What Are The Household Foods I Can Feed My Bettas?

[Imcanadieneh]

like veggies and whatnot. I feed him flakes pellets and frozen brine shrimp. I have ben conditioning my bettas for a week now and want to know what I can feed them that is found in the house? Is there anything at all?

 

[LauraFrog]

You mean for spawning? Basically anything high protein. Too much mammal protein (meat or offal from mammals) is not good for them in the long run, but feeding a few times a week when conditioning should be okay.
Tiny bits of mince are good but don't just drop them in the tank, if they sink they will not be eaten and any meat in the tank rots the water very fast. I got mine taking food off the end of a toothpick very easily, I also feed termites and ant eggs in this way (DO NOT feed insects if you've been spraying insecticide, and don't feed flying insects if anyone in the house has been spraying anything like toilet deodoriser, air freshener, aftershave, perfume, burning incense etc.)
Most fish eat vegies but bettas are carnivores and not too keen on them... I stick with the meat. Tiny bits of cooked egg yolk, rolled into balls with the toothpick trick, are also okay (great! source of protein for conditioning) but only feed this right before a water change as any that is crumbled into the water will send it off.
They also love fish and shellfish flesh. What I do is freeze offcuts of fish or shellfish meat, then I use a cheap veggie peeler to shave off bits of the meat. You only need very light pressure, the veg peeler digs surprisingly deep into meat that's frozen solid. This can also be used to get small enough pieces of meat that hasn't been minced. Feeding fish or shellfish flesh is better than beef, pork or lamb as a source of protein (the mammal protein thing again) and egg is better yet.

 

[Honeythorn]

IF you have a compost bin in your garden, and you can get a worm out of it ( do not dig one out of anywhere else in the garden ) , then you can chop and feed that to your fish.

 

[chesterscot]

why is a worm in the compost bin different to the ones in the garden they have to come from somewhere to get in the compost in the first place dont they ? Just interested
regards scot

 

[Honeythorn]

You get them from fishing tackle shops. The worms are bred to supply them. You add them to your bin and leave it alone. After a few months to a year, you should have a large colony of breeding worms. The tiny babies can be fed to fish whole and bigger ones can be chopped.

Since YOU are the one putting things in the bin , old veg peelings, ect , and as long as you refrain from using chemicals on your plants and grass, you can add those too. You get no contamination of the worms in the bin. Worms in your garden can come from all over. You don't know what dirt they've been though, if your next door neighbor uses chemicals on their lawn for example, the worm could ingest dirt from the area, come into your garden, and if you dig it up and feed it to your fish, you will effectively contaminate the tank that way. A compost bin takes this risk right down, as you are one feeding the worms.

I made a thread earlier this month explaining how to do it. Click me

 

[chesterscot]

you should have been more specific not all compost uses these special worms
it is a specific method of making compost most ppl just wait for the organic matter to break down and micro organisms to play there part as well as earth worms
the worms you mean dont live in gardens and lawns as a rule
scot

 

[Honeythorn]

The worms aren't "special" they are bog standard brandlins . I could have been more specific though I agree. But the link is there now anyway so if anyone wants to know how to cultivate them then they can.

 

[chesterscot]

bog standard as in not the common earth worm everyone knows lol
i knew what you meant just thought id mention that there not what 95% of ppl ive come across have in their home composters
no offence meant
regards scot