Picky Betta???

[we3shipps]

My betta usually eats and acts like a hungry little piggy.. During the last couple days feedings, I've noticed that he doesn't have much of an appetite. He usually eats the little tiny pellets, and LOVES them. And I got him freeze dried blood worms but he wont eat them. Is he a picky eater or could there be something wrong...

He is still a fairly new addition to the family and could have been growing. Like children, they eat tons when they're growing and slow down when the spirt ends... Maybe he's just done growing. He does have a whopping 1/4 inch of new growth...

(side note) He's in a 1.5 Gallon cube and i change it quite often. During the last change he was slightly more stubborn about getting back into his home and could have been stressed out a bit. I did a complete water change on Monday.


If he is wanting fresh bloodworms, he's just gonna have to get over that.

[shellieca]

Originally Posted by we3shipps

My betta usually eats and acts like a hungry little piggy.. During the last couple days feedings, I've noticed that he doesn't have much of an appetite. He usually eats the little tiny pellets, and LOVES them. And I got him freeze dried blood worms but he wont eat them. Is he a picky eater or could there be something wrong...

He is still a fairly new addition to the family and could have been growing. Like children, they eat tons when they're growing and slow down when the spirt ends... Maybe he's just done growing. He does have a whopping 1/4 inch of new growth...

(side note) He's in a 1.5 Gallon cube and i change it quite often. During the last change he was slightly more stubborn about getting back into his home and could have been stressed out a bit. I did a complete water change on Monday.

If he is wanting fresh bloodworms, he's just gonna have to get over that.

Bettas can be picky eaters. Is his tank heated? If the water is too cold this can affect their appetite & energy level. Frozen Blood Worms really don't have any nutritional value, there are frozen blood worms which he would probably love. The blood worms & such are only meant to be fed as a treat not as their main diet. You might try a different pellet, mine don't seem to like any pellet but the Top Fin Betta Bits. One last suggestion, get him a bigger tank, 1.5g really isn't big enough for him. If you can get at least a 5g he'll stay healthier & be happier.

[ChoclateBetta]

Smaller feeding and things like flightless fruit flies the thrill of hunting bettas love it. what is the tempature if the temp is too low they are less active.

[cataze]

You could try soaking his pellets in garlic juice...bettas love that!

[Perseusmom]

He could be stressed and thats why he wont eat. Keep offering the pellets twice a day. How warm is his water ? They need a water temp of at least 78 and when you change the water be sure its as close as possible to the temp of the
water he was in.

How much had he been eating a day ? I ask because you should check his tummy to see if he is bloated and by that I mean their tummy will be very round and sticking out like a lump. Never over feed that causes the bloat. Good luck I hope he start eating for you soon

[shellieca]

Originally Posted by shellieca

Bettas can be picky eaters. Is his tank heated? If the water is too cold this can affect their appetite & energy level. Frozen Blood Worms really don't have any nutritional value, there are frozen blood worms which he would probably love. The blood worms & such are only meant to be fed as a treat not as their main diet. You might try a different pellet, mine don't seem to like any pellet but the Top Fin Betta Bits. One last suggestion, get him a bigger tank, 1.5g really isn't big enough for him. If you can get at least a 5g he'll stay healthier & be happier.

Sorry, meant Freeze Dried Blood Worms didn't really have nutritional value.

[we3shipps]

He's active just like he always is. He's belly is cutely round but not bloated. His water is 75 degrees. Normally he eats 3 pellets 2x a day... but now he takes maybe one at am and one at pm. A few people have said that he's being over fed but when he was eating 1-2 2x a day, his belly was flat and he would beg during meal times. When i would feed him, he'd act like he was starving. Once he actually jumped out of the water to get it out of my daughters fingers, not kidding! Luckily, he missed and thankfully she's not frightened of him

Maybe i can talk the husband into getting a 5gal. It would be nice not to have to change the H2O all the time. (*side story* I tried using the filter that came with his cube but the current was too strong and the little bugger purposely got himself stuck on the tube; so i'd freak out and take the filter out. )
Where we live it gets VERY cold in the Winter time, so he'll need a heater anyway...
..::anyone know of places where i could find a cheap tank? and what is a good brand of filter? How do i know if it'll be slow enough current? Where does the heater go?::.. All i hear is cha-ching and see $$$.

Funny thing is we got this fish for our 3yr because she can't have a dog yet... thinking it would be a cheap, cute pet. Turns out we've spent way more $$$ than intended. We thought that he'd be in a cute little 1gal bowl in the middle of the dining table...... oh well.