For the most part, live food is best for betta fish to eat, but if live food is not available, you can feed them: Pellets Flakes Freeze-dried foods Frozen foods Pellets Pellets are one of the most accessible food sources for betta fish as they can be easily portioned out to prevent overfeeding.
Full Answer
What is the best food for Betta fish?
You should pick food made for betta fish. Some good options include: Hikari Betta Bio-Gold, Tetra BettaMin, Aqueon Betta Food, API Beta Food, TopFin Betta Bits, and Wardley Betta Food.
How much gel food should I Feed my betta fish?
If you feed gel food, it should be about the same amount. A betta can be fed this amount once or twice a day. It's advisable to soak dried foods (such as pellets) before feeding, because some of these items may expand in the betta's stomach when dry.
Can you feed betta fish live worms?
Feed it worms. Various species of small aquatic worms make up the core diet of betta fish in the wild. The most common worm for betta fish is the bloodworm, which comes live, freeze-dried, frozen, or in a gel, but these aren't very nutritious and are better used as treats.
How to feed a betta fish dried pellets?
Soak dried pellets. If dried foods are the only thing available, soak them in a glass of water for a few minutes before feeding them to your betta. This will expand the pellet to its full size before the betta digests it. Do not overfeed your betta and cut its portion if you notice abdominal bloating.
What is the best food to feed betta fish?
The best betta fish diet would include a variety of freeze-dried foods, live foods (mosquito larvae, brine shrimp, bloodworms), and fish flakes and/or pellets that are high in crude protein.
Do betta fish eat mysis?
Mysis shrimp is a great option for Betta fish because of their exoskeleton. This exterior is rich in fiber, which aids the digestion of protein-rich foods.
Can I feed my betta bloodworms everyday?
Bloodworms are great as a treat but their too rich to be a staple of your betta's diet. They simply have too much fat and protein in them. As a rule of thumb, you should only feed your betta bloodworms once or twice per week.
What frozen food can you feed a betta fish?
#1 Frozen Bloodworms Given that betta fish eat small insects, crustaceans, and other meaty foods in the wild, frozen bloodworms (the bright red larva of midge flies) are one of the best foods you can provide them.
Can you feed betta frozen shrimp?
A: Brine shrimp is an excellent food for your betta fish as part of a balanced diet. Frozen brine shrimp, like those made by San Francisco Bay Brand or Hikari are most often sold as flat packs or in individual portioned cubes like the one you are describing.
Are Frozen bloodworms good for fish?
If you're looking for a larger container of freeze dried bloodworms, then this 1.75oz tub is great. It has over 50% crude protein, and makes a great treat for your fish.
Are Frozen bloodworms alive?
These worms are alive (obviously) and the buyers of this tend to like the idea that they are giving fish food in a more natural way. What is this? Pros: Live bloodworms tend to be fresher than frozen or freeze-dried options.
Are dried bloodworms good for bettas?
Aqueon Freeze-dried Bloodworms Betta Treat can provide added mealtime variety for Bettas and other tropical fish. A highly nutritious source of protein, bloodworms can be fed as a treat or part of the daily diet.
Can betta fish eat dried shrimp?
Fluker's Freeze-Dried River Shrimp makes an excellent treat for your betta fish. Shrimp are a natural food source for many species of fish, providing a high source of good quality protein and essential amino acids that can make a useful addition to your betta buddy's diet.
How often should you feed a betta fish?
It is recommended to feed your betta fish two to four pellets, once or twice per day. Pellets expand when placed in water and are very filling for your betta fish. Freeze-dried or fresh food can be substituted for their pellet feeding 1 to 2 days per week.
Is Daphnia good for bettas?
Daphnia acts as a mild laxative for betta fish, is high in protein and certain vitamins and minerals betta fish need to flourish, and speeds up the fin healing process. After 3 feeds of this Daphnia, my betta fish is active once again with no bloated belly and zero holes to be found!
What do I feed a betta?
You should pick food made for betta fish. Some good options include: Hikari Betta Bio-Gold, Tetra BettaMin, Aqueon Betta Food, API Beta Food, TopFi...
