Newbie to Betta fish! How many pellets to feed them?

[Reece]

Hey everyone, I think this is the third question so far! lol. (Thank god I've found this forum haha). Right, for my new fish I plan to feed him pellets, as I find feeding them flakes is annoying and on many occasions quite messy and I also know that Pellets are recommended for Betta fish. I just wanted to know how many pellets do you have to feed them daily and at what times? For example, is it three pellets in the morning and three at night?

My next question is what do I need to look for on the food packaging. ie vitamins, protein etc.

Thanks in advance for any help that is given!

[Princess Penny]

I think most people feed 1-2 pellets per day. I'm feeding betta flakes for now until they run out (ugh), but I feed a very small pinch of them once a day (maybe like, 5 flakes? they are very small). Scoop out whatever he doesn't eat within a few minutes, it will help maintain your water quality :)

[Reece]

From that would you imagine that it is best to feed them one at 7am and one at 7pm so they have one every 12 hours, or would you suggest feeding him 2 at 7pm?? (7am and pm is the best feeding times for me as I'm always at home by 7 and awake by 7, and if I'm out or away for the day my mum is up then to take care of little sister and so she could feed it and it would be good for her too).

[SnowySurface]

It depends on the size of the pellet. When I used Hikari Gold pellets, I fed my fish two in the morning and two at night. Not that I use the NLS small fish pellets, I feed about 6 in the morning and 6 at night because the pellets are so much smaller. This is how I guess but it may not help you If you aren't comfortable with the mectric system.

Large Pellets
Any pellets bigger than 2mm are too large for a betta. You would probably have to break up 2 pellets that size at each feeding to make it safe. So this size would be two pellets a day.

Medium Pellets
If the pellet is 1mm, then it's a good size for bettas and you would feed 2-3 pellets twice a day. But even a King Betta shouldn't need more than six medium size pellets a day. If your fish is bloated or pooping too often, just cut it back to 2 twice a day.

Small Pellets
I wouldn't use a pellet smaller than 0.5mm (which is what I use now) and those I feed 6-8 pellets twice a day. But they are so small that sometimes even 10 will fall in during a feeding. Once it's that small, the number will start to vary from fish to fish. I notice snowy eats a few more than Luigi and neither fish looks fatter than the other and no one looks bloated.

I hope this helps. :)

[Reece]

Thanks so much for that, when I get them I will measure them (I'm not very good at measuring with my eyes lol). Thanks for your post

[Reece]

Hi this is the Oxygen pump thing attached to the internal filter. The fish you see are the current inhabitants that I'm taking back to the LFS.

[Reece]

lol My last reply was meant to be in a different thread!

[Silverfang]

you want to look at the ingredient list. The first 3 ingredients listed should be fish or fish products, not wheat or other fillers. Also check the protein content, 42% and up is what you should aim for.
A bettas stomach is about the size of his eye, so no more than 2 pellets at a time (unless you have the really tiny "micro" pellets). I highly recommend two meals a day, maybe 2 in the morning and one or two in the evening.
Feel free to make a substitution a couple meals a week. I feed my boy two pellets in the morning and 2-3 frozen blood worms in the evening.

[Reece]

I've heard about bloodworms... Supposedly they're a kind of treat? Anyway, where can I get a hold of some? I know that my LFS has Betta Pellets but I'm not too sure about them having bloodworms.

Also what size are your pellets? 1mm?

[jman828]

I feed two pellets twice daily and they are 1mm pellets