The Best Betta food

Ok, so I'm assuming when I get my female Bettas they will be very competitive for food, so I probably won't have to deal with picky eating. Am I right? If so, that means I get to pick what they eat, so which is better as far as nutrition, pellets or bloodworms? Or could I feed both? And maybe throw in brine shrimp once or twice a week? Also, Rose--when you say 6-7 bloodworms, I'm assuming that means in one meal, so does that mean they get 12-14 total in one day, or do you only feed Bettas once a day?
Sorry, too many questions.

 

Well you are going to have a bit harder time dealing with the 6-7 worms a meal when you have more than one Betta to deal with.  I have just gotten to putting some pellets in the tank and watching them go.  The trick to feeding multiples is going to be something on the order of either separate them (which I am not convinced is going to be the answer) or just watch to make sure everyone gets to eat and hope for the best.  Believe me, I am still picky about my Bettas, but I have to weigh the benefits of dealing with one at a time to the hazards of netting them for every meal and that is dangerous disease wise.  So far everything is working okay this way.

The best food to feed for every betta to get some is the floating pellets.  They stay on top of the water long enough for the fish to get to them and of those there are only 2 brands I have found that my Bettas will even put in their mouths without spitting out.  There are others they have shown interest in but the pellets are simply too big for the Betta mouths.  Be especially careful about the size of pellet with the females as their mouths appear to be smaller than the males.  (of course they are babies, but Noel and Marty were when I got them too)  The brands with small enough pellets and that the Bettas (except for Marty who wouldn't put ANY pellet in his mouth) are HikarI Betta Bio-Gold (probably most available - haven't found too many places that don't have them that do sell Bettas); and Ocean Nutrition Atison's Betta Food. (one kind has a pink lid and the other a blue - the girls are of course wild about the pink lid and Noel loves the blue  -  Don't know how available it is, I think I ordered it online.





The pink one is the one they like the best and is the small little pellet needed for little mouths.

I hope this helps.

Rose

 

I'll be getting a Betta soon so I want to get him a good food

 

This is only my opinion mind you but the only food my bettas will eat is the HBH Betta Bites & Betta Treat. I've tried flakes (that had brine shrimp in it) but Raspy had a lot of constipation issues with that and Lilex wouldn't eat the flakes at all. I haven't tried bloodworms as of yet.



Good luck in your search!
-Kelly

 

Ok thanks. Do you think they would notice if I fed them more than one thing, like pellets one day and bloodworms another?

 

I think they will be the ones calling the shots. They may not eat the bloodworms or pellets. You know that they can be very opinionated. LOL You can try to feed them however you want to, but as you are fond of saying, "It depends on the Betta."

Rose


I have used the HikarI Betta Bio-Gold pellets for the whole time I have owned Bettas, but I did not vote for them as I have a new favorite food for them and they love it. It is the Atison's Betta Pro by Ocean Nutrition. When I can find a food that 5 out of my 6 Bettas eat willingly and love, I have to say that it deserves my vote. It will never be 6 out of 6 because Marty would not put a pellet in his mouth if it killed him. (He strictly eats bloodworms - nothing else)

Rose

 

hehe yes, It depends on the Betta. That was kind of a dumb question for me to ask... : I'm hoping females in groups won't be overly picky, due to the competition... (can't you just imagine...betta 1 eats bloodworms only, betta 2 eats pellets only, betta 3 eats brine shrimp only, not sure what betta 4 likes... boy would that be an instant nervous breakdown hehe)

 

That would maybe be easier in a way because you wouldn't have to worry about them not eating because they wouldn't eat each others food. LOL

Rose
;D

 

fine. there are 2 dominant bettas--one eats bloodworms and one eats pellets, and there are 2 un-dominant( bettas, who also eat one of each. then you have to feed 2 foods as well as making sure the "un-dominant" bettas get food.
;D

 

chickadee, my best bet is Atison's Betta Pro by Ocean Nutrition or HikarI Betta Bio-Gold pellets right

divakeeks, I'll keep HBH Betta Bites in mind in case Atison's Betta Pro by Ocean Nutrition or HikarI Betta Bio-Gold pellets don't work. I haven't heard anything about HBH (good or bad)

 

That's cool. I have tried several different kinds of food and really this is the only one that has stuck. The other foods they've just refused to eat. I have not though tried the ones that Chickadee mentioned. Perhaps those would work too. At least it gives me an option in case one day these guys decided they don't like the HBH anymore!

