INTRODUCTION: Keeping a betta fish for the first time? Then you should know their feeding habits to make sure you don't end up overfeeding or underfeeding them. Either of which can have a negative impact on the life expectancy you may be hoping will be a good long time. To that end these new rules of feeding bettas presented here in Q&A format will hopefully help.
Question: What do bettas feed on?
Answer: They feed on a large variety of finny delicacies. Turns out the wider range of foods you give them the better they like it and healthier they will be. These guys can feed on foods like mosquito larvae, bloodworms, and brine shrimp. You can also feed them commercial betta pellets which usually contain a large variety of essential ingredients. Hopefully this gives you a better idea as to what bettafish eat or can eat.
Question: How often am I really supposed to feed my betta?
Answer: Yeah I know. You can get all sorts of advice when it comes to the how often question. The instructions on the fish food itself tell you one thing. What you read in forums suggests another. What you might read on a web site might suggest something else.
Truth is bettas can get along just fine eating once or at most twice a day. Often less is best. Problem is if you over feed them there's a chance they won't eat all the pellets, bloodworms or whatever and the leftovers will foul their water. Leading to disease or worse the death of your fish.
Question: My guy just loves his blood worms. But ever since his first taste he now turns up his nose to pellets. He'll take one in and instantly spit it out. I'm worried he's not going to get a balanced diet from blood worms alone. What's a concerned betta owner to do? I don't want him to starve. Nor do I want to be a mean mom.
Answer: Good question. As you suspect bettas cannot live well on blood worms alone. But some just won't take to pelletized food after they've gotten their lips around something more to their liking. So you may have to resort to a mixture of frozen brine shrimp, daphnia and the like to insure your guy gets the vitamins and minerals he needs to be healthy.
Question: Should I feed my blue fantail differently from the other fish in the tank?
Answer: Other fish in the tank? How many fish you housing with your betta who typically prefers to be alone? That issue aside, you can actually feed them the same type of food. But it's also good to feed them different varieties so they can choose what they like to eat. The more options the happier for everyone in the tank.
Back to the first point. As you know bettas are naturally aggressive and territorial. But don't worry that your other fish may not be able to share food with your betta as long as you've got enough food for everyone. A bigger concern would be if they are all getting along. And sometimes the concern is that another fish is harassing your beloved betta.
Question: I'm worried about over feeding. How can I tell if I'm feeding my half-moon too much?
Answer: This is a good point given most in the US eat too much themselves. Actually fish like this need less than you might think. Think three to five pellets, three to five bloodworms and they're good. Overfeeding does your pet no good at all. It can lead to constipation and bad water from uneaten food going bad.
CONCLUSION: How you go about feeding your betta, what you feed and how often you feed comes down to one point. It doesn't matter as long as you don't over feed. Stuffing them to the gills isn't an act of kindness though either. Because you may be setting stage for bad water conditions which is the leading cause of betta disease and death.
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