Betta not eating

HI again. Poor guy is only eating 1-2 blood worms per day and still doing a lot of hiding in his floating log and on his hammock. I have been changing his water every other day for a week now and haven't seen any improvement in him. I did see him poop once last week but haven't in about 4 days and didn't see any in his water change today. His fins seem very limp and curled. Is there anything else I can try? His water parameters are still the same and I have been adding Prime on the non-water day changes to account for the 0.25 ammonia. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Also, I have a floating log that he loves and a log on the bottom that he rests on a goes in and out of - should I buy new ones and replace? there are a few areas where it looks like the paint or finish of them have chipped.
 

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HI again. Poor guy is only eating 1-2 blood worms per day and still doing a lot of hiding in his floating log and on his hammock. I have been changing his water every other day for a week now and haven't seen any improvement in him. I did see him poop once last week but haven't in about 4 days and didn't see any in his water change today. His fins seem very limp and curled. Is there anything else I can try? His water parameters are still the same and I have been adding Prime on the non-water day changes to account for the 0.25 ammonia. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Also, I have a floating log that he loves and a log on the bottom that he rests on a goes in and out of - should I buy new ones and replace? there are a few areas where it looks like the paint or finish of them have chipped.
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At this point I think I would stop the every other day water changes but only if it doesn't go any higher than the .25 you are seeing. I would also stop adding the prime except when you do a water change.

It is good that he is eating a little bit. They really don't need a lot of food. If this little guy is getting pretty old he may just not have the energy he had at one time.

I wouldn't change any of his decor is he enjoys them.

If it helps at all I have one red/blue Colombian tetra. This guy is well over 5 years old now. He was already full grown and had gone through someones fish in cycle when I got him almost 5 years ago. He was returned to the store after the cycle was complete. I started with 4 of them but only this one survived. He has started slowing down. He doesn't go after food as aggressively as he used too nor is he as active as he used to be. Occasionally he skips a meal. I was getting concerned about him but he eats when he is hungry.

I also have some black skirt tetras that are almost as old as the colombian. They too have slowed way down. They still appear healthy but spend quite a bit of time just hanging out in the plants.
 

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If he's still eating, I wouldn't be too worried. When I had a 5 year old betta, he would just hang around the top of the tank most of the day, sometimes swimming to a new spot, but mostly just hanging out. He was also completely blind in his last, like 8 months, though, so that could have been part of it.
 
Thank you both! I wish i knew how old is but I have NO idea as I have only had him since July. He was found in a cup where I work and no one claimed him so I kept him.
UPDATE today - I did get freeze dried brine shrimp and he has been eating a good amount of that today! (comparatively speaking). I also saw him poop and was thrilled.
I did a water change yesterday and have 0.25 ammonia today (as usual) - when should I do another water change if I should stop every other day - if the ammonia gets to 0.5?
I did add API stress coat yesterday and I'm not sure if that is part of what helped?
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This is very good news As long as the ammonia stays at this level or lower I would go at least a week before doing another water change. By doing so you will be giving the bacteria a chance to grow enough to process it out of there. If it goes up to .5 or more then yes, do a water change to get it back down.
 
He actually ate a pellet today!! And more brine shrimp.
He also made a bubble nest overnight
The ammonia does look to be closer to 0.5 however though :-(. Should I do a water change? Can I change 25% or should I do 50%?
 

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I would do 50% since it's a small tank and that's getting upwards of the poisonous range (which really kicks in around 1 ppm)
 
Thank you. I did do a 50% water change yesterday. I used Prime as the water conditioner ( as I usually do) and then added stress coat in after the water change because its what has seemed to help him so far. however, I just read that it's bad to use both prime and Stress coat. I also added more stress coat in today thinking it was like Prime in that you can use it daily for help with fins.
Should I do another water change today since I may have added too much water conditioner?
 
Thought I replied to this the other day and I didn't. Sorry.
No, I would just let it ride out and wait until your next scheduled water change.
 
Hello, quick post here. I got a new betta last night, and he isn't eating. I just want to know if this is normal or not. In the past, I've only gotten bettas from people who no longer can care for them. This betta is new with no previous owner so I don't know if this is normal for a new betta. Are there any tricks anybody knows I can use to get him to eat?
 
