Few questions....

[ashalon24]

New to Betta fish world and adjusting with my new lil guys, I have noticed I can never quite get the flakes right and put too much....then cleaning out the tank of extra food is a pain because they are tiny flakes. Also it is making my tank cloudy quicker due to lack of ability of being able to obtain all the flakes and having to clean them every other day. All that to say I am looking to switch food...the only reason I choose the bottle I did was it was the most picked over at the store. Would pelts be better or the blood worms I read about? Which brand of which or does that matter? Just trying to make life for me and the lil guys easier....I am also upgrading after reading many posts here for them and would a tank with light be recommended or should they be fine if in a decently lit room til night time? Any help is appreciated! Thanks from all four of us! ;)

[Nataku]

Pellets are generally better for a betta than flake food, so yes, switching over would be better for their diet and will make it a lot easier to clean after. One problem to watch out for in flake food is just because it may be a popularly sold brand at the store, doesn't actually mean its good for them. I had an employee at a store try to sell me some tetra flakes for my bettas "oh they'll love them!" ... don't be fooled by what store employees say. If it's a typical flake food and not one specifically made fore bettas (like BettaMin tropical medley) then it may contain more plant matter than animal, which is bad for bettas as they are carnivores. With pellets you only feed them one at a time, and then wait until they've eaten each one to give them another. Besides, the pellets float, if they don't want to eat, the pellets are easy to get back out.

Brand wise I hear that Hikari Betta Bio-gold is supposed to be one of the best, although I'll be damned if I can find the stuff in my local stores, maybe you'll have better luck. I use a brand called HBH Betta Bites and my fish have all taken to that quite nicely. Just look at the ingredients on the back of the label when you go to the store. If the first ingredients on there are wheat, vegetable matter, and/or soybean meal, then you don't want it, as it contains more veggies than meat.

Bettas like bloodworms almost without exception (I have one betta who doesn't acknowledge them, but my other two attack them voraciously). However, bloodworms should only be given as a treat, not a constant staple food, as it can make them fat and bloated. But you should look into getting some along with pellets, they are great as a supplement to their diet. My stores don't really have an option on brands for bloodworms. It's either frozen or freeze-dried xD

If the tanks recieve enough light through-out the day through other lights in the room, they should be fine. I keep tank lights on all of my tanks just because the room where they are in doesn't have lights on for a good portion of the day.

[Chicklet]

Pellets they say are far superior than Flaked foods, However alot of Betta's won't eat pellets.
I have alot of Betta's and I can say not one of mine will eat any pellets, I just end up having to pick them outta the tanks later..
Flaked foods can lead to bloat in some Betta's..
Freeze dried is not a good choice either as they also cause bloat, Seems like a fairly common aliment for betta's if given to much wrong foods..

I personally feed mostly Frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp & Some guppy fry, (however I realize most can't do this) other then that they get the odd meal off flaked foods (variety) and some freeze dried as treats..

To clean the uneaten food, A turkey baster works great....

[dramaqueen]

I use Hikari betta bio gold and have never had a problem with feeding. All bettas are different and have their likes and dislikes.

[dukie1346]

Fishy loves the pellets I feed him and when I give him a little freeze-dried bloodworm, he attacks it. He loves the bloodworms as treats.

[dramaqueen]

Mine also get bloodworms, brine shrimp and daphnia. :)

[veganchick]

a varied diet is best, maybe 2-3 pellets every day, exept on one day of the week, give them a couple of bloodworms

[dramaqueen]

Freeze dried foods should be rehydrated so it won't cause digestive problems.

[JingleAllTheWay]

I feed mine pellets, freeze-dried blood worms, and (very rarely) flakes. I know I'm putting way too many human feelings on the little guys, but I wouldn't want to eat one kind all the time.

[dramaqueen]

They like a variety of foods. They probably would get bored with the same thing day after day, like we do. I like pizza but I think I'd get sick of it if I had to eat it day after day. lol