Picky Betta?

[vivapity]

Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster,, blah blah

Im pretty new to caring for bettas and i was wondering how to sdeal w picky eaters? I got a beautiful combtail named Poison a few weeks ago and at the time i got a cheaper, and lower quality pellets for him, and he loves it. ive been trying out better brands of food (flakes, pellets,, i think i have like 5 different feed now aah) but he spits out everything else, lucky me Was wondering if anyone have ideas? I fasted him for 2 days and he only ate a flake or two and a single pellet. i gave up and am currently feeding him the one he insists on eating

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Try live or frozen food. If he was fed only live foods at the breeder, he will be unlikely to take dry food straight away.

 

[Essjay]

Could the new pellets be harder than the first ones? I have had bettas that would only eat soggy pellets. Try soaking the new pellets in a bit of tank water for a couple of minutes, then use a pipette (the type of things that comes with a lot of fish medication) to lay the pellet carefully on the water surface.

But bettas can be picky eaters. You could try giving him only the new pellets, removing uneaten ones. It can take up to 2 weeks for them to start eating a new food. He will eventually eat them rather than starve.

 

[vivapity]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Try live or frozen food. If he was fed only live foods at the breeder, he will be unlikely to take dry food straight away.

Thanks for the reply! Currently i only have access to live bloodworms, and im unsure how to preserve them because they die real quick,, any ideas? + ive heard its not good to feed him those as a main food source. I will try some freeze dried brine shrimp tho! As for not taking to dry food, it seems that hes alr quite comfortable with the pellets that ive given him so i dont think thats the case

 

[vivapity]

Could the new pellets be harder than the first ones? I have had bettas that would only eat soggy pellets. Try soaking the new pellets in a bit of tank water for a couple of minutes, then use a pipette (the type of things that comes with a lot of fish medication) to lay the pellet carefully on the water surface.

Thanks for the advice! ill be sure to give that a try.

It can take up to 2 weeks for them to start eating a new food. He will eventually eat them rather than starve.

As for this, do you think it would be effective to try and fast him again? whats the safest amount of time he can go without food?

Thank you for the response )

 

[Colin_T]

Do you have live bloodworms or live blackworms?
Bloodworms are an insect larvae (Chironomid Midge) that are red and grow to about 8-10mm long. These should not be fed live because they have very hard heads and strong mandibles and can bite fish while in their stomach. If you use bloodworms, cut their heads off before feeding the body to the fish.

If you have live blackworms, these are an aquatic worm that are black, brown or red. They should be kept in clean tap water for a day before feeding and should be washed well because they can carry lots of harmful bacteria that cause the fish to get sick and die.

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Mosquito larvae are a good food and can be found in buckets of water sitting outside in the garden. Just scoop them up in a fine mesh net, rinse under tap water and feed to the fish.

Aphids can be fed to fish. Small ants and ant eggs, small flies, moths, weevil larvae and most small non toxic insects can be fed to fish. Just make sure they are free of chemicals like bug sprays.

Try a few different types of dry food. If you use freeze dried food, soak it in water for a few minutes before feeding.

 

[Essjay]

The only 'danger' to feeding live foods is that once he gets the taste for them he'll refuse to eat anything else. Bettas are as bad as spoilt children demanding their favourite food. Feeding one type of live food exclusively is not good nutritionally. This is why you need to try a variety.

A betta will not die if he doesn't eat for up to 2 weeks. But he'll give in well before that.