 

Rusty prefers any pellets but mostly Topfin Betta Food, which is fairly small and which he eats as greedily as a kid eats candy. I have not yet had a betta that would eat flakes but I have to admit to being curious about whether he would or not.

I'm seeing a really good argument here for keeping one betta per tank, and that a male.
(though Rose's girls are awfully cute)

I suspect Rusty would eat just about anything if I let him, as long as I let him. He believes opening the tank lid means being fed. Not being played with or getting attention, being fed. Greedy little cuss.

 

I'm seeing a really good argument here for keeping one betta per tank, and that a male.
(though Rose's girls are awfully cute)

I suspect Rusty would eat just about anything if I let him, as long as I let him. He believes opening the tank lid means being fed. Not being played with or getting attention, being fed. Greedy little cuss.

My Raspy is the same way. If I open the lid and don't feed him he sulks for what he feels is a suitable time for me to understand that he's mad at me. They really are amazing, aren't they???

 

I've had three females together for the past two days and feeding them is relatively easy. I actually have cories and rasboras in the same tank so I feed it three different ways. First I have to drop in a sinking food for the cories. Then I feed the rasboras over in the left side of my tank. Then I hand feed the bloodworms over on the right side of the tank. So far it has been working perfectly. All four of my bettas (1 male and 3 females.... don't worry, separate tanks) eat bloodworms. I guess I just got lucky.

 

I'm seeing a really good argument here for keeping one betta per tank, and that a male.
(though Rose's girls are awfully cute)

I suspect Rusty would eat just about anything if I let him, as long as I let him. He believes opening the tank lid means being fed. Not being played with or getting attention, being fed. Greedy little cuss.

I know exactly what u mean my male and female every time they see me rush to the side of the tank and start 'mouthing' the surface of the water like they do when they haven't been feed all day they are greedy little snots but what are u gonna do make sushI out of them

My two bettas eat the bio gold pellets and flakes TenshI (female) eats like there is no tomorrow, but InarI (male) is a bit more picky about what he puts in his mouth and if he is even hungary he has spit pellets back at me for no apparent reason then TenshI eats them I don't understand it but hey what every floats their boat I guess.

 

It is a physical thing. A Betta's mouth is just not made for flakes, although they may try one, the pellets and bloodworms go down easier.

Inari, if you are feeding your little female as much as it sounds like she is going to get sick. The Betta meal is:

Pellets 3 or 4 pellets twice a day (that is all or they will be SO constipated)

or if you happen to have a Betta who only wants bloodworms the meals are

Worms 6 to 7 worms twice a day ( same as above about the constipation)

This means pellets OR worms; NOT both.

Rose


Ebb!!!! you did it!!! How are they and what are they like and when will we see pictures? I can't believe that you haven't said a word!! (or have I missed it?) Congratulations.

Welcome Little Girls!! Congratulations, Ebb!!

Rose

 

You have no idea how hard its been not to say anything.  But I didnt want to jynx anything.  They were looking healthy but you never know when your buying from my local fish stores.  I didnt want to tell everyone and then... you know... lose them.  I still haven't named them either... I'm sure their gonna be fine but just in case.  

I posted pix under "Surprise!!!"  Also I didnt tell anyone about my plans because the buy was kind of a spur of the moment thing.  My lfs never, ever has females and then there they were staring me in the face.  I take the cake for most impulsive person alive.  I was afraid that if I didnt get them right away theyd be gone by the time I got back.  And they were so beautiful... I couldnt let that happen.  One of them I got cuz she reminded me of misty  ;D.  And what a personality on her!  Hidin in plants and soooo curious and innocent.

I love bettas.  I still wanna get a 33 gallon long and move my cories and the females into there.  We'll see what the future holds.  I've been spending way to much money on fish lately so I think that's gonna have to be in a little while.

 

got it no more than that
thanx rose ur a huge help

brent

 

yeah I just posted how much she reminds me of Misty. I did a double take and had to check and make sure I was where I thought I was. Just think TWINS hundreds of miles apart. Sounds like they have the same type of personality too.

You are going to really fall in love with these little girls. If you aren't there already.

Rose

 

If you can get your betta to eat more than one food, that would be ideal. Variety is the key if you can get them to eat other foods. Even my carnovore fish get veggies once a week. This will keep them balanced. My bettas always tried whatever I fed them, so I guess I've been lucky. I think Chickadee is right about bettas and flakes, but my bettas always ate them. I've also dropped those algae wafers in the bottom of the tank for my other fish (I like keeping bettas in community tanks), and I've seen the bettas peck at these too. So when you do get a betta, try to get them from the beginning to eat a variety of foods and see what works. I prefer the Omega One brand of foods, but Rose said her bettas did not like the size of the pellets and would not eat them.

