Betta Not Eating.

[Shred]

I got my betta about a month ago now, I bought him some Hikari (or whatever they're called, torn up the packet) pellets and some Tropical Betta flakes. When I first got him he wouldn't go anywhere near the flakes, but would greedily eat the pellets like there was no tomorrow. I supplimented his diet with peas, frozen brine shrimp and freeze dried daphnia.

One day last week he stopped eating the pellets, just turned his nose up at them and wouldn't give them a second glance. So I continued feeding him peas and brine shrimp, and now he won't touch the daphnia even. I tried soaking the pellets and attempted to feed him them every day, but he would just spit them out.

This weekend I went away for 3 days, and he wasn't fed. So I thought when I came back and offered him the pellets he would gladly eat them after his 3 day fast. But he didn't, I noted down his exact behaviour:

Rushed over to the pellet.
Gobbled it up, jerked his head back 10 or so times as if chewing. (but more exagerated than when I remember him doing in the past)
I put another pellet in.
He spat the first one out, gobbled up the second.
Spat the second pellet out, looked at the first, then swam off.

Now to me that seems as if its not just that he's being fussy, but he's actually having problems swallowing the pellots, and that he can only eat soft foods like the peas and frozen stuff. What do you guys think?

Other than that his behaviour seems perfectly normal but Im just worried about him. (That and its a pain having to defrost food for him every day!)

 

[silverrabbit]

One of my boys had something like this and it confused me totally. Kept on spitting the pellets out, looking at them like he really wanted them, trying to eat them again, but spitting them out and swimming off! i thought that maybe he'd hurt his mouth on a pellet that was too big, but it went away after a while (in the meantime i fed him these slow-sinking granules)

 

[Mauricia]

I have a girl with a really small mouth and she has a lot of trouble eating the pellets, she stopped eating them for like a month and then went back to eating them. Maybe just take a break from them and give him what he will eat and try pellets in couple months? You could try rubbing a pellet in garlic juice and see if it is the taste or if it's because the pellets are so hard. A lot of bettas are picky at first too, you could try the flakes again and just persistently offer them everyday until he gives in and tries them.

 

[jasminekiddell]

I hadt his with my boy Shimmer hes not with us anymore but he stopped eating. I can think maybe when hes eaten something like a pellet it could of caught oddly on his mouth on a funny angle and he might be a bit sore in his mouth? Give it a few days, goodluck with him.



I hadt his with my boy Shimmer hes not with us anymore but he stopped eating. I can think maybe when hes eaten something like a pellet it could of caught oddly on his mouth on a funny angle and he might be a bit sore in his mouth? Give it a few days, goodluck with him.
Also whenever my betta seems ill or not eating etc i crush the pellets but now i always do that as i have a sorority of girls with little mouths lol!

 

[Luke_emma_23]

have you tried bloodworm? no betta can resist them!!!!

 

[betta fish]

It sounds to me as if he knows he will get something better if he is eating the peas and frozen brine shrimp. I would persevere and continue to feed him the pellets, he will eat them eventually, feeding him anything but the pellets will just make him refuse them even more, perhaps soak them in a bit of brine shrimp juice beforehand to get him started again, how often did you offer the peas and brine shrimp to him in the past?

 

[Shred]

Thanks for the advice people, some mixed answers though!

About once a week, betta fish.

 

[loraxchick]

i agree with bettafish...just keep offering and remove what he doesnt eat...he will start eating them again eventually.
cheers

 

[Shred]

Fed him a pellet last night, he ate it straight away and kept it down. Thought I wouldn't push it so I just left him with the one.

Then this morning I tried another pellet, he ate it, I waited for about 40 seconds and plopped another in there. He swallowed it and then spat them both out!

I think I just need to feed him 1 at a time until he gets used to them again.

 

[Rezatii]

Sounds like a good plan, is he trying any of the other foods again yet? Or are you leaving that til he's used to pellets again?


-Rezz

 

[Shred]

Yea I haven't tried any other foods yet Rezz.

 

[Shred]

Just noticed (not sure how I didn't before!) a weird lump on him, this is the best pic I could get of it. Anyone seem anything similar before? Its mainly white with a bit of red on it.

I'm quite worried, but he seems to be acting normally still...

 

[loraxchick]

from the pic i see no weird lump...i see his scales shining on his side from the camera and i see him pooing(a good thing)...where is this lump?
good that he is eating now..and yes, feed one at a time is prob best for now. why not give him a pellet in the morn and one in the evening until he gets more used to them?
good luck

 

[Shred]

Oh good it must just be poo then, doesn't look very healthy though! Perhaps thats why he was having problems eating?

 

[loraxchick]

well, not to be too graphic while talking about poop, but that looks pretty normal, albeit a big poo bettas do "plops" rather than anything tubular. things to look out for are long stringy white poop...that's bad! the color of "normal" poo depends on what you are feeding them.
he may have been a little bloated and hence not eating. that's why most betta folks recommend feeding sparingly (only a FEW pellets a day), giving a cooked deshelled chopped up pea once a week in replacement of regular food and a fast day the day after the pea. helps to keep them regular and avoids stopping them up which can lead to all sorts of problems (ie swimbaldder disorders).
you fish looks nice and healthy to me. lets hope he keeps eating his pellets and enjoys eating peas(most bettas love peas).
just an FYI- a healthy well-fed betta should have a rounded little belly...if it looks as though it has swallowed a marble, time to feed a pea as he/she is most likely "backed up" also varying their diet helps too
cheers