Betta Diet

[cataze]

I feed my betta NLS and Omega One pellets, with the occasional blood worm treat (once a week or so).

Is there something else I should add to his diet? Brine shrimp? Krill? I prefer something freeze-dried...it's a lot easier for me.

Thanks,
Cate

[shellieca]

Originally Posted by cataze

I feed my betta NLS and Omega One pellets, with the occasional blood worm treat (once a week or so).

Is there something else I should add to his diet? Brine shrimp? Krill? I prefer something freeze-dried...it's a lot easier for me.

Thanks,
Cate

It's good that you want to give him a variety. Frozen is the better way to go as freeze dried foods have little to no nutritional value. Frozen is really very easy, pop a cube out, use a sharp knife to quarter it, drop it in the tank & everyone goes CRAZY!! Easy & not very expensive, lasts a LONG time! I've fed the freeze dried varieties but I don't get the same response from the gang as I do the frozen & they don't touch the freeze dried shrimp at all.

[cataze]

My only worry with frozen is parasites, etc. I read that there's no chance of that with freeze dried.

[lelei]

Freeze dried does expand to cause bloat, unless soaked first, but you could always try..my fishies don't like F/d BW's at all..but one of my fishies likes a frozen/dethawed one here and there..

[DragonFish]

If I recall, parasites and whatnot are usually the concern with live foods, not frozen. The only potential issues I'm aware of are if the frozen foods end up un-freezing and then being re-frozen at some point, though generally if you go with a good brand(like Hikari)and don't leave it sitting in the car or something for a while on your way home, you shouldn't have any issues.
I have also heard people sometimes have allergies to frozen bloodworms, but thats easily fixed with a pair of gloves and some tweezers.

In all my years of using various frozen foods(Bloodworms, Brineshrimp, Daphnia and Krill even once)I've never had any problems at all so long as I was careful how much I fed. With all the controversy over freeze-dried, I tend to just stay clear of it, so I don't really have an opinion or experience to share on that end, but I've never had any trouble with frozen and my fish have always loved it.

[cataze]

I always soak the FD BWs in tank water before feeding him, and he loves them. He slurps them up like spaghetti! LOL. He lets them start to sink, and then chases them.

[cataze]

Okay, if I go with frozen...if you had to pick one thing, what other than bloodworms would be a good choice?

[DragonFish]

Brine shrimp probably. Bloodworms and Brine shrimp have always been a hit with any fish I had. They really loved the Krill that one time I got it too, but Krill are a bit large and my smaller fish had some trouble with them(not that they didn't attack and rip it apart eventually like little Crocs though, lol).

Also, just from what I've read, I remember it being said that soaking any type of food takes out the nutrients.....so regardless if Freeze-dried has absolutely no nutritional value to begin with, or is packed with all kinds of vitamins and nutrients(I've seen people say both)its kind of pointless if you have to soak it and take out whatever nutrients it might have to feed it I think.

[shellieca]

So far I've only given mine the frozen BW & Brine Shrimp. The Brine Shrimp was pretty funny, last weekend was the 1st time they'd ever had it so it took them a few seconds or so to figure out it was food. It was fun to watch them.

[lelei]

I am def trying brine shrimp next..frozen:)