Can soak in garlic if it becomes an actual issue. Sometimes they don't eat much or at all when you first get them. I usually don't even try to feed my bettas the first 2 or 3 days when i get a new one.
 

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What are you trying to feed? It may be a matter of he’s not used to the time you feed, or what you’re trying to feed. Unless it’s been a week I wouldn’t worry.
 
It’s normal since he’s new to not want to eat yet. But there are things that can help with this. Turn his lights off for the rest of today and maybe later try and add a pellet to the tank to see if he’ll eat. And also he will be out faster if your tank is cycled
 
One of my bettas didn’t eat for the first 3 weeks I had him. He ended up being fine, and lived a long time.
 
Hello, quick post here. I got a new betta last night, and he isn't eating. I just want to know if this is normal or not. In the past, I've only gotten bettas from people who no longer can care for them. This betta is new with no previous owner so I don't know if this is normal for a new betta. Are there any tricks anybody knows I can use to get him to eat?
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is his tank cycled? What kind of food? Is he swimming fine? Does he have a heater and filter? Is the tank dirty? Is he flaring a lot?
 
Also, what are you trying to feed him?
If you want to entice him, you may need something yummy like frozen bloodworms.
 
Hi all, I have just discovered fishlore and this is my first post! I have had 3 betta fish so far, the past 2 both refused to eat,
and died quickly after. The first one I suspect had swim bladder, the second I think internal parasites.
I am on my third, and have a beautiful dumbo betta. The first day I dropped some bloodworms and he ate wonderfully, however
today he just seems not to be interested in food. In the morning, he accepted some food but then spat everything out, and now he
will look at the food for a second but not eat. I am pretty worried considering the fate of the past 2 bettas. I have heard of bettas not eating
for the first few days but he ate very well yesterday. Tank info: 5.5 gallon with many hiding spots, filter, heater, and some lucky
bamboo plants. Yes I know about the nitrogen cycle. I have used the same filter cartridge from the past 2 bettas, which was cycled, and also
as a precaution added some bacteria starter. I am currently feeding bloodworms, daphnia, and both sinking and floating pellets. I have frozen brine shrimp in my fridge but have not tried that yet.
 
sure! one second
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 5.5 gallons
How long has the tank been running? 2 months
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 78 consistentally
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
Dumbo betta fish

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Once a week
How much of the water do you change? 50%
What do you use to treat your water? Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Both

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Pretty sure yes
What do you use to test the water? API test kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 2 times a day
How much do you feed your fish? enough to eat in 1.5 min
What brand of food do you feed your fish?
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? both

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 2 days
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? today
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
Have you started any treatment for the illness?
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? A little sluggish

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
The day I got my fish he was eating very well, however I made sure not to overfeed. Today he is not eating, so I am a little worried
 
sure! one second
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 5.5 gallons
How long has the tank been running? 2 months
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 78 consistentally
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
Dumbo betta fish

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Once a week
How much of the water do you change? 50%
What do you use to treat your water? Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Both

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Pretty sure yes
What do you use to test the water? API test kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 2 times a day
How much do you feed your fish? enough to eat in 1.5 min
What brand of food do you feed your fish?
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? both

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 2 days
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? today
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
Have you started any treatment for the illness?
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? A little sluggish

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
The day I got my fish he was eating very well, however I made sure not to overfeed. Today he is not eating, so I am a little worried
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I'm gonna respond by category to keep it organized:
Tank:
That all looks pretty good temperature wise and size wise, however 2 months may not be enough for it to be cycled, and from the OP it seems that you have had other sick fish in there. Since you did not change the filter, it is possible that your current betta is getting sick from the leftover sicknesses from your bettas who have died. I would recommend doing a deep clean of your tank, and adding some anti-fungal and/or anti-bacterial medication.

Maintenance:
That seems good except you may not need to do 50%, but it depends on what your parameters are looking like.

Parameters:
By just the numbers of your parameter reading, the tank is not cycled. A cycled tank will have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and a few nitrate.

Feeding:
Bettas can eat a lot very quickly, so giving it as much food as it can eat in 1.5 minutes is likely that it will get overfed. If you're doing pellets (depending on the size) if they're small I'd do about 6 pellets, if they're large maybe 2-3.