How do you know a betta fish is happy?
A healthy and happy betta will have clear eyes and have an active appetite.
Will my betta be able to find its food?
Yes. Although feeding your betta in the same part of the tank each day will help him bond with you.
Can a betta fish go 3 days without food?
Usually, 1-2 days without food should not be a big deal. Going 3 days without food is not ideal, but should be OK for a healthy betta in a larger t...
How to keep betta fish from overeating?
To prevent your betta fish from overeating, only feed your betta fish the recommended daily amount. Clean out excess food regularly with a net or a turkey baster. Some experts also recommend not feeding your betta fish for 1 day per week to allow their digestive system time to catch up. Pagination. 1.
What is a betta fish?
Betta fish, also known as Siamese fighting fish , are known for their bright colors and beautiful fins. It’s important to provide your betta fish with a diet and environment suited to their needs. These are different from the needs of other common household fish.
What are betta pellets?
Actual betta pellets and flakes contain the correct level of nutrients for your betta fish. They are easy to portion to protect your fish from over and underfeeding. As special treats, your betta fish can enjoy high protein freeze-dried and frozen foods. These are things like brine shrimp and bloodworms.
How much does a betta fish pellet cost?
The cost of betta fish pellets and freeze-dried food can vary greatly by brand. Expect to pay between 4 and 8 dollars for a container of betta fish pellets. Your pet supplier may provide options for buying food in bulk. The two common concerns when it comes to feeding your betta fish are overeating or undereating.
How long can a betta fish live without eating?
What to do if your betta fish will not eat. Betta fish can survive for 14 days without eating. If your betta fish skips a meal or two, there is no need for immediate concern.
What happens if a betta fish doesn't eat?
Finally, as betta fish age, they will become less active and consume less food. If your betta fish still will not eat, they may be ill.
Why is my betta fish not eating?
There are several reasons why your betta fish may not be eating. Stress from a recent water temperature change, tank cleaning, or significant environmental change, may cause a change in your betta fish's appetite as they adjust. The ideal water temperature for a betta fish is between 71 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to feed a betta fish?
To feed a betta fish, start by going to a pet store and getting specially made betta pellets. Try to get some brine shrimp, worms, or insects, too, since betta fish like variety! Be sure to soak the pellets and anything else that’s dried before you feed your fish so the food doesn’t expand in its stomach.
What do betta fish eat?
Feed it worms. Various species of small aquatic worms make up the core diet of betta fish in the wild. The most common worm for betta fish is the bloodworm, which comes live, freeze-dried, frozen, or in a gel, but these aren't very nutritious and are better used as treats.
What is the best worm to use for a dog?
Brine shrimp is a good option or glassworms (tubifex worms), but specially made betta pellets and gels are best. Live tubifex often carry parasites or bacteria, so they should be avoided. The best live worms to use are white worms, grindal worms, and black worms. These worms are available at most major pet stores.
How long can a betta fish go without food?
Remember to leave one day of fasting for your betta fish. It will suit its needs. It takes a betta about two weeks to starve to death, so if your fish doesn’t eat for a few days due to illness or adjusting to a new home, don’t panic. But you obviously should not test the limits of how long a betta can go without food!
How to feed a fish that is not eating all of its food?
2. Reduce if they aren’t eating it all. If your fish isn’t eating all of its food, reduce the amount you’re feeding them. If you usually feed four pellets per fish, try reducing to three for a while. If you notice the fish is eating very quickly, you can increase back to 4.
What insect can you use to feed fish?
You can use either live or frozen insects. The best options are Daphnia, also known as a water flea, and fruit flies. These insects will be available at most pet stores. Flightless fruit flies are often sold live in jars for reptile use but are also useful for feeding fish.
Is betta fish good for an aquarium?
This article has been viewed 413,477 times. Betta fish are an excellent option for a home or office aquarium. They’re easy to take care of, they’re more active than most pet fish species, and they’re beautiful.
What is the best food for betta fish?
Opossum shrimp or Mysis shrimp are excellent sources of fiber for betta fish and help with the digestion of their protein-rich foods. Their hard exoskeleton provides the little boost bettas need to help out their digestive system.
