Bettas and Peas

I have a question - can bettas eat peas as a daily food? like on pea a day?  cause I had danios and a pleco a few years ago and they ate them just fine....  is this ok for bettas?  Thnx, Miley

 

They should only be given to them as treats twice a week and only 3 very tiny pieces about the size of their eye or smaller. The only time you give them to them as a meal is when they are constipated.Natalie

 

ok - so extremely tiny pieces for treats or a whole thawed pea if they r constipated - also how do you know when they are constipeted? Miley

 

No, Never give them a whole entire pea. That is way too much for them to consume. Just give them 3 tiny pieces and that's it. You usually can tell they are constipated if they stop eating for you and also if you notice that they aren't pooping. They're tummy's can also look pretty bloated looking and that's another indicator. if you're Betta has never had a pea before and you think he is constipated ever he will not eat the pea because he's never had them and Bettas are carnivores. so for the very first time you give one to him you will need to fast him which means no food for at least 2 days no matter how much he begs which trust me he will. Then after the fast you may give him 3 tiny pieces the size of his eye and he should gobble them up because he will be hungry. You can do this for a day or 2 as a meal then he should be fine and you can proceed with his normal feedings. After that first time ONLY give them to him as TREATS, not a MEAL twice a week and he should eat them for you w/o a problem. Natalie

 

Thanks!! I don't know but my betta, Oscar, and my sisters betta, Calamarrie, have very large white fat stomachs - are thy just full and fat or constipated? sorry to be asking you all this. Miley

 

Are they eating and ackting normally?

 

Yes, Oscar is eating - I have him on a diet of two little chunks of Wardley Tubiflex cubes about every two or three days.... he has a white fat stumach thoguh... I don't know my sisters feeding schedule though... could they be sick or constipated cause trust me they poop though!! lol Miley and also they are acting normal...

 

You might want to p ut him on a fast anyway, because you really don't want him to get constipated. There is nothing wrong with doing that even if they are acting fine and are pooping. I was told that even though it's symptom of not pooping that sometimes they could poop and still be constipated. Fast him for a couple days and then feed him a pea for his meal the third day and seeif he loses some of his belly. I think you miight be over feeding him. Bettas are not supposed to have real fast bellies. Their bellies are the size of their eyeball, very tiny. How much of the tubifex worms are you feeding him?I hope not the whole cube because that is way too much natalie

 

No! I only feed him a very small little piece of it every two or three days. he has a plump white stomach - I will fast him then feed him a piece of pea. thanks you all for your advice - hes doing great and I am gonig to post a picture -

can you see his tummy is white? and plump? -

 

I can't really tell a whole lot, but he does look a little bloated to me so I would just fast him for a day or 2 and see what happens with pea. See if his belly goes away. How was his belly when you first bought him?Natalie

 

You would know if he was constipated. Looks like he's being overfed. You might want to decrease the amt. of food to slI'm him up a bit.

 

I would stop feeding him the tubifex cubes. Tubifex worms are considered a low quality food and not very good for Bettas. He should be eating HikarI Betta Bio-Gold pellets (2-3 pellets, twice a day) and occasionally a couple freeze-dried bloodworms (a high quality protein) for variety. Frozen pea defrosted or microwaved for 40 seconds should be given in small amounts twice a week as a treat BETWEEN his regular meals. Only give the inside of the pea, not the skin. Because you are keeping him in a small cold tank with no heater he is in a lot of danger for constipation (as well as many ohter diseases). Do NOT overfeed him on protein foods and get him into a larger heated/filtered tank as soon as possible. Throw away the tubifex. It will only block him up eventually.

 

Oscar is a beautiful betta.  You are getting such good advice here.  I know you will take good care of him and he will have a wonderful life.  Isn't it wonderful how all the people in this forum care about every fish and each other?

CherryRose

 

Yes, we do have a great group and fine family of fish here. The owners help each other and are so good together, I am just so proud of everyone...too bad we do not run the world isn't it? We can get along here and perhaps some of the folks haggling about world problems could not learn something here.

Oscar is very beautiful and you can be proud of him. I am happy to hear that you are doing the daily water changes, it will help to keep him healthy. I do agree with Phloxface that he should really have a better quality of protein in his diet than Tubifex...bettas need freeze dried bloodworms and some pellets like HikarI Betta Bio-gold or Ocean Nutrition Atison's Betta Pro or Betta Formula.

