What are your Betta's favourite foods?

[KristinM]

Im new to this Betta world...and in one day i Have had my eyes opened!

I researched what they like to eat besides the normal flakes and pellets. Our local store only sells frozen Bloodworms. In order to get anything else such as Daphnia and shrimp you have to buy the eggs and spawn them yourself which I have never done but may have to try!

What do you find your Bettas like to eat the most? and are Bloodworms good for them?

Are there any easier alternatives that they enjoy and are good for them? On one site I saw Beef Heart mentioned????? I plan on digging up some small earthworms which we have a lot of in the garden. would they eat the live if they were really small? and mosquito larvae from the stream running through the property which is now not flowing due to it being winter and contains stagnant water.

Is any of this advisable? Am I on the right track?!

[scootshoot]

Welcome to the site

Read the nutrition label and ingredients of foods. Betta's are carnivores so need protein in their diet. Anything close to 50pct or higher in protein value is fine.

Healthy betta's are always hungry. Mine try to devour anything, including a taste of my finger.

[Tisia]

I wouldn't do beef heart, not really part of their natural diet
the mosquito larva is great, there are several people on here that put out water buckets in order to harvest them for their bettas. just use a brine shrimp net to scoop them up, then rinse them off really well before you dump them in. I've got some wingless fruit flies I feed mine as well. they might be in the reptile section of the pet store

[indjo]

Mosq larva, IMO is best for them - perfect size, give the betta a bit of exercise chasing them, etc.

B. worms are good but all worms are too fatty. So alternate them with other food. Earthworms ..... they would eat them if the worm is small enough. .... Too much of a hassle.

I heard that beef heart brightens their color so does shrimp (both need to be chopped up). But sometimes you need to fast them before feeding such food (or any food they're not used to).

Basically any small critter (specially water critters) can be fed to them - fruit fly/larva, small dragonfly larva, very young (still white) ant/termite or eggs, daphnia, small shrimps. There are tons of alternatives. Just remember not to feed them something that's hard to digest like beef.

[Sakura8]

It's very easy to grow baby brine shrimp yourself so if you want to, it shouldn't be a problem. Mosquito larvae are also very easy. Here is a link that tells you how to get started.
http://www.wikihow.com/Raise-Mosquit...-for-Fish-Food
Just be sure to harvest your mosquito larvae before they become actual mosquitoes.

And welcome to the forum, KristinM.

[nel3]

mine will go for anything it can fit in its mouth. pellets, flakes, frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp and the occasional toothpick tips once in a while. my fish was rather agressive when i was feeding it with a toothpick it actually jumped to bite it and attacked any food i put in.

[Sakura8]

Whoa, your betta is a feeding frenzy. Might wanna blunt the toothpick or something before he impales his little mouth (lip piercing!).

[Punki]

Mine will both eat the aqueon betta pellets, they are tiny pellets but they get mosquito larvae daily also, they LOVE that, hunting them down and slurping them up, and getting so angry when a larvae wedges itself between the gravel and the glass. They are easy to grow as said above and after a few days of them the fish seem more active, colorful and excited :D

[nel3]

Originally Posted by Sakura8

Whoa, your betta is a feeding frenzy. Might wanna blunt the toothpick or something before he impales his little mouth (lip piercing!).

that'll be a good idea , its the first time he's like that for the full session (1 flake and 2 pellets a day). before he'd only do it once in a feeding session. not sure if im under feeding him to be that agressive for this session. how blunt should the toothpick be? i think renaming him toro would be a good idea but i still prefer the name nel for him.

[Sakura8]

Better to underfeed than overfeed, I think. As long as he's not emaciated. Although you could probably go to 1 flake and 3 pellets a day or 2 and 2. As for the toothpick, just snap off the tip and make sure the tip isn't jagged. Some people use those little plastic spoons you can get when you sample ice cream at Baskin Robbins or a frozen yogurt place.

Hey, why not just call him Nel Toro? Even a betta can have a middle name.