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I need a good diet for my betta.

2K views 20 replies 7 participants last post by  iamntbatman 
#1 ·
Yes, my new betta who I thought was a goner is now swimming happily around the tank. However, she is still really skinny. I want to know a good diet to feed her that will help her put on body weight without constipating her.

Here are the facts

~She's just under an inch long
~She's very skinny
~Her fins are not flared. They don't looked clamped, but they are not open and "happy" like they should be.
~She was constipated (with swim bladder issues) for two days. Today is her first day being healthy.
~She is in a 2.5 gallon tank with a heater (76 degrees F) and soon a filter.

You probably didn't need to know all of that, but it doesn't hurt.

Here is what I have food-wise. I will be more than willing to go out and buy thinkgs for her, but if I can give her an excellent diet with what I have, then all the better.
~Top Fin Color enhancing betta bites (floating pellets)
~Tetra Color Tropical flakes
~Freeze Dried Blood Worms.

Any suggestions at all are welcome. I just want to get her healthy.
 
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#3 ·
The freeze dried bloodworms can be bad unless you thoroughly rehydrate them first (15 mins or more) and even then they aren't as nutritious as frozen. Feed the pellets as a staple, 2-3 twice a day with fasting on Sunday (you may feed thawed daphnia on Sunday morning but that should be it for the day). Bloodworms are a treat since they are pretty high in fat. If she decides she doesn't like the Top Fin pellets (as they seem to do) try Hikari Bio-Gold.

I'd also up the temp two degrees if possible. It makes a surprising difference.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the advice. I was also wondering about hatching brine shrimp. What do you think? Is it worth the effort? I know live food is good for betta fish. How good are sea monkeys? (And where have you found them. I've been looking for awhile but I can't find any)
 
#6 ·
I feed a LOT of frozen food, which is the best way to fatten up your fish. If you want her to beef up quickly, feed her beefheart, bloodworms, and spirulina brine shrimp. These are all frozen foods. I'd also pick up some Vita-chem, or another vitamin, which I give all my fish on a regular basis. One last nice thing is a garlic extract (I use Garlic Guard by Seachem). Not only is it a flavor enticer, but it's a natural anti-parasitic, so it will help her with any internal parasites she might be harboring.

Just make sure you have a filter for her if you're feeding fish a rich diet. Also, make sure you're only feeding her as much as she can eat in two minutes, you don't want any food rotting on the bottom. Such a full diet will definitely cause her to produce more waste, and you want to be sure it doesn't get out of hand.
 
#8 ·
Hey Arlie! I have two 2.5 gallon tanks. One is a bow front. Its pretty tall, so an eight gallon heater fits perfectly in there. I have another 2.5 that seems to be a scale model of a ten gallon. I have another eight gallon heater in there, but since that tank is shorter its tilted to the side so it can fit. I'm probably going to go out looking for another heater because I'm not sure how well it works on its side.

I don't remember the brand, but I got it at PetCo. It was about $30 ish

Constipation in fish can cause swim bladder problems in bettas, so if your fish is floating at the top and can't swim to the bottom of the tank (or struggles to do so) they might be constipated. There are other causes of swim bladder issues, but I was fairly sure that my betta was constipated because she was very skinny and then had eaten a giant freeze dried blood worm. Seriously, if that thing had been alive it probably would have eaten her. So, if your fish is floating at the top of the tank and has just eaten an exceptionally large meal or has had a change in diet, there's a good chance your fish is constipated.
 
#10 ·
Hi all
My tank has about 6 1/2" of water between the gravel and the top of the water so a heater would have to be about 6" to be fully submerged.
Thank you for the info on fish constipation. No signs of that as yet. I am being very stingy with the feeding because years ago I had an aquarium and all my fish died because I over fed them (according to the guy at the aquarium store as I was doing everything else as instructed)
Do you believe that I did not know until reading it on this board, that freeze dried blood worms were to be re hydrated before feeding them to my Betta? Nothing to that effect on the package the food came in. Why don't the manufacturers tell you these things? No wonder my Betta had such a hard time eating one.
My poor Bow saw his reflection in the glass last night with the hood light on and went into a panic, hid out behind the air tube on the bottom for an hour after I turned out the lamp. He was going nuts seeing himself, rushing all over the tank and panicking me too till I figured out what was wrong with him.
Arlie
 
#11 ·
Tilting the heater sideways is actually better than keeping it vertical. In most heaters, the thermostat is at the top. The hot water (heated by the heater) rises more or less straight up, tricking the thermostat into thinking that your water temperature is just right, so the heater shuts off. If you have it tilted sideways, the thermostat in the heater more accurately measures the temperature of your tank water.
 
#13 ·
hi
I just read on another Betta website that those tiny betta food pellets are to be soaked in water before feeding to the Betta fish, is that correct? I know the freeze dried blood worms should be but the pellets too?
Arlie
 
#18 ·
Is It True That You Can Feed Your Betta Fish/Any Fish Frozen Peas?
 
#19 ·
Peas shouldn't be a regular part of your betta's diet. Bettas are carnivores so their digestive tracts aren't designed to handle all of that fiber. Thawed, deshelled frozen peas can be used as a laxative to clear up constipation in bettas (and other fish) but for a carnivorous fish like a betta, thawed frozen daphnia would be a better choice as a laxative.
 
#20 ·
So would frozen peas be good for my other fish (molly and guppies)?
 
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