Symptoms:
It does seem like it does have something, I'm not 100% sure what it is since they're not to many visual symptoms it seems. Are the fish's scales sticking out when you look from above like a pinecone? Are it's fins clamped?
 

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welcome to fishlore! for now (until you figure out the cause) try feeding him garlic juice soak his food in it for 2-3 minutes. you can also buy sachem garlic guard but I have always just used a fresh garlic clove.
it is a appetite enhancer and is used in most fish foods for this reason but it will also boost there immune so i would highly recommend it.
 
Thank you both. The fish doesn't seem to have any clamped fins or pinecone scales. Since it doesn't seem like the filter cartridge has good bacteria in it, I am going to replace it with a clean cartridge. Another thing, my fish now seems to be at the top of the tank a lot. He is not gasping or anything, breathing quite slowly. Yesterday he was exploring the tank a lot. Is this a problem as well? For now, I will replace the filter cartridge and try the garlic juice.
 
I definitely would not replace the filter cartridge. It will absolutely crash your cycle and you'll have to start from scratch. The toxins that will be present in the water during the cycling period could also have detrimental effects on your fish. Leave the filter intact. The fact that you have no ammonia shows that there is beneficial bacteria present.

As for your fish, gasping is a sign that there has either been damage to his gills, or there is a toxin present in the water. I would highly recommend you conduct an immediate 50% water change, and continue to do so daily for at least a week, or until the fish shows signs of improvement. Water changes greatly boost the fish's immune system and help them fight off secondary infections. It also removes potential toxins or harmful pathogens from the water. Water changes can really be miracle workers if you give them a shot.

I hope this helps and please feel free to ask any additional questions you may have!
 
got it. One thing, I meant that my fish is breathing quite normally! Not gasping. I was just worried that there may have been leftover ammonia from my old fish in the filter cartridge. My old bettas did not eat, so I often put in lots of food to try to get them to eat, which caused quite a lot of ammonia. Another thing, after my second betta died, I did a 100 percent water change and rinsed all the decor yesterday, when I got my new fish. I'm just wondering whether that is the reason why there is no ammonia.
 
got it. One thing, I meant that my fish is breathing quite normally! Not gasping. I was just worried that there may have been leftover ammonia from my old fish in the filter cartridge. My old bettas did not eat, so I often put in lots of food to try to get them to eat, which caused quite a lot of ammonia. Another thing, after my second betta died, I did a 100 percent water change and rinsed all the decor yesterday, when I got my new fish. I'm just wondering whether that is the reason why there is no ammonia.
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Thats good that he's breathing normally! And I do think you're right with it being a possibility of there being no ammonia because of the 100% water change yesterday. Keep testing your water and let us know what it comes up with!
 
Hi all, forgot to update yesterday but here's what happened: I put in some freeze-dried bloodworms first. He seemed pretty interested in them, because he swam over and looked at the bloodworms, however after a minute he swam away without touching the bloodworms. The same thing happened with floating pellets. Then I got the idea that maybe he was too stressed to eat from the surface, so I put in some sinking pellets. Unfortunately they were too fast for him, but at least he chased them down! Turned off the tank light to reduce stress, crushed up some sinking pellets and threw those in but he didn't seem to be interested. The tank stuff is still the same except ammonia is now around 0.15. Thought about adding prime but was worried it might be bad to add too much. Is it alright to add prime every other day?
Oh another thing, I really want to try the garlic juice method. Do you just crush some garlic cloves and dip the food in the juice?
 
Hi all, forgot to update yesterday but here's what happened: I put in some freeze-dried bloodworms first. He seemed pretty interested in them, because he swam over and looked at the bloodworms, however after a minute he swam away without touching the bloodworms. The same thing happened with floating pellets. Then I got the idea that maybe he was too stressed to eat from the surface, so I put in some sinking pellets. Unfortunately they were too fast for him, but at least he chased them down! Turned off the tank light to reduce stress, crushed up some sinking pellets and threw those in but he didn't seem to be interested. The tank stuff is still the same except ammonia is now around 0.15. Thought about adding prime but was worried it might be bad to add too much. Is it alright to add prime every other day?
Oh another thing, I really want to try the garlic juice method. Do you just crush some garlic cloves and dip the food in the juice?
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there are lots of methods on soaking the garlic but i use this way. take about 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and( i never measure) but probable about a quarter of a garlic clove let them soak for 5 minutes then soak the fish food for 2-3 minutes.
oh I just realized make sure you cut the clove up.
 
