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Hey guys,
Another question for you betta lovers! What is the best diet to feed my betta? The closest thing I have seen to live food is the frozen stuff at PetSmart, I can't find live anywhere? Right now, I have BettaMin and frozen bloodworms (which he gets about three times a week!) I am planning on breeding him, but seeing as he is new, I want to get him in good condition. I read somewhere to feed them live bugs (such as ants!) as long as they havent been subjected to pesticides. Is this a good idea? I'm sure I can find lots of these! Any suggestions, ideas, etc?
Thanks
Sam!

the frozen bloodworms are perfectly fine. Keep the pellets up to him to make sure his gut functions properly, maybe use them as his morning feed?

Live can be risky, they can carry many parasites.

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

frozen bloodworms are a GREAT addition to your betta's diet. it's quite possibly the closest thing he'd be eating if he were in the wild.

but if you REALLY wanted to spoil your betta, i'd suggest you try frozen brine shrimp, and/or live earth worms and small crickets purchased from the pet store.

Just play around with certain foods and see what works for you. Just keep in mind that wild caught live foods are risky in that they can contain harmful pesticides and also keep in mind that bettas have small mouths, so larger foods might require you to slice them into smaller pieces.

Ohhh, mine love the Nutrafin Plus earthworm flakes (AND i'm not allergic to them!)

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

they make earth worm flakes?

sxp8397

Regardless what you feed your Betta make sure it is not over fed and certainly a good and varied diet.

I have noticed at LFS there seems to be a lot of special foods for them that does not mean use them and them only.

I personally would not be feeding any live food as this "Could" import a nasty into your tank.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

yes beta.. I use earthworm flakes as well. Most of my bettas won't eat them but my cichlids love them.

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If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished.

Instead of buying live brine shrimp you can hatch them yourself - I tried this and it wasn't that hard once you look around for good directions.

I believe (correct me someone, if I'm wrong) if you hatch them yourself you don't need to worry about parasites - you get the eggs dry and they hatch in salty water (that you mixed yourself), then you take them out to feed to the betta. The brine shrimp eggs can survive dry for years - much longer than any parasite could possibly make it.

Kind of a pain for one fish, but if you're looking for a hobby... I had fun with it and my Betta seemed to enjoy chasing them around.