Betta Pellet Food Experiment

Hey Everyone,

So I've been doing a lot of research lately on different types of Betta fish pellets. I wanted to see how much a certain type of pellet would expand once placed in water for a few minutes. Now say someone asks "how many pellets should I feed my Betta", and the response they get is typically 2-3 in the morning & 2-3 at night. I'm curious if those numbers would change depending on what pellet your using. As you can see in the picture of the experiment I did the New Life Spectrum blew up to about 3 times it's original size where as the NorthFin maybe went up half a size, if at all. I just wanted to get some people's feed back as to what type of pellets they feed and how many a day etc.. as well as how you feel about feeding the larger pellets as opposed to the smaller ones.

 

View attachment 312541 Hey Everyone,

So I've been doing a lot of research lately on different types of Betta fish pellets. I wanted to see how much a certain type of pellet would expand once placed in water for a few minutes. Now say someone asks "how many pellets should I feed my Betta", and the response they get is typically 2-3 in the morning & 2-3 at night. I'm curious if those numbers would change depending on what pellet your using. As you can see in the picture of the experiment I did the New Life Spectrum blew up to about 3 times it's original size where as the NorthFin maybe went up half a size, if at all. I just wanted to get some people's feed back as to what type of pellets they feed and how many a day etc.. as well as how you feel about feeding the larger pellets as opposed to the smaller ones.

I find that very interesting!! never really thought about it , I normally do 2-3 pellets twice a day feeding omega one. I use omega one to feed all my fish, love how simple and good the ingredients are and my fish love it and it really brings out their colors.

the new life spectrum you would need to feed 1-2 soaked pellets max considering it's like 3 omega one soaked pellets put together lol

really interesting!! Thanks

 

I find that very interesting!! never really thought about it , I normally do 2-3 pellers twice a day feeding omega one. I use omega one to feed all my fish, love how simple and good the ingredients are and my fish love it and it really brings out their colors.

the new life spectrum you would need to feed 1-2 soaked pellets max considering it's like 3 omega one soaked pellets put together lol

really interesting!!

Yeah it's crazy how big the NLS got! I was shocked when I saw them after soaking them for a couple minutes. That can't be good for a Betta Fish even if you pre soak them. I agree Omega One was my number one food until I found NorthFin "Betta Bits". Omega One is still a great product though. After seeing how big some of the other pellets get compared to the NorthFin brand I'm wondering if I should feed more then 3 at a time now.. what do you think?

 

Yeah it's crazy how big the NLS got! I was shocked when I saw them after soaking them for a couple minutes. That can't be good for a Betta Fish even if you pre soak them. I agree Omega One was my number one food until I found NorthFin "Betta Bits". Omega One is still a great product though. After seeing how big some of the other pellets get compared to the NorthFin brand I'm wondering if I should feed more then 3 at a time now.. what do you think?

honestly never really heard of NorthFin, never seen it at any of my LFS, is it really that good?

experts will always say 2-3 pellets once or twice a day is best but I honestly don't think their considering the size when soaked but thinking of only the dry pellet itself and all Betta dry pellets are fairly the same in size. I think if anyone is feeding nutrafin they should most diffenetly consider giving less to their Betta but in your case I would probably do 3 twice a day

 

honestly never really heard of NorthFin, never seen it at any of my LFS, is it really that good?

experts will always say 2-3 pellets once or twice a day is best but I honestly don't think their considering the size when soaked but thinking of only the dry pellet itself and all Betta dry pellets are fairly the same in size. I think if anyone is feeding nutrafin they should most diffenetly consider giving less to their Betta but in your case I would probably do 3 twice a day

NorthFin is a Canadian company so if you live in the US like I do the only way to get them is online. I would say as far as quality NorthFin & Omega One are pretty much the same. I just had heard a lot of good things about NorthFin so I gave them a shot and my Bettas seem to love them. Omega One is a great brand though and I always keep it on hand.

 

NorthFin is a Canadian company so if you live in the US like I do the only way to get them is online. I would say as far as quality NorthFin & Omega One are pretty much the same. I just had heard a lot of good things about NorthFin so I gave them a shot and my Bettas seem to love them. Omega One is a great brand though and I always keep it on hand.

