Accidentally Fed Betta Pea Wrong!

Okay so sorry I post here all the time but whenever I have a question y’all are so helpful!

I wanted to feed my Betta a pea today because I noticed he’s a bit bloated. I’m guessing because he’s a pig and I may have been overfeeding him slightly because even though I wait for him to eat each pellet before giving him another he always wants more!

So anyways, I blanched the pea in the microwave, removed the shell, then cut it into quarters and rubbed it in a smashed piece of garlic to get some garlic juice in there too for his immune system. However, the pieces I fed I’m guessing were too big because they quickly sank and even though he was interested he’s been pecking away at the pieces for 10 mins and I’m worried I should have made them more like tiny pellet size bits. Will this be fine or should I try to get the pea bits out and try again?

Also just general advice on how much to feed Floyd in the future would be helpful. I’ll upload pics of what I feed. Also the feeding details below are what I’ve done since the second day with him, but should be honest and say the first day I got him I way over fed him because I didn’t know the severity of it at the time!

I usually do 6 or so pellets if aqueon Betta food. Then every other day do 3 pellets of the top fin color enhancing Betta bits and probably once every 3 days he gets a freeze dried blood worm. Let me know what I should do differently to avoid future bloat!

Also I tried to get a pic of the bloat but couldn’t get a perfect one at the moment.

Update! And sorry in advance for TMI grossness. Just noticed that after munching on the pea he passed a huge bowel movement. It fell onto a leaf so I took a pic (again sorry) but is this a good sign? Does that mean the pea likely helped with constipation?

 

Update! And sorry in advance for TMI grossness. Just noticed that after munching on the pea he passed a huge bowel movement. It fell onto a leaf so I took a pic (again sorry) but is this a good sign? Does that mean the pea likely helped with constipation?

You are good, he is good. You'll figure it out. He is okay... just a betta who likes food.

 

You are good, he is good. You'll figure it out. He is okay... just a betta who likes food.

Thank you for calming me! I just need to get better at not falling for his begging and cute little face!

And here’s a better pic of the bloating

 

He is fine. Mine will pick at the bottom feeder wafers I feed my clown pleco like how yours was picking at the pea I'm guessing. Sounds like you're feeding him about right too

 

Thank you for calming me! I just need to get better at not falling for his begging and cute little face!

Ha, it’s hard not the feed a begging fish! Keep going!

 

He's fine. Bettas are pigs, so if they over eat, it isn't a surprise

 

Prevention is better than cure. I've never found myself needing to feed peas to my bettas. Just feed less. They will always want more lol.

I suggest cutting down to 2 to 4 pellets per day. Bloodworms twice a week and maybe add frozen daphnia. I use frozen daphnia in place of peas as a more natural laxative.

 

Do not feed betta peas, they are insectivorous/carnivorous and are made for those proteins. they will pass the pea through but it can cause another blockage/issue with the plant fiber and proteins. Daphnia is a much more natural solution for them to help them pass blockages. You can also fast them for a while, too, to see if that helps them slI'm down some more. I'd also suggest better quality food that does not have quite so many fillers and more whole ingredients and protein. NorthFin, New Life Spectrum, Fluval Bug Bites and Omega One all make really good food for betta as well as frozen foods from cobalt or HikarI Pellets also are best soaked 15 minutes or so before feeding in tank water to help prevent bloating.