[jewelqueen17]

Hey all, so I was very stupid today and accidentally bought a container of Omega One flakes instead of Omega One pellets, which were really what I wanted. Please don't rant about how idiotic it was of me to assume that Omega One Betta Buffet only came in pellets, I already know that I really should have read the label more carefully and it was a mistake I won't be making again. (facepalm)

So I was wondering if it is okay to keep feeding him this stuff (which he seems to have no problem with), or should I go back to the old stuff (Aqueon Betta Pellets, which people on here have told me can cause constipation+bloating), or should I just find something else to feed him with? Because I've already opened the thing, and I don't think I can return it now... I also feel pretty uncomfortable with throwing out two canisters of food just because they're not what I really want, call me crazy but it seems kind of wasteful. My boy seems fine with eating the flakes, though, but I'm not sure if it's good for him. I've been careful to feed him only one small flake at a time so no food is lost, but as you all must know flakes are harder to control than pellets in terms of lost food. I heard flakes can also cause constipation and bloating??? Even if they're Omega One? What should I do?

 

[Ilovebettasbk11]

Are you kidding me???? Omega one is like the best brand ever!!! Flakes wont do harm to him if he eats it then all good. As far as flakes being lost or not eaten or they sink my betta still eats them i feed him three flakes

 

[Greenapp1es]

Gah, that's a tough call.

Yes, flakes can cause bloating and constipation. But Omega One is a step above Aqueon.

That said, while Aqueon isn't as good as Omega One and NLS, it's also not terrible. I've seen a few posts where someone on the resource team has rated it at about number 3 on the list of brands, so while it's still a step down it's still relatively OK.

That leaves me in a bit of a quandary as to what to recommend. I'm tempted to say flat out stay away from flakes and feed the aqueon until you can get the Omega One or NLF pellets.

That said, Omega One is still a step up nutritionwise. In that case, maybe you can alternate between the two, being extra careful not to overfeed either and being sure to fast once a week.

I'll let other people weigh in on this one too though. Tough call.

 

[jewelqueen17]

I checked the ingredients, it has wheat but it's the only real big filler I can see on the list. Pretty good nutritionwise as you said. I think that I'll do what you suggested, maybe balance between both, but once the OO/NLS pellets come in (they were out of stock today) I'll probably buy that and then juggle the three, bettas do like variety foods. I'm still open to suggestions, though.

 

[Ilovebettasbk11]

I defenetly agree about aqueon not being the best as far as nutrition wise but i feed my betta flakes with no issues at all i love omega one i even got the freeze dried bloodworms

 

[cowboy]

I fed mine for a while with omega one flakes, it was all he would eat until I became his worst enemy. I would use them up

 

[jewelqueen17]

The bloodworms. On that matter, mine got mouldy after a few weeks. Literally mouldy like with white-green fuzz all over. Freeze dried, which also cause constipation, am I correct?

 

[Greenapp1es]

Yeah, freeze dried can. They don't give so much problem if you rehydrate them though - take a capful of tank water and soak them for a few min before feeding.

If yours are moldy though I'd toss them. Frozen have less bloat\constipation risk and have more nutrition still intact.

 

[jewelqueen17]

Yeah, that's what some people said to do with the freeze dried.

 

[jewelqueen17]

How many flakes should I feed him per day?

 

[Bikeridinguckgirl14]

The only problem with omega one flakes is that they can make your tank get dirty faster. If I were you I would feed him about a half pea's worth but try to keep the tank clean

 

[Poro]

=)

 

[JessikaSky]

I haven't been able to get garlic juice (this is apparently very appealing to fussy bettas) to soak pellets in to feed to my other betta as he only eat's flakes and the other eats pellets, but I've had no issues with either, I feed a small pinch of flakes to one boy and a small pinch of pellets to the other.

I would also recommend frozen blood worms over freeze dried as I did actually have sever bloat issues with both my boys, and I feel like the frozen are more tastier to them (don't know why, perhaps I should try them and be the judge?! :lol: ) but I would only feed maybe 3 or 4 frozen blood worms that have been defrosted in a cup of tank water, I tend to leave them for about 5 mins :-D

 

[jewelqueen17]

Bikeridinguckgirl14- how much exactly is a half pea's worth?

It would totally make sense that frozen is better than freeze dried taste wise I think, because would you rather eat freeze dried berries or frozen berries?

 

[Minty1612]

I feed my Betta on TetraMin flakes and no problems. Since he's home from the petshop his colours have really developed, so I can't say anthing bad about flakes. As far as the bloat issue, overfeeding fish with any food can cause this problem, so I wouldn't be so quick to toss out the flake food :3 if your boy likes it let him enjoy it lol

 

[JessikaSky]

Bikeridinguckgirl14- how much exactly is a half pea's worth?

It would totally make sense that frozen is better than freeze dried taste wise I think, because would you rather eat freeze dried berries or frozen berries?

Exactly, it's probably sucked all the nommy juices out lol :lol:

 

[Greenapp1es]

I feed my Betta on TetraMin flakes and no problems. Since he's home from the petshop his colours have really developed, so I can't say anthing bad about flakes. As far as the bloat issue, overfeeding fish with any food can cause this problem, so I wouldn't be so quick to toss out the flake food :3 if your boy likes it let him enjoy it lol

The problem with flakes is it's a lot easier to overfeed and to have these problems. Same with freeze-dried foods.

With flakes and freeze dried foods, there is a tendency for them to expand *inside* the fish's stomach\gut...which is small to begin with. It's just the difference in the way the food is manufactured and presented. So, while you *can* feed without problems, you have to be much more careful doing so...and sensitive fish will have problems with these a lot sooner than they will with pellets.

 

[Minty1612]

The problem with flakes is it's a lot easier to overfeed and to have these problems. Same with freeze-dried foods.

With flakes and freeze dried foods, there is a tendency for them to expand *inside* the fish's stomach\gut...which is small to begin with. It's just the difference in the way the food is manufactured and presented. So, while you *can* feed without problems, you have to be much more careful doing so...and sensitive fish will have problems with these a lot sooner than they will with pellets.

Okay - how do I prevent food from expanding in his stomach? I dodn't know that happened. Unfortunately no pet shops around here sell Betta pellets - I've been on a hunt for some today (after reading that post). I've managed to get frozen foods, but I still only have flakes and freeze-dried bloodworm, tubifex and daphnia.

 

[Greenapp1es]

For freeze dried foods, you can rehydrate them by soaking them in a capful of tank water for a few minutes before feeding. I suppose you could try this with the flakes also...but I wonder if they would fall apart.

 

[jewelqueen17]

They probably would... they're very delicate.