Fussy eater

[_fish_a_holic_]

The supplier of my (hopefully) breeding pair (double tail male with half-moon female) uses Sanyu Betta Gold food for all their bettas.

I'm not ready to breed them yet. I have other "ladies-in-waiting" to distract the male. He's not chasing any one in particular; in fact he seems to find the tank overwhelmingly large! He's quite shy.

All of the females eat the pellets I offer them. But the male refuses to even look at the pellets, even though according to the LFS that's all he's been given (they've had him in for about two weeks before offering for sale)

I've heard two schools of thoughts:
(1)"Keep offering pellets, he'll get hungry enough eventually. If you give him live black worms or brine shrimp he'll NEVER eat pellets ever again"
(2)"The guy's gotta eat! Just give him live food, already!"

(paraphrasing, of course )

I give him live black worms every couple of days through a syringe with a short piece of airline on the end (to feed one at a time). He loves 'em! In fact I think he's been tamed to approach the syringe/airline... hmmm.

I also have frozen mysis shrimp, bloodworms, beefheart.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is; I can afford to give them live/frozen food all the time, but is that too much of a good thing? I'd rather condition them to accept pellets still.

What to do???

{PS. As an aside, I have the same problem with my 10 year old, anorexic greyhound. She's a fussy eater! I got her premium food to put some weight on and she eats that, but quite reluctantly. Sheeesh it seems that I'm the only one in the house NOT on a diet! I have a fat cat, also }

 

[BettaMomma]

I would say you're going to want to get him on pellets also, if you can.
However, sometimes they just WON'T eat anything but what they darn well feel like it. do keep trying - try different brands, try different types of foods... but make sure that if all he is eating for the time being is fiber-rich foods like black worms, blood worms, etc. that you get him some cooked peas also. That will keep him from getting bound up by the fibrous food.

Are the females and the male in the same tank???

 

[Kiarra]

Actually, giving him live and frozen food all the time would be extremely good for him, with one exception...he needs some fiber in his diet, or he might get constipated. Try offering him a pea. Most Bettas LOVE peas, so getting him to eat it shouldn't even be an issue. Peas are a natural laxative, which are both a preventative and a treatment for constipation in Bettas. Plus it's a treat for them.

 

[veen]

i guess it's up to you. if you can afford to give them live food all the time go for it! are you sure you'll always have it available? i know here where i live they don't have live shrimp -- mysis and brine -- all the time because in the winter it's too cold.

but yeah, frozen seems always available year-round. however, a word of caution, brine shrimp isn't very nutritious so i wouldn't feed that all the time, more like only ocassionally as a treat. mysis shrimp is much more nutritious, that's what i use now for both my sw fish (all the time) and my fw fish (sometimes).

and, i don't know if it's true or not, but i've heard bloodworms & beefheart can cause indigestion problems if fed all the time. someone else may know for sure if this is true.

pellets are definitely my bettas' favorites and are their staple. if you can get him to accept it go for it! it's less expensive in the long run & more convenient.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Mines fairly fussy, he'll only really eat live food that floats or normal tetra flakes. I mostly feed him baby waxworms and moths (I have loads flying round my bedroom)

 

[_fish_a_holic_]

Will try syringe-feeding him! He seems to like that... oh well he's worth the trouble

if you can afford to give them live food all the time go for it! are you sure you'll always have it available? i know here where i live they don't have live shrimp -- mysis and brine

Hatching/growing my own brine shrimp. As for black worms, well.... if I change their water often enough and leave them in the fridge they go pretty far!

i don't know if it's true or not, but i've heard bloodworms & beefheart can cause indigestion problems if fed all the time

Would this be fixed by peas as suggested by Kiarra and BettaMomma?

OK, so I get a frozen pea... do I blanch or boil it first, or just thaw and plop? Also, I've tried feeding peas to my mollies and they balk at it. Should I squish out the inner bit and just give them that? Haven't tried peas with bettas. Just regained the courage to keep them again.

I mostly feed him baby waxworms and moths (I have loads flying round my bedroom)

Hmmm, lucky you! I don't get that much. How about chopped up earthworm, is that good to try to? (I love my worm farm yes I do! )

 

[Kiarra]

Some people cook their peas. That's one method to make it softer. Others just thaw them. But remove the skin from the pea...it makes it easier to eat, and makes the fish more inclined to eat it.

Just vary the diet with the different worms and other meaty foods, and maybe a pea once a week or more. I think that, with that much variety, there shouldn't be any dietary deficiencies or indigestion problems.

Chopped up earthworms are great to try if you have them!

