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New betta still not eating

819 views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  ChoclateBetta 
#1 ·
It's been a bit over a week since I'd received my betta, and he still refuses to eat the pellets (Hikari Bio-Gold). I've tried to tap the edge of the bowl each time I put food in and I'll wiggle my finger around in the water near the pellets too. Sometimes he will sleep right next to or under the pellets and simply won't touch them.

He seems to be pretty healthy, swimming around and blowing his bubble nests. I managed to buy a new plant and a heater, so now he's got a little spot to hide behind and the water is around 74-76 F.

Some people have told me that bettas wouldn't starve themselves, so should I just keep waiting and trying pellets twice a day until he eats? It's just that I have no idea when was the last time he ate, since Walmart doesn't seem to always feed their fish.

Thanks for your help!
 
#3 ·
Ahh, so maybe about 78F? See, I have the heater set to 80F, but it keeps at 74-75 for some reason. :( I don't want to turn it up too high in case the water suddenly shoots up in temperature while I'm in classes and such. Even though I've read really great reviews about the Hydor heater, when the temperature drops at night (which it does really quickly in the northeast), the water in the bowl seems to quickly fall too, so I'm afraid of keeping it high and then having it fluctuate so much overnight.

And I believe it's a 1.5 gallon bowl.
 
#5 ·
Well, I've only had him for a little over a week so far, but what I've done and am planning on doing is one 50% in the middle of the week and one 90% on the weekends. Do you think I should just turn up the dial on my heater then?

And do you believe that it is because of the temperature that he does not feel like eating?
 
#6 ·
For 1 - 2 gallon tanks: A 25% - 50% water change is recommended every other day, with a 100% water change once a week. Copied from care sticky.
 
#14 ·
It's not that I'm unwilling to change the water more often, but I'm probably going to go with OFL's recommendations. I don't want to stress him out by changing the water too often.

Either way, I'll probably stick with the Hikari Bio-Gold for a few more days, and if he still doesn't eat, then I will change brands.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Another way to feed is to use frozen or live foods. If you feed frozen foods you can feed purely frozen if you fortify with a vitamin supplement like Vita-chem. I really love feeding frozen because it has such a high and easy digestibility factor. If you don't add vitamins you need to keep feeding pellets though because you will be missing certain vitamins and minerals.

Another trick would be to put a couple drops of garlic juice into the water. This causes most bettas to go into a feeding frenzy!
 
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