Betta Fish and Food Blocks?

[CooperS]

Hello!

I am currently at University and will be home for about 13 days. I think it would be best to leave my betta at school, because taking it on the ferry and car would put it into shock and be very stressful.

I have seven day food blocks for betta fish, but those won't last long enough. So, I went to Petco and they didn't have any bigger ones than that. My girlfriend and I found these other 10 day blocks though meant for normal pet fish. I don't have the exact brand name of the block, but it is not made for betta fish. The blocks are in my girlfriends room, but I was wondering, as a general rule of thumb, can you give betta fish food blocks that were not made specifically for bettas? If the specific brand matters, I will find out and report back tomorrow. The lady working at Petco said it would be okay, but I just want to get multiple opinions.

Also, the food blocks are ten day ones...this means that they will not be fed for 2-3 days until I get back. Is this okay???

tl;dr: Can you feed betta fish food blocks that are not made specifically for them?

Thanks a lot,
Cooper

[Bombalurina]

I wouldn't bother putting anything in. Fish, bettas included, are perfectly capable of going for two weeks without food. Water quality in that time is far more important, and those feeder blocks do pollute the water. Just feed your fish normally when you leave, and resume normal feeding when you get back. Don't be tempted to feed extra before or after. :)

[CooperS]

Thanks!

Are you serious? Would it be a bad thing to put the block in then?

-Cooper

[Bombalurina]

Completely serious. :) I've heard too many stories of people getting back from holidays to find their fish swimming in white feeder-block soup, if they are swimming at all. I just wouldn't risk it. 13 days is a long time, but not long enough to harm him.
There are such things as automatic feeders. If you could set one to release a couple of pellets or bloodworms just once whilst you were away, that might be an option (they do tend to drop way too much food in, though).
Alternatively, how long is the journey? Remember that many bettas surive being shipped from Asia. :)

[Bombalurina]

Completely serious. :) I've heard too many stories of people getting back from holidays to find their fish swimming in white feeder-block soup, if they are swimming at all. I just wouldn't risk it. 13 days is a long time, but not long enough to harm him.
There are such things as automatic feeders. If you could set one to release a couple of pellets or bloodworms just once whilst you were away, that might be an option (they do tend to drop way too much food in, though).
Alternatively, how long is the journey? Remember that many bettas surive being shipped from Asia. :)

[Badjer]

Please don't use them...my brother put two feeder blocks in his tank while he was away, and it made the water super nasty. Caused the water to turn milky and the gravel had residue all over it. His fish were also bloated from trying to consume too much of the block at once. Your fish should be fine for 13 days so long as it's already healthy and well-fed. (:

[CooperS]

Thanks a lot :)

So I shouldn't even use the 7 day one made for bettas? I'm just scared about leaving them for so long without food. It seems like they would starve to death.

-Cooper

[Myates]

I would just get a small kritter keeper at Petco- probably cheaper then the blocks, and take the guy home if possible rather then ever use a feeding block.

In less then a week it will pollute the water to dangerous levels, not to mention will over feed the betta the first day which could cause SBD and other issues that you won't be there to treat.
Too many death stories have been told when bettas are mixed in with those feeding blocks :(

[CooperS]

Thanks for the info. :)

-Cooper