No matter what you choose to feed: variety is best! Mix up the brands and types of food for a varied, balanced diet.
I have included some quality, brand name products and their top 4 ingredients.
I have included some quality, brand name products and their top 4 ingredients.
How much do I feed?
A bettas stomach can stretch, which can be dangerous if feeding foods
that expand in the stomach, such as dry foods. You want to feed enough so that the belly of the fish becomes slightly rounded. This varies with the size, age, and even sex of the fish. Mature females often have rounded bellies because they carry eggs. A rounded belly does not always mean the fish is bloated or constipated. |
How do I know my fish is bloated?
If the belly does not return to normal size when the next feeding is scheduled, skip that feeding and wait until the next one. If the belly is still rounded, the fish may be bloated or constipated.
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How often do I feed?
Young fry should be fed up to three times a day. Mature fish
can be fed once or twice daily; splitting the meal up if twice. |
My fish is not eating!
Bettas can be picky eaters. Some don't like flakes or freeze dried foods. Try changing the type of food, and switching to foods that sink or float. If the fish is still disinterested, try live foods; as that usually gets the fish excited to eat.
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Dry (processed) Food
Dry foods come in pellets that sink or float, flakes, and sticks. This is the most commonly found fish food on the market. Unfortunately, it's also the least nutritious. Common brands like "Aqueon" and "Tetra" usually have fillers such as dried yeast, ground rice, wheat gluten, and oat meal as top ingredients. Bettas are insectivores; they really need a diet high in protein. Look for foods that have real proteins (whole fish, worms, insects, crustaceans, etc) as the first ingredients.
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Freeze-dried Food
Freeze-dried food is usually live insects that have been dehydrated. Commonly found in pet stores are bloodworms and daphnia. There's also tubifex, shrimp, krill, and plankton. Typically they have vitamins added, since some can be lost during the dehydration process. These also have a long shelf life, as long as it's stored in an airtight container away from moisture. These foods should be soaked in water before feeding, to prevent them from expanding inside the fishes stomach.
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Frozen Food
Similar to freeze-dried, frozen food is simply frozen instead of dehydrated. Most petstores have a freezer section and bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, and mysis shrimp can all commonly be found there. These must be stored in a freezer and only taken out as needed. It's best to defrost a small amount in water before feeding. I highly recommend frozen foods for bettas, especially bloodworms.
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Cons:
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I do not recommend buying frozen foods online, as there is always a chance they may melt and spoil. Hikari, San Fransisco Bay Brand, and Omega One are a few examples of brands you could purchase in chain pet stores.
Live Food
Nothing beats all-natural live foods. You can purchase live brine shrimp, bloodworms, blackworms, grindal worms, white worms, and daphnia. You can also cultivate your own worms for an endless supply of food; such is the case with grindal worms and white worms.
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I generally do not recommend purchasing live food online. However, the chance of them dying and spoiling is far less then frozen foods. You can buy a culture of grindal worms on eBay, as well as white worms and a few other varieties. Other live foods such as daphnia and blackworms would be found in local pet stores, usually ones that are privately owned.