Betta Not Eating

[the_faze]

Hi, All

Sorry if this has been answered before but the search function is not working for me.

I just got a new betta, on Monday afternoon.

He is healthy, and alert. I don't see any visible problems.

I have him in a 5 gallon tank, with no other fish. There is one fake plant and some ornamental decorations.

My problem is that when I put food into the tank, he will and attack it, munch on it for a bit then spit it right out.

I have had bettas before, and they have spit it out the first few times so I break the food into smaller sizes and that has fixed it. This guy however, doesn't seem to eat anything. I'm thinking he doesn't like the taste, but I don't really have the funds to try out every type of betta food available.

I have tried both flake food and pellet food, both made specially for bettas.

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks,

 

[bronzecat]

Hi
Give him a few days to settle He's probably just getting used to his surroundings.
You could try frozen bloodworm, or live bloodworm if you can get it Feed bloods sparingly, no more than 4/5 a couple of times a week.

 

[Athena]

Betta's can be quite fussy over their food - my Betta turns his nose up at anything other than the following: Frozen Bloodworms (he won't touch freeze dried), live baby brine shrimp (again, he's not interested in freeze dried), frozen daphnia and softened peas.

Perhaps your boy is a fussy eater like mine? The frozen/live foods don't cost much - and are much better for them.

I've tried so many different products off the shelf on him - pellets, blocks, jelly etc - and he refuses all of them.

Athena

 

[the_faze]

Thanks, I think he just needs some time to get used to the new env.

I might pick up some frozen stuff, however they come in such huge packs and I only have one betta. I guess I might as well think about getting a few more .

 

[damovts]

i male seems to like TetraBetta food and he eats that fine

 

[Athena]

Thanks, I think he just needs some time to get used to the new env.

I might pick up some frozen stuff, however they come in such huge packs and I only have one betta. I guess I might as well think about getting a few more .

Do you have any other fish apart from that one Betta? Just wondering because mostly all of my fish eat bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp etc - so you could share one cube of bloodworms between the betta and any other fish you may have.

 

[the_faze]

The only other fish I have are 5 platties in a 10 gallon. I'm hoping to setup a larger tank soon, but I've been in the middle of moving/new job so I haven't had time to get things really going in the fish-keeping area.

I'll see how things go.

He seems to be eating flake food but what he does is wait till it softens up then he eats them. I guess the food is just too pokey for his tender mouth.

 

[Athena]

The only other fish I have are 5 platties in a 10 gallon. I'm hoping to setup a larger tank soon, but I've been in the middle of moving/new job so I haven't had time to get things really going in the fish-keeping area.

I'll see how things go.

He seems to be eating flake food but what he does is wait till it softens up then he eats them. I guess the food is just too pokey for his tender mouth.

Those platies will eat any of the frozen foods if you wanted to try giving your Betta something a bit more substantial than flake food and share it between them. You could even make one cube last for 2 feedings. Dissolve the frozen cube of whatever in a small amount of water in a spare cup, give the Betta a small pinch and a pinch or two to the Platies, then refrigerate (don't re-freeze) the remainder for their next feed if it's within 24 hrs. I use a pair of tweezers to drop the food into the tanks.

These Bettas do have some funny ways, don't they? My female makes me laugh at feeding time. She expects to be hand fed and any food that isn't given right under her nose, she won't swim for. Sooo lazy! And if I happen to put freeze-dried food in the tank (the other fish enjoy it) she turns around and swims off and sulks behind the filter unit until I come back with her frozen delicacies!

 

[dusky]

Thanks, I think he just needs some time to get used to the new env.

I might pick up some frozen stuff, however they come in such huge packs and I only have one betta. I guess I might as well think about getting a few more .

That's the weakest excuse i've heard for geting more bettas....frozen will keep in the freezer for ages. Still,,,if it's an excuse that works then go for it Have fun buying more

 

[ReMz]

Thanks, I think he just needs some time to get used to the new env.

I might pick up some frozen stuff, however they come in such huge packs and I only have one betta. I guess I might as well think about getting a few more .

That's the weakest excuse i've heard for geting more bettas....frozen will keep in the freezer for ages. Still,,,if it's an excuse that works then go for it Have fun buying more

lol. i like it tho.