Spitting out pellets?

[Sprinkles55]

I got sprinkles a week ago. His eating habits were good at first, but lately for the past few days I think he's been having trouble with his pellets.

I feed him Omega one betta buffet pellets.
He goes to them, eats it, then spits it out. Then as it falls he chases it to the bottom but once it's at the bottom he stares and swims away. I think he might be having trouble eating the pellets? Is there a brand with smaller pellets?

I don't want him going hungry.

[lelei]

If those are fairly big, there are other ones, that are micro tiny..and betta's do prefer them, try New Life Spectrum, or Hakari Gold the Hakari are the ones my guys love, and devour at first glance..lol..:)

[Sprinkles55]

Thank you lelei! I'll stop by a local petco/petsmart to see if they have the pellets you listed :)

[LebronTheBetta]

Actually go for New Life Spectrum Betta Formula. My Betta DEVOURS them. And, it has the best ingredients. Better than Hikari or Omega One. The Hikari's ingredients changed, and now it's a bit bad. Omega One has Wheat Gluten which is a cheap filler from Wheat Extract. New Life doesn't have Wheat Gluten and has good 1st ingredients. :) Hope your Betta eats soon!

[Perseusmom]

Perseus loves the New Life Spectrum too and they are tiny so he would not have trouble with these. Best Wishes !

[Sprinkles55]

Thank you LebronTheBetta and Perseusmom! I'll look for new Life Spectrum today when I stop by the store :). For now I'm grabbing a group of pellets, then picking out the smallest one of the bunch to feed him from his omega one pellets. He hasn't spit them out since I started doing this :D!

[RainbowSocks]

Also, you could try pre-soaking the pellets in tank water for a few minutes. I have a rinsed-out bottle cap dedicated to the purpose. How many pellets do you feed him? I know Iv is a pig, and would eat a dozen a day if I let him. Sometimes, cutting back on feeding will improve your betta's appetite.

[Sprinkles55]

RainbowSocks I'll probably try pre-soaking and see how he likes it. I feed him 3 pellets a day, one in the morning, and two at night or one in the afternoon if I'm home. (I'm usually not home during the afternoon though, due to work or other events.) His appetite is great I assume, he always goes after the pellets, but he ends up spitting it out, chasing it, and then never being able to get it if he doesn't chase it fast enough xD

[lelei]

It sounds tedious..but I hear crushing them or cutting in half if possible also works..if not too complicated to do..:)

[RainbowSocks]

I tried to make it as easy for me as possible, because I thought pre-soaking sounded tedious as well. I just float the bottle cap in his tank, go about my morning or evening routine, and then tip the bottle cap over after a few minutes. The pellet will actually swell to about the size of their eye, which is a good comparison for the size of their stomachs--so one at a time is perfect.