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New Betta, few questions

1K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  stuntman2946 
#1 · (Edited)
hi there this is the first time im posting on this sight so sorry if this is in the wrong spot.

i just got my first betta fish. hes a male crowntail and i have him in a 30 gallon cycled tank with a few plants and decorations (betta safe) i got the guy yesterday and he wont seem to eat. he will continually take the food in then spit it out. i tried 3 diffrent kinds of food (pellets flakes and another brand of pellets) he seems to take to the first kind of pellets first but im not sure what else. ive read several diffrent things about feeding them from once a week to twice a day. other than that he seems happy hiding in one of the decorations and swimming around almost constantly.

im thinking about not feeding him for about 3-4 days and trying again but im not sure if this is a good choice. i just want the little guy to thrive.

EDIT: sorry forgot to mention that he has a heater and a low flow filter
 
#2 ·
Congrats on your first betta! Most pet stores feed their betta's flakes so he may just not know what to do with with pellet. The fact that he's trying to eat it is a good sign. Mine acted the same way when I switched them to pellets. They didn't know what to do with it at first, and now they beg for it. It you soak the pellet in some of his tank water before giving it to him it also may help to soften the pellet up a little and be easier for him to eat. What brand of pellets are they? The size depends on how many you should give. I have omega one and feed my betta's 4 pellets daily and fast them on sundays.
 
#4 ·
Welcome, and your boy will love his big home :)

If the pellets seem too big for him to eat (he takes it, then spits it out - repeatedly) then you can use your thumb nail to try to break the pellet into a small piece.. I have to do that with any smaller bettas I get. But keep trying - if he eats then he is good, if not you can try a different brand such as New Life Spectrum or Omega One.

Frozen food such as bloodworms are good to give a few times a week to mix it up a little, to give him a bit more protein.. but mainly stick with pellets (or quality flakes such as Omega One) as they will have a more rounded nutrition.

Generally it's best to feed them at least 2x a day - by nature they are opportunistic feeders (insectivores), so they will eat all throughout the day when they get the chance - why you will see him begging for food whenever he sees you. If you can, feed at least 2x a day - anywhere from 3-5 pellets per meal. If you can feed more than twice a day, break the meals into smaller portions and do that.. roughly 6-10 pellets a day is good... will give him energy and enough nutrition.

No need to fast.. if you want you can skip a meal here and there, but generally you don't have to fast.

Overall - give him a couple weeks to settle in, sometimes some will eat like pigs right away (I've had some that would eat within 30 seconds of being placed in their new home) and there are some who won't eat a thing for a week or two (also had some that would not touch their food for over a week, and now can't get them to stop eating). Just offer him his food and he'll figure it out :) Can use a tip of a clean finger and wiggle it in a spot - teach him to eat from a certain location to make it easier on the two of you.

Good luck and enjoy him :)
 
#5 ·
TY for this response very informative ive been experiencing the same issues with my betta had him for about a week gonna try breaking up the pellets now.

There are so many different instructions on how many times to feed them i'll do twice a day he does look hungry later in the day
 
#9 ·
Give bloodworms every few days until he gets used to pellets.. it will be hard to switch him over. Trust me.. it's difficult lol. I just got a girl a few days ago in a shipment, she will only eat frozen bloodworms at this time, so I'm starting to starving her to get her to eat pellets. She is going to hate me, but I'm not going to feed exclusively frozen foods lol.. she will get them again when I start conditioning her to breed :)

Bettas can be picky eaters - if the food doesn't smell appetizing, they won't go for it.. or they will, but won't eat it. I've had the best luck using NLS (both betta and Grow formula) and Omega One Betta Buffet - those I can get most fish to eat with no trouble, those are also the easiest to get generally. Golden Pearls (800-1000+ size) are also really great - but those you will have to order online. There is small pockets of air in them and when you put them in water they move around quickly like live food and the fish just go crazy over them. GPs you can feed instead of pellets if you wish. Worth a shot if you are willing to buy online.
 
#10 ·
UPDATE: so this morning he again ate only the worms, i crushed up the pellets really small and he is still spitting them out. i guess ill keep trying with the pellets and just offer less and less worms

what is NSL ive heard alot about this but im not sure exactly what it is.
 
#13 ·
Bettas will actually train their owners into giving them their favourite food by ignoring the ones they don't want until you give them the ones they do want.
If he's eating the worms, great!
As far as pellets go, he needs to learn to eat them because they are balanced as far as nutrition goes. This is what I had to do with my worm-loving betta.

When Mako wouldn't eat pellets and kept spitting them out, I stopped giving him worms. I dropped one pellet in. He ignored it. I hovered my finger over it and he noticed it, but ignored it and continued to beg for food. I sat there for probably a good five minutes. Finally he came up and nibbled on it, but spit it out and let it sink to the ground. I immediately removed it and left him alone for a while. An hour or two later, I repeated the process until he finally started eating the pellets. Now I feed him an even amount of both.
You don't have to be that strict about it, I just was because, at the time, I had very little time to commit to my betta, so when I did have a day off, i corrected all of his behaviours right then and there so that I didn't have to deal with them over a busy week.

The important part is that, if your fish doesn't eat the pellet within three to five minutes, or lets it sink to the floor, REMOVE IT. This will teach them that the food will not be there for as long as they want it to be, and that there is a time limit on feeding. This rule should go for every feeding time until the fish gets it. If he doesn't eat the worms within three minutes, take the rest out, even if he begs for more. This not only saves your water from becoming foul, it teaches them about schedules and makes them realize that they cannot train you into giving them what they want all the time. This is only really necessary for new fish.

Also, it's recommended to feed your betta several small meals a day (And my small, I mean one pellet or two worms), skip a meal once in a while, and fast them for one day so their digestive system can properly break down their foods. Bettas in the wild go days without eating sometimes, as they are ambush predators.
However, it is only recommended. If you stay very consistent with one or two out of these three recommendations, you should be okay. Always use your judgement.
 
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