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I just got a new betta! He's absolutly beautiful. I got a Betta tank and in it was betta food but it's flakes, large flakes, and he doesn't seem to like that. I even tried to break it up for him into smaller pieces. He does love bloodworms tho. Any suggestions? I'm not sure how often I should feed him bloodworms. I really want his color to stay bright. I don't think I've seen a more beautiful fish.

Any suggestions for a Betta newbie would be fantastic! Not just food suggestions =D Thank you!

Hi Jillie, welcome to Fish Profiles!
Bettas are known to be quite picky about food! My betta turned his nose up to flake and betta pellets at first. He still wont eat the pellets, but he does savour the flake food now. You can feed him Bloodworms 2 times a day in small amounts (like 1 quarter of a frozen cube) or a pinch of dried ones. The frozen ones are nutritionally better, and cheaper in my opinion. The best way to wean him onto flake is every 2nd or 3rd feeding, make it a tiny pinch of flake. If he doesnt eat it after an hour, siphon it out of the tank. keep trying, after a week- 10 days he should start eating it. You could also vary his diet with some frozen daphnia, a single cube goes a very long way, so you could thaw one cube out and probably feed him for 3-4 days on a cube. Alternating that with the bloodworms and flake food.
Good luck with your betta friend! Keep up on water changes, and make sure his tank/bowl either has a heater or is in a warm place, and he will be happy. Live plants are great for bettas too, and many are easy easy to keep.
Let us know if you have any other questions!
-Sneaky Pete

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Hi Jillieillie,

Congrats on your new Betta, I bet he's beautiful And welcome to FP! as well Sneaky_Pete gave you some great advice there, you'll find that about our members

Betta's are kinda funny sometimes when it comes to feeding them flakes, as in being picky. For instance, my male will not touch flakes even if I crushed them up like yourself... I tried it when I first got him a number of times, and he'd just swim up to them tried once and spit them back out (though he may have liked another brand). But he just loves BIO-Blend Betta fish wafers made by Marineland Labs My female on the other hand would probably gorge herself on Sera's Staple Diet flakes, and she doesn't really need them to small for her sized mouth, she'll just bite off what she can chew.

Something BOTH my Betta's will agree on eating is Big Al's freeze dried brine shrimp once weekly, and a few Hikari frozen blood worms each, once weekly. I think of the shrimp and worms as more of a nutritious supplement than a regular meal item, as they're both full of vitamins and nutrients. As for feeding, try your best not to over do it, because whatever uneaten leftovers that float about or sink to the bottom will decompose and raise ammonia levels, which is harmful to fish, especially in a small unfiltered setup (like Sneaky_Pete said water changes are key to a fish's well being). Betta's can go some time without a meal (I've heard a few days to a week +++, not saying to try it though), so don't let him trick you into thinking he's hungry everytime he swims to your presence Besides, I try to skip one day every week to give their digestive systems a chance to rest and flush out a little.

Hope this was a help. All the best to you and your new Betta! Keep us up to date would you?



Last edited by bala shark at 31-Jan-2005 02:07

Again Jillie Welcome to FP. I think Pete and Bala pretty much covered it. If I may, i'd like to add a couple of suggestions, I currently have 6 Bettas and have had many more. I sometimes feed them live brine shrimp, and freeze dried blood worms which they love However, their everyday food is Tetra Min tropical granules. It's a nice "beefy" food and all my Bettas eat it and love it. Thought you'd like some other food suggestions. As Bala said, don't think they are going hungry every time they come to the glass, actually that's one of the great things about Bettas, they have great personalties and when they get to know you will greet you at the glass each and everytime, whether your feeding them or not. Good Luck!

Edit: Just wanted to touch on one other subject I don't believe has been brought up yet. Bettas, as they are labyrinth fish, require atmospheric air to breathe. Therefore making sure there is enough air space at the top of his bowl is crucial.




Last edited by Jessnick at 31-Jan-2005 20:46

Last edited by Jessnick at 31-Jan-2005 20:47

umm. try getting another male so he can flare. this should bring out his color, as well it is good for the betta. try any pellet betta food. my bettas all like 500 of them get blood worms about once a week or two. good luck.