I am a Canadian ehh lol , I do live in Canada but live in Quebec (sadly) , just checked your info , super jealous over the fact that your from California!! Winter down here sucks, and right now winter over but yet it's still 42f-43f.

but oh okay I've never seen it at my usual LFS, but great to know, Might order some online just to make a change every so often.

 

I am a Canadian ehh lol , I do live in Canada but live in Quebec (sadly) , just checked your info , super jealous over the fact that your from California!! Winter down here sucks, and right now winter over but yet it's still 42f-43f.

but oh okay I've never seen it at my usual LFS, but great to know, Might order some online just to make a change every so often.

Haha oh that's crazy! I would definitely give them a shot if you get the chance. Jeez that's cold for not even being winter haha!

 

Wow, there's really a difference in the sizes of the soaked pellets! This is pretty neat. I'd never considered that different pellets would expand differently before.

I just wanted to get some people's feed back as to what type of pellets they feed and how many a day etc..

I use HikarI Bio-Gold. For my (smaller) male crowntail, I'll feed two twice a day. For my (significantly larger) male delta tail, I'll feed three twice a day. I feed in the afternoon-ish when I get back from work, and in the late evening/night a little before I go to sleep. If either of the bettas are looking a bloated before the second meal (my crowntail loves to nibble his plants...) I'll decrease the evening serving by one pellet.

 

Wow, there's really a difference in the sizes of the soaked pellets! This is pretty neat. I'd never considered that different pellets would expand differently before.



I use HikarI Bio-Gold. For my (smaller) male crowntail, I'll feed two twice a day. For my (significantly larger) male delta tail, I'll feed three twice a day. I feed in the afternoon-ish when I get back from work, and in the late evening/night a little before I go to sleep. If either of the bettas are looking a bloated before the second meal (my crowntail loves to nibble his plants...) I'll decrease the evening serving by one pellet.

Yeah it is very interesting how different pellets seem to hold more water. It scares me for people who feed NLS and don't soak ahead of time all that swelling of food in your Betta Stomach is really bad and can cause a number of health issues Seems like you have a really good feeding regimen down. It makes me happy when I hear people taking good care of their fish

Wow, there's really a difference in the sizes of the soaked pellets! This is pretty neat. I'd never considered that different pellets would expand differently before.



I use HikarI Bio-Gold. For my (smaller) male crowntail, I'll feed two twice a day. For my (significantly larger) male delta tail, I'll feed three twice a day. I feed in the afternoon-ish when I get back from work, and in the late evening/night a little before I go to sleep. If either of the bettas are looking a bloated before the second meal (my crowntail loves to nibble his plants...) I'll decrease the evening serving by one pellet.

By the way I love the picture of the Betta in your profile picture! It looks like a heart! ❤️

 

I think it depends a lot on the fish too -I now feed a food that's more of a micro pellet style, much much smaller than the small pellets, so one fish gets a small spinkle once or twice a day. I used to feed a pellet food similar to the 'omega-one' type though, and some fish would eat about 3 pellets, while another fish would eat 7 or 8. That fish wasn't bigger, just always ate a lot lol.

 

I am a Canadian ehh lol , I do live in Canada but live in Quebec (sadly) , just checked your info , super jealous over the fact that your from California!! Winter down here sucks, and right now winter over but yet it's still 42f-43f.

but oh okay I've never seen it at my usual LFS, but great to know, Might order some online just to make a change every so often.

I've seen it in Montreal at Aquarius, so some stores do carry it.

 

I think the experts suggest that amount because most hobbyists shorten their Bettas' lives by overfeeding. All pellets are rich food, and fat in a fish is in the body cavity, not under the skin as it is for us.
We like to feed our fish, but we kill them with kindness sometimes.

The best test on amounts is watching the fish - I would feed once a day and skip a day per week. Work in some frozen food from time to time, and don't go exclusively with any pellet. I have no Bettas now, but when I did, they'd live anywhere from 5-8 years on that regime.

Maybe I'll see you guys at the Montreal Aquarium Society this evening. Then we won't know who each other is!

 

I can't: I'd need a babysitter.

Although if you know someone who wants pond snails, I got 20 in my 10-gallon tank that I'll want to get rid of.

