Betta keepers, your opinion please.

This is my new betta. Just got him last weekend.



My question to you is how would you rate his physique. I'm not sure but he looks a little thin to me. I'm aware that bettas are prone to obesity. So I want to be careful there.

Right now his feeding schedule is this...

Sunday - Fluval Bug Bites betta formula or Omega One betta flakes.
Monday - fasting day
Tuesday - live grindal worms
Wednesday - live baby brine shrimp
Thursday - fasting day
Friday - frozen daphnia
Saturday - fasting day.

I feed him as much as he can eat in about 2 minutes. When I have live mosquito larvae available, I swap them out for his regular meal or just add one or two to his feeding.

Is he thin? Should I alter my feeding schedule? Or should I maintain it and see how it affects him?

Oh and you could replace 2 of the fasting days for Bug Bites and Omega One.

It's not really the time it takes, but more the volume eaten that counts. Many slightly filled stomachs per day is ideal.

But never overload the fish, a little Bug Bites and Omega One in the morning a little treat the afternoon...

I would skip a couple fasting with a thin betta for a while and aim for precise food dosing and minimal waste.

MaloK said:

Oh and you could replace 2 of the fasting days for Bug Bites and Omega One.

It's not really the time it takes, but more the volume eaten that counts. Many slightly filled stomachs per day is ideal.

But never overload the fish, a little Bug Bites and Omega One in the morning a little treat the afternoon...

I would skip a couple fasting with a thin betta for a while and aim for precise food dosing and minimal waste.

Click to expand...

I think I'm going to skip the Saturday fasting day. Maybe give him bloodworms or something like that.

I don't think of live foods as a treat. I think of them as enrichment. They provide nutrition and the fish is able to indulge his hunting instincts. Same with frozen to a lesser degree. I still feed a limited amount of processed food for nutritional balance. But as you can see, I want the majority of my fishes' food to be live or at least frozen. After I set up a couple more live cultures (wingless fruit flies and daphnia), I'll mostly feed live foods with processed once a week. Variety is really the key, IMO. Which is why I also feed different types of processed food. But for now, an additional feeding of pellets or flakes is a good idea.

I have to say this fish is a pretty voracious eater. He is vicious with the wingless fruit flies. It's fun to watch him eat. Which means I have to be extra careful about not overfeeding him. I've been trying to do the @MaloK recommended approach. A couple of small meals on feeding days. When I see him put on a little weight into the healthy range, he'll go back to once a day.