Hi guys, update today. My betta, (I decided to name him Donald, ) was quite active. He was mostly swimming around the top of the tank, looks perfectly healthy. Often he follows around his reflection and flares at it. I can't believe I still haven't tried the garlic juice but I went to get some today and I have no more garlic so I will have to wait until tomorrow to get some more. I first sprinkled some bloodworms, and he ate one. I'm not sure if he spit it out or not but he tasted one. I also put some floating pellets. It's quite frustrating when he literally swims over and LOOKS at the food for a minute but then swims away. I thought he might not want to eat because the food was too big so I added some daphnia, which he checked out but didn't eat. I'm pretty sure the store I got him in gave him pellets. After a while, he finally tasted one pellet, but then spit it out, and the pellet proceeded to sink. Then I tried frozen brine shrimp which I thawed first. He swam over, chased one piece for a second but didn't catch it. After this I took out all the remaining food from the tank. He is interested in every piece of food but just doesn't eat it. I have a theory that he might be scared of his reflection at the top of the water.
And advice is appreciated
 
Hi guys, update today. My betta, (I decided to name him Donald, ) was quite active. He was mostly swimming around the top of the tank, looks perfectly healthy. Often he follows around his reflection and flares at it. I can't believe I still haven't tried the garlic juice but I went to get some today and I have no more garlic so I will have to wait until tomorrow to get some more. I first sprinkled some bloodworms, and he ate one. I'm not sure if he spit it out or not but he tasted one. I also put some floating pellets. It's quite frustrating when he literally swims over and LOOKS at the food for a minute but then swims away. I thought he might not want to eat because the food was too big so I added some daphnia, which he checked out but didn't eat. I'm pretty sure the store I got him in gave him pellets. After a while, he finally tasted one pellet, but then spit it out, and the pellet proceeded to sink. Then I tried frozen brine shrimp which I thawed first. He swam over, chased one piece for a second but didn't catch it. After this I took out all the remaining food from the tank. He is interested in every piece of food but just doesn't eat it. I have a theory that he might be scared of his reflection at the top of the water.
And advice is appreciated
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One of my betta's is tricky while feeding too. He either doesn't see it or doesn't want to make the effort to swim up to the top to get it. For me I use floating micro pellets that once they go underwater they sink, and sometimes I have luck with thawed frozen blood worms, but the pellets are more reliable. If you think the pellets you're using may be too big I definitely recommend getting some smaller ones, I got ones that I thought were small but they ended up being huge and neither of my bettas would eat them. What I do with my betta who's tricky to feed though is I use a turkey baster to suck up the pellet and I put it right in front of his face where he can definitely see it. Then he'll eat it. And I only can do one pellet at a time because he has really long fins that make it so he can't move too fast so if I put two one just ends up sinking to the bottom. You may though want to leave the sunken pellets at the bottom of the tank for little while, as sometime I notice that my tricky betta will find them later. If he doesn't find them of if he just keeps spitting them out and won't eat them then I would take it out so it doesn't create too much ammonia build-up.
I hope that helps!
 

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That seems great! I'll look out for it when I go to the store.
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I use the Aqueon color enhancing betta food but that's the one i got in the store that was huge lol so don't get those haha when I opened up the bottle I was like uhhh what why are they like 4x bigger lol. When I run out tho I'm definitely gonna get the hikari ones those seem like they're much better quality
 
Hi everyone, update today. I tried the garlic juice method, however my betta seemed to not really want it. I don't think it is from the garlic juice though, probably he just doesn't want the bloodworms I fed him that had the juice on it. Gave the food to other fish, and they happily ate it.
Fortunately, my betta ate some aqueon flakes! I tried them because they seemed soft and easy to digest, and he ate probably around 4 pieces. I'm not that experienced in flakes, so how many do you think I should feed each day? I'm crushing them up to be about the size of the tip of a pencil.
 
