Betta Will Only Eat Frozen Bloodworms!

[Cal116]

My Betta will only eat frozen blood worms. I've offered him normal Betta food bites/pellets and he won't eat them. I've had him for about close to a month and I don't know how to correct this problem. Anyone have any advice on this topic?

 

[jasminekiddell]

Ok, all that bloodoworm is no good for him, stop feedign the bloodworm and he'll get that hungry he'll start eating pellets. Pellets are a brilliant bit of food in a betta diet!

 

[Cal116]

I've tried this before and he'll just refuse to eat the pellets. He will put them in his mouth and spit them out. He's really picky and fussy. It's really annoying

 

[Rezatii]

Have you tried flake? Most prefer pellets but it's worth a shot.

Also what about peas? Mine absolutely goes CRAZY for peas

-Rezz

 

[Cal116]

I haven't tried Peas yet. He'll eat the flake food but spit it out right after. I tried tricking him and putting pellets in with the blood worms. I thought I had him but he spit the pellet out. Picky Betta!

 

[kelly528]

Peas are good once in a while, but should never be included as part of a regular diet. Likewise, bloodworms are very nutritious, but you probably wouldn't be in very good shape if you ate spinach for the rest of your life, would you?

All of my bettas have been stubborn with pellets, but with enough patience they will eat them. Heck, a betta will even bring itsself to eat peace-lily roots if you stuff 'em in one of those dreadful vases! Cut him off from bloodworms and be persistent until he eats them. No animal will let itsself starve so he will eventually break down and eat them.

Fish will eat and spit out their food multiple times to 'break it up' if it seems to big, but your betta will eventually learn to crunch them. Also, the gel they are encased with to make them float can fool a betta into thinking that the pellet is not actually food. Once he gets past the gel, he may discover that they aren't bad!

Good luck and remember: NEVER RELENT!

 

[JustFrozen]

i've never been able to get pellets to work, and always relied on flakes. i try to break them up though, or the betta will cough a lot of it out to break it up (as mentioned by kelly), and a lot of it ends up on the gravel, which isnt helpful for the tank, especially when cycling

i agree with the others, take some time off feeding, try going every other day for awhile if you're worried. and dont worry too much about it spitting the food back out, it might be just too big for it to get all down at once. see if it still goes for it afterwards (including new ones) - thats a good sign that its willing to eat it, but its just too big to finish in one bite

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Your betta sounds spoiled (lol) The pelets may be too big for him. Have you tried crushing one up and putting it in the tank that way?

 

[Tolak]

Don't feed the fish at all for a good 3 days. Make sure the tank temperature is 80F, cooler water slows metabolism, and causes fish to eat less. A diet of nothing but bloodworms is inviting digestive problems. After 3 days introduce the new food.

If the fish doesn't eat after 3 days, wait another 3 days, and try the new food again. A healthy adult fish can easily go for 2 weeks without eating. Fasting is good for adult fish, clears out the digestive tract, skipping a day weekly is common practice.

 

[Cal116]

I've never tried crushing up pellets, but I have put Flakes in there before. He ate them and also spit them out I believe. I will wait 3 days to feed him then. I have been feeding him bloodworms every other day for the past 2 weeks because he rejected everything else and wouldn't eat for like a week. When I do feed him should I feed him Pellets or Flakes?

 

[lilacamy931]

Everyone has given good advice, the betta pellets are formulated for a good all round diet meant to be varied weekly with things like bloodworm, brineshrimp and the occasional pea. I would try to get him used to the pellets, you can also try soaking them for a short while before introducing or betta yet soak them in garlic juice to really tempt him (garlic helps to boost their immune system and is really tasty). They can go up to one week at least without food so really try to persist, daily. Put some in, give him sometime to try, nope, take it out, then try again in the evening and continue to try perhaps twice a day until he gets it. Always scoop out the uneaten food so it does not pollute your water x

 

[aly_starh]

Yes bloodworms are definatley not good long term, try Hikari Bio Gold Betta Pellets, my Bettas love them.
Feed about 2 pellets in the morning and 2 at night, but during the week fast them for 1-2 days to help digestion.

 

[Cal116]

Good news! I crushed up the pellets into smaller portion sizes and he ate them right away. I noticed he had a harder time swallowing the bigger sized portions while doing this. He didn't seem as hyper or excited but still, he ate them. Thank you all for the help!

 

[electric yellow]

Mine dont eat pellets. hate them. i give mine a combo of flakes, blood worms and crushed up Spectrum Grow by new Life food. POur bettas love it. Im not sure of your lcoation but here in Victoria/Australia the New Lfie food is what we i a few of us in here swear by.

 

[Roemgie]

Couple years late lol but frozen food is great for bettas and the best pellets are New Life Spectrum and Omega One pellets