Betta Bites Too Big?

[bachina]

Hi everybody,

Just picked up our second betta (first one was a bad case of fungus that probably started at the local pet store that killed him eventually ) from a local specialty fish store (living sea aquarium, IL, highly recommended) last night. I followed standard acclimating procedure for bettas (float bag, take out 1/4 water from bag, add 1/4 water from tank every 15 or so minutes), and put him in and turned off the lights to sleep so he could get familiar with his new surroundings in peace.

I feed my fish in the morning, and i'm using HBH Betta Bites. Unlike my first beta, who took about 3 days to get used to the tank and actually even attempt to eat, this one came right to the surface and was ready. But, upon actually eating a pellet, it seemed like he just held it in his mouth for a moment (you could still see it in his mouth), and then spat it out. He then proceeded to try a different pellet, and then spat that out as well. After that, he didn't try any more food I gave him. As far as I know, no one has ever run into a problem of pellets being too big, because bettas can actually chew their food. I did ask the LFS what they fed their bettas, and they use pellet food as well. Is he just still getting used to the tank and this is his way of not eating?

I also do have some Hikari freeze dried brine shrimp. I've heard that freeze dried food can mess up a fish's digestive system, but elsewhere people swear by it because it has similar benefits of feeding live or frozen food without the risk of parasites and disease. Should I try this instead?

Pictures will come when he's not feeling so shy! Thanks for the help in advance (and a public thanks to Tolak for providing us with filter media to jumpstart this tank!)

--Hans

 

[Nevergone815]

My suggestion is to go out and get osme betta flakes. Some fish find them easier to chew and swallow, especially when htey are smaller. As they grow they can fit the pellet in their mouths better. I hope that helped

 

[bachina]

My suggestion is to go out and get osme betta flakes. Some fish find them easier to chew and swallow, especially when htey are smaller. As they grow they can fit the pellet in their mouths better. I hope that helped

Ah, yes, you may be right. I forgot to mention that he seems rather young, and smaller than other bettas I've seen. Any recommendations for brands that make betta flakes? I've never personally seen "betta flakes" sold anywhere...Thanks!

 

[Nevergone815]

My suggestion is to go out and get osme betta flakes. Some fish find them easier to chew and swallow, especially when htey are smaller. As they grow they can fit the pellet in their mouths better. I hope that helped

Ah, yes, you may be right. I forgot to mention that he seems rather young, and smaller than other bettas I've seen. Any recommendations for brands that make betta flakes? I've never personally seen "betta flakes" sold anywhere...Thanks!

I think it's Tetra that seems to make a good brand of them. I put mine in a different container right now so i can finely crush up the flakes for my 4 week old convict fry, and I can't find the original container. It's yellow though, with a betta on the label, you really can't miss it. It has scattered in it, something that looks like freeze dried baby brine shrimp in there as well. I picked mine up at Walmart. It work's for me. It's what I feed all my young ones once I see them having trouble with the pellets. It sounds like he is just younger. It'll be some tiem and he'll eventually move onto the "big boy" pellets

 

[archamfr]

"tetrabetta"
has a purple kinda betta on front my betta loves it, especially with the chunks of shrimp n krill in there

 

[liz2]

I squash my pellets between 2 spoons cos one of my girls is really tiny

"tetrabetta"
has a purple kinda betta on front my betta loves it, especially with the chunks of shrimp n krill in there

is that like the pink flakes my lot wont touch it!

 

[archamfr]

yah the pink flakes, strange mine goes crazy lol
i bought some hikari pellets today for him, however he looks at them then goes away, however ive only tried them on him once so far

 

[bachina]

any opinions on the freeze dried brine shrimp hurting their digestive system?

 

[Nevergone815]

"tetrabetta"
has a purple kinda betta on front my betta loves it, especially with the chunks of shrimp n krill in there

yea that's the stuff

any opinions on the freeze dried brine shrimp hurting their digestive system?

I've never heard of any poroblems, nor have my fish ever seemed ot suffer any sideeffects fro mme using it. I say the flakes are good.

Like in the case of Liz, you have to remember liek all fish, it varies so even though you try this, your fish may not like it. Its always a gamble

 

[bachina]

"tetrabetta"
has a purple kinda betta on front my betta loves it, especially with the chunks of shrimp n krill in there

yea that's the stuff

any opinions on the freeze dried brine shrimp hurting their digestive system?

I've never heard of any poroblems, nor have my fish ever seemed ot suffer any sideeffects fro mme using it. I say the flakes are good.

Like in the case of Liz, you have to remember liek all fish, it varies so even though you try this, your fish may not like it. Its always a gamble

Well, i'm not talking about brine shrimp that are in flake form. Hikari sells some 100% freeze dried brine shrimp that come in chunks you break up and drizzle in the water. Does that hurt fish or something?

 

[Nevergone815]

That's what I was talking about too I should've specified. I've never heard of freeze dried brine shrimp giving a hard time to a fish nor experienced it myself. I buy containers all the time and feed my fish, though I use it as a supplement and not part of their daily routine. Once in a while I'll throw some into their tank. I hope that helped a bit mre

 

[mommyof2bettas]

I had the same problem with my betta Kyle. I just fed him flakes until he was ready to eat the pellets.

 

[zoekin8yg]

you cant usually go wrong with attisons betta pro

 

[Bert]

My betta spit out his bites when i first got him. so i used flakes a little also. Now he loves the bites and will hardly even touch flakes.

 

[Ravenwing]

One of my boys refuses to eat anything other then freeze dried bloodworms. I tried the freeze dried brine shrimp but none of my boys seemed interested...

It's really up to the betta on what kind of food they like and what kind they don't....some like flakes others don't...you could try the frozen, just like any other food though - feed in moderation. If you've just gotten him he might also not be hungry - one of my girls refused to eat anything for a week...now she's happy munching away :wink:

Good luck!