carnivorous or omnivorus

[tony92]

me and hte person who sits next to me in class got into an argument about bettas being carnivouros or omnivourus(sp?) i took carnviourous(sp? i cant spell, lol)
she said they live in rice paddies so they cn eat the rice, so i told her that they dont just live in rice paddies and that they eat the worms and bug larvae

was i right?

 

[BettasRFriends]

Bettas are carnivorous but occasionally eat vegetables (peas for swim bladder) i also heard they eat cucumber and whatnot.

 

[tony92]

but in the wild, do they do that?

 

[BettasRFriends]

You mean eating rice? I have nooo clue but i doubt it.

 

[Skylar]

In the wild, bettas mainly eat insects and insect larvae. I highly doubt they eat the rice, and most bettas do not come from rice paddies anymore or so I've been told.
The insects they eat include mosquito and mosquito larvae and various types of small worms. Since they are carnivorous, they will eat mostly any type of larvae, worms or insects.

Some bettas can also be taught to take peas, cucumber or zucchini. I, however, will only feed them peas once or twice a month, just because they prefer their bloodworms and flakes better.

 

[SRC]

Sorry, your friend is correct.

You said she said they "can" eat the rice, which they could...if they so chose to do so.

A Carnivore eats only meat, a Herbivore eats only vegetable matter, and a Omnivore eats both...which is what a betta is.

 

[BettasRFriends]

oh my bad, i totally forgot about omnivore.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Hm. From what we've been learning in our animal nutrition class, what makes something a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore is not neccesarrily what they eat but what they should be eating and what their dietary requirements are. Most domestic cats have been made omnivorous by their owners, however, they are still considered true carnivores as they have no natural dietary need for any significant amount of vegtation in the diet. I would say the same goes for bettas; the overwhelming majority of their diet is made up of insect sources, and while they might ingest some vegetation, they probably don't particularly need to eat enough to be considered omnivores. I would call something like a goldfish more of an omnivore as they'll eat, well, anything and need a great variety in their diet to maintain good health.

 

[SRC]

I'll have to respectfully disagree.

If they will willingly and heartily eat it and enjoy it, that makes them what they are. I highly doubt you'll get a tiger to eat a salad, or a horse to eat a steak. If you sneak it in on them..ground up in food..that's not exactly the same..they don't know they are eating it (i.e. regarding commercial dog/cat food), if it's mixed with what they normally eat. If given the choice of either or..and they choose both...that makes them a omnivore IMHO. Although housecats do eat plant matter in the wild...they love catnip and other herbs, and eat grass to aid in digestion at times. I can't speak for tigers/lions as I've never seen one eating plant matter on any tv shows or any articles that are about them..but they might, for digestion purposes.

Bears are another animals that are omnivores..as they eat both plants and meat items.

My bettas tear a pea up...that leads me to believe they really enjoy it, which makes me believe they are omnivores...as they enjoy both animal and plant matter.