The pellets I bought float on top for 1-5 seconds, then sink to the bottom (fast.) He doesn't really eat or take interest in anything floating on the water, and he won't bottom feed once they fall either, but he isn't fast enough to catch them all falling. I felt like he wasn't getting enough to eat so I tried, first, dropping 10 pellets in & letting him catch all he could, drop 10 more and same, drop 10 more and same, when I thought he was done eating, immediately turkey-baster all the fallen ones off the gravel, but I was afraid I was missing too many that got between the gravel cracks so I tried the second way, dropping 1-2 and letting him get those, drop 1-2 more, again and again until I though he had eaten enough.
My question is, is there a better way to do this? I had pellets that didn't sink, but I was finding them 12+hrs later, still afloat, looking untouched. And I've yet to see him get "a full round belly." I thought about slow release tablets or something similar, but those just don't seem like a good option nutrient-wise. My Petco does not carry snails at all, only salt water and LARGE bamboo shrimp. They have a lot of different frozen gummy feed drops, but none seem suitable for a Betta. They have krill (HUGE) and micro blood worms, but that shouldn't be a constant meal should it? Not 2-3 times a day every day.
I'm thinking:
1. Continue feeding him 1 pellet at a time until he seems full, which just isn't feasible with my work schedule and everything else we have going on right now.
2. Find/order mystery snails and breed them in a small tank to feed him babies, or do the same but with ghost shrimp
3. Feed him tiny tadpoles, minnows, other fish fry, etc.
He only wants live/moving food, but he needs it slow enough to catch.
My question is, is there a better way to do this? I had pellets that didn't sink, but I was finding them 12+hrs later, still afloat, looking untouched. And I've yet to see him get "a full round belly." I thought about slow release tablets or something similar, but those just don't seem like a good option nutrient-wise. My Petco does not carry snails at all, only salt water and LARGE bamboo shrimp. They have a lot of different frozen gummy feed drops, but none seem suitable for a Betta. They have krill (HUGE) and micro blood worms, but that shouldn't be a constant meal should it? Not 2-3 times a day every day.
I'm thinking:
1. Continue feeding him 1 pellet at a time until he seems full, which just isn't feasible with my work schedule and everything else we have going on right now.
2. Find/order mystery snails and breed them in a small tank to feed him babies, or do the same but with ghost shrimp
3. Feed him tiny tadpoles, minnows, other fish fry, etc.
He only wants live/moving food, but he needs it slow enough to catch.