 

ok variety thanx. and about once every other day
cool

I appreciate it

 

Congrats Ebbandflow!!! I bet they are so much fun! I can't wait to check out the pics. hehe don't worry about being impulsive, I just bought SIX Pygmy Cories out of impulse...my lfs got them and they like never have them and I just had to have some...sometimes it's just too hard to resist, isn't it? ;D
Have fun with the new Bettas!! (you're makin me jealous, I can't get my girls for a while still)

 

  Congratulations on the New Pygmies! 
Welcome Little Guys!    Have Fun in the 20 Gallon! 

Hopefully it won't be long and you can start looking around for the little girls.   

Rose

 

Thanks They're such little cuties. Maximum size is only an inch. Yes, hopefully it won't be too long before I can get my girls. But it probably will be, because one of my Pygmies is sick , and I am getting some Panda Cories also I think (of course before the Bettas), and also I have to put off getting fishies because my horseback riding instructor wants me to be a junior counselor in their horse camps and the first one is next week . phew that was a long sentence. :

 

I have been feeding Patton frozen bloodworms. I am going to got the LPS and get some pellets for him. Any suggestions on what kind is good?

 

Ocean Nutrition Atison's Betta Pro. They're the tiny pellets you can feed to young bettas. The regular Atison's would be good, too, they're just bigger pellets, and younger bettas have small mouths. If you can't find those in the store (I had to order them off of DFS), pretty much every store carries HikarI Betta Bio-Gold, which is a larger pellet, like the regular Atison's.

The Ocean Nutrition pellets:
Betta PRO
Betta Food

HikarI Betta Bio-Gold

I also have freeze-dried bloodworms (which I haven't opened yet) and daphnia from this page:

The bloodworms for when Kappa's a little bigger and can manage something larger, and the daphnia was suggested because it's nutritious, is good for feeding a medicated fish (thankfully not an issue at the moment), and can serve the same function as peas...which Kappa also likes.

I don't get this "picky eater" thing that some people have put forth about bettas...Kappa will eat anything.

 

I feed HikarI betta bio-gold pellets to my bettas (in addition to frozen blood worms, frozen brine shrimp, and peas)

 

I find it a pain to use the HikarI bio-gold to my fish, because I have to break every pellet in two with my thumbnail or it comes floating out of his mouth. Would you guys recommend Ocean Nutrition Atison's Betta Pro? (as easy as it might sound, breaking each of those tiny pellets isn't easy. Anyone have a better way of doing this?)

 

If you soak the pellets first, they'll break easier. Use VitaChem if you have it, or just tank water.

 

I like Omega One's betta food. (okay, I like all of their foods). It's flakes, and I've found that you can switch between feeding whole flakes (which the betta has to wrestle with, a good little "hunting" exercise), and crushing them up, which allows the betta to eat them easily.

 

*flares and bites sds* >

 

Sorry but I still do not give my bettas flakes although I do know others do with great success. They get a combination of:

Atison's Betta Pro
Atison's Betta Formula
HikarI Betta Bio-gold

All of the above are pellets.

HikarI Freeze-dried Bloodworms
HikarI Freeze-dried Daphnia


Raw liver fresh from the grocery store (Beef or Chicken)

Thawed Frozen Peas

The last two items are chopped into very tiny pieces no more than 1/3 the size of their eye and they are given no more than 3 small pieces at a time. The peas are never given as a meal but as a treat at least 3 hours before or after a meal.

Rose

 

Sorry but I still do not give my bettas flakes although I do know others do with great success. They get a combination of:

Atison's Betta Pro
Atison's Betta Formula
HikarI Betta Bio-gold

All of the above are pellets.

HikarI Freeze-dried Bloodworms
HikarI Freeze-dried Daphnia


Raw liver fresh from the grocery store (Beef or Chicken)

Thawed Frozen Peas

The last two items are chopped into very tiny pieces no more than 1/3 the size of their eye and they are given no more than 3 small pieces at a time. The peas are never given as a meal but as a treat at least 3 hours before or after a meal.

Rose

Do you have a schedule of what you feed on what day? Do you feed mostly 1 thing (like pellets) and supplement with the others, or do you feed a variety all the time? I'm just curious... I feed mine pellets for the most part, with an occasional treat of frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, or peas.

 

I feed ours HikarI frozen bloodworms and Ocean Nutrition Betta Pro pellets.

 

I got HikarI Betta Bio-gold. That is all they had when it came to good betta food.