How long can a betta not eat?
When your betta is suffering from constipation, they can typically recover by not eating for a day or two. It gives them the chance to clean out their system naturally without adding more blockage.
How to tell if your betta is constipated?
The most apparent symptom of constipation is a bloated stomach; it should only be swollen in the digestive area. This is easily seen by looking at the side and not from the top. Another sign will be if your betta is not passing food through their system.
Why are betta fish so sensitive to food?
Unlike most other fish, bettas are very sensitive to eating and is the leading cause of dietary health issues. Typically, when betta fish are overfed, they suffer from digestive blockage or constipation.
Can bettas eat pellets?
bettas are carnivores and should not be limited to eating only pellets or flakes; if they are – then they’re missing out. Feeding them live or frozen food that allows them to experience their natural (as close as possible) habitat and feeding experience will keep them healthy and happy.
Do betta fish like shrimp?
betta fish love brine shrimp; they are packed with all the nutrition that a betta fish needs even in such a small body. They have protein, vitamins, and amino acids that keep betta’s healthy.
Can bettas eat freeze dried food?
Freeze-dried bet ta food is a perfect way to maintain some of betta’s natural food into their diet, except it does not entirely replace feeding them live or frozen food. Freeze-dried food has the added benefit of being free of bacteria and deadly parasites.
Preparing to Feed Your Betta Fish
How much to feed your fish starts with what you should be feeding them. Being tropical fish, betta's metabolic needs require them to have higher calories in their diet.
How Much to Feed Your Betta Fish
Given the variation in pellet size in commercial diets, the best recommendation for betta fish feeding is to consider your fish's anatomy. For one meal, feed your betta the same amount of pellets that would theoretically be the size of one of its eyeballs.
How Often to Feed Your Betta Fish
Most tropical fish will spend their days foraging for food. They are not built to have large, infrequent meals, and bettas are no exception. It is best to feed your betta at least twice a day. If you have access to your aquarium throughout the day, three meals are also acceptable. Try to space them out equally.
How to Avoid Overfeeding
Overfeeding in bettas leads to a large, distended abdomen (coelomic cavity). You can see symptoms of lethargy and dropsy (bloating) as the internal organs are damaged.
What is the best food for betta fish?
Mysis shrimp. Mysis shrimp, or opossum shrimp as they’re also known, is another really good food source for your betta fish. These shrimp have a hard exoskeleton that’s packed with fiber. The fiber helps the betta’s digestion of the protein-rich foods in his diet.
What percentage of bettas are protein?
So, when buying any form of a pellet or flake food for your betta, always check the list of ingredients and make sure that the first few ingredients are meat-based, and the overall protein percentage is 40% or greater . As we mentioned previously, bettas are surface feeders.
What are baby pellets for betta fish?
Baby pellets are formulated specifically for feeding betta fish. The pellets contain all the vitamins and nutrients that your fish will need to stay healthy, and they contain a natural color-enhancing additive to make your betta even more stunning.
Why is my betta fish not eating?
Bettas are notoriously fussy eaters. So, if your betta fish doesn’t eat or seems uninterested in food, don’t be concerned. A poor appetite is often caused by stress. For example, if you’ve recently cleaned your betta’s tank, moved him to a new home, or introduced new tankmates.
How long can a betta fish live without food?
In fact, a wild betta can survive without food for up to 14 days, so a day or two missed won’t harm your fish. Be sure to remove any uneaten food from the bottom of the tank with a special tank vacuum or designated turkey baster. That will prevent the build-up of ammonia, which would damage your tank’s water quality.
What is betta fish?
Betta fish are great for amateur aquarists. These little swimming jewels make for beautiful fish– if taken care of properly. One of the first things you should figure out (aside from the set up) is how much to feed betta fish.
Can you feed a betta fish flakes?
Never feed your betta ordinary tropical fish flakes, as they do not contain the protein requirements that betta fish need. Also, if you choose to feed flakes to your betta, remember to remove excess or sunken flakes right after feeding your fish. You may also find that some betta fish will not eat flaked food.