Hi everyone, update today. I tried the garlic juice method, however my betta seemed to not really want it. I don't think it is from the garlic juice though, probably he just doesn't want the bloodworms I fed him that had the juice on it. Gave the food to other fish, and they happily ate it.
Fortunately, my betta ate some aqueon flakes! I tried them because they seemed soft and easy to digest, and he ate probably around 4 pieces. I'm not that experienced in flakes, so how many do you think I should feed each day? I'm crushing them up to be about the size of the tip of a pencil.
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I don't really count the flakes. I just grab a small pinch. Like really small pinch for bettas.
 
I think Donald (I named him) is really getting his appetite back! He's been eating flake foods so well. Thank you all for your feedback and advice, I will continue to update everyone on Donald's well-being.
 
I think Donald (I named him) is really getting his appetite back! He's been eating flake foods so well. Thank you all for your feedback and advice, I will continue to update everyone on Donald's well-being.
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oh great! and i love his name it is super cute!
 
Update on Donald. He is eating all sorts of food now. My pellets are still too big for him so for now I will give him bloodworms, daphnia, flakes, and mysis until I can get the fluval bug bites. One slight problem, he keeps flaring at his reflection, which I have heard can cause micro tears in his fins. He spends pretty much the whole day glass surfing and ignoring all the decor I have set up for him. I can't put black contruction paper or something to cover up his reflection since the wall that he glass surfs in is the only wall I can see him through. I know often after awhile betta's just ignore their reflections, but before then, any suggestions?
 
Update on Donald. He is eating all sorts of food now. My pellets are still too big for him so for now I will give him bloodworms, daphnia, flakes, and mysis until I can get the fluval bug bites. One slight problem, he keeps flaring at his reflection, which I have heard can cause micro tears in his fins. He spends pretty much the whole day glass surfing and ignoring all the decor I have set up for him. I can't put black contruction paper or something to cover up his reflection since the wall that he glass surfs in is the only wall I can see him through. I know often after awhile betta's just ignore their reflections, but before then, any suggestions?
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Can try putting some of the tank decor near the glass or some fake plants near it to break up the reflection.
 
I just put my betta in a new tank and he was glass surfing for about 3 days before he started to explore more and swim around in all of the plants and wood. Now he just comes to the glass when I go up to the tank
 

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Can try putting some of the tank decor near the glass or some fake plants near it to break up the reflection.
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That definitely works and something else is I've noticed if there's not as much light in the room their in (such as no sunlight or the overhead light being off) and only their tank lights being on they flare because that makes it really easy for them to see their reflection. So if only his tank light is on in the room he's in that could also be the reason.
 
Ok guys, I really need as much advice on this as possible: I just got a bunch of different floater plants, including duckweed, which is really small. My betta has been going after them as food. Is duckweed harmful for fish to eat? When will he stop trying to eat them?
 
Sorry for the inconsistent updates everyone, I keep forgetting! Donald has been doing really well. He has mostly stopped glass surfing and is leaving the duckweed alone. I have been feeding him flakes, freeze-dried daphnia, freeze-dried mysis, and freeze-dried bloodworms.

I have looked in my local petstore and couldn't find any fluval bug bites. Is the diet above ok in nutrition for now?

I also picked up 4 more pieces of lucky bamboo, so there are now 6 total stalks of lucky bamboo. They are the curvy type, so they should provide a natural resting spot for Donald.

Hopefully the lucky bamboo, the 3 moss balls, and the floating plants will stabilize the tank parameters before it is fully cycled, (I replaced the old filter cartridge which likely had some sort of disease in it with the fluval sponges).

The ammonia was at 0.15-ish, nitrite 0, nitrate 0, and ph 7-ish. when I tested today.
Any advice is appreciated!
 
I'm recently returned but I have had more Bettas than I can remember. One thing to keep an eye on is his belly if he looks pregnant (no seriously this is something that happens frequently if you are not careful) give him half a FROZEN pea once a day and no other food to flush out the excess waste. He is constipated, they are voracious eaters but their eyes are bigger than their mouths as the saying goes. Make sure you have lots of things for him to chill near the top on, I used tall live plants for my bettas. Ensure that your heater is up to snuff as well. Some problems can be easily solved by bumping the temp up like 2 or 3 degrees as well. It looks like your cycle is trying to establish itself. .15 NH4 isn't the worst thing out there, but you should see some detectable NO3 and NO4 as well. Do you have any other fish in the tank with him? Because sometimes a little bit larger bio load is more work, but it can establish the cycle faster too.
 
