Still Can’t Figure Out Betta Eating Issue.

I have a 2 year old male Betta. He’s in a 10 gallon heated(79F) tank(AM:0 Nitrite:0 Nitrate:5). He has pretty much been on the same diet since I got him(give or take). Northfin Betta Pellets 2-3 pellets once sometimes twice a day with frozen food a few times a week in place of the pellets(fast on Sunday). He’s always been really active and had a big appetite. Just in the last few weeks he’s been spitting out little specs of his foods. For example: He will eat the first two keep them down but on the third he will swallow it, spit a couple little pieces out and try to eat them again. I do soften my pellets in tank water before feeding and like I said, I’ve never had any issues until fairly recently. He doesn’t do it every meal just some. Really trying to figure out what the issue is. I don’t think it’s the brand of pellets because he eats them with no issue sometimes and he’s done it with other types of food too. Any ideas?

 

This seems perfectly normal to me. My betta personally always does this, but every betta is different. I would just keep monitoring him and see if the issue gets worse. If he seems otherwise active and not at all sluggish or weak, I wouldn’t really consider it a big issue. Every betta is different but mine always does this. How is he acting otherwise during the day? Any other behavioral changes?

 

This seems perfectly normal to me. My betta personally always does this, but every betta is different. I would just keep monitoring him and see if the issue gets worse. If he seems otherwise active and not at all sluggish or weak, I wouldn’t really consider it a big issue. Every betta is different but mine always does this. How is he acting otherwise during the day? Any other behavioral changes?

Otherwise he’s active and healthy. Interested in his surroundings and explores his tank through out the day. It’s just odd to me that he started doing it a few weeks ago. Unless I just didn’t notice it before.

 

Sounds like normal eating behavior. Mine have always done this especially with the larger pellets or even blood worms

 

Mine does that too, but maybe try introducing him to different pellet food and see if still does it. For switching foods, you mix the new food with a old food, a little at a time (so you'd give him 1 new pellet, 2 old pellets days 1-3, then 2 new pellets days 3-8, then eventually completely switch over to all new pellets). I don't think switching foods will be necessary, though

 

Mine does that too, but maybe try introducing him to different pellet food and see if still does it. For switching foods, you mix the new food with a old food, a little at a time (so you'd give him 1 new pellet, 2 old pellets days 1-3, then 2 new pellets days 3-8, then eventually completely switch over to all new pellets). I don't think switching foods will be necessary, though

I can give it a try. The only thing is I haven’t found anything as good as North Fins food. If you have any suggestions I’m up to try new ones.

Sounds like normal eating behavior. Mine have always done this especially with the larger pellets or even blood worms

When they spit it out do they end up eating everything they spit out?

 

When they spit it out do they end up eating everything they spit out?

Not always.

 

Not always.

Alright thanks. Weird question but do you know about how long it takes for them to digest their food?

 

Alright thanks. Weird question but do you know about how long it takes for them to digest their food?

Oh geez I have no idea. Maybe someone else can answer

 

I can give it a try. The only thing is I haven’t found anything as good as North Fins food. If you have any suggestions I’m up to try new ones.

 

This seems perfectly normal to me. My betta personally always does this, but every betta is different. I would just keep monitoring him and see if the issue gets worse. If he seems otherwise active and not at all sluggish or weak, I wouldn’t really consider it a big issue. Every betta is different but mine always does this. How is he acting otherwise during the day? Any other behavioral changes?

Are you familiar with garlic guard? It’s for picky eaters. Just wondering if you think it might help? The pellets I give him already have garlic in them so I don’t want to over do it either.

I posted something about this already but I still can’t figure out what’s going on with him. He’s a 2 and a half year old male Plakat Betta. He’s always had a huge appetite. His diet consists of Pellets(NorthFin Betta Bits) & Frozen Food(Bloodworms thawed out etc.). I don’t know why but about a month ago he started spitting out some of his food. Sometimes he won’t and sometimes he will. I soak the pellets in tank water to soften them up and he will eat it then swim around for a few seconds and spit little crumbs of it up. He sometimes goes after the crumbs that he spits up and eats them but sometimes he just lets them fall into the gravel. He’s not doing it 100% of the time. He usually always keeps down the first one I give him. I feed him 3 pellets per meal so the 2nd or 3rd are usually the ones he does this with. He doesn’t do this at all with Frozen Bloodworms. I used to feed him mysis shrimp all the time with no problem but he does it with that now too. Has he just become really picky? Should I try some Garlic Guard? Does he have a smaller appetite in his old age?

 

Just wondering the best way to feed Daphnia to my Betta and how much to feed at one time. I’m assuming about the size of their eye? The Daphnia are very small so I’m not sure how to feed it so my Betta sees it. Also so it doesn’t end up getting lost at the bottom of the tank.

