Fussy Betta Eating

My betta is turning into a very fussy eater. Up to now he's been having a variety between NLS small fish soaked pellets, betta flakes, frozen brine shrimp, cyclops, tubifex or bloodworm. About a couple of weeks ago he started deciding he doesn't like anything but the flakes.

He was getting about 4-5 small flakes in the morning, and whatever was on the menu in the evening. I stopped his flakes in the morning and started feeding him just once a day figuring maybe he wasn't hungry enough. I also didn't feed him at all for three days hoping that would snap him out of it. It hasn't. He will quite often go for the food on offer, but then spit it back out and watch it fall to the bottom where the snails are happy to have it. I just tried him on some mashed pea, which again he took, but spat back out. Starting to wonder if this was a bigger issue, I relented and gave him some flakes. He went nuts hoovering them all up and didn't spit them out, but that is not a very balanced diet. He used to love the frozen stuff so I don't get this obsession with flakes.

What can I do to try and entice him into eating better?

 

Garlic is great for enticing fish! What size is your tank? Is it filtered and heated and are there tank mates?

 

Garlic is great for enticing fish! What size is your tank? Is it filtered and heated and are there tank mates?

It's just over 5g, cycled, filtered and heated to 78.9. Parameters are all good at 0 0 5. He has two tiny bumblebee nerite snails with him, but that's it. The NLS has garlic in it which is why I want him to eat it. He was fine with them initially, but now he's just like, nah. He'll take them, hold him in his mouth for a bit then just spit it back out again. He is a ditz, half the time he's so busy gawking at me or something else, he misses the food going in anyway. I stood there yesterday for ages with some tubifex in tweezers, wriggling them around. And he did come and take some, but ejected them again. He clearly wants the food but just spits it out. The flake is the only thing he doesn't do that with. It's driving me batty!

 

The NLS doesn't have a lot of garlic.

Soak it in garlic juice for 5 minutes before feeding.

It will make the food smell better and the texture will be betta for consumption.

 

The NLS doesn't have a lot of garlic.

Soak it in garlic juice for 5 minutes before feeding.

It will make the food smell better and the texture will be betta for consumption.

Definitely willing to give it a try. I might try him with a feeding cone as well and see if he's more inclined to take it on his own from there. Will stop stuff getting to the bottom of the tank as fast at least. I have the best fed snails going I think!