Feeding question, sorry. Please answer

[cp6445]

Read all the stickies on here (thanks they are great!) as well as done other internet research on betta feeding and there are so many inconsistencies, so please someone help- I have a bunch of bettas, all but 1 are very enthusiastic eaters. They get a variety foods, mostly omega pellets (some flakes, some bloodworms occasionally).

I've seen recommended anywhere from 3-10 pellets per day, frequency 1-3 times per day, let them eat as much as they can for 2 minutes, and don't let them eat more than the size of their eye (stomach size).

If I let my bettas eat for 2 minutes they would eat so much they would explode. If I stopped my girls at 2 pellets a piece they would likely attack each other. I cannot always feed them more than once per day (though usually they get more).

I never let them have "extra" food, ie I always stop feeding before there is food leftover, for water quality reasons, and I always took the stand that underfeeding is better than overfeeding, but today for the first time I didn't feed my 4 boys in a separated 20 gal until I got home (usually feed them in morning too) and one of them had bitten his tail:(

So now i'm worried that i'm starving my fish if they still act hungry after I feed them. I don't want them to eat their tails!

Please someone with a lot of experience give me some good advice on feeding bettas, I have anywhere from 1 male betta in his own tank (5 of those), 6 girls in 1 tank, 4 males in divided tank...

[Olympia]

The general recommendation on here for pellet food is 3-4 pellets, 2-3 times a day.. Betta do better with more small feedings than less large feedings due to the small stomachs.
I think the "as much as they can eat in two minutes" is more of a rule for a general community tank with lots of fish than a single betta o-o I DON'T know why omega writes this on their food boxes.. probably so you use more food and buy another box sooner.

[vilmarisv]

Well, just as the research you've done you will find many views on how much food to feed.
Personally, I feed my bettas a little more than the average person here.
I feed them about 6-7 pellets twice a day, sometimes just once but I'm very particular about my water quality so I perform water changes to compensate for all that food.
Also, I feed my fish to keep them in top condition for breeding so they are usually thick and well fed.
I watch out for bloating and for thin fish. In sororities, it's easy for a few fish to be fat and the rest borderline thin because of how they interact with eachother so I take note of those who don't get to the food fast enough and if necessary, I will take them out of the tank for feedings.
I don't think feeding too much matters. What's really important is that you're contious of what you're doing and take care of your fish accordingly by taking extra care of keeping their water clean and watching for constipation.
This works for me and I keep my fish nice and healthy just the way they come from the breeder.

[cp6445]

Thanks all! One more question, do you all do a fasting day?

Thanks again for the help!

[Olympia]

I fast when I feel my fish looks a little chubby.. Gilbert gets a fast about once a week, but I've never fasted my girl as she always looks fine to me..

[vilmarisv]

I never do.

I've only ever needed to fast a fish because he tended to get constipated. He was one of those who are genetically prone to constipation so he required extra exercise and an adjusted feeding schedule.

[Bombalurina]

I fast one day a week for my sorority because it is hard to control how much food they get (I have to put enough in for the community fish as well, and they tend to eat more than they should). I fast Odysseus because he eats too many mosquitos during the week and turns into a fat fish.

[Arctic Mama]

My betta is a real porker too, and I'm currently doing three hikari pellets (they're the tiny, 1 mm ones) in the morning and three mysis shrimp at night. I also fast him on Sunday and he still has a tendency for bloating and constipation.

Just depends on the fish!