 

Is it freezedried, live, or frozen?

 

Is it freezedried, live, or frozen?

Sorry, frozen.

 

Make sure it's thawed then you could try training your betta to hand feed. That's what I did. Just stick the daphnia to your finger and put it in the water and most bettas will take it out of curiosity and learn very quickly. Since it's a treat about the size of his eye will be good although there's no specific rule.

 

I just swish a cube in water till enough comes off for whatever I'm feeding, then pop the cube back in the freezer and pour the thawed daphnia in the tank. I honestly don't measure exactly how much the bettas get, whatever left overs are happily eaten by the other tank mates. For a guess, I'd say 4-6 large daphnia per betta, but the frozen stuff has mixed sizes so it's hard to say for sure.

 

Make sure it's thawed then you could try training your betta to hand feed. That's what I did. Just stick the daphnia to your finger and put it in the water and most bettas will take it out of curiosity and learn very quickly. Since it's a treat about the size of his eye will be good although there's no specific rule.

Do your Bettas have any problem seeing them? Or do they get them all?

I just swish a cube in water till enough comes off for whatever I'm feeding, then pop the cube back in the freezer and pour the thawed daphnia in the tank. I honestly don't measure exactly how much the bettas get, whatever left overs are happily eaten by the other tank mates. For a guess, I'd say 4-6 large daphnia per betta, but the frozen stuff has mixed sizes so it's hard to say for sure.

So if I wanted to be more precise I could just pick them out individually right? I also have some Brine Shrimp too. Have you fed Brine before? I'm guessing it’s about 2-3 pieces depending on the size of the Brine Shrimp piece.

 

I don't feed my bettas daphnia often because it's a pain. what I do is I shave off a teeny tiny piece of the cube (daphnia are tiny, so there's a LOT of them in a cube), thaw them in a small container of tank water for a few seconds, then use a glass medicine dropper and suck up a bunch of daphnia. I turn off the tank filters and feed my bettas, a couple drops at a time. sometimes they'll suck the daphnia right out of the dropper, other times I'll wait for them to eat all the daphnia floating in the water before feeding them more. I feed them maybe half a dropper full, or a full dropper.

 

I think about 5 to 6 daphnia per feeding for an adult Male betta is ok

 

So if I wanted to be more precise I could just pick them out individually right? I also have some Brine Shrimp too. Have you fed Brine before? I'm guessing it’s about 2-3 pieces depending on the size of the Brine Shrimp piece.

For brine shrimp, since most of the content is water, I feed them until their belly is round (not bulging). I really don't have exact measurements for any of my feedings, it's all guess work. If they are looking on the thin side I feed more each time (or more often), on the fat side I cut back.

 

Some of my bettas seem like they'd have some more trouble eating as they aged. Maybe give him some more time between pellets?

 

Some of my bettas seem like they'd have some more trouble eating as they aged. Maybe give him some more time between pellets?

Thanks for the reply. It’s frustrating not knowing the cause. Could be old age like you said. I usually wait about 30 seconds between each pellet. Do you think I should wait a little longer?

 

I'd walk away from the tank for 5 or so minutes for mine. It's a little bit annoying but they had a lot less trouble IME!

 

I'd walk away from the tank for 5 or so minutes for mine. It's a little bit annoying but they had a lot less trouble IME!

Like between pellets?

I'd walk away from the tank for 5 or so minutes for mine. It's a little bit annoying but they had a lot less trouble IME!

I’m also a little concerned that he’s not getting all his nutrition. Should I try a different food? Or any other ideas?

 

Yes, I'd walk away between pellets and give them a few minutes to get it down. Bloodworms are great, and for pelleted food I've always used HikarI Betta Bio-Gold. I've had great results with it

 

It seems that as my Betta Fish has got older he has become more picky with his food. His pellets that for a couple years he would eat very willingly he now spits out. Any advice from some who has gone through the same thing?

 

No, never had that problem, what Durand are they? May I see a picture of the front and back of the bottle?/bag?

 

If he's been eating the same pellets for years, then it could get boring over time. Try feeding him a new type of pellets or try soaking his pellets in garlic extract to stimulate his appetite and entice him to eat.

 

If he's been eating the same pellets for years, then it could get boring over time. Try feeding him a new type of pellets or try soaking his pellets in garlic extract to stimulate his appetite and entice him to eat.

Ok I’ll give it a shot thank you. Is it ok to just try to switch over to a different brand? And for the garlic, would Garlic Guard be ok? He ate 3 pellets in the morning yesterday and 3 in the evening and kept them down. Could he maybe just not be hungry?

