Betta going blind... soak food in garlic juice or not?

metropolis93fan

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(I posted to the betta portion but getting no response. Thought I'd also post here. I hope I'm not breaching any rules)
I have heard from many sources that soaking betta pellets in garlic juice helps them find the food. I was going to start today training him to go to a feeding loop by using the garlic trick. But I just had someone say they read that there was a debate here (that I can't find so starting a new thread) that it may not be good? Would like to know what the thoughts on this are.
 
What if you avoid pellets altogether, and see if he has trouble finding swatted bugs, and, as you go along, frozen food?

Garlic was a fad a few years back, as it was said to have all kinds of anti-parasitic uses. That seems to have fallen by the wayside.
 
I would imagine that the idea is that the garlic has a strong smell they can sniff out easily en lieu of seeing it. I don’t see the harm in trying it. But other foods are really stinky too like frozen brine shrimp.
 
What if you avoid pellets altogether, and see if he has trouble finding swatted bugs, and, as you go along, frozen food?

Garlic was a fad a few years back, as it was said to have all kinds of anti-parasitic uses. That seems to have fallen by

I read when I was picking his diet which he thrives on... he was so weak when I got him that he couldn't crunch these tiny tiny pellets (not the cheap ones but just as small). I had to grind them into a powder for him to eat it. But gradually I didn't have to grind as much and now not at all! Going blind but otherwise healthy and happy... that frozen food alone isn't enough of a diet for a betta. And I'd NEVER give him swatted bugs... just on principle, but also the housing authority sprays for bugs 4x a year. Almost anything that winds up in here is dead within 12-24 hours, tops. I'd fear spreading that poison to him. His tank is covered and they never spray BY the two tanks (the other is cycling) so I'm not concerned about that... but wouldn't give him bugs for that reason if nothing else.

Which frozen food would best sustain him? I don't remember WHY what I read said frozen foods shouldn't be fed alone... but it did. If I could be GUARANTEED that he would be fine on just frozen blood worms or whatever I'd switch. I'd keep with pellets probably with the new betta I'm getting. It'll have to wait a week until I see my parents again. Stuck without a car for a week. But I can start training next week.

Any idea why garlic is no longer thought highly of?

Thanks!
 
I would imagine that the idea is that the garlic has a strong smell they can sniff out easily en lieu of seeing it. I don’t see the harm in trying it. But other foods are really stinky too like frozen brine shrimp.
See my reply to GaryE please about my fears of getting off pellets... Thanks! Would appreciate your input, too!
 
I read when I was picking his diet which he thrives on... he was so weak when I got him that he couldn't crunch these tiny tiny pellets (not the cheap ones but just as small). I had to grind them into a powder for him to eat it. But gradually I didn't have to grind as much and now not at all! Going blind but otherwise healthy and happy... that frozen food alone isn't enough of a diet for a betta. And I'd NEVER give him swatted bugs... just on principle, but also the housing authority sprays for bugs 4x a year. Almost anything that winds up in here is dead within 12-24 hours, tops. I'd fear spreading that poison to him. His tank is covered and they never spray BY the two tanks (the other is cycling) so I'm not concerned about that... but wouldn't give him bugs for that reason if nothing else.

Which frozen food would best sustain him? I don't remember WHY what I read said frozen foods shouldn't be fed alone... but it did. If I could be GUARANTEED that he would be fine on just frozen blood worms or whatever I'd switch. I'd keep with pellets probably with the new betta I'm getting. It'll have to wait a week until I see my parents again. Stuck without a car for a week. But I can start training next week.

Any idea why garlic is no longer thought highly of?

Thanks!

Fluval's Bug Bites are one of the best overall foods for all carnivorous and omnivorous fish. Which is not surprising considering the natural diet of just about every fish we keep including substrate dwellers is insects and insect larvae. The mini size should appeal to a betta.

Frozen foods are good because they are the closest thing to live (texture) but most have minimal actual nutrition. Frozen daphnia is one of the best, same reason as above. Frozen shrimp might work.

Garlic was touted to be beneficial as Gary mentioned, but like many fads in this hobby, the results did not stand up to the hype. Yo can get flake foods with garlic, but I never have used them.
 
I just replied to another thread about making my own fish food. I used squid (but any raw fish would work), raw spinach, raw egg, a little sodium ascorbate for vitamin c (just because I had some handy) and you can also use carrot or peas, if you google it you will find lots of other ideas. Blend it all together very well and then put into a flat baggie and freeze, break off small pieces and thaw in water for a minute or two before adding. If you’re worried about having enough nutrition you can add some general flake food to the mix. It may tend to dirty the tank a bit though if you don’t have a cleanup crew. But it definitely stinks to high heaven. I wonder if there’s some kind of holder you could get to put it in so it doesn’t go all over the tank? This would help him get used to exactly where the food is all the time.
 
Most betta splendens seem to have very weak sight except very close in. My question with bug bites is that they sink. They would be ideal otherwise - excellent nutrition for bug eating fish like Bettas. I get around the quick sinking with surface fish by getting the bug bites in flake form.
I used to snag bloodworms and live whiteworms in hornwort, which was great for bettas. You could do the same with a homemade mix - they can be great options.

Where I live there's no spraying, and swatted bugs are a hit with most fish.
 
Garlic for fish comes back every 15 years or so. It gets marketed hard to the alternative therapy for fish crowd, fails and then gets remarketed when everyone has forgotten. It's on a lull now, and I expect it'll be back around 2030, maybe sold as a cure all for something different.

It's been an appetite enhancer, a dewormer, a health and vitality additive...

It keeps vampires away though. I have never found one swimming in my tanks.
 
This trick might work for getting the fish to eat. When I feed, I open the tank top and then gently tap on the tank frame with the spoon I use to put the food in (so I know how much). The fish learn very quickly that the tapping is the "dinner gong" and they instantly start coming out and waiting for the food. This worked well for all the fish, especially the cories. To see them all suddenly rapidly scampering over the sand with their barbels a-twitter is part of the joy of keeping fish.
 
Most betta splendens seem to have very weak sight except very close in. My question with bug bites is that they sink. They would be ideal otherwise - excellent nutrition for bug eating fish like Bettas. I get around the quick sinking with surface fish by getting the bug bites in flake form.
I used to snag bloodworms and live whiteworms in hornwort, which was great for bettas. You could do the same with a homemade mix - they can be great options.

Where I live there's no spraying, and swatted bugs are a hit with most fish.
I have bug bites ‘for bettas‘ and it seems to float at least for a while.
 

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