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Well, I was in a lfs the other day, and a bright red betta decided to come home with me

Anyway, I've been feeding him Hikari betta food. When I put one in, he'll go for it, hold it in his mouth for a bit, then spit it out again. Then he'll grab it again and eat it. He does that for each one.

Do other bettas do that? I thought maybe he's not used to that brand, so it looks like his old food, but doesn't taste like it.

Mine will do it occasionally, sometimes to get used to the taste, but usually to soften that large pellet

Its not abnormal


(BTW, i learnt what a PUGGLE is!)

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Well that makes more sense. I didn't think fish would really care about taste, as long as it's food

btw, I sent emails to the people you recommended, and then saw my betta that afternoon! But I think I'll find some room for more.
* thinks to self "If I just get rid of that bed, I can fit plenty of tanks in my room..." *

Mine do that occasionally...I thought they were playing but softening the pellets makes a lot of sense.

But I think I'll find some room for more

Uh oh, watch out...bettas can be very addictive

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I have a male that carries his pellet around and spits it, then grabs it. Maybe I should put a basketball hoop or a goal in there for him...

"Uh oh, watch out...bettas can be very addictive"

Theresa sure has that right And I'm ready to add to the 11 we have here.

Now he's not eating at all
I drop the little pellet things right in front of him and he swims straight past. Occasionally he'll grab one and then spit it straight out.

Mr Puggle looked after him for a week and over-fed him and the other fish in his tank (bristle-nose catfish). He picks at the food on the bottom, and chases after the new baby cories in a clear container in the same tank. But he won't eat the food I give him.

Tank stats are :
volume: 25L
temp: 24*C
I tested the water on friday but can't remember exact values
ammonia: some
nitrites: none
nitrates: low
sand, real plants, heater, corner filter (that's the one hooked up to an air-bubbler, isn't it?)

I've been doing 10-20% water changes every other day to get rid of all the uneaten food and get the water quality good again. Mr Puggle didn't see if he was eating while I was gone. He just chucked a few pellets in twice a day.

Should I feed him something else?

mine spits them out all the time

But does your's eat them eventually? Mine doesn't anymore.

Puggle, he could be cold, is his tank heated?

Or he could be ill, does he look 'depressed?

Or he could be stubborn.

I'd try him on a frozen food, maybe brine shrimp?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

He's got a white patch on his fin
(the fin that's where his arm would be if fish had arms)

I put Melafix in the water a few days ago, because I was worried that he'd get sick if he didn't eat. Guess it didn't work. Should I raise the temperature too? It's at 24*C at the moment.

He doesn't look really sad. He swims around a lot, and plays in the bubbles from the filter. But he doesn't flare at a mirror anymore. Just gives it a "oh, it's just you again. You're not worth the effort" kind of look. And he hardly even looks at his food.

I got some frozen food (brine shrimp and other stuff, it's red). I'll try him on little pieces of that tonight. Is there any live, wriggling food I could get for him? He spent ages looking at the cory fry in their container and tried to catch them.

He's eating again!!!

I got a block of frozen food and put it in some warm water to defrost, and then fed him little bits of it. He loved it! It was so good to see him eating again.

He started flaring again too I put a mirror against the tank and he just wouldn't stop, even after I took the mirror away! I'm not sure if he could see his reflection in the glass, or if it was more "I know you're there, come back and fight!"

He's still got the fungus, but I'm a lot more optimistic about that now he's eating again.

He found something else he likes to eat. I knocked over container of cory fry that was floating in his tank.

My betta does that all the time. I think it's to soften the food.

maybe try different food. when my betta does that usually it doesn't eat it so i change to a different food item.