new betta not eating

[Juicebox]

hi

i have my betta nearly 3 days now from petco., ive tried feeding him yesterday and today and hes not interested,i tried the tropical fish flakes first and he doesnt bother trying to go near them at all,.

i also got beta pellets and he doesnt pay attention to them much when they are at the top , 3 or 4 times he has shown a little interest and followed them down when they were sinking but only 1 of them times he actually sucked 1 into his mouth to eat it but he spit it out 3 seconds later, now i just have about 10 pellets from the 2 days sittin at the bottom of my tank and some flakes too :(

most of the time he doesnt really seem to see the pellets dropping as hes in a corner lookin around or hes just on the opposite side of the tank when they drop..

i think ill try get some frozen bloodworm in a day or 2 when this hurricane dies down,would this be the next vest food to try him on or is there a better one? is it coz hes new in my tank or coz its not a cycled tank or coz he just does not like dry foods?

heres a pic of the food i tried

[LeoTheLakerBetta]

Try and clean the food at the bottom, they can rot and cause problems later. Sometimes it takes a while for a new betta to get used to eating. Luckily, they can go a while without food, though they probably won't like it. Keep trying with those pellets, and he might get it eventually at least until you get some bloodworms.

[LizzyP]

I use Omega One Betta Buffet pellets, never had a problem with no one eating them. Since he spit it back out, are the pellets large? You might have to crush them up.

If he still hasn't eaten in a few days, try soaking the pellets in garlic juice. They looove garlic. That way he can smell it better and it'll taste better to them.

[tromboneplaya]

It can take a long time for a new betta to start eating....I think it's not unusual for them to go a week without eating. I feed all my bettas "hikari betta bio gold" and they all seem to like it really well. I also feed "new life spectrum" sometimes to mix it up and I think they like that too. I don't feed frozen bloodworms but I've always heard that they're good for treats but not as a staple food...

[Juicebox]

ill keep trying the pellets,they are small enough,judging by the size of his mouth i think they are not too big for him,i will crush some up next time,i think the main problem is he doesnt see them dropping some of the times so he doesnt know they are there

i dont have a gravel cleaner at the moment,is there any other way to clean the substrate with any items i may have in my kitchen/house? could be up to 3 weeks before i can get gravel vacum cleaner from petco

[DoctorWhoLuver]

Originally Posted by tromboneplaya

It can take a long time for a new betta to start eating....I think it's not unusual for them to go a week without eating. I feed all my bettas "hikari betta bio gold" and they all seem to like it really well. I also feed "new life spectrum" sometimes to mix it up and I think they like that too. I don't feed frozen bloodworms but I've always heard that they're good for treats but not as a staple food...

I agree. It does take a while for some bettas to eat. One of mine, Rory, wouldn't eat pellets for a week and a half. He would chew up the pellet then spit it back out. However, he did eat eventually :) Don't fret too much. If you want, try dipping the pellets in garlic juice.

[Myates]

A turkey baster is good to use to clean up debris off the bottom... good luck with him, I've had tricky eaters myself and know how frustrating it can be.

[shellieca]

Originally Posted by Juicebox

ill keep trying the pellets,they are small enough,judging by the size of his mouth i think they are not too big for him,i will crush some up next time,i think the main problem is he doesnt see them dropping some of the times so he doesnt know they are there

i dont have a gravel cleaner at the moment,is there any other way to clean the substrate with any items i may have in my kitchen/house? could be up to 3 weeks before i can get gravel vacum cleaner from petco

Do you get his attention on you before you drop the pellets? Mine all know that if the hand is over the tank then food is about to drop & they pretty much follow where my hand goes. I would not feed for a couple of days & then try as others have suggested, crush the pellet but don't drop it until you have his attention. With my new Bettas it takes a few days for them to associate me with food but once they do they will come to the side of tank I am on & give me pitiful looks thinking I will feed them. I feed the Top Fin Betta Bits Pellets & the only time they're not eaten is if someone is sick.

[Juicebox]

i do try get his attention but he is still skitterish and a little scared of anyone coming near the glass no matter how slowly or unthreatening i try to be towards him,gonna try some blood worms either today or tomorrow,ill report back

[shellieca]

You've not had him very long so be patient & spend as much time as you can in front of his tank or looking in from the top. My newest females took 3-4 days to get used to me. They're being QT'd in the kitchen so now every time I walk in they swarm that side of the tank, "walking" all over each other, it's pretty funny. I feed floating pellets so you may want to switch to something like that. Don't make blood worms his stapel diet.