leafgirl115

I have a question my betta eat the second day I had him but today he has only eaten one pellet. He left the other one this morning and did not eat his super tonight. Should I be concerned? He is also hanging out at the bottom of the tank im beging worried.

divakeeks

Did you try feeding him the pea? He may be constipated. When my Lilex was constipated he stayed near the bottom and did not want to eat.


Just a suggestion.

leafgirl115

I have tried the pea that was last night but all he did was nible he never ate it...

divakeeks

Well then I guess I would wait and see what Rose has to say.


I'm sorry you are worried about your baby!

leafgirl115

Temp: 74-75
amonia:0
nitrite: .1
that seems ok

he just ate a little. It seems he will not eat the pellits that have soaked up water. He has continued to stay at the bottom of the tank...

Manicivy

I think if you up the temperature a few degrees he will become more active.

leafgirl115

he is in a 1g tank i do have a 25w heater but is that safe? i dont think so....

Boxermom

If it has a temperature setting, it should be perfectly safe. I use 25w heaters in my 2.5 and 3 gallon tanks.

chickadee

I would never put a heater in anything below 2.5 gallon as the general rule of thumb is 10 watts per gallon of tank. So a 25 watt would be safe for a 2.5 gallon but there are no 10 watt heaters with thermostats so there are no safe heaters for 1 gallon tanks. I used a 25 watt heater in the 3 gallon hospital tank but I had to watch it and be sure not to set the thermostat as high as I wanted the water to be as it would quickly heat up to 2 degrees hotter than that due to the smaller amount of water and the decor and gravel and walls of the aquarium picking up heat. For some reason even though the thermostat worked, the temperature would consistently get about 2 degrees hotter that what the heaters were set at. (I tried 3 different ones to see if it was the heater or what and they all did it.)

Rose

Boxermom

I used a 25 watt in my 1 gallon tank and never had problems with it. As long as its a good quality heater with a built-in thermostat, one shouldn't have any problems. I use the Marineland Visi-Therm heaters, which have automatic shutoff, in case I forget to unplug it when changing the water (which I usually do) and turns on again when it detects enough water. Its in a plastic casing so there's no risk of glass breakage or burns to the fish. Has worked great for me for quite some time in small tanks.

leafgirl115

Well ill keep both of that in mined. It seems he is only eating 1 pellit a day. Is this normal?

chickadee

he will eat when he is hungry. just don't leave excess food in his tank and don't overfeed him. Otherwise whatever he eats is what he wants unless he does not like what he is eating then you should try something else. Are you sure he isn't spitting the food out?

Rose

leafgirl115

Im prity shur when he eats. Im not over feeding him i dont think 2 pellits in the morning and 2 at night. Im going to try the pea again. Ill cut it up smaller this time

This weekend i hope to get the blood worms. Is there any thing elce i can try?

chickadee

There are all kinds of pellets, but be really careful when you change them from pellets to worms if you do. They can become very constipated. Just try one worm at a time and maybe a pellet with it. I do not usually suggest giving worms and pellets at the same time but if you are changing them over from one type of food to the other then maybe you can do it gradually. Let me know how he is doing. It is well known that the Betta is a very picky fish and hard to get to eat. They do not like variety in their food very well. When they find a food they will eat they do not like to have you give them something else. It upsets their systems and gives them tummy aches. Plus most of the time they just won't eat them.

Hope this is helpful.

Rose

leafgirl115

Thanks coudl you give me a list of food bettas can eat? and ill start trying things.

chickadee

The only things I have ever had any luch with with any of my babies are:

• Hikari Betta Bio-Gold Pellets
• Atison's Betta Pro Pellets
• Hikari Freeze Dried Bloodworms

The frozen and fresh foods, while tempting, have the problem of sometimes spreading disease because the freezing process does not necessarily kill off all the bacteria contained in the foods, so I recommend the freeze dried food only. The pellets by Hikart can be found in almost any fish store and are very good as they have the added advantage of enriching the colors of the Betta. The Atison's food is from Ocean Nutrition and is sold by Petco I believe.

Rose

leafgirl115

I belive I have Hikari Betta Bio-Gold Pellets alredy. This is what he is not eating....

leafgirl115

He only takes nibble at the flakes to...