I am also very happy to learn that he is getting peas to eat and will be a couple times a week at least. That is also going to help keep him healthy.

Rose

 

Chickadee, Thank you - also I have been doing water changes every day and my dad, mom and especially my sister are always telling/yelling that its going to stress him out too much and hes going to die - but hes fine. also I hink the the pea will be good for him also. Miley
Cherryrose,
thank you and I agree.
Phloxface,
I will stop feeding him tubiflex cubes and where can you buy freezed dried worms?
Omorrokh,sounds good I am trying the peas. thnx Miles
mnwierman1977,
yeah that's what I am doing and no - when I got him his tummy wasn't white and he wasn't as fat and chubby... I think its cause S.M.F. ( spoiling my fish) lol. Miley

well thank you so much for all of your great advice. Miley

 

LilNeonLover

I am so proud of you! You had a rough start with Betta's but you've regrouped and educated yourself on their care. I think you're doing a fantastic job and it's soo wise of you to come asking questions. It's much better to be safe than sorry.

I am happy for your lil guy that he has such a caring mom in you.

Don't worry about what your family is shouting to you. You know you're doing the right thing. You could even give a lil "hey, I educated myself on Betta care, am still learning but I've learned a lot and you could too" if they don't quit, heh.

Keep up the good work Betta Mom You are indeed a betta (better, heh) mom today than before. Bravo.

 

Freeze-dried bloodworms come in the petstores right where the other fish food is kept. You will find that almost all bettas love them. When I had picky eaters, they would all eat them even when they turned their noses up at almost everything else.

Rose

 

AesSedai,
thank you so much! you are so sweet! and that's a good idea.
Rose ( chickadee),
ok - next time I am at Walmart ( do they have them there?) and if not petco/petsmart - I have him on the pea diet ya know?

thank you both - I just wish my sister would pull her head out of her butt and take better care of Calamarrie - hes in a - yes its way too small I know.... but - one gal tank and she cleans it MAYBE once a week. its cruel! :'( > and hes got like a big pile of betta food at the bottom and my sister never wants to clean his tank and she thinks it mean ( cuz he'll die of stress ) and dumb for me to clean my tank 50% everyday! I told her to take better care of him but she thinks it ok - like her water temp. is like always at 70ish! mines usually 81 -90. shes not a very good betta mom and I can't do it for her cause she'll yell at me and when she does clean his tank sh does a FULL clean and has to take him out. I hate how she cares for him. I am hopeing and PRAYING! that she figures it out soon! Miley >

 

My boss is the same. She bought a Betta for her 3 year old son that I watch. He is the in the same 1 gallon tank that I had Mr. red in before I moved him into the 5 gallon. The poor fish until recently has done nothing but lay on the bottom of the tank looking all sad. If I try to tell her anything she doesn't listen to me. She's the same with her kids. It drives me nuts. She's had Betta's before. She had one when I first started working for her and it in a smaller container unfiltered and non- heated and it died. She said it lived for 7 yrs which I was very shocked with that given the conditions it was in. I guess it just got used to it. She's doing the same thing with this one. If I clean it she'll yell at me. I cleaned it once just to be nice and do them a favor and she had a conniption fit. Her husband appreciated the gesture and thanked me for it. He's a little bitmore active now, but I think that's because I turn the light to provide a little bit of warmth for him, but I turn it off before she gets home. :-X I'm sneaky like that. :-X I just feel so bad for him. He's a Cambodian too, now that I know what one looks like. He is definitely a Cambodian. I just can't believe that he is still alive and hasn't had any diseases and mine died and I took proper care of Mr. Red. That irritates me a little.

In any case I'm glad that you are taking the time to learn about Betta's and learn how to properly take care of them. Maybe when, and this is mean to say, but ,maybe when Your sister's passes away she'll then learn her lesson and maybe she will take your advise. Are you younger or older then her? Natalie

 

ohhh!!!!! sorry about mr. red :'( that's no fair and I can't stand the way my sister acts.. >


it makes me mad. well thnx , Miley

 

Well, you will just have to show your sister how happy and long lived your "stressed" betta turns out to be!!! Hopefully she will learn from the experience. ~J~

 

I hope soo!!!! Miley