I Feel The Pellets Are Too Big For Fishy Boris.

[Georgie Girl]

I feel they're too big for him, and I worry that they'll get stuck in his craw (do fish have craws?) or his esophagus, before they get to his stomach. Now, he chews, which I think is charming - and I can hear his chewing! - so that ought to mellow me out.

Still, being me, I worry. Am I silly? Fishy Boris is my first betta, and he deserves the best life.

FTR, I give him the prescribed two-three pellets twice per day, sometimes subbing bloodworms. Plus, I make sure he has plenty of clean water. (Heh... little joke there...)

 

[Fanatic]

They will chew something up smaller if it fits into their mouth. I wouldn’t worry too much unless he never gets it into his mouth.

 

[Nightshadethebetta]

I can hear my little betta chew too, it’s adorable lol. But I wouldn’t worry about it! He will chew it up and break it up into smaller pieces. Mine does it all the time. He’s beautiful, by the way

 

[Georgie Girl]

He did this last night and again this morning. I haven't changed his food.

Why he doing this? Should I be worried? Thanks.

 

[Bryangar]

Fish do this to make the food smaller or to moisten it. What do you feed him?

 

[Algonquin]

Bettas can get picky about food. I know once we started giving our betta frozen brine shrimp, everything else we fed him became 'boring'
What all do you feed him? Does he have some variety? Probably best to determine if he's not eating, or just not eating a specific food.

 

[Dch48]

Yeah, they can get bored with the same thing all the time. They will also spit out pieces that are too big to swallow.

 

[Georgie Girl]

Reply to all: I'm sure it is that he's bored. I give him pellets, and too infrequently I give him bloodworms. That's what he's having for dinner. Thank you all.

 

[KarlsJr]

Since he ate those pellets before and you haven't switched, I agree that he might just be bored. I'd suspect pellet size more if it was a new food.

When I first brought my betta home, I had to soak her pellets and bloodworms in garlic to get her to eat. I use Seachem Garlicguard, but I've read you can also use the juice from a jar of minced garlic and water. I'd just make sure there's nothing else in it, like citric acid. I've also seen garlic recommended for fin regrowth and parasite issues.

Best of luck!