[RedFynn21]

Hi all,

I am beyond bummed--my newest addition Nomad, refuses to eat. And he has since I got him. We're going on a week and a half. I don't understand what could be wrong, so I thought I would come here for some advice. I waited a day to let him get settled in before I fed him, and water temp is okay, so I'm at a loss. :-( I have tried all I can think of to get him to eat, but it just won't happen. He isn't sluggish, or staying at the bottom. Seems alert and active. It's not that he doesn't notice the food--he does, but he just spits it out. I have tried 3 different brands of food, crushed the pellets to make them smaller, but nothing. If someone has some ideas...I would be forever greatful!

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? Says 77 at the moment.
Does your tank have a filter? Yes, but baffled.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No.
Is your tank heated? Yes.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? I have tried Betta Buffet, Aquaeon pellets, Top Fin pellets.

How often do you feed your betta fish? I feed twice daily - 3 pellets. But he hasn't eaten them, so I removed the pellets.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 2x a week.

What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?1- 50 percent change, and 1 -100 percent change. (Maybe all the water changes are stressing him out?)

What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Nutrafin Aqua Plus.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? N/A

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?Nothing in his appearance. Looks normal.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Will not eat, and hasn't since I brought him home. He grabs the food, then spits it right back out.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? The morning after I got him, when I went to feed him.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Tried different foods.
Does your fish have any history of being ill?None.
How old is your fish (approximately)? No idea.

 

[ravenwinds]

Was he store bought? Or did you get him overseas such as Thailand? I have noticed that my Thai bettas take awhile to acclimate to pellet food as they are usually fed live food such as mosquito larvae. If he has no symptoms such as clamped fins or being listless, he is probably ok...may just be trying to wait you out for the good stuff such as live or frozen foods...he will eventually cave in when he gets hungry enough.
Have you tried New Life Spectrum? I have noticed that even the most finicky will eat NLS...both Petco and petsmart sell it. You should also try some frozen or live foods such as bloodworms.

On a side note: water chemistry testing should be done on a regular basis because any "off" readings could kill your fish. Good job on the water change schedule! I don't think that could be stressing him out, especially if you you cup him while you are doing the water changes.

You could try increasing water temperature as 77degrees is on the low end of suggested water temp for bettas.

For now, as he is showing no signs of stress or disease, I wouldn't worry too much. Try some frozen or live foods and see if that encourages him to eat.

 

[ZackyBear]

I used to have a betta that wouldn't eat pellets, but would eat freeze-dried bloodworms....

if you got him from a petstore, try asking what they fed him. :3

 

[RedFynn21]

Thanks all for the tips! I'm headed to Petsmart tomorrow to pick up a water test kit--used up all of my other on cycling my 5 and 10 gallons--New Life Spectrum and some bloodworms. I didn't even think to try them! D'oh! *Facepalms*

He was a petstore bought betta from PetCo--and I didn't even ask what they fed them! Lesson learned! On a side note, to answer your q's Ravenwinds, he isn't listless or have clamped fins. Swims around like normal...so that is why I was stumped! I bumped the temp up on my Theo heater. Will see if I can get it up to 80. Maybe it'll help. My heater is a little finicky, and the temp can fluctuate unless the the setting is tweaked. I will keep you posted! Thanks in advance!

-RedFynn

 

[flowerslegacy]

I've had new bettas that have taken up to two weeks to eat. After watching the water changes they perform at the petstores, no wonder they're stressed out when we get them! My best solution was frozen brine shrimp. Thawed out it makes nice little snacks and it's easy for them to eat. Once they got used to the shrimp I moved to worms, etc. Bettas really like caves, etc. so make sure you have a betta log or a decoration or somewhere for them to hide. It helps with the de-stressing process.

 

[RedFynn21]

Thanks for the suggestion, flowerslegacy! He has several hidey holes and tons of plants to hide in...so no worries! As far as getting him to eat, we repeat the same process allover again! I feed...he comes right up to the top, grabs it, nibbles it, spits it out. Then...does the swim, wiggle-dance. And the look on his face says: "Really, lady? Where's the good stuff?" I hope that tomorrow I will have a breakthrough. Wish me luck!

 

[zombiegirl]

I have a new girl who won't eat anything but frozen brine shrimp. We've had her almost a week. You might want to try that. She turns her nose up at anything else including blood worms.

 

[Sowman]

when i got my first two bettas they didnt eat for almost 2 weeks. I was super worried but now they are healthy and beautiful. Some times it take a while.... have you tried soaking the pellets in garlic juice? I've heard that helps....

 

[RedFynn21]

Well...I return from PetSmart with NLS food, and some frozen bloodworms. And the results are in:

Believe it or not, he wanted nothing to do with the bloodworms, and instead...ended up flaring at. *rolls eyes*

As for the New Life Spectrum...he ate ONE PELLET, then spit the other two out! He is the pickiest betta I have ever seen. I will give it a garlic soak next and see what happens! I If that doesn't work, I'll give brine shrimp a go. And if that doesn't work, I'll really be at a loss.

ETA:

What about mosquito larvae? I don't know where I would find it here, tho. But, possibly, would it maybe win him over?

 

[flowerslegacy]

At least he ate one pellet. That's good news. He's just adjusting. Depending on the age of your betta, bloodworms can take a while. I've purchased a few younger bettas who watch them fall to the bottom of the tank, stare at them and then swim away. Sometime's they'll eat them about 10 minutes later after we all walk away and sometime's they won't. The garlic soak has had positive results as well as the brine shrimp. I wouldn't go as far as the moquito larvae until you exhaust all options. Unless he's ill he'll eventually eat. If he's active, young and new then your odds are positive that he'll come around.