OK, you have your betta and he's now in his beautiful
Betta tank
and he's got his toys and is happily swimming about.What are you going to feed him?
Bettas by nature are carnivorous but will accept a wide range of foods, but don't kid yourself that
they'll be happy with any old tropical fish flake. They won't! Let's look at some things they do like.
Worms of many varieties will be happily accepted. Most fish stores will sell worm cultures that produce
live worms, and these will all be gratefully received. It's worth mentioning here that things like bloodworm,
although loved by bettas, are extremely high in protein and are not digested as quickly as other foods,
so overfeeding of these worms can lead to constipation and problems with the betta's swim bladder. I
recommend that worms like bloodworms be only fed sparingly once a week as a treat.
Mosquito Larvae is the betta's staple diet in rice paddies in Thailand where mosquitoes are abundant.
I have not yet seen these in any fish stores, but coming from a cold climate, this is not surprising.
If you can harvest these yourself in warmer climates, then your betta will eat them heartily. Beware getting
them from dirty water, as they will invariably be infected with all kinds of harmful bacteria and you do not
want to bring these back and introduce them to your healthy tank.
Daphnia (water fleas) are a particular favourite of bettas (and most other fish!). This is actually one of
nature's health foods as it can be used as a remedy to help with constipation. Conversely overfeeding for
prolonged periods can have a laxative effect, so, as with bloodworm, feed sparingly. I feed daphnia twice
a week maximum.
Brine shrimp, although a bit pricey, is heaven to a betta and he'll dance for joy when you feed him this.
However, it's not of high value nutritionally, so feed other things in addition to brine shrimp.
Ok now that I've mentioned some of the delicacies, lets talk about their preparation.
There are essentially 4 ways these can be supplied. Live, Frozen,
Freeze-Dried and in Jelly.
I don't feed my bettas live food for a couple of reasons. Firstly, unless you harvest the goodies yourself,
you have no way of knowing what else you are introducing into his water with the food. Anything could have
deposited its eggs in this water, and there are things that you do NOT want in your fish's tank. The second
and more important reason is that it's very hard to judge how much to feed him. You must not simple tip the
live food into the water. Bettas are little piglets and will eat and eat till they pop. No joke, they will
eat the live beasties until they kill themselves, so please be careful. If you buy live food from a pet
store, it usually comes in a bag of water, and the water is sometimes dyed. Whether dyed or not, be sure
to strain off the water before serving the food. Do not simply tip the food and water from the bag
into your tank!
Frozen I buy mine already frozen, but you can freeze your own cultures if you wish. Just remember to split
them into small portions before freezing so you don't have to thaw out a big chunk to feed a small amount.
An ice-cube tray is ideal for this purpose. As with all foods for humans, I don't recommend re-freezing
foodstuffs after thawing, as not only does it speed up bacteria production, but it also destroys protein.
There are several different ways to server frozen foods. I prefer to squeeze the ice cube in my fingers
allowing it to thaw gently. This way I can monitor how much they are fed. The other way is to put it in a
cup and serve it when it's thawed.
Freeze-Dried foods are great. They were once alive, now they are dead, but with all the goodness intact
and all the harmful things sterilised off. There are many different manufacturers of these products, so
I won't recommend a brand. They are all equally good; some are just more expensive than others!
In Jelly.Tetra produce three products in a protein
jelly called Tetra Fresh Delicacies. This is a great product and all my fish and especially my
bettas love it. The three varieties are Brine shrimp, Daphnia and Bloodworm. It comes
in foil sealed sachets that have a little dispensing nozzle and I used these to teach my bettas
that hand feeding is fun.
Let's talk about flakes and pellets. Normal tropical flake and pellet foods will be eaten out of
necessity and hunger if nothing else is offered. However, your betta will not be thrilled, so don't
expect him to be your friend if you feed him these. There are a number of specialist betta flakes and
betta pellets available and these are far better as they are geared to the specific needs of your betta.
He may be a little reluctant to accept these to start with, especially if he's been pampered with
live or frozen foods in the past but persevere, he will get used to them. Although people who show bettas
are not fond of betta flakes and pellets, they are a good product and will keep your bettas in
tiptop condition
Some bettas, but not all will accept vegetables. The only way to find out is to try them and see.
I mentioned that bettas are carnivorous by nature, but they will eat pretty much anything that's
available. Mine like the mushy bit out of peas so I keep a can of marrow fat peas just for my fish.
You can use fresh, frozen or canned peas, but remember to thaw frozen ones and always remove the pea
shell, as it's indigestible to fish. Peas are great for helping with constipation in fish, so it's
always handy if you can get your betta to accept peas willingly. I mentioned that my bettas learned
to eat out of my fingers with Tetra Fresh stuff. Well they now accept that anything in my fingers is
dinner, so peas, broccoli and cucumber are all part of their diets. I generally blanch the vegetables
in boiling water for a minute or blast them for 15 seconds in the microwave and allow to cool naturally
before serving, this helps break down the proteins and make digestion easier
One of the easies ways keep healthy betta is in a feeding a varied diet. After all, you would get
bored with egg and chips every night wouldn't you?
How often should I feed my betta?
Like all fish, it's important not to overfeed. I feed mine by hand, so can monitor exactly how much
they consume. You should feed them once per day and only as much as they can consume within two minutes.
Overfeeding leads to constipation and constipation leads to bacterial infections and swim bladder trouble.
Overfeeding also results in waste food lying in the substrate, which rots down and becomes a host for
harmful bacteria that can attack and harm your fish. So I can't stress enough do not overfeed. If you
have, you should make immediate preparations to vacuum the substrate to remove the excess food.
Oh and I don't know if its all bettas or just my bettas, but those tubifex cubes, <spit> they don't
even get a cursory glance when added!
Bon Appetit!
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