mosquito larvae?

[caricolake]

Hi am a fish newbie. Had a beta from a chain store and even though I knew nothing he did live (and seemed happy--lots of bubble nests!) for 2 years. We constantly fed him garden worms along with pellets because we didn't know better but he seemed to have no trouble with them. He did live in a gallon bowl w/weekly changes. We were clueless about proper h2o care exept for conditioner.

Then I got a new (chain store) female for my daughter. We moved her in slowly but she died right after her first worm. I later found out that betas will overeat fresh foods (she did look bloated and died very quickly).

Determined to do better, I went to a local fish place instead of the chain and found my daughter a beautiful deep red male, very feisty and healthy. He despises and will not eat pellets although I have fed him a termite and he eagerly eats mosquito larvae. I washed them and got them from a reliable bucket.

My question is, how many can he safely eat? How can I balance his diet if he rejects pellets? He is in a gallon bowl but we have ordered an eclipse 6 gallon and a 50 watt heater. Our house gets cold--we heat with coal and there is great temp fluctuation. Is the heater safe in the small tank?

I have read that mosquito larvae may introduce diseases. Any opinions on this if the bucket is clean and I wash them first? I'm afraid to feed him any worms although my first male adored them and ate them whole (small ones)w/out problem. (we don't use chemicals) Any advice? I really like these little guys and want to keep our new one healthy. They have such attitude...

[Campbell]

The heater should be fine. I have never tried mosquito larvae, mostly because I'm highly allergic to the adults so we spray. If you are going to feed them make sure you don't have any substrate and that no one in your area sprays. I'm sure another member will have more info on that...

[dramaqueen]

If you feed live food, you are in danger of giving your fish parasites as well as the fact that they may have come from areas that have been treated with pesticides. If he won't eat pellets, you can try flake food made for bettas.I have a female (the first picky one I've had) and I feed herTetra BettaMin and she eats it just fine.So you might want to try something like that. I think a 50 watt heater in a 6 gallon tank should be fine.

[caricolake]

thanks for the info. we live in a rural area w/no spraying but I worry about disease. They do really love something live and wiggly though. Who knew that a fish would overeat? Will try the flakes and maybe another brand of pellet. Thanks again, a great place for info

[dramaqueen]

There are many brands of pellets out there but a lot of people here use Hikari betta bio gold pellets.

[caricolake]

ok--will start by looking for those.

[MrVampire181]

Worms= dropsy (bloating/raised scales)= death.

I recommend frozen foods for picky bettas.

[dramaqueen]

I've never tried frozen food. I thought it would be too messy.

[caricolake]

As a follow-up, our red male began eagerly eating flake food and a tiny bit of thawed brine shrimp after we moved him into the 6 gallon eclipse. I think that the extra space (probably better h20) and warmth have given him a great appetite. Now he gobbles everything up and begs for more. Per everyone's advice, I have given up the live stuff collected from outside. He won't eat them anyway except the stray gnat that I swat in the house. Thanks for the info, I tell anyone who will listen (who's into fish) what a difference the better tank situation makes for the bettas and I hope it makes life better for a few more!

[dramaqueen]

Unfortunately, some people still beleive that they LIKE small spaces. I think 10 gallons is large enoughi if they are by themselves. If its a community tank then bigger is fine. This is just my opinion though. :)