Alessa

Hello betta lover (yes, you!). As all of you know i got my betta baby one week ago and I have a couple simple but yet, significant questions for a betta beginner.

I have been feeding the boy 3 times daily twice with Hikari bio gold pellets and in the night with bloodworms or krill. I have noticed that he has gained weight (which is good, when he came he was in the bones and fins) but he also has become a bit bloated (do not panic! he is acting the same as always...) . How many pellets should I feed in each feeding?

I will give him either pure daphnia with garlic guard tomorrow or a piece of pea. which of the two is more effective for the bloating?

I added vitachem today (as I just got it shipped) but i noticed the water goes cloudy and my boy does not seem to like it... should I add less? is it supposed to be like that?

I have also noticed that... (this will sound silly) I never see him poop. I am use to seeing the "stringy" poo in my other tank, and in the gourami I had... but not in this boy. Is this normal?

thanks for your replies! I know I was going to ask more but... I forgot so when I remember I will edit this

Barbrella

How many pellets each time? These guys get bloated so easily you really need to watch how much you give them, especially with pellets.

For the last year, I've fed my male bettas 2 - 3 soaked pellets in the a.m. then 3 or so worms at night, depending on size of the betta and size of worms.
Small females get 2 pellets and 3 smaller worms.

I've never yet had an incident of bloating in any of them.

And nope, I've never seen any of them pooping either, except for one of my females who came with internal parasites. That was pretty gross!

I would feed the pea, in tiny little pieces the size of the betta's eye. Daphnia is good too, but my bettas never showed much interest in eating them.

Alessa

ok.. I was feeding 4 oops. (that begging face and the fact that he came so skinny made me give in...)

Now I think I will cut to 2 pellets in the AM and noon, then 1 or 2 bloodworms or shrimp at night.


Thanks Barbrella

jdhef

I only feed my Betta twice a day. He gets some flakes in the morning, and either some freeze dried bloodworm (3 or 4 depending on size) or some freeze dried Brine Shrimp in the evening. Sometimes I'll give him some freeze dried tubiflex worms, but he doesn't seem to like them. BTW I always soak my freeze dried food before feeding.

Also, my Betta is pretty shy with his bathroom habits, so I've never witnessed him pooing.

Lucy

Prissy gets 3 or 4 pellets in the morning and 3 or 4 at night. I feed peas once a week, in the afternoon so I don't spoil her dinner, she loves them.
She also likes bits of garlic.
I just got some frozen blood worms (yuck) yesterday so she got that as a treat in the afternoon. She loved them....sucked it in like a peice of spaghetti. lol
I'm beginning to think she'll eat anything. lol
I'll be switching to pellets in the morning and blood worms at night.
I've seen her poo once or twice.
If you have peas on hand, try that. I always have a bag in my freezer.
It's good to keep your eye on him like you're doing so if he is getting bloated you can catch it quickly.

welshalien

my boys get 3 pellets in the morning and 3-4 bloodworms at night -- a couple bites of pea when I think about it.

Kelly

ara

I feed my fish twice a day, at 6 a.m. and at 6 p.m. They usually get 3-4 Hikari pellets or 4-6 Atison's Betta Pro pellets. My Bettas love Hikari frozen bloodworms. I give them 4-5 worms. I have one really big guy. He gets more food. Smaller girls get less. Once a week my "kids" get peas (in the morning and in the evening). They have no trouble eating pea pieces. I give them 4-5. I also add Vita Chem to my tanks. 1-2 drops per gallon. I have not noticed Vita Chem making water cloudy. May be you added too much? Call me crazy but I check for poo all the time. I know that Bettas became constipated really easy and constipation can cause a lot of problems for them. It doesn't matter if you don't see your boy pooping as long as you find poo in the tank.

snowflake betta

i give my Betta snowflake 3 hikari Betta bio-gold pellets 2 times a day in the morning during 8-9 am then in the afternoon 4-5 pm for bloating u can cut peas into small pieces then stick onto a toothpick that way it will not rot in the water good luck!!

chickadee

You may want to watch how often you feed them flakes and shrimp. I believe that shrimp is only suggested to be fed a maximum of a couple times a week to an adult betta. Fry eat it all the time but after they grow up it is not a complete food. Then as far as flake food goes, it is kind of constipating. They will eat it but it can constipate them easily so watch closely for bloating and especially in the area right below their pectoral fins.

Rose

Alessa

Yes, that what I noticed and I am giving him freeze dried daphina soaked in garlic guard (otherwise he wont eat it) I did fast him today and gave him only that, Ill see how he does tomorrow.

Thanks everyone

chickadee

I would not go back to regular betta food for a few days until the bloat is gone. You will just be packing more in there. Also what temperature is your tank? Sometimes the tank will be a tad bit cool and slow down their metabolism and make them have trouble digesting their food. It should be 78 to 80 degrees and since he is having a bit of trouble he could be warmer (like a degree or two) for a couple or three days but watch no more than 82 degrees to help him pass the food he is impacted with. This is a temporary solution but feed him nothing but peas and/or daphnia (peas work quicker) while you have the temperature up. Then when you see that he has pooed and seems to be less bloated you can turn the temperature down a degree at a time and fast him for one more day and SLOWLY start him back on regular food (very small meals).

Rose

Alessa

I have had a bit of a problem with the temperature... the heater is off and it is at a constant 82, (my house is hot) and that was concerning me as well beause sometimes it goes to 84 and I cant seem to be able to lower it even with a fan. I take out the cover (since those hex tanks are tightly closed) and let it cool off. I am also not turning on the lights to see if that helps.

I think the temperature is ok for now (because of the bloating) but later on I am going to have to figure out a way to lower it.

and thanks Rose! I was going to start giving him regular food now... I am going to keep going with the daphina/peas until I notice hes doing better.

chickadee

If you have bottles like soda come in that have screw on lids and they can hold water put dechlorinated water in them to about half way up and do not screw on the lid and put it in the freezer to freeze it. Then before you put it in the tank put the screw on lid on the bottle and let it float in the tank for a bit to cool the tank down but watch the temperature and if you don't want to have the bottle in contact with the tank water put it inside of a ziploc baggie and zip it in so you have to just unzip the baggie and the bottle is still clean to return to the freezer. Just do not let your water get too cool or you risk getting the ick parasite active in your tank.

Rose

COBettaCouple

Ours get food equal to about the size of an eye, 2x a day.

How is he doing today?

Alessa

he is much better! thanks I still see a bit of bloating but it is almost gone thanks for your advice guys, Im sure he will be ok tomorrow!

Lucy

That's great news!

COBettaCouple

Very glad to hear that!

Alessa

and yes! he is fine today!!! thanks to all your advice

he is so much more active now, ( not that he wasnt before...) I bought him a little toy today... a plastic mini t-rex... and... and... I am just glad i didnt get otos

he is such a happy and fierce boy
thanks again everyone!