Bored of pellets, need ideas?

[deathofcontract]

So Orbit apparently has no more taste for the pellets I have. What are my options? He loves the bloodworms, but I'm scared to death of giving them to him b/c they don't offer a balanced meal.

And he doesn't he even look at flakes!

[kelly528]

You are correct in assuming that bloodworms alone, though nutritious, do not offer a balanced diet. That would be like, say, you eating spinach day in and day out. Sure, it's healthy but you need other foods to round your diet out! You don't need to worry about balanced meals as much as you should be worrying about a balanced diet. It's all in variety.

As far as nutrition goes, bettas will love most frozen food. It's high in nutrition and makes a great diet supplement. You can also feed them tropical fish granules or even different brands of pellet to vary their diet. Here is what I feed my guy:

BETTA PELLETS:
-Random pet-store pellets
-Hikari Bio-Gold (great staple)

TROPICAL FISH FOOD
-Hikari Micro Pellets
-Hikari Micro Wafers
-Nutrafin Tropical Granules
-Sera Tropical Granules
-Sera protein pellets

FROZEN
-Bloodworm
-Tubifex
-Brine Shrimp

LIVE
-Pond Snails form my endler colony
-Fry culls
-Baby cherry shrimp


The only things I wouldn't recommend are Freeze-Dried foods (too bloat-y) and vegetable-based foods like spirulina flakes or algae wafers.

[Jynx]

My Lulu will actually kill and devour ghost shrimp nearly her own size. If she does this I don't feed her at all for several days since it takes her a while to finish eating them. This doesn't seem to make the water dirty and she pretty much eats the entire shrimp- including the legs. I actually have never seen her kill one- I've only seen her chase and poke them. I imagine she must get in there and bite the head.

Some pet stores also carry live baby crickets if you want to try those- but anyone who keeps reptiles can tell you it's really annoying when they escape and start a colony in your home- so be careful O_o

[deathofcontract]

I'll have to pick up some of those Bio-Golds. I have freeze-dried bloodworms, but I let them soak for at least 3 mins so as to minimize any adverse affects. Is this good?

I'll go tomorrow to get him a diet. I miss being able to use a staple lol

[dramaqueen]

I have never had a problem with freeze dried food. I rehydrate mine before feeding.

[deathofcontract]

Ok now I'm worried.

Not only is there a strange mark on his head, but he's spitting out the new food too! I fed him 3 bio-gold pellets, 1 went down and 2 were spit up!

What's going on?!

[kelly528]

Be stubborn. Sometimes they don't like the gel they are encapsulated in, but he will get over it.

[Kim]

Can you tell us what your setup is like? Is the tank cycled? What is your maintenance schedule? Temp? etc. Can you post a pic of the strange mark on his head?

All of mine eat:

Bio-Gold pellets
Bettamin flakes
frozen bloodworms
frozen brine shrimp
frozen daphnia

[deathofcontract]

I presume my tank is at the end, or getting to the end, of cycling. Last readings were 0's across the board.

It is 10 gallons. I had changed a gallon out daily for 2 weeks, and the past week and half I've cut that to every other day. I just cleaned the filter, and will probably get a new cartridge this evening. Temps go between 76-80.

I'll attempt to get a good pic tomorrow. Thank you!

Update: He just ate 1, but was not even close to interested in the others. Kept shying away. Would fasting him for a day or two help you think?

[deathofcontract]

Here are some pics!

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/3402/1108091507.jpg
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/9883/1108091516.jpg
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/6549/1108091516a.jpg
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/5741/1108091507a.jpg