 

I find it a pain to use the HikarI bio-gold to my fish, because I have to break every pellet in two with my thumbnail or it comes floating out of his mouth. Would you guys recommend Ocean Nutrition Atison's Betta Pro? (as easy as it might sound, breaking each of those tiny pellets isn't easy. Anyone have a better way of doing this?)

Atison's Betta Pro would probably be perfect for your guy. The pellets are about half the size of the Hikari. You could maybe feed the Atison's more of the time and continue with the HikarI when you feel like wrestling with pellets. Those two, a pea treat once a week, plus one or two other types of foods suggested in this thread would give him an excellent variety in his diet.

 

I feed mostly freeze-dried bloodworms but I do soak them in Garlic Guard or garlic juice from minced fresh garlic that you can buy in jars at the grocery store. It is an appetite stimulant and it also increases their immune systems properties. Fish love garlic and it is something cheap that is good for them. If you have a problem handling the bloodworms, get a tweezers to lift them out of the cup that they are soaked in and put them in the water with the tweezers. Just be careful not to use the same tweezers in more than one tank without cleaning them in a quick soak of dechlored water and vinegar and then a rinse in dechlored water. It is really best to give each tank their own tweezers.

The frequency I give the other foods is about like this:

Freeze dried Daphnia - this is the only food that I give to my fish when they are getting medication and in a hospital tank. It is mild and keeps their digestive system functioning great. It is a substitute for peas for fish that will not eat them, but peas do work great. I will not give up on peas until I have tried to fast the fish completely for a whole day and then give peas when I know they are hungry. Usually if you can get them to try them they LOVE them. Healthy fish usually get Daphnia about one or two meals a week just to enjoy it. You cannot overfeed Freeze-dried Daphnia so the fish can have all they want to eat, it will not constipate them and will actually prevent constipation. It is not a good food to be used for the only food for a long period unless the fish is ill.

Atison's Betta Pro - this is my new fish staple food as most of the new fish I get are babies. They get this at least 2 meals a day every day. The other meal may be bloodworms if they are big enough or daphnia if they are not.

Atison's Betta Formula - these are smaller than the Bio-gold pellets by far but not as small as the Betta Pro. They are for adult fish and I give them about 2 to 3 meals a week when the fish are acting bored with the bloodworms.

Betta Bio-gold - this is a strictly adult fish food and while it is great for fish it can constipate them if it is not soaked and the fish do not enjoy it soaked as much as some of the other foods. I can get them to eat it about once a week.

Liver - this is a treat and is given when I have it. No special schedule. Just when I want to do something very special for my babies. They may get it two or three times a month. Some of them are not super thrilled with it so they do not have to have it.

Thawed Frozen Pea Treats - this is a staple and ALL bettas do need them or at the very least the Freeze-dried Daphnia if they absolutely refuse them. It should not be fed as a meal but as a treat not at mealtime. They need at least 3 hours before and after the peas until they are fed regular food. It is to prevent or correct constipation. When you are preventing you feed them as usual. If the betta is already constipated and you are using peas to correct it, then you do not feed them anything else BUT peas for about 3 or 4 days to get them cleaned out good. It works wonders.

Rose

 

The Ocean Nutrition pellets:
Betta PRO
Betta Food


Ah my little Chickadee, thanks for supplying the DFS links for the Atison Betta Pro pellets. I was going to check my local stores but you made it so easy that I just clicked on and ordered. I'll probably get it just as quickly as if I spent a couple days checking my local stores. Hey, tell DFS you should get a commision on our purchases.

I've been soaking the bio gold pellets and the freeze dried bloodworms before feeding them to Fidget. I found that my pea treats always sank to the bottom of the tank right away and Gizmo would have no interest in them then. Is this normal? Do your guys eat them from the bottom of the tank?

LisaB

 

Umm...while I'd like to have her fishie knowledge, so could be considered a "little" Chickadee...I'm the one that posted the links, not Rose.



Yay for posting advice that was (almost) as good as Rose's!

As for the peas: Yeah, mine sink, too, so I try to hold them at the surface with my tank chopsticks (I don't use tweezers), so she'll get interested in them, and then she chases them as they fall towards the bottom of the tank.

 

Ahhh Luna, that's what I get for reading too many messages before posting. I'm going to have DFS forward the commision check to you. Ah if only that were possible. Anyway, thanks for the links, I would have wasted a few days looking around here first if you hadn't made it so easy to order.

I'll try your suggestion with the peas. I sure hope I can get this boy to eat them.

LisaB