Question about accomodation

[NetGeek]

I had a previous Betta who lived a full 6 months before suddenly going off his chow and passing away. I reviewed everything I did and could not find an answer as to why. He started life in a 0.5 gallon Betta "condominium" and was upgraded to an Eclipse 3 (top filtration) unit about a month after I got him on advice from my local pet store.

He seemed perfectly happy in the bigger acquarium, so I have no qualms about the type of tank. He absolutely loved playing in the waterflow from the Eclipse filter. No rhyme, no reason as to why he perished.

So now I have a new Betta. He is much smaller (possibly much younger) and very physical in his swimming. I thoroughly cleaned out the Eclipse 3 (hot water, no chemicals) and he seems to have a lot of fun swimming around the tank.

My only problem is that he does not seem to want to eat Betta Bites. When I brought him home on the weekend, I fed him freeze dried bloodworms, as I had done with my previous Betta and he seemed to enjoy those, although the current made them a bit hard to manage for the new guy. Betta Bites on weekdays, Bloodworms for a treat on weekends. Now, he will take a Betta Bite in his mouth, chew a bit, then spit it out. No interest whatsoever, although it has only been one day.

Should I be starting him out in my 0.5 gallon Betta condo and then gradually moving him up to the 3 gallon in a few weeks? Or should I just give in and feed him bloodworms for awhile?

[Scienceluvr8]

No, I am pretty sure the tank size is not the problem, rather it is a good thing. It is best to put them in anything bigger than about 2 gallons. As for the food, if he is spitting it up, just try new food. Bettas can be picky eaters, are the betta bites flakes or pellets? Bettas usually enjoy the pellets better, and they make less of a mess =) Try the Hikari Betta Bio Gold pellets or the Wardley's Brand. Hope that helps! =)

[NetGeek]

Thanks for the reply. The food is Top Fin Betta Bits pellets, which is a pretty well known brand. I have been told to stay away from flakes, but I wonder if that is what the pet store was feeding him.

I am going back to bloodworms for a couple of days. Hopefully he responds.

[Luchi]

I was feeding my betta Top Fin Betta Bits pellets when I first got him. He used to chase it and eat it then spit it back out and it would float to the bottom making a mess in the tank. Since he's little you might need to get him a super small betta pellet!!!

[dramaqueen]

You can try Hikari micro pellets. They are very tiny.

[dr2b]

When I bought my betta, they told me they fed the bettas Top Fin Betta Bites. So I bought them. But my betta would eat them and spit them back out. However, the only thing he would eat were the freeze dried blood worms. So after a week I went and got Hikari Bio-Gold and he loves them! He eats them so fast...and he is now acting like a normal betta. So I highly recommend trying the Hikari. The funny thing is that now that I am feeding my betta the Hikari - he wont' eat the bloodworms.

[dramaqueen]

Some bettas don't like bloodworms.

[dr2b]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

Some bettas don't like bloodworms.

I am actually wondering if he ate the bloodworms because it was better than the Top Fin Betta Bites. And now that he has something he likes, he doesn't want them. Gosh they are picky

[Luchi]

Very true, my betta hates them and actually pushes them up the sides of the tank. I guess he doesn't like them floating in his water. lol.

[dramaqueen]

Oh, yes, they can be very picky! lol