Betta Fish Eggs in The First Few Days
Betta fish eggs typically hatch between 24 to 48 hours after the breeding pair spawn. The male will play a parental role in caring for the eggs by guarding the bubble nest against potential predators.
Preparing the Fry Nursery
If you have not yet created a nursery tank for the fry, it is a good idea to create one after they have hatched in the spawning tank. Another option is to remove the parents from the breeding tank and only keep the fry in the tank. The tank should have a small sponge filter and lots of live plants like hornwort, java moss, and other bushy plants.
Infusoria
This is the first type of liquid food betta fry can eat besides a runny egg yolk. This is a portion of good food for newly hatched fry because the small size of infusoria can easily be eaten by the fry. This should not become their primary source of food and they should only eat infusoria until their mouths are large enough to eat small particles.
Baby Brine Shrimp Nauplii
Once the betta fish fry has been fed egg yolk or infusoria for the first week, it is time to feed them a more protein-rich food that is slightly larger. Baby brine shrimp are a good food source that is high in meat-based protein and can easily be eaten by week-old fry.
Frozen and Freeze-Dried Foods
Once the fry has reached between 3 to 4 weeks of age, you can start to feed them frozen or freeze-dried foods. The food should be finely crushed using a blender until they form a powdered texture. Frozen foods should be thawed out overnight and then grounded into powder before feeding.
Commercial Betta Fish Fry Foods
If you feel that it is too confusing to deal with live cultures, you can purchase commercially created foods that are marketed as fish fry food if the fry is over a month old. These foods will typically come as micro pellets or in the form of a powder.
Foods to Avoid
Betta fish cannot digest plant matter well and this can lead to bloat. Bloating can also cause a delay in the digestion and absorption of protein foods which will cause your betta fry to grow slowly. Avoid feeding the betta fish fry algae or leaf matter.
What Is The Best Betta Fish Food?
There are many different types of Betta fish food that are available today, with the most common being flaked food, however, pellets and live foods are brilliant options too, especially for maintaining a balanced diet.
Feeding Your Betta Fish (How To)
Feeding your fish tank is such an important operation, regardless of the fish residing in it. Not getting this process right will likely result in overfeeding your fish, and that is not good at all for your fish or tank.
Final Thoughts
Betta fish are such an exciting and interesting fish, however, they can be hard work, especially when it comes to their food and feeding habits. Their diet consists mainly of protein-rich foods and they accept almost any version of fish food, but they certainly have their favorites.
How to overcome betta worms?
A good way to overcome this is to use a pillbox to ration out his food. If you do this, then they can only give him so much a day. If you don’t want to use a pillbox then make sure they know how important it is that they don’t overfeed your betta.
Why is my betta tank so hungry?
Your tank just ends up with too much food being released at once causing pollution. Or not enough food being released which means your betta spends a lot of time going hungry. On top of this, a lot of the feeders don’t have the required nutrients your betta is going to need in them.
How long can you leave fish with you?
While this option isn’t as common anymore there’s no harm in asking. Some pet stores allow you to leave your fish with them for a couple of weeks if you’re going on holiday (for a price of course).
Can you add feeder fish to a larger tank?
If you want to add feeder fish, it’s best off only doing it if you have a larger tank . If you’re keeping your betta in anything smaller than 10 gallons and the feeder fish grow to full size, then the bioload will be too much for a smaller tank.
Can you feed a betta fish?
As you can see there are a lot of great methods you can use for feeding your betta fish (and some that you can use as a last resort). Ideally, you should find a friend, neighbour or family member that will look after your fish while you’re away. And if you’re only going away for a couple of days then don’t be afraid to fast your betta.
Can you leave betta fish in a pet store?
Lastly, if you really have to, try leaving your fish at a pet store or leave food blocks in your tank for them. Now that you know how to feed your betta while you’re on vacation you may think your jobs done. However, tank maintenance will still be required if you’re gone for longer periods of time.
Can a betta eat all the food that's dropped out?
A lot of the time with low-quality auto-feeders, the food doesn’t get dropped out at all, or even worse it all drops out at once. Your betta simply can’t eat all the food that’s dropped out at once and it quickly starts to rot.
