Betta Not Eating Right!

[klarka331]

Hi everyone,

I have had my little 2.71 for 6 months and he has been happy as can be. But tonight when I fed him first he tried to eat his pellets but he spit them out. Then after a few minutes he ate one and seemed to have trouble swallowing it. He kept chewing and would go up to breath then, cough out some white stuff, it looked kind of like dust almost. Then he didn't eat anymore. Nothing has changed in his tank and he has never had trouble eating before.

I'm really worried about my little boy! Any input would be greatly appreciated!

[JamieTron]

How big is your tank? what temperature is your tank at...do you have a heater? Sometimes bettas get too cold and their metabolism slows down and they will not eat. How often do you clean our water as well?

Not eating could also be a result of illness, check for change of color, lethargy, discolored gills, lesions or bumps, strange spots, look at his gill movements are they rapid or extremely slow? Is he swimming normally?

Check for other symptoms of illness, but if he has cold water that is probably it.

[Oldfishlady]

When a fish spits food in and out of their mouth like that, this is how they chew and normal IME, they do this to make the food smaller so they can swallow it easier and tasting it to see if they like it or if it is something they should be eating...not all fish do this but not uncommon when a new food is offered or they are not really that hungry to start.