Betta won't eat!

[JamieLu]

I used tetra safe start and I skipped my nitrite phase altogether so some work but ull still have to cycle the tank and itll still take awhile. Also make sure not to replace the cartridge in ur filter or ull lose a lot of good bacteria. Just rinse with tap water and u can cut and dump charcoal out of it when its gettin old but reuse the cartridge

 

[tristanbooi]

I just recently got a betta fish and I have a big 10 gallon tank with a heater and filter but the only problem is the fish won’t eat and I don’t know why, I have two different foods but the fish still won’t eat and i’m not sure what to do. I don’t know if somethings wrong or if it’s just not the food he’s use to eating and I just am unsure of what to do because I don’t want him to die because he’s not eating

 

[BlackSkirtTetra]

Perhaps he is not used to eating this food, I would give it some time. It could also be he’s stressed, I would also give him some time for this.

Also it says you don’t know about the nitrogen cycle. I would suggest learning about, your betta could perish from your ignorance of it.

 

[MissNoodle]

Try some frozen bloodworms. Most fish go nuts for them, especially bettas

 

[Truckjohn]

Keep a close watch on him for appearing swollen.... It's called Dropsy. One of the symptoms is they quit eating.

Another thing is that he may not realize it is food.... Sometimes fish need to see other fish eating unfamiliar things before they eat it.

 

[tristanbooi]

Perhaps he is not used to eating this food, I would give it some time. It could also be he’s stressed, I would also give him some time for this.

Also it says you don’t know about the nitrogen cycle. I would suggest learning about, your betta could perish from your ignorance of it.

He has also been staying in the top corner of the tank, i’m going to get the water tested tomorrow morning but i’m also concerned about this because he’s rather in the front corner or the back corner by the heater and always at the top which is what my last betta was doing, I also had my last betta in a bowl which was my mistake but I don’t know what i’m doing wrong now and i’m very concerned

Try some frozen bloodworms. Most fish go nuts for them, especially bettas

I will go tomorrow morning to get some, hopefully it will work thank you

 

[MayaBetta]

My fish did this prior to fin rot. I think it’s just what they do when they don’t feel well. I haven’t gotten her to start eating yet but I hope that she will as the infection is treated.

 

[AverageDewdrop]

Is your tank cycled ? Is everything better now?

 

[MayaBetta]

My fish did this prior to fin rot. I think it’s just what they do when they don’t feel well. I haven’t gotten her to start eating yet but I hope that she will as the infection is treated.

Mine ended up dying so good luck! Hope yours fares better!

 

[christopher27]

Did you let the nitrogen cycle complete? How long has the tank been set up (this helps the beneficial bacteria colonize the tank)

Solutions
1-Live food (bloodworms, for example)
2-Different food types (pellets-flakes)
3-The fish could be simply stressed out and needs time before its willing to eat
4-What food did the pet store use?

 

[Finatic005]

For the last two to four months, my betta always swims right past the pellets I give him. It’s so incredibly annoying because it’s gotten increasingly worse. He hasn’t eaten tonight which was the first night he flat out has refused to eat. Usually he misses the pellets (9/10 times he misses) but tonight he didn’t even bite at the food. Please help!! He’s 2 years old

 

[AquaticQueen]

Maybe he doesn't like the food? Bettas can be really picky sometimes. What type of food are you feeding him?
EDIT: Forgot to mention, if he's 2 years old, it is likely he may have lost a bit of perception. He probably can't see too well anymore and that may explain why he swims past the food. Try feeding him with some non-sharp tweezers.

 

[Finatic005]

Maybe he doesn't like the food? Bettas can be really picky sometimes. What type of food are you feeding him?

He’s been eating this food for the last year and half. It’s tetra tropical granules.

 

[Finatic005]

Sometimes I try to feed him northfin betta pellets 1mm width. He acts the same way to those

 

[AquaticQueen]

Sometimes I try to feed him northfin betta pellets 1mm width. He acts the same way to those

It could be his age. He probably had lost a bit of perception. Try feeding him with some non-sharp tweezers.

 

[Finatic005]

It could be his age. He probably had lost a bit of perception. Try feeding him with some non-sharp tweezers.

Can’t betta’s live for like 7 years? And are there any tweezers you recommend?

 

[Desi]

You can try soaking some of the pellets in some garlic juice. The smell of the garlic is supposed to entice them to eat.

 

[Fisch]

Or try something tasty like a nice juicy bloodworm. Who wants stale cookies every days

 

[AquaticQueen]

Can’t betta’s live for like 7 years? And are there any tweezers you recommend?

