why won't he eat his pellets?

[gkFins]

I got Draco yesterday evening and tried to feed him dinner. He either was too picky to eat it, or too excited exploring his new home, so the pellet eventually sank to the bottom. this morning I tried to feed him again, but he shied away from my finger when I was putting down the pellet. he's been obsessively glass surfing almost all morning, and his food is still uneaten. Last night he was absolutely fine eating bloodworms after he refused pellets, but I don't want to have to feed him bloodworms all the time.

[Neil D]

Leave him for 24hrs, then try again. Bettas are also known to be picky, but my guy loves TetraColor Tropical Pellets.

[Sakura8]

Probably want to remove any uneaten pellets, too, so they don't cause excess ammonia.

[SashimiBetta]

You should not feed your Bettas the first day you got them..The petstore already fed them. You need to feed them the next day. ( : Hope that helps.

But, if he still refuses to not eat, I suggest you go to the petstore and ask what they fed him - Maybe it's just your food.

[Canuck Fins]

Some bettas don't eat the first few days after you bring them home. Just keep trying and remove the uneaten food so it's not fouling up the water. Pellets are better than flakes so stick with pellets. He will eat in time. You might need to try a couple of brands maybe, but don't start giving treats like bloodworms until he eats the pellets if pellets are going to be the main food.

As well, when your fish is eating normally, try feeding six days and fasting the seventh. Fasting once a week is good for them.

[BrookeGrace]

He will get used to them soon! It usually seems to take a day or two after moving into their new home before they really have an appetite.

Another tip that I got from here was to presoak the pellets before you feed him. My betta couldn't eat them "dry" or however you describe it, but once I started doing that, he immediately would snarf them down. :D

[laughing]

He could just be a picky eater.

My male is a pig and will eat almost anything dropped into his tank, but my female will rather starve than eat certain types of flakes or pellets, LOL!

I've had luck with Hikari Bio Bold Betta pellets. They're even smaller in size of easier eating for them.

Good luck!

[gkFins]

thanks. The thing is, my petstore is getting their bettas really young lately. Apparently young fish reply better to motion, so all I had to do was soak it (thank you BrookeGrace) to the point where it would sink when I dropped it in the water, positioning it so that it would sink right in front of draco's face. He ate it without question when I prepared it like that! :D