Thanks for all your help guys. I crushed to pellets and he seemed to be able to eat them better. I'm not sure he likes them tho. What food do you give your betta? Also when I wake up in the morning and go downstairs to see Redsnow hes hanging out at the top of the tank. Does this mean hes hungry? Thanks again for all your help. Im gonna try the airstones btw.
Live black worms (tubifex), frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms (mosquito larvae), also frozen beefheart...and pellets too. Live food really makes 'em healthy and grow faster!!!!
What's the water temp? Sluggish behavior can mean he's cold. Water temp. should be 78-82 degrees F. Bigger tank could help as well.
Read that bettas will take the food in it's mouth and "soften" the pellet by chewing and "water logging" it. All 4 of mine do it with the Hikari Betta Gold pellets.
I don't understand why people buy 'betta food.' Just buy tropical fish flakes, give frozen blood worms and his will be very happy.
I have noticed that none of my fish, betta or any other kind, like pellets. They all hate them, even when crushed. I would say you should get flakes and mash them lightly, so they are about as big as the letter "O" is on here, if not a tad smaller. It makes it easy for them to grab and swallow. They don't have to worry about tearing them to eat. Also, he is a new fish, he may not want to eat the first 2 days, so try flakes and then try a frozen blood worm.
Pellets are hard, sharp foods, not fun to eat...
Well is he swimming at the top? Bettas generally hang out at the top, unless there is reason for them to swim all over the tank (mine like to explore around their plants). However if he's not swimming, and more like gently floating around, you may need to check up on him.
Also, is the tank about .5 gallons?
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Pellets are hard, sharp foods, not fun to eat...
Why do you say so? And the hard part is easily countered. Pre-soak pellets for at least 30 seconds. This also heavily contributes to pellets dryness, so when soaked, they're less dry and therefore less chance of constipation. Haven't seen constipation in about 6 or so months since pre-soaking pellets in garlic juice. Bettas seem to adore garlic juice for reasons I can't explain... (I hate garlic, myself). Of course, if my own bettas really hated pellets, I would probably use flakes as well.
Betta food isn't expensive, so I'm all "meh." About it. Why not? Hikari Bio pellets have been doing me good so far.
A 3 liter tank is a 0.8 Gallon tank, which is too small for a Betta
2 gallon is the minimum I would suggest, personally I have a 3 gallon tank
As for your feeding question, some Betta's are very picky about their food. They will eventually eat what you offer them, but if you can find a brand that they will gobble down all the better! Try pre-soaking your pellets (use a spoon or water bottle cap with some tank water). This allows the pellets to soften up making it easier for the fish to chew them up.
My Betta loves Wardleys but he still has a hard time eating the bigger pellets (I pour a bunch into my hand and then pick out the smallest pellets for him)
2 words: SPONGE FILTER. If you position it so the outlet (the part that bubbles) protrudes from the water, you'll get the best of both worlds...biological/mechanical filtration with practically no water movement. Bettas tend to really like this set-up.
I disagree with some others about sizes necessary to house your betta. If you like your 3L container, that's fine, but you'll have to mess around with ways to try to keep the water above 76 degrees F. Additionally, I recommend very frequent water changes. I change my <5G containers' water at a rate of about 50% per day.
I still recommend a bigger tank as well. That may help him.
Mister Sparkle, I'm more concerned about the physical "needs" (if you want to call it that) of the betta. I like giving them more room to swim around, especially in regards with their long, fanciful tails.
It's all relative. The idea of "needs" is an extremely fluid term. A betta doesn't really "need" a great deal of room. Whether that's something they tend to appreciate...well, who wouldn't? lol
Breeders keep their bettas in 1/2-gallon containers. There is no substrate, no decoration, and rarely is there filtration. However, they have pristine water (a lot of breeders will do 50-100% TWICE a day!), ideal feed, and proper temps. We're talking about fish worth a lot of money here! It would be hard to argue that the breeders aren't meeting their fish's needs. In fact, just seeing them, you'd be hard-pressed to identify any symptoms of stress or unhappiness in their stock. After all, stressed and unhappy bettas aren't very prolific breeders. Even ignoring the genetic superiority of their fish for a moment, I'd wager that his stock is going to be healthier than yours.
So, again, it's all relative. In MY opinion, water and temperature are a lot more important to a betta's well-being, and their "needs", than are space and aesthetics. I've kept so many bettas in containers smaller than 2.5 gallons which lived with us as long as 5-years, making constant bubble nests and showing no signs of stress, that I have a hard time seeing arguments for a "large-aquarium-requirement" to be anything more than anthropomorphism. I'm not arguing that people "need" to keep them in smaller containers, just that there are more important needs to focus on. Again, this comes to water and temperature.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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