 

View attachment 312541 Hey Everyone,

So I've been doing a lot of research lately on different types of Betta fish pellets. I wanted to see how much a certain type of pellet would expand once placed in water for a few minutes. Now say someone asks "how many pellets should I feed my Betta", and the response they get is typically 2-3 in the morning & 2-3 at night. I'm curious if those numbers would change depending on what pellet your using. As you can see in the picture of the experiment I did the New Life Spectrum blew up to about 3 times it's original size where as the NorthFin maybe went up half a size, if at all. I just wanted to get some people's feed back as to what type of pellets they feed and how many a day etc.. as well as how you feel about feeding the larger pellets as opposed to the smaller ones.

Holy moly! Those things get big. I have been feeding my betta 3-4 NLS pellet 0.5mm pellets since I got him in October. He does fine but I'll see about switching him to 2-3 pellets. He only gets pellets 2-3 times a week though, he gets other yummy stuff (brine shrimp, tubifex worms, bloodworms, daphnia) other days and I fast him on Sundays. Is he too big??? He looks ok to me but now I want another opinion!

 

Gee, I just got NLS today after finally locating some, it's a bit harder to get here, and nobody seems to have Omega One. I was a bit disappointed to read about the amount of wheat etc in the HikarI foods I had originally got, even though the fish seem to love them just fine.

However I found on feeding the new NLS foods tonight that the NLS is bigger pellets even before soaking and didn't float as well. The first Betta didn't even see them careening past him onto the ground. I had to re-feed him one at a time instead of just chucking a few in at once. Second Betta seemed to really struggle with the size and kept spitting them out multiple times, the third larger Betta who is a dude just gobbled them up.

I also found the micro pellets for my ember tetras were larger and harder to eat. I had to vacuum 2 Betta tanks and the ember tank after feeding because of the waste, so I feel a bit deflated after driving across town and paying quite a bit for this jolly food!

I might try the micro pellets for the 2 smaller bettas at least til they grow a bit, but I think I will copy the soaking test out of curiosity now!

I wonder if I should crush the micro pellets for the embers.... or go back to the hikarI if I don't have time every day.

It's an endless pursuit is it not!!!!

 

Maybe I'll see you guys at the Montreal Aquarium Society this evening. Then we won't know who each other is!

I've seen it in Montreal at Aquarius, so some stores do carry it.

I had no idea their was people from Montreal on this forum !! haha I'm from the south shore saint hubert.

really Aquarius, I might pass by and pick some up, I normally just stick to my LFS that I trust and they take pretty good care of their fish well atleast better then safari, any recommendation on some good local fish stores? do you guys happen to sell or know of anybody?

I wish I'd be able to go this evening won't make it unfortunately!!! life is getting in front of my hobby lol

 

People at Aquarius are nice and are reluctant to sell fish for an uncycled tank, which is a good sign, in my opinion.

Their fishes seem healthy, in general. Their bettas are in 1 gallon bowl (or maybe smaller?), so that's not great.

I got my pond snails from plants we bought there.

 

Holy moly! Those things get big. I have been feeding my betta 3-4 NLS pellet 0.5mm pellets since I got him in October. He does fine but I'll see about switching him to 2-3 pellets. He only gets pellets 2-3 times a week though, he gets other yummy stuff (brine shrimp, tubifex worms, bloodworms, daphnia) other days and I fast him on Sundays. Is he too big??? He looks ok to me but now I want another opinion!

He looks great to me! Beautiful! I wonder if your NLS are different then mine because mine say 1mm on the package..

Gee, I just got NLS today after finally locating some, it's a bit harder to get here, and nobody seems to have Omega One. I was a bit disappointed to read about the amount of wheat etc in the HikarI foods I had originally got, even though the fish seem to love them just fine.

However I found on feeding the new NLS foods tonight that the NLS is bigger pellets even before soaking and didn't float as well. The first Betta didn't even see them careening past him onto the ground. I had to re-feed him one at a time instead of just chucking a few in at once. Second Betta seemed to really struggle with the size and kept spitting them out multiple times, the third larger Betta who is a dude just gobbled them up.

I also found the micro pellets for my ember tetras were larger and harder to eat. I had to vacuum 2 Betta tanks and the ember tank after feeding because of the waste, so I feel a bit deflated after driving across town and paying quite a bit for this jolly food!