 

What about bloodworms? Does he like those? Or some kind of live food

 

Ok I’ll give it a shot thank you. Is it ok to just try to switch over to a different brand? And for the garlic, would Garlic Guard be ok? He ate 3 pellets in the morning yesterday and 3 in the evening and kept them down. Could he maybe just not be hungry?

Yes it's fine to just switch over to another brand of pellets. Garlic Guard is fine to use, I use it for my bettas.

 

What about bloodworms? Does he like those? Or some kind of live food

He loves bloodworms and never spits them up. Their the frozen ones

What about bloodworms? Does he like those? Or some kind of live food

Yeah he goes crazy for bloodworms. Never once has turned one down or spit one out. I do the frozen and thaw them out in tank water. I only feed them for a few meals a week though because I heard their just supposed to be a snack every now and then. As far as live food goes I’ve never tried. Any recommendations? I was thinking about doing live fruit flies. A website I know of sells them but I’ve never done it before and don’t know if it’s the flightless or the wingless, and how many to feed etc..

Yes it's fine to just switch over to another brand of pellets. Garlic Guard is fine to use, I use it for my bettas.

Do you notice a difference feeding them with the garlic? Do you just soak the pellets in the garlic instead of the tank water?

 

Do you notice a difference feeding them with the garlic? Do you just soak the pellets in the garlic instead of the tank water?

I've mostly used it for frozen brine shrimp because they didn't seem to like that stuff too much. With the garlic they never spat out a brine shrimp again. I used it several times on pellets by soaking them in it, but it seemed too "spicy" and they would spit it out a few times before fully swallowing it. So I diluted the garlic extract.

 

I've mostly used it for frozen brine shrimp because they didn't seem to like that stuff too much. With the garlic they never spat out a brine shrimp again. I used it several times on pellets by soaking them in it, but it seemed too "spicy" and they would spit it out a few times before fully swallowing it. So I diluted the garlic extract.

I was actually thinking about feeding them Brine Shrimp. I have some frozen I might give a shot. For the Garlic Guard I’ll probably just put a few drops of it in the cup of tank water I soak the pellets in. It does seem like it would be pretty potent if you use to much. Plus I don’t want my tank/room to start smelling like garlic. Too bad he can’t just eat bloodworms all the time. He loves them lol.

I've mostly used it for frozen brine shrimp because they didn't seem to like that stuff too much. With the garlic they never spat out a brine shrimp again. I used it several times on pellets by soaking them in it, but it seemed too "spicy" and they would spit it out a few times before fully swallowing it. So I diluted the garlic extract.

I was just checking your profile and I have the same kind of Bettas you do! One Plakat and one Veil. My Veil Tail is blue though. Red sounds awesome though! I bet he’s cool lookin! Do you have names for your Bettas?

 

I was just checking your profile and I have the same kind of Bettas you do! One Plakat and one Veil. My Veil Tail is blue though. Red sounds awesome though! I bet he’s cool lookin! Do you have names for your Bettas?

Yeah, my male betta is named Gladiator because he looks like he's wearing armor. My female is named Little Red after Little Red Riding Hood because she's small and red.

 

Yeah, my male betta is named Gladiator because he looks like he's wearing armor. My female is named Little Red after Little Red Riding Hood because she's small and red.

Awesome names! My names aren’t as cool.. George is Plakat and Curly is the Veil Tail cause he has a curly tail at the end. Lol

I've mostly used it for frozen brine shrimp because they didn't seem to like that stuff too much. With the garlic they never spat out a brine shrimp again. I used it several times on pellets by soaking them in it, but it seemed too "spicy" and they would spit it out a few times before fully swallowing it. So I diluted the garlic extract.

So I fed him this morning. I gave him 2 pellets and he kept them both down but after about a minute he spit out a little spec of it. Do you think 2 pellets twice a day is enough for him?

 

So I fed him this morning. I gave him 2 pellets and he kept them both down but after about a minute he spit out a little spec of it. Do you think 2 pellets twice a day is enough for him?

I think that's enough. Bettas should be fed around 4-6 pellets a day and you're within that range.

 

One of my Bettas has become picky with his food as he’s got older. He used to love the pellets I fed him but now he chews them up and spits them out a lot. He loves bloodworms though but I know I can’t just feed him bloodworms all the time. I have some frozen Brine Shrimp and was wondering if that would be a good addition to his diet. Any users have Bettas that really like Brine Shrimp cause if so I will give it a shot. Also, do I feed 2-3 per meal for the Brine?

 

Both of my bettas get brine shrimp along with pellets to off set their blood worms, so I say go ahead and try. 2-3 per meal is about what I do.

 

I feed mine Mysis and Brine shrimp all the time. Usually 3, once a day.