I'm recently returned but I have had more Bettas than I can remember. One thing to keep an eye on is his belly if he looks pregnant (no seriously this is something that happens frequently if you are not careful) give him half a FROZEN pea once a day and no other food to flush out the excess waste. He is constipated, they are voracious eaters but their eyes are bigger than their mouths as the saying goes. Make sure you have lots of things for him to chill near the top on, I used tall live plants for my bettas. Ensure that your heater is up to snuff as well. Some problems can be easily solved by bumping the temp up like 2 or 3 degrees as well. It looks like your cycle is trying to establish itself. .15 NH4 isn't the worst thing out there, but you should see some detectable NO3 and NO4 as well. Do you have any other fish in the tank with him? Because sometimes a little bit larger bio load is more work, but it can establish the cycle faster too.
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Yes I bought the curvy type bamboo so he should be able to rest on them. There is also a leaf hammock he uses very often, and the top of the tank is around 1/5 full of floating plants.
The temp is usually around 76 degrees, is that enough?
Everyday he usually gets around 1 1/4 pinch of food in total. Not all the food at the same time. I split it up into 2 feedings. I haven't noticed any bloating or anything so far.
Would it still be advised to do the pea method?
 
The peas will not hurt him. You microwave the pea for about 10 to 15 seconds so it is slightly soft. It will help him poop. Am I understanding that you are feeding him flakes? Those are crazy easy to get constipated on (I've had some really bad experiences with flakes). I used to use betta pellets, I do not remember the brand but I could pick it out again if saw it -_-. Also If memory serves me correctly, 76 is ok to keep them at, but it will slow their bodies down. I would keep my tanks around 78 to 80 consistently and those guys rarely had an issue with pooping. Remember fish are cold-bloodedly unlike humans, our bodies make our heat. Fish depend on the water to thrive.

Your floating plants are great as long as he can reach the top to get a breath of air. Bettas have an organ called a labyrinth that allows them to take some fresh air in as well as the gills to breathe underwater.

Your cycled tank is going to take some time, there are ways to help it become established. If you have a friend with a freshwater tank, you can take their filter bag out and put it in your tank. (after they have rinsed it in their wastewater) This can increase the number of bacteria in your tank. When I went to MSU there was a pet store that would sell you the sponges off their sponge filters in certain tanks to help you cycle the tank as well. Your parameters look to be very early cycling. You will need to do frequent water changes to keep Donald healthy. See if you can find the biological media (Even it will not fit your tank) to boost the nitrogen cycle.

Keep us posted on your progress!!!!
 
Thanks inari, I tried the pea method by boiling the pea, skinning it, and cutting it up into tiny pieces. However, unlike the other foods I feed him, the peas sank quite quickly. Donald is a long-finned betta, so he often has trouble swimming and wasn't very interested in them. How does he look? Also, I plan to stop feeding him flakes for now.
Sorry for the bad quality picture, the camera on the device I am using is not the best
 

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Peas are actually not good for bettas. They are strictly carnivores so when they eat peas their digestive system doesn't know what to do with it so it can end up doing more harm than good. Feeding daphnia instead is a great option.
 
Peas are actually not good for bettas. They are strictly carnivores so when they eat peas their digestive system doesn't know what to do with it so it can end up doing more harm than good. Feeding daphnia instead is a great option.
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Sorry about that I was unaware of the issues and that they could cause harm. I fed my constipated betas frozen peas for years with no ill effect, but that was close to 10 years ago things change. It was not something to do frequently just when they needed to poop because they were bloated. Thank you for the correction though.
Thanks inari, I tried the pea method by boiling the pea, skinning it, and cutting it up into tiny pieces. However, unlike the other foods I feed him, the peas sank quite quickly. Donald is a long-finned betta, so he often has trouble swimming and wasn't very interested in them. How does he look? Also, I plan to stop feeding him flakes for now.
Sorry for the bad quality picture, the camera on the device I am using is not the best
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Sophie,
He is looking pretty healthy from what I can tell. He has a very vibrant color. Is he active normally or just lazy? Something that I used to do to Inari one of my first bettas, was I would lick my finger and put a pellet on the end of it he would come up to my finger curious and bit the pellet off. He got a piece of my finger but it just felt funny they don't have teeth up front like most other animals so they can't hurt you like that.
 

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