I might try the micro pellets for the 2 smaller bettas at least til they grow a bit, but I think I will copy the soaking test out of curiosity now!

I wonder if I should crush the micro pellets for the embers.... or go back to the hikarI if I don't have time every day.

It's an endless pursuit is it not!!!!

Yeah if the NLS is to big and their having trouble eating it I would just stick with the Hikari. If buying online is an option for you you can always find Omega-One one there.

 

Yeah if the NLS is to big and their having trouble eating it I would just stick with the Hikari. If buying online is an option for you you can always find Omega-One one there.

As far as I can tell I would have to get it past customs etc and it will be very expensive :-( I will keep looking, maybe one day somebody will import some Omega One for purchase in this country. *crosses fingers*.

 

He looks great to me! Beautiful! I wonder if your NLS are different then mine because mine say 1mm on the package..

Ok good . Hmm, mine are smaller, 0.5mm so smaller pellets to begin with. They are small community pellets. I will take a picture tomorrow. Fraziers light is out and the food is underneath his tank.

Ok took picture of container and you can see the pellet size

 

Ok good . Hmm, mine are smaller, 0.5mm so smaller pellets to begin with. They are small community pellets. I will take a picture tomorrow. Fraziers light is out and the food is underneath his tank.

Ok took picture of container and you can see the pellet size

View attachment 312931

Ohh ok. Do you still soak them ahead of time though?

I think the experts suggest that amount because most hobbyists shorten their Bettas' lives by overfeeding. All pellets are rich food, and fat in a fish is in the body cavity, not under the skin as it is for us.
We like to feed our fish, but we kill them with kindness sometimes.

The best test on amounts is watching the fish - I would feed once a day and skip a day per week. Work in some frozen food from time to time, and don't go exclusively with any pellet. I have no Bettas now, but when I did, they'd live anywhere from 5-8 years on that regime.

Maybe I'll see you guys at the Montreal Aquarium Society this evening. Then we won't know who each other is!

Do you mind if I ask what type of frozen food you fed to your Bettas and how much how often? Also what type of pellet food did you use?

 

Ohh ok. Do you still soak them ahead of time though?

Umm, not until last night. . I didn't know you were supposed to soak pellets. I just soaked his freeze dried foods before giving them to him for about 5 minutes. I take it it's better to soak pellets as well?

 

Umm, not until last night. . I didn't know you were supposed to soak pellets. I just soaked his freeze dried foods before giving them to him for about 5 minutes. I take it it's better to soak pellets as well?

It's ok I didn't know at first either. Yeah not only is it better for digestion but it's easier for them to eat too. Sometimes after you soak them they tend to sink more so I put the pellet on the end of my pinkie finger and when they get close I drop it in. Makes it easier for them to see it.

 

It's ok I didn't know at first either. Yeah not only is it better for digestion but it's easier for them to eat too. Sometimes after you soak them they tend to sink more so I put the pellet on the end of my pinkie finger and when they get close I drop it in. Makes it easier for them to see it.

Oh! Yeah want Frazier as happy and healthy as possible! He isn't a fan of sinking food so working on figuring out the best timing. He likes it best when I drop it in a couple inches away from him. Guessing so he can hunt and catch his food.

 

Oh! Yeah want Frazier as happy and healthy as possible! He isn't a fan of sinking food so working on figuring out the best timing. He likes it best when I drop it in a couple inches away from him. Guessing so he can hunt and catch his food.

Yeah mine are the same. So I just kinda drag it a little bit so the chase it then drop it in and they really like that.

 

Yeah mine are the same. So I just kinda drag it a little bit so the chase it then drop it in and they really like that.

I will try that method

 

I think the experts suggest that amount because most hobbyists shorten their Bettas' lives by overfeeding. All pellets are rich food, and fat in a fish is in the body cavity, not under the skin as it is for us.
We like to feed our fish, but we kill them with kindness sometimes.

The best test on amounts is watching the fish - I would feed once a day and skip a day per week. Work in some frozen food from time to time, and don't go exclusively with any pellet. I have no Bettas now, but when I did, they'd live anywhere from 5-8 years on that regime.

Maybe I'll see you guys at the Montreal Aquarium Society this evening. Then we won't know who each other is!

Also, on the days you fed pellet food how many would you feed?