Feeding Bettas

Knowing how to feed your betta is fundamental, because doing it wrong can have big consequences for your betta's health. Nothing is more stressful than dealing with a sick fish, right? So, let's do it right, and not have a calamity!

Here are some golden rules for feeding your betta:

First, select the proper foods. Bettas are selective eaters. A betta specific pellet is OK, but live or frozen foods are preferable. The recommended diet includes frozen brine shrimp and frozen bloodworms.

The next rule is to not overfeed your bettas. Carefully dose the meals; because even if the fish eats all you give him, he will produce much more waste when overfed, and the pollution level of the jar he is in will go beyond safe range This problem is smaller if you keep your betta in a larger aquarium. Remember not to leave uneaten food in the aquarium! Once your betta and the rest of the fish are finished eating, you must remove all uneaten left over food. If you do not remove it, it will soon rot and cause havoc in the tank.

Bettas prefer to eat from the upper parts of the water column. They don't really enjoy eating from the bottom of the tank. So before dropping the food in your betta's tank, make sure you have his attention. Let him see the food, get it close to his face from the outside of the aquarium, let him check out what it is, and then there you go! Drop food in front of his nose. The best way is to drop a tiny bit of food - about 6 frozen brine shrimp, watch the betta eat it all and then look at his belly, if it looks the same as it did before you fed, it's ok to give him more, but always watch and make sure to make the second portion smaller than the first.

Your betta should go for the food right away, but if not, watch where the food sinks, and what the betta does. If after 15 minutes he has not eaten the food, remove the food. Never let the water go cloudy. If it is already cloudy then change it, as cloudy water will threaten your betta's health. Normally, small bowls or containers should have water changes at least twice a week. Larger tanks can be changed once a week. And notice if the ammonia and nitrite levels are at high levels, because both are very bad for your betta. Also be wary of harmful bacteria - they can ruin your fish's life, but don't kill off all bacteria in the aquarium since bacteria is essential for a well functioning aquarium.

During the pre-spawning period you can feed a wide variety of foods, including blackworms, grindal worms, fruit flies, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae and frozen bloodworms (all are live except the frozen bloodworms). During this period the adult fish may be fed 4 times per day or more depending on how close the fish are to being placed into the spawning tank.

You can start feeding your betta fry 5 days after the hatching. Feed the fry several times per day, using a variety of foods (infusoria, boiled egg yolk, baby brine shrimp) made up of small particles.

About The Author

Article by William Berg writer for Aquatic Community with more then 20 years of aquarium experience. Find more of Williams articles about Betta fish

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