[B]Pellets, Flakes or Peas?[/B]

[Perry the platypus]

I was just making sure which foods bettas can eat. Can they eat Pellets? Flakes? Peas? Thanks!

[shellieca]

Peas are only meant for rare occasions & some say not even then. Pellets of good quality should be their main diet supplemented with frozen foods.

[rubinthebetta]

I use flakes since a betta of mine used to not eat pellets so I got flakes and my current fish have "inherited" it.

[Myates]

Homemade, live, frozen, certain pellets and certain flakes are fine to feed.. peas are nothing but empty calories/carbs that give a betta no nutrition. Bettas get their roughage from the stomachs of the live foods, as well as what is placed in the processed foods - which shouldn't be a whole lot.

[babystarz]

NO PEAS! The only reason some people use them is to try to help constipation, but there's no evidence that this works. Daphnia are a much better option for healthy betta digestion.

Pellets are superior to flakes because it's easier to see how much you're feeding a particular fish, but flakes can be used if a fish refuses pellets.

The best diet you can offer is a staple of high quality pellets accentuated with live and frozen foods :) My bettas love their brine shrimp and the occasional blood worm as a treat.

[Kytkattin]

I feed only frozen fortified with vita-chem to make it balanced/complete nutrition. Though when I do have to feed pellets I feed New Life Spectrum. I chose the Small Fish formula over the betta formula because it has higher protein and I feel as though the smaller pellets are easier for the betta to digest.

[Perry the platypus]

So I have freeze-dried bloodworms. Can I also feed a mix of pellets and flakes?

[Myates]

Please do feed a mix of pellets. Freeze dried really isn't all too healthy for them.. more like empty calories/carbs. Those are best for a once a week (or so) treat. With pellets (and certain flakes) you will be giving them more of a balanced diet of minerals and vitamins.. what the freeze dried lacks. Sometimes frozen food isn't always as ideal, it all depends on how they freeze the food.. why it's recommended pellets be the staple and the rest be "treats".

[Perry the platypus]

Originally Posted by Myates

Please do feed a mix of pellets. Freeze dried really isn't all too healthy for them.. more like empty calories/carbs. Those are best for a once a week (or so) treat. With pellets (and certain flakes) you will be giving them more of a balanced diet of minerals and vitamins.. what the freeze dried lacks. Sometimes frozen food isn't always as ideal, it all depends on how they freeze the food.. why it's recommended pellets be the staple and the rest be "treats".

OK. So I feed a mix and once a week of bloodworms right?