Where did you buy him? Apparently aquarium plant tweezers work.

 

[Doom]

Try flakes or bloodworms

I feed mine these and they are eating them fast sometimes I feed pellets too:

https://www.amazon.ca/-/fr/Tetra-77815-03-Bloodworms-Freeze-0-28-Ounce/dp/B002MW9YUQ/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_fr_CA=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&dchild=1&keywords=bloodworms&qid=1596343177&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.ca/-/fr/gp/product/B00FJ04BO2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&psc=1

He's probably tired of eating the same things.

 

[Finatic005]

You can try soaking some of the pellets in some garlic juice. The smell of the garlic is supposed to entice them to eat.

Hm ok, I’ll look into that

Or try something tasty like a nice juicy bloodworm. Who wants stale cookies every days

I do have frozen blood worms, and he doesn’t even recognize them as food. I drop it in and he ignores it.

Where did you buy him? Apparently aquarium plant tweezers work.

Petco and how do you suppose to feed a small fish with large tongs? If it works I’d love to know

Try flakes or bloodworms

I feed mine these and they are eating them fast sometimes I feed pellets too:

https://www.amazon.ca/-/fr/Tetra-77815-03-Bloodworms-Freeze-0-28-Ounce/dp/B002MW9YUQ/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_fr_CA=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&dchild=1&keywords=bloodworms&qid=1596343177&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.ca/-/fr/gp/product/B00FJ04BO2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&psc=1

He's probably tired of eating the same things.

He ignores both. I feed flakes every night to a guppy in the tank. I’m going to rehouse the guppy into my 20 gallon with the other 30 guppies lol they reproduce a lot. He ignores blood worms

 

[Finatic005]

I tried turning off the sponge filter so there was no surface agitation whilst he was eating and it seemed to help a lot. In stead of not eating at all, he was able to snag 4 out of like 8-9 that I tried feeding him. I’m thinking about purchase floating pellets so he has multiple tries at one pellet. The sinking ones float for a while on the surface but if he snaps at them and misses, the pellet sinks to the bottom of the tank.

 

[Doom]

I tried turning off the sponge filter so there was no surface agitation whilst he was eating and it seemed to help a lot. In stead of not eating at all, he was able to snag 4 out of like 8-9 that I tried feeding him. I’m thinking about purchase floating pellets so he has multiple tries at one pellet. The sinking ones float for a while on the surface but if he snaps at them and misses, the pellet sinks to the bottom of the tank.

Yeah, I turn off my filter when I feed my betta and plug it back in 15 min after, because the flow is deranging I guess

 

[AquaticQueen]

Petco and how do you suppose to feed a small fish with large tongs? If it works I’d love to know

Bettas from PetCo and PetSmart, I have heard, can have bad genetics and not live long. A lot of members on here lost their bettas after two years.
I have heard they work, but I have never used them for this purpose. All you are doing is putting the food in front of him, so it should work.

 

[Finatic005]

Bettas from PetCo and PetSmart, I have heard, can have bad genetics and not live long. A lot of members on here lost their bettas after two years.
I have heard they work, but I have never used them for this purpose. All you are doing is putting the food in front of him, so it should work.

Oh I didn’t know this. He still seems healthy and shows no signs of aging except for his perception. He is more chill now, he doesn’t swim much anymore and relaxes all day behind his sponge filter. He knows exactly where the food is, but he either swims past it or misses it. It’s gotten better by turning off his filter. He’s been eating and I’ve been switching over to north fin because it’s healthier. Thanks for the info!

 

[Debbie1986]

Bettas from PetCo and PetSmart, I have heard, can have bad genetics and not live long. A lot of members on here lost their bettas after two years.
I have heard they work, but I have never used them for this purpose. All you are doing is putting the food in front of him, so it should work.

Agreed. I'm buying my next Betta online for this very reason.

 

[Ling313]

You can try bug bites. I recently had a tetra that wouldn’t eat anything- flakes, pellets- floating and semi floating. I put in the bug bites and he went to town. Now he eats the other foods too (I like to vary the diet)

 

[NightCrow]

My betta fish hasn't been eating for a little over a week straight and before that, it was eating floating pellets fine. But now when I do give it pellets it will eat it but then spit it out a couple seconds later and proceed to ignore it. The fish still looks happy and swims around like usual but I'm getting a bit concern about it. Is there any other food I can buy from Amazon to feed it?

 

[butterflybetta]

It would be helpful if you answered these questions :
What pellets do you feed him?
How many pellets do you feed him daily? (how many did he eat, when he would eat?)