But he whent strate for the blood worms. He seems to like them. I just gave him a little when i got back 3pm and i will also feed him a litte befor i go to bed but i feed my fish 2 times a day at around 10am and 3pm. How much of the little cube should i be giving him?

its not healthy for him only eating bloodworms so i there anything you would recomend?

Boxermom

I feed mine frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis shrimp, and live blackworms. My new guy will only get pellets though, as I have found with my other two that once they get a taste of the "good stuff," they'll never eat another pellet. Spoiled rotten, I tell ya!

leafgirl115

lol no pellits for my guy i guess. So they also eat frozen shrimp ill try that one then Is it ok if he only eats 2 things?

chickadee

I never feed frozen food as I have read too many articles and talked to my two vet friends about the fact that frozen food sometimes has bacteria in it that is not killed in the freezing process. If you decide that you do want to feed frozen bloodworms though they should not be given more that 6 or 7 worms per meal just like with the freeze dried. Their little stomachs are only the size of their eye and it takes VERY little food to fill them up and to over feed is very dangerous. Constipation is a very serious problem in a Betta. Shrimp is very rich food and can be given a couple times a week but should never be used as a full time food as it basically contains very little nutrition value. Bettas are picky eaters and He is going to march you around with a ring in your nose if you keep supplying him with all these premium foods. They usually find one food they like and do not really want to be experimented with. Every one of mine have settled on what they want and do not even want to try anything else. I have nearly bankrupted myself trying to get them treats that they do not want and will not eat, so if you find something he will eat and eats well, I would not spend any more money until he quits eating that thing and wants something else or you will have all your choices used up right away. I would really recommend that you stay with what he is eating and just feed him one thing at a time.

Rose

Boxermom

I've never had a problem with the frozen food I use for my fish nor has anyone else I know of. If you get one of the name brands like Hikari (which is what I use), I don't think there's a problem. The only time anyone has had a problem that I know of is when he had frozen silversides that had accidently been thawed and then refrozen.

leafgirl115

well im still going to get the frozen shrimp even if my Betta will not eat it my mollies will

Boxer I agrea with you. Sometimes there are things rond with Frozen food but thats only accidently.

leafgirl115

chickadee as i can not see the blood worms kus they are froxen in a block i just cut of a little at a time. I dont think that im over feeding him. Im just happy he is eating And i think he will like his new 5g.

Butterfly

Since I have several tanks, what I do is thaw a square or break off a piece of the flat ones, thaw it, rinse it in dechlored water then the worms are individual and you can feed whoever however much you want them to have. Hakari and Omega One both treat their frozen foods to prevent parasites or contaminents from harming your fish. I feel comfortable feeding either brand.
but Chickadee is right in saying their tummies are very tiny so feed sparingly
Carol

inari

Rose,

One issue you probly had with your heater and the tank is that there are no decor and if the heater doesn't 'test the tempture' then it will kick on and off at various intervals meaning that your tank may have been at a good temp BUT the heater was adding more energy (heat) continually warming the water. with small amounts of water, it is easier to heat up and cool down

And there is a science lesson for today!
sorry just incase anyone was wondering and maybe a way to help deal with that problem

brent

chickadee

Sorry Brent, the tank had plenty of decor and plants. (driftwood, rocks, and plants) It just did not work to have them set at the temperature that I wanted. I even tried to turn off the light thinking that maybe the lighting was what the problem was. No luck. It was just the lack of space in the tank and the wattage of the heater, and since dependable heaters do not come smaller, I just turn the heater down a couple of degrees and that works just fine. That tank is now only used as a quarantine tank so I do not have to worry about the little buddies being exposed to the problem for long periods of time, but I did have a betta in there full time untill the last few months. I also used to have a 3 gallon vase that was very beautiful but I always made sure it was heated and filtered with a good quality filter (Marineland Duetto Mini) and the famous Visi-therm Stealth heater. It did work fine but I thought my little buddy needed more room so he got his bigger tank. I thank you for trying to clear up the issue.

Rose

Boxermom

Not to be contrary, but my experiences have been different. I use the Visi-Therm Stealth heaters in all my small tanks and have never had a problem maintaining the temp that I set it at. I keep the tanks away from heat and cold sources, such as vents and windows, and check the temp several times a day.

inari

i would still be careful just because if u start adding massive amounts of energy to the water it will heat up faster if it is smaller than a larger body of water fyi thats all don't want anyone to have an issue