[Harrison and Owen]

So Owen eats Omega One pellets. He is very eager at feeding time. He grabs those pellets and wolfs them down.

But the last two days I've noticed he will have eaten his last pellet (we give him 4 at night) and then he will swim around, seemingly done with his meal for several minutes. Then he'll start spitting out what looks like floaty little flakes….must be the food, I assume? Is 4 pellets too much? Why is he doing this? He certainly attacks his food and seems pretty happy and alert. He looks really good and is really interactive. His water parameters test perfect.

 

[hubbley]

Mine did this when we first got him. We decided that the pellets were too big for him. He fit them in his mouth but he'd spit them out and try to eat them again. He did eat everything we gave him (it was around 6 at the time), and then maybe 10 minute later he spit it out and went to eat it again. Four pellets it's too much, maybe they are too big?

If this is a new food he might be adjusting to it. It's unfamiliar and he's probably like "dear god what is this." I'd try feeding smaller pellets, still the same amount, and see what he does. If it continues to happen without fail, he might just not like the food. If that case you can dip the food in microwaved minced garlic so you have some liquid. Apparently these fish love garlic, and it's good for them to have some. You could even try that now if you'd like, but I'd save that for if this behavior continues.

 

[Harrison and Owen]

He did it again today. What he spits out just looks like flaky floaty things. Maybe he doesn't like the food. I am thinking of picking up some NLS at Petco and trying those. Are those considered micro pellets as well?

 

[hubbley]

I don't use those so I'm not sure what they would be considered. I'm not really sure what mine are to tell the truth. They are all different sizes, some in clusters that are way too big for a fish. I usually find about 4 "average" sized ones if you know what I mean haha.

He may not like the food. Some fish are that picky. I'd try the NLS ones or the Omega pellets for sure, maybe even consider the garlic thing if it still causes a problem. Since you say he keeps it down for several minutes, I feel like he'd spit it out right away if he didn't like it. But it doesn't hurt to try a new food, especially one that has is good for him, like the NLS or Omega.

And my last post should have said four pellets is not too much.

 

[Harrison and Owen]

Ok, thanks for your help. I'm just not sure why he is doing this. We have had him for a little over a week and he seems to eat the pellets fine. If they are too large he tends to swim around holding it in his mouth until he either eats it or gives up on it. But it's bizarre to see him eating it and then many minutes later burping up what looks like flakes? Is that vomit? I don't even know.

 

[hubbley]

Did this suddenly start or has this been happening the whole week?
It could be chewed up pellets. I don't really know if a fish can vomit, and if they can what that would look like.

 

[Harrison and Owen]

I just noticed it the last two days but I suppose he could have been doing it before but I didn't notice. He does it five to ten minutes after eating his last pellet. What comes out looks like little floating flakes that are brownish/translucent. They are very faint. And it looks like he burps them out.

 

[hubbley]

I'd keep watching him to see if he shows any other signs, maybe even skip a meal to see. I read on another thread that spitting up food could be some sort of tract issue, but that doesn't mean it is in your case.

 

[Harrison and Owen]

Maybe we will skip dinner tonight.

 

[hubbley]

I would do that first, then possibly try dipping the pellets in garlic since you are already using the Omega brand. They love the taste for some reason, and it might incline him to eat them and keep them down. That's only a thought though. If it keeps there may be something else going on, but that's outside my range of knowledge at the moment. I hope all you have is a picky little fish.

 

[stayahead]

When I switched my betta from flakes (he ate these at the shop) to pellets, I had to entice him to eat them as he did the same as what yours did: he spat them out as they were too big/hard.

So I soak them in a little tray of his tank water for about a minute to make them softer. Then I crush them to make them flat (like a flake). Finally I split them in half with a knife so they look like small flat half-circle flakes.

Then he eats them just fine.

I appreciate this takes more time, but it works.

 

[Harrison and Owen]

I think we will do a fast for a day….it's probably about time anyway. He hasn't been fasted since we brought him home nine days ago.

 

[Harrison and Owen]

So we fasted Owen for 24 hours and fed him two pellets tonight. I fed him Ocean Nutrition pellets instead of Omega One because it's what I have on hand. He really attacked them, ate them right up and no spitting. We watched him carefully for several minutes and all he did was swim happily around and blow a few bubbles. He seems really active and alert, same as usual.

 

[hubbley]

That's good