New Betta Owner, Pellet Question.

[Seandgoode]

Hi everyone, I bought my first betta today, he is in his own tank with live plants and cycled filter etc. I have read through the very good articles on betta here but he only thing I'm not sure on is the suitability of the pellets I have. Link below

http/www.aquarium-munster.com/en/fresh-water/food/dr-bassleer-biofish-food-acai.html

The guy at lfs gave me this when I asked about high protein food for betta, is it OK? Plan to supplement with frozen food 1-2 times a week. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Picture below.

http/i1375.photobucket.com/albums/ag450/seandgoode/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20140921_194853_zpswmgazlnc.jpg

 

[SeanTrollope]

nice fish . the food seems to be ok

 

[Mamashack]

Be sure to soak the pellets for about half an hour before feeding them to your betta (has he got a name yet?) That way he can eat them more or less straight away instead of having to keep spitting them out to soften them and losing bits in the process. Just collect a bit of tank water into a small container and pop in a couple of betta pellets, then pop it all back in the tank after the soaking time.

 

[Seandgoode]

Be sure to soak the pellets for about half an hour before feeding them to your betta (has he got a name yet?) That way he can eat them more or less straight away instead of having to keep spitting them out to soften them and losing bits in the process. Just collect a bit of tank water into a small container and pop in a couple of betta pellets, then pop it all back in the tank after the soaking time.

Great thanks for the advise, will definitely do that. He does have a name, my daughter thought Eric was a good name, so Eric it is.

 

[Mamashack]

Great name! I like Eric too! lol

 

[Wildbetta]

Looking at the specs, that food appears to be fine.  However, just becareful how much you feed him which is the same with any food.  Right now in the picture you posted, he is a bit on the....chunky side from what I can tell.  How many pellets are you feeding a day? Also what temperature is his tank?  
 
Gorgeous color on him and I like the name "Eric".  

 

[Seandgoode]

Looking at the specs, that food appears to be fine.  However, just becareful how much you feed him which is the same with any food.  Right now in the picture you posted, he is a bit on the....chunky side from what I can tell.  How many pellets are you feeding a day? Also what temperature is his tank?  
 
Gorgeous color on him and I like the name "Eric".  

I have actually moved him over to the tetra beta flakes as he just didn't eat the other stuff. I took that picture the day after I bought him and have been careful only to feed him what I'd eaten within a couple of mins. The temperature of the tank is 26give or take half a degree depending on room temp.

 

[Mamashack]

26 is the minimum for bettas so you might want to up it a notch so that any slight dip won't compromise him.
I was going to add that I give mine only 2 pellets a days after soaking and he wolfs them down, but you've swapped to flake now. 

 

[Seandgoode]

Thanks for the advise I have knocked the temp up to 27. Is that the optimum temperature?

 

[Mamashack]

26-30 is the optimum range. So 27 is fine - gives you a bit of leeway on the lower end. Mine runs between 26 & 27 and the heater kicks in below 26.

 

[Seandgoode]

OK great, really appreciate the help. I will also pay careful attention to quantity of food. He is on a starving day today which I plan to do once or twice a week.

 

[Wildbetta]

I actually do not recommend flakes as they are bad to cause bloating.  It is hard to accurately measure the amount the betta is actually getting plus any uneaten flake will compromise water quality.  I strongly advise switching over to a good quality betta pellet and depending on the size of the pellet itself, feed only 2-4 pellets a day (easy to break up into two feedings if wanted).  It is also not a good idea to feed a betta "all he can eat if a couple of minutes".  While this can work nicely with a lot of other types of fish, bettas are BAD to overeat and their belly is the size (or a bit smaller) than their eyeball.  This makes bloating and constipation a major concern with bettas.  A nicely fed betta will have a slight swell in the belly area but otherwise will look nice and slim.

 

[Seandgoode]

Thanks for the advise. Is there a brand of pellets you can recommend? Are they supposed to be floating pellets? Will definitely ammend the feeding as per your instructions. I try to feed him in the floating log so if it sinks it lands on the log. Took a new picture today.

http/i1375.photobucket.com/albums/ag450/seandgoode/IMG_20140926_172940_zpsm3ts5mzp.jpg

 

[bigcheed]

try new life spectrum betta formula. my betta loves them. they are semi floating and are really small. good stuff.

 

[AquaPit]

Nice job! I am sure your Eric Betta will live happily under your care!

Nice solid blue betta you got there!