Feeding Question

[RandomWiktor]

Ok, so my latest "rescue" betta was very underweight with severe fin rot when I got him. I've been feeding him a good healthy diet of hikari betta pellets, live fruit flies, frozen bloodworms, and frozen brine shrimp. His fins have grown back almost entirely and he is now in good color and very peppy, but he is still very skinny. I tried feeding him extra, but I've found that overfeeding Hikari just results in constipated fish and high waste output. I did an anti-parasite treatment to see if that was the problem, but he still hasn't gained weight. He hasn't lost any, either, so I'm thinking all of his calories are going in to repairing his fins.

Anyways, on to the question. I was at my LFS today looking for a pellet that might be higher fat/protien so that I could maybe increase his caloric intake without overfeeding until he gets constipated. I found a pellet intended for tadpoles that has nearly identical ingredients to Hikari, but much higher fat and protien. Here is the infor for the Guarenteed Analysis:

Hikari: Protein = 38% Fat = 4% Crude Fiber = 3% Moisture = 10% Ash = 12%
Tadpole Food: Protein = 42% Fat = 16% Crude Fiber = 3% Moisture 17% Ash = 12%

As you can see, Protein is moderately higher, which looked good since I know super-high protien can cause constipation. Fat was significantly high, which I think is a good thing since he's underweight, but am hoping to find out here. Fiber is the same, as is ash, and Moisture is more, which makes me think it'll maybe be less likely to constipate?

So, do you think it would be safe to experiment feeding this as part of his diet? I feed my bettas 2x's a day, usually pellets in the AM and blood worms/brine shrimp/fruit flies at night. I was thinking of starting feeding these as his morning pellets, but only if I don't get any serious negative feedback here. I'm figuring maybe breeders esp. could help answer this for me, since you guys probably have a better grasp of betta nutrition than me.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Okie dokie. I didn't get any replies, but I'd just like to update and I have started feeding him this food experimentally. I feed till his belly starts to bulge AM and PM, with the tadpole pellets in AIM, and blood worms/brine shrimp in PM. So far, no constipation as seen with the Hikari pellets. I don't know how fast he should put on weight. I'm not seeing anything too impressive yet, (doesn't help that he is the most wildly active fish I own) but he does look like he finally has a bit of a belly instead of looking all... deflated like he usually does.

That aside... he LOVES it. He has a very oddly shaped lower jaw, and he always gets the Hikari pellets stuck in his mouth. These are soft pellets, so he has no trouble eating them at all. If they turn out to be healthy enough for bettas, I might alternate daily with Hikari and these; I've been looking for another pellet brand for more variety, anyways.

 

[Betta_luver]

Freeze-dried foods everyday? Or are they live? If they are freexe dried please don't feed them so often they can get constipated from them.

I don't know if the pellets are safe but if he can chew them better then it might be an ok choice.

I think eventually he would have gained some weight with out these pellets. My friend recently did a rescue with a starning betta. She just kept him on a normal diet and he is just starting to gain weight. she rescued him a week or 2 ago.

 

[RandomWiktor]

No, I never feed freeze-dried anything; its murder on thier stomaches. I feed frozen blood worms/brine shrimp and live neo-natal crickets/fruit flies. Then usually Hikari pellets. I don't know why this guy doesn't gain weight; could be something wrong with him. As mentioned, I've already done a parasite treatment since I thought it might be the cause of the weight loss. Part of it may be the combination of a fairly large swimming space, high tank temp, and the fact that he is extremely active, but it strikes me as odd that he has such a hard time maintaining weight. I feed my bettas about double of what anyone I know feeds, yet they're all a perfect weight (except for him, of course). He is not a new fish by a long shot; he's been with me about a month, so the fact that he's not gained weight by now is why I am trying this calorie-dense food.