Looking to add something to my bettas diet

[Number1sticky]

Can bettas eat: krill, plankton and/or spirulina brine shrimp? Right now my betta has 6 different varieties of food. But I want one more so he can have something different every day of the week. And it would be easier for me to remember what food to feed him which day.

Or if anyone had another idea I'm open to it.

Right now he is getting (all frozen):
Beefheart
Bloodworms
Brine shrimp
Glass Worms (mosquito larvae)
Mysis Shrimp
Tubifex Worms

I tried Daphnia, but he doesn't like it. It is so small it's hard for him to find it.

[veggiegirl]

Hey there,

You should probably feed your betta a good quality pelleted feed as it is the only way to ensure you boy is getting a balanced diet. Most fish in general cannot digest the casings of the worms (bloodworms etc) so they should not be fed regularly only as the occassional treat. Beefheart also is not a natural food for fish and is so high in protein that it can cause fatty liver disease in your fish and Swim bladder disorder. I am pretty sure that bettas may be able to eat krill, you may need to do some additional research just to be sure but I think my bettas pellets (Hikari betta bio-gold) contain it.

[aemaki09]

You are going to want to add NLS pellets to that. - its good you are giving him variety, but he needs a staple in his diet, so that he has everything he needs in it, and the NLS (or omega one) will give him that.
It's actually better to feed pellets every day and give him a treat of one of those above options instead of feeding something diferent every day

I would also remove beefheart from the menu. They are warm blooded and fish are cold, so its a lot harder for your betta to digest it

[Number1sticky]

He does have pellets. But I thought it was better more them to have fresh food rather then pellets. But I can feed him the pellets daily instead. Right now all I have is Aqueon betta food.

When I get a little more money I will buy him some NSL. Which do you think is better the NSL or omega one? Because I can find omega one in stores. I don't know where to find NSL in stores around me.

[Number1sticky]

What would be a good feeding schedule for him? How often should I give him a treat?

[Kytkattin]

While I agree with the above on the beef heart needing to be a rare treat, I do think that with the wide variety of other frozen foods, if you simply added a vitamin mix such as Vita-Chem your fish would be fine and get whole nutrition. Also, adding a live food such was flightless fruit flies would also help towards whole nutrition. I am a strong believe of feeding whole, natural foods over processed ones, and as long as you are able to make sure they have all the needed vitamins you should be fine. Though I should also add that Vita-Chem can be hard to find and frequently needs to be ordered online.
Additionally, OldFishLady has a good home-made pellet recipe. I don't remember it atm, but I am sure someone else could post it.

If you do decide to buy pellets, NLS small fish formula seems to be the highest in protein and easiest to digest. It also is great that it is so small in case you end up with a particularly small or young betta.

One more very important thing: with the frozen foods, do not thaw and refreeze any portion of the food. This causes it to lose any nutrition it has. Once it has been thawed it can be kept in the refrigerator for about a day, then discard any uneaten portion.