betta suddenly not hungry

[eja0913]

i bought another betta a few days ago, brought him home and put him in his new place (one gallon, spring water, no filter, no heater; just water, rocks, and fishy). a few hours later, after he settled, i gave him some flakes and he ate them, and later in the evening i put a pellet in his tank to see if he would eat it, and he did. he did the same thing the next day, but then yesterday he stopped eating altogether. today i put some flakes in, but he didn't touch them. is this normal behavior, or has someone else at least experienced it? he also seems to be not as lively as he was during the first couple of days he was in his new home. what could possibly be wrong?

 

[juliethegr8t]

He might just be finally realizing he's in a brand new place. I've had the same thing happen with a few of my bettas - in fact, one didn't eat for several weeks! Don't worry too much, he should start eating again soon. Remember to take out any uneaten food though, so it doesn't spoil in his tank. Also, try tempting him with some live or frozen food, if you have it.

 

[Bangin]

juliethegr8t gave you some good advice.

I'd like to add that many people have been unsuccessful with getting their bettas to eat flakes, though some people have been lucky. You may try feeding him Hikari Bio-Gold (for bettas), unless those are the pellets that you referred to.

Bettas can be finicky eaters, so just keep trying.

 

[jams.alaskan]

You say that he has no heater - perhaps he's used to a warmer place. What is the temp of his tank now. When I've kept them I've provided heat at without it they became listless and even lost some color...

ALASKA

 

[gouramiguy]

maybe like jams.alaskan said a warmer place i think you should get a heater
and maybe a filter to

 

[eja0913]

well i'd like to get a heater and a filter, AND a better tank for him, but we'll have to wait for a few paychecks... his water temp should be pretty decent, as my house is always warm and the past few sunny days have added to it (i was actually afraid the other day that my bettas' water would be TOO warm). he seems to be more active today, and he ate the freeze-dried bloodworms i put in his water, so maybe he's starting to come around a bit.. but at any rate, i'm going to be near a Petsmart today so i might stop in and see if they have any live critters he can eat thanks everyone for the advice!

 

[superpenguin22]

oh yea add AQUARIUM salt to the water because it puts the minerals and nutrients back into filtered water