it is hard to think of right now, but I know as much pleasure as you got from the betta you had, it will happen again.

No you are not a dork. You are a caring fish owner who did the best to find out what was wrong and correct the problem. You couldn't have done more. It was just too much for him to deal with. Some fish are just not strong enough to go through a major illness.

Again my most profound sympaties. Stay with us and keep your chin up. It will get better. We are here for you.

Rose