In your aquarium details you mentioned you did not know about the nitrogen cycle, so just to be sure, did you cycle your tank? Do you know what your exact water parameters are?
Do you have a heater and filter?
How big is your tank?

 

[NBettas83]

My betta fish hasn't been eating for a little over a week straight and before that, it was eating floating pellets fine. But now when I do give it pellets it will eat it but then spit it out a couple seconds later and proceed to ignore it. The fish still looks happy and swims around like usual but I'm getting a bit concern about it. Is there any other food I can buy from Amazon to feed it?

1: Did you get him recently? Was he recently through a stressful event? They will sometimes cease to eat for a while when something like that happens, but a week is too long it seems.
2: Does he like the food? Maybe it's too big for him, maybe he doesn't like it? I'd recommend trying the Omega One Betta Buffet pellets, there are also different types of food like bloodworms or daphnia.
And what julifhy said above (posted while I was typing).
Good Luck!

 

[NightCrow]

It would be helpful if you answered these questions :
What pellets do you feed him?
How many pellets do you feed him daily? (how many did he eat, when he would eat?)

In your aquarium details you mentioned you did not know about the nitrogen cycle, so just to be sure, did you cycle your tank? Do you know what your exact water parameters are?
Do you have a heater and filter?
How big is your tank?

I feed him aqueon pro betta formula floating twice a day (2-3 pellet) and he had no problem eating when I first got him and he was eating the first week but stopped eating the second week
He is in a 2.5 gallon bowl with no heater or filter currently til the 10 gallon tank arrive with the heater and filter
He also made a bubble nest and is swimming normally, the water temp is 75 since where I live it pretty warm here. I notice just now that he was eating green algae, is that normal????

 

[NightCrow]

1: Did you get him recently? Was he recently through a stressful event? They will sometimes cease to eat for a while when something like that happens, but a week is too long it seems.
2: Does he like the food? Maybe it's too big for him, maybe he doesn't like it? I'd recommend trying the Omega One Betta Buffet pellets, there are also different types of food like bloodworms or daphnia.
And what julifhy said above (posted while I was typing).
Good Luck!

I got him last month and he ate from the day that I got him, he still is interested when I put the food in, but he just eats it and spit it out a couple seconds later and lose interest in it?????

 

[Shrimp42]

Do you know of the nitrogen cycle? It could be ammonia or nitrite poison

 

[butterflybetta]

I feed him aqueon pro betta formula floating twice a day (2-3 pellet) and he had no problem eating when I first got him and he was eating the first week but stopped eating the second week
He is in a 2.5 gallon bowl with no heater or filter currently til the 10 gallon tank arrive with the heater and filter
He also made a bubble nest and is swimming normally, the water temp is 75 since where I live it pretty warm here. I notice just now that he was eating green algae, is that normal????

I would suggest soaking the pellets in tank water (in a separate container) for about 15 minutes and then try feeding it to him. You could also try gently tapping on the water where the food is, to mimic a bug.
I would still get a filter and heater for your 2.5 gallon tank. Bettas thrive in 78°F-80°F and maybe he’s refusing to eat because it’s too cold. Your tank not being cycled could be another problem. How often do you do water changes? How much water do you change?
He might of ate the algae because he’s hungry. My betta will eat anything that will fit in his mouth lol. Try feeding him again. Maybe this time he’ll eat

Since you got him a month ago, he could just be farting used to his new tank and the food. Do you have a picture of him and his tank?

 

[NightCrow]

I would suggest soaking the pellets in tank water (in a separate container) for about 15 minutes and then try feeding it to him. You could also try gently tapping on the water where the food is, to mimic a bug.
I would still get a filter and heater for your 2.5 gallon tank. Bettas thrive in 78°F-80°F and maybe he’s refusing to eat because it’s too cold. Your tank not being cycled could be another problem. How often do you do water changes? How much water do you change?
He might of ate the algae because he’s hungry. My betta will eat anything that will fit in his mouth lol. Try feeding him again. Maybe this time he’ll eat

Since you got him a month ago, he could just be farting used to his new tank and the food. Do you have a picture of him and his tank?

He's eating now!!! I ended up asking on some other betta dorm as well and one person told me that his fish had the same exact problem because of the food brand so I switched to Hikari pellet brand and he's back to his usual self

 

[butterflybetta]

Since you got him a month ago, he could just be farting used to his new tank and the food. Do you have a picture of him and his tank?

Hmm... I just realized I said “he could just be farting used to...” instead of “he could be just getting used to...” Sometimes I don’t understand my phone’s autocorrect lol

He's eating now!!! I ended up asking on some other betta dorm as well and one person told me that his fish had the same exact problem because of the food brand so I switched to Hikari pellet brand and he's back to his usual self

I’m glad he’s doing better! I guess bettas might not like the formula of the first food lol. It’s good you found one that he does like though!

