chickadee

HELP, y'all! I have a glutton on my hands and I am sure I am probably overfeeding him, but I have no idea exactly when to quit. He get a couple of Hikari pellets and a very small piece of green pea in the morning, one pellet and pea at noon, and two pellets and the same piece of pea at night. I have tried to hold back on the peas but he tries to eat the plastic plants. The chunks he gets are about the size of a poppy seed.
I have no point of reference as all the books I have read say to give him what he will eat in 5 minutes, but he would eat half a can of food! He used to eat freeze dried bloodworms but all of a sudden wouldn't touch them. Then we went to the brine shrimp and he quit on them too. We have gone through many types of pellets and he won't touch flakes. He likes some types of vegetables and even apple, and I have three types of pellets he will still eat but I never know which one each time. I'm fairly safe with the Hikari in the morning.

Thanks in advance for ANY help you give me. Azul can be a little tyrant and I don't know if he is just trying to act hungry or if he really is.

Rose

Gunnie

I wouldn't worry about feeding him too much. If he's eating everything you put in the tank or bowl, that should be okay. I'd be more concerned about leftover food polluting the tank. I think it's excellent that he eats peas and other fruits and veggies. I've never heard of a betta that will eat this stuff on a regular basis. Good for you! You may want to only feed him once a day as much as he wants if you are concerned. It doesn't sound like he's gonna starve! You might also want to consider buying a small bunch of anacharis and either plant it in the gravel or leave it free floating. It would be good nutrition, and will help absorb some of the nitrates in your water!

chickadee

Thank you for your reply, You have taught me so much already about my fish and kept me from "losing it" when I really got confused,
We don't have a place to get live plants here. (VERY SMALL town) and so the only thing I have seen that way is bulbs that just say "Live Plants". Can thay just be planted in gravel or do you need another medium?
I just want to say again this group is the greatest. Everyone has been so helpful and willing to give advice. I have read and learned more in the last week than in any book I read. (And I spent a fortune on them when I bought my aquarium.) Thanks again for having the most informative and friendly website I've ever found.

Gunnie

Yep. Just follow the directions on the package. You may have to get a bigger tank though later on. Those bulbs grow to pretty big plants. Don't you have your betta in a bowl?

chickadee

No, Gunnie, he is in a 5 gallon hex tank and it stands about 18" tall (about 16" after gravel). He has it all to himself.

Gunnie

That's right, sorry (blond moment). That should probably be fine.

chickadee

Thanks, I'll give those a try and maybe he can munch all day and not be so hungry all the time. My cousin says he is big for a Betta (she said when she tried to measure him she thought he was almost 3" without his fins). Hers are smaller so I thought maybe that was why he was so hungry ALL the time. I'm just glad it doesn't hurt that he has such odd food choices.