Betta Not Eating/choking?

[RobberyinCSharp]

Hi all,

I have a half moon male Betta in a 2.5 gallon tank. I have OmegaOne Betta pellets which were recommended to me by another big fish hobbyist. For some reason, however, he ingests and spits his food immediately back out after giving it to him! He finds a pellet, sucks it on in and then kinda cocks his head up and down - kind of like we would while sneezing, but less violent. He then spits the pellet on out. I do not believe size of the pellets is the issue - the pellets are about as large as half a pea of Cous-Cous. I tried flake food - he just ignored it. I tried premixed brine shrimp, but he never noticed it in the tank until it was rotting inside and depleting water quality.

My Betta isn't/can't eat anything! What's going on guys!!!!

 

[Reret]

Try a boiled pea

 

[Seed_Lord]

The head movements just how they eat i think, mine have all done it, is he bloated? maybe he doesnt like the pellets, just keep trying diff foods. How long have you had him? may just take him a while to settle and eat, i had a discus who didnt eat for well after a week after getting him.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

I've had him for a month or two this is pretty consistent. What other foods should I try? There is no bloating - would the boiled peas still help?

 

[Fishball7]

A few possibilities:

1, he doesn't like the food. He may have had a few out of necessity and when he's not famished he won't eat them;
2, it's too dry/too big. Try breaking it further and/or soaking it before giving it to him;
3, if the water's too cold he may not eat as much or is a lot more picky.

Try frozen bloodworms, not the freeze-dried. Feed him one at a time. If he doesn't eat that then you have a problem.

 

[Seed_Lord]

Yeh id say put the temp up, got a betta in a tank atm which is at about 29 degree (had a discus in it for qt) and hes swimming round like hes just had a spoon full of coffee, try the pea thing mine loved it, can try other veg aswell (do a bit of research) try some diff frozen foods, as above poster said not freeze dried (naivity made me feed a betta some fairly quickly soaked freeze dried brine shrimp and bettas are pigs obv ate too much and it killed him, expanded in his stomach i guess) Could try some live food aswell, just make sure you strain them and put them in some clean water for a lil while, but beware ive heard some live foods can carry nasties, but if its a case of him dying of starvation its gotta be worth the risk.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

Yeh id say put the temp up, got a betta in a tank atm which is at about 29 degree (had a discus in it for qt) and hes swimming round like hes just had a spoon full of coffee, try the pea thing mine loved it, can try other veg aswell (do a bit of research) try some diff frozen foods, as above poster said not freeze dried (naivity made me feed a betta some fairly quickly soaked freeze dried brine shrimp and bettas are pigs obv ate too much and it killed him, expanded in his stomach i guess) Could try some live food aswell, just make sure you strain them and put them in some clean water for a lil while, but beware ive heard some live foods can carry nasties, but if its a case of him dying of starvation its gotta be worth the risk.

Thanks! I'm gonna try the heat trick first, then give the other tests a go. Hope my poor lil guy isn't sick

 

[LeiLana80]

When I first got my current betta, he didn't eat for four or five days. He was reacting the exact same way as your guy. I tried crunching up the pellets to a smaller size, which he did eat a little, but not much.
I wound up getting flakes- which he looooves (and I hate, because it dirties up the tank faster than pellets or bloodworms). I dunno- I figured the pellets were too big for him and not yummy enough for him to try and choke down.
He's probably just a picky lil' guy Good luck!

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

Yeah. He is a freaking diva which is frustrating me because I added some bloodworms of the frozen kind and he just stared at them and chilled out. What the heck?! ulls out hair: my Betta hasn't eaten in almost a week!

I just received another Betta and he had the same reaction of the pellets. So at least THAT'S confirmed

 

[LeiLana80]

I've personally never actually had a betta like pellets of any kind (that's just me though). I've always done freeze-dried bloodworms and flakes. Try feeding him a very small bloodworm, or even a piece of one, a size that would be very easily swallowable. I bet once he actually gets a taste of them, he'll never want to stop eating! lol That's what I had to do with my current guy.

Oh and LOL at your "freaking diva" comment!!!!!

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

No luck. I even tried frozen bloodworms that I thawed and put in his tank. He hasn't eaten for almost a week now....
He does still actively swim and respond to stimuli, however.

 

[Fish are AWE]

Try giving him live foods (brine shrimp) to stimulate him.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

That's the only other thing I could think of ! I'll give it a shot...

 

[HayzH]

my new little man isnt eating either (see new topic)...He spits out flake, and he couldnt get the pellet in his mouth..i could try a pea..but my platies are piggies and fight over them
Anything thats put in the tank they eat!

 

[LadyDragon]

I feel lucky, mine attack every food I give them.

Atisons pellets are a favorite (they have a different "attractant" in them to make them appetizing... Or so I hear, mine aren't picky to begin with)

The absolute hands down favorite of mine though is their natural food in the wild: "live MOSQUITO larva!" and "scuds" (gammarus). I have horses and the water troughs fill with those evil little mosquito larva so fast... It's nothing to skim a net full before I dump and scrub it every 3 days. My Bettas get so excited when they see the jar and eye dropper they will nearly jump out of their tank! They love and attack all the food I put in, but the Mosquitos larva they have a special love for! If he won't eat those... Then Id start to really worry