 

[TeeJay89]

Hello all, two days ago I got my first beautiful crown tail! I noticed his water was murky in his cup when I got him and it’s because food was siting in there for the day probably. He has his own tank now, and I’ve tried 3 different foods for him but he doesn’t eat them.
The Hikari pellets I’ve seen him eat for a second but always spits back out. The other pellets I haven’t seen him do anything with yet, along with the flakes.
At first I thought it was stress but now he’s happily swimming around instead of hiding as much. I noticed too that anything teeny that’s floating in the water he will try to eat, maybe he’s just that picky?
It’s just odd for me because my other Betta eats everything, even things he shouldn’t haha. I’m thinking of getting bloodworms to try since they’re a lot different than pellets.
I think he is getting hungry though because he’s starting todo that little wiggle at the glass that my other Betta does when he’s wanting food. Any suggestions? ☺️

 

[jkkgron2]

You could try getting frozen bloodworms and frozen daphnia. Both are foods that bettas love and daphnia would help in case he’s having problems digesting the food.

 

[QCAquaholic]

Mine didn't eat for a few days after I first got him. The following week he was doing his "feed me" dance anytime I came within ten feet of the tank.

 

[TeeJay89]

You could try getting frozen bloodworms and frozen daphnia. Both are foods that bettas love and daphnia would help in case he’s having problems digesting the food.

Are Bettas able to eat just the worms? I’ve read something that said they shouldn’t eat just those as it could cause issues but I’m not sure. It would seem though that it’s closer to what they would eat in the wild!

 

[jkkgron2]

Are Bettas able to eat just the worms? I’ve read something that said they shouldn’t eat just those as it could cause issues but I’m not sure. It would seem though that it’s closer to what they would eat in the wild!

No, it shouldn’t be a permanent diet. But, it should encourage him to eat and you can transition him to pellets later on once he’s started eating the bloodworms.

 

[kansas]

Mine won't eat pellets. Frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms.

 

[Vivo]

You could try getting frozen bloodworms and frozen daphnia. Both are foods that bettas love and daphnia would help in case he’s having problems digesting the food.

I wish I could find frozen daphnia.

 

[Vivo]

Mine won't eat pellets. Frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms.

My girl was a very picky eater at first. Frozen blood worms, she couldn't resist. You may need to chop it up at first. I just take a small chunk and dice it systematically so it doesn't turn into mush. I use a dropper to drop a couple at a time because they sink pretty quickly. I do it in front of her. Also, she loves the Hikari micro pellets, but at first I had to soak them. Again they will sink immediately so eye dropper one or two at a time in front of her. now, I changed her name from Delta Dawn to Miss Piggy. I tried to sneak a chunk of blood worms to my loaches, it worked the first time. She found it first and ate the whole thing!!!

 

[ElysiumPlants]

Try killing your filter and airstone and dropping a few live fruit flies in. They float, and still water with moving prey on the surface will often do the trick with labyrinth fish.

 

[TeeJay89]

My girl was a very picky eater at first. Frozen blood worms, she couldn't resist. You may need to chop it up at first. I just take a small chunk and dice it systematically so it doesn't turn into mush. I use a dropper to drop a couple at a time because they sink pretty quickly. I do it in front of her. Also, she loves the Hikari micro pellets, but at first I had to soak them. Again they will sink immediately so eye dropper one or two at a time in front of her. now, I changed her name from Delta Dawn to Miss Piggy. I tried to sneak a chunk of blood worms to my loaches, it worked the first time. She found it first and ate the whole thing!!!

I’m actually about to be at Petco and I was going to try those micro pellets! Either way I will get bloodworms too and hope he starts with those so he doesn’t starve

 

[ElysiumPlants]

Marvin’s a picky cuss sometimes, but he can’t resist the fruit flies.

 

[TeeJay89]

Marvin’s a picky cuss sometimes, but he can’t resist the fruit flies.

Can you somehow buy fruit flies? I never thought about those!

 

[ElysiumPlants]

Can you somehow buy fruit flies? I never thought about those!

You can get them online, for one. I got mine at Petco. I also got some Repashy Superfly and started culturing my own. Pretty easy to do.

 

[TeeJay89]

So I got some frozen brine shrimp because they were out of bloodworms, but he actually ate it! It's the first time I've bought frozen food like that so I *may* have accidentally gave him a tad too much and his belly bloated out but at least now I know how much to give him!