 

[_fish_a_holic_]

Are the females and the male in the same tank???

BettaMomma, YES. The male doesn't seem to want to bother the females at all... but then again that's only with two other males around (separated, of course).

Is this totally wrong???

Chopped up earthworms are great to try if you have them!

Kiarra, earthworms are easy to cultivate! I just bought a kit, or you can get some from a friend's compost pile. They eat up my kitchen scraps, dog poo, etc, and give me rich composted castings, AND they reproduce! I wish all my fish would love 'em! But when I tried feeding a live, whole one, tetras took tiny nips at it, it eventually floated to the bottom and wriggled into the gravel...... hope it's not doing much harm there! Will try to locate it & vacuum up at next water change, or don't bother?

Next time, OFF WITH THEIR HEADS first... then maybe chopped up for littler fish.

 

[Kiarra]

I'd suggest getting it out of the tetra tank...it's probably quite drowned by now, and may pollute the tank.

I'd suggest chopping them up into bite-size pieces if you don't mind doing so. Some people are squeemish about such things, and don't like even DEALING with worms, never mind chopping them up.

Let me know if your Bettas eat them.

 

[_fish_a_holic_]

I'd suggest chopping them up into bite-size pieces if you don't mind doing so. Some people are squeemish about such things, and don't like even DEALING with worms, never mind chopping them up.

Sheeesh I'm a vet nurse I'm not allowed to be squeamish! Hmmmm some of the things ya see... ever had doggie placenta all over ya? .... (edit)... or seen your boss ahem "stimulate" a male dog ten times a day for artificial insemination?!?!

OK OK I'll shuddup now

 

[Kiarra]

Horse placenta, yes.

 

[Raechal]

I have three males and each one seems to favor a different food. My largest boy (Cotton Candy) seems to eat anything I drop in his tank without any fuss at all. My other boy (Deiter) doesn't seem to like flakes, freeze-dried bloodworms, or even frozen mysis shrimp or bloodworms. He likes the frozen mysis shrimp and bloodworms, but he doesn't enjoy them as much as his pellets. Then, my oldest boy, (Angus) won't touch flakes or betta pellets. He only likes freeze-dried bloodworms and frozen bloodworms and mysis shrimp.

I bought a pack of mysis shrimp and a pack of bloodworms about 2 weeks ago and I still have more than half of the packets left. And that isn't just using it for the bettas, it is used for my 120 gallon, 10 gallons, and 55 gallons. :]

 

[_fish_a_holic_]

I tried chopped-up earthworms today. Ho-hum reaction. I think I need to chop it finer but the finer you chop it the less they wriggle!

All my bettas are expecting to be syringe-fed now, great!

 

[BettaMomma]

Welcome to my world.
Liza now has decided that she will swim around the tank and when she's READY to come up (while I patiently stand and wait for her to be ready), she'll come up and wait for me to lower the spoon into the water, with a cooked, shelled, mashed hunk of pea on it, and if it happens to get down past her for some reason she will NOT go after it. Same with bloodworms.

On a completely separate note, I'd probably consider separating your male betta at some point, possibly.


and about peas - i get the frozen kind, then i put a little water in a shallow bowl and cook them in the microwave for about a minute. Then i squish them which makes the insides come out, then chop and squish the middle part up for them!

 

[_fish_a_holic_]

Welcome to my world.
Liza now has decided that she will swim around the tank and when she's READY to come up (while I patiently stand and wait for her to be ready), she'll come up and wait for me to lower the spoon into the water, with a cooked, shelled, mashed hunk of pea on it, and if it happens to get down past her for some reason she will NOT go after it. Same with bloodworms.

My syringes are my best friends! Anyone else tried this? Great for siphoning, more precision than turkey baster.. and airline tubing fits perfectly on the syringe hub! They come in all sizes too... 1ml, 3ml, 5ml, 10ml, 25ml (waaaaaH I miss my job!)
I dispense live blackworms one by one with this, heheee them fish have got me SO figured out!

On a completely separate note, I'd probably consider separating your male betta at some point, possibly.

Have done so. Poor Romeo's in a little net breeder till I get more supplies... plus they need some peace and quiet without me messing with their tank every 2 hours...
BUT, WHY??? If he's not bothering any of the girls? (he looks quite depressed, not in a sick way, but just "BLAH, leave me alone I just wanna sulk") actually.

and about peas - i get the frozen kind, then i put a little water in a shallow bowl and cook them in the microwave for about a minute. Then i squish them which makes the insides come out, then chop and squish the middle part up for them!

Thanks. That's what I've been doing for the mollies. Hopefully the bettas will like peas more than mollies!