Betta Food Rant

[Tyler Fishman]

this goes for all food except frozen, or freeze dried though they have problems too. mostly pellet and flake, did you know bettas are obligate carnivores? this means they ONLY eat meat, insect, fish, exc. but fish food is full of filler: corn starch, wheat flour, and other plant matter, so what does this do to our betta? it makes it sick, this is why bettas get sick so often, we feed them this indigestible matter, does this mean bettas get no fiber? no bettas naturally would eat fish or insect larvae ands digest what's inside the fish or insect's stomach, but the problem with commercial products is that they are full of fillers, they get 10x the fiber they get daily, this causes problems! if you through wheat in the tank will your betta eat it? no, if you through a dead tetra in will your betta eat it? yes, and very readily, I'm not saying to purchase feeders and pre kill them for your fish, I'm talking about feeding them raw or frozen. frozen blood worms are perfect as they include the whole invertebrate, I feed my bettas earth worms and tilapia, and DO NOT FEED PELLET OR FLAKE TO ANY CARNIVORUS FISH, they are full of fillers that will kill your pet. if you don't want to deal with worms or raw fish meat get a otocinculus

 

[FishFish221]

Maybe if you get a high quality betta food, or at least look at the ingriedients, you would know which ones are no filled with things ending in "meals". Not all "fish food" is full of fillers, its just those that cost 10 dollars for 1 pound are filled with fillers, brands like omega-one are mostly seafood and things like that.

 

[jmaldo]

Agree with FishFish221 Plus your fish should get a variety of foods, fresh vegetables to fresh brine shrimp. My Betta eats basically anything I give him.

 

[Tyler Fishman]

Maybe if you get a high quality betta food, or at least look at the ingriedients, you would know which ones are no filled with things ending in "meals". Not all "fish food" is full of fillers, its just those that cost 10 dollars for 1 pound are filled with fillers, brands like omega-one are mostly seafood and things like that.

Yes but most people are going to purchase the cheap stuff, like hikari

 

[FishFish221]

And "most" people can't keep a fish alive for more than a week so...

 

[Tyler Fishman]

Agree with FishFish221 Plus your fish should get a variety of foods, fresh vegetables to fresh brine shrimp. My Betta eats basically anything I give him.

A Betta should not eat any additional plant matter unless something like a pea once a week is acceptable

 

[NavigatorBlack]

A pea once a week is unnecessary if the insect based diet had adequate roughage. Peas are a roughage substitute, and a poor one for insectivores. I feed Bettas (I don't keep splendens) frozen, decapsulated artemia cysts, dried krill, white worms, daphnia, wingless fruit flies, and occasional flake, if it is high protein.
No pellets, and flake only when I am so busy I can't cultivate better food.

 

[Tyler Fishman]

A pea once a week is unnecessary if the insect based diet had adequate roughage. Peas are a roughage substitute, and a poor one for insectivores. I feed Bettas (I don't keep splendens) frozen, decapsulated artemia cysts, dried krill, white worms, daphnia, wingless fruit flies, and occasional flake, if it is high protein.
No pellets, and flake only when I am so busy I can't cultivate better food.

That's true, though the foods I feed my betta are not very high in fiber

 

[NavigatorBlack]

To me, the missing element may not come with the filler - it is the wings, exoskeletons etc of the insects a Betta splendens' gut is evolved to digest. Take away the crunch and the digestion is compromised.
I tend to blame pellets a lot for the bloat problems Bettas have shown in recent years. They aren't usually high fibre.
But I also note most farmed fish now are raised on antibiotics to rush growth, and I wonder what the constant antibiotic exposure does to the necessary gut flora. Maybe the problems aren't even dietary, but are from poor rearing conditions?

 

[vikingkirken]

I like Buggy Bottom Bites for all the reasons Navigator mentioned!

 

[TLOP]

Yes but most people are going to purchase the cheap stuff, like hikari

HikarI is considered cheap stuff? $8 For some fish food, lol it better be high quality.

 

[FishFish221]

HikarI is considered cheap stuff? $8 For some fish food, lol it better be high quality.

If you look at its ingredients, its full of fillers aka things ending in "meal" like shrimp meal and soy meal.

 

[david1978]

I thought able trying to grow blackworms in my substrate so the bettas could eat when they get hungry.

 

[Tyler Fishman]

I thought able trying to grow blackworms in my substrate so the bettas could eat when they get hungry.

That won't work well, likely your fish will just eat them once you put them in, plus they propagate faster asexual by breaking off a part of themselves, this takes much longer in a tank than it would in a culture with some turbulent flow to help them reproduce faster

 

[david1978]

That won't work well, likely your fish will just eat them once you put them in, plus they propagate faster asexual by breaking off a part of themselves, this takes much longer in a tank than it would in a culture with some turbulent flow to help them reproduce faster

That's what happened to my ghoat shrimp. The worms were kinda of an idea I had and was wondering about.

 

[Anna Score]

Hello novice Anna here.

I had read the ingredients on the food and wondered where bettas got soy meal wheat and all the other fillers in the wild... not to mention who was feeding them peeled cooked pees.

I have also read that fresh frozen and freeze dried blood worms are only a treat to be given once a week.

Ugh.

I would rather just give them a yummy blood worm or some other fresh food (open to experienced suggestions on live fresh food that won't infest my house, dogs... or yarn

Thanks!!

 

[RobinWhiskers]

I agree, most fish foods aren't the best. I feed both quality pellets and frozen to my betta.

 

[techfool]

I feed mine new life spectrum and frozen bloodworms occasionally. They seem to do well on it. I think they would really love live food but it's hard to get decent quality.

 

[Anna Score]

I feed mine new life spectrum and frozen bloodworms occasionally. They seem to do well on it. I think they would really love live food but it's hard to get decent quality.

I have been feeding them only beef heart, fresh frozen carnivore shrimp, blood worms and live black worms when I can get them.

 

[Tyler Fishman]

the problem comes about when people only feed their fish pellets, and people wonder why bettas only live 2 years

 

[sassymomma]

I'm currently looking into a revamp of my fishroom diet now that I pretty much keep carnavours.

I know that with large fish, you could chop tilapia, shrimp.....would this be an option for Betta? My concern here being the mercury....

I currently have a blend of pellet. Flake, blood worms but I need to replace with newer food.

My lfs has frozen bloodworms. I need to pick up a good pellet too

 

[RobinWhiskers]

True, true. My betta gets SBD symptons on pellets so a couple times a week I'll soak a pellet and give my fish a tiny bit and then feed frozen.

 

[Ben404TA]

Bloodworms are great

 

[techfool]

I have been able to keep a culture of daphnia going in a one gallon vase with no filtration or aeration. I feed it powdered algae every few days. There are snails in there, indian almond leaf and some frogbit as well. it's enough to provide both my bettas with a weekly treat.