What Can I Feed Him...

[Snick]

As some as you know, I posted lately on my betta, (Link) which seems to not be eating at all. I read all of your suggestions, (and by the way thanks!) and what I want to do is probably feed it something live or some meaty food that is more apeasing to it, as it just looks at the food and comes close to it, but doesn't do anything, not even peck at it. Can I feed it raw ground meat or something of the sort? Maybe raw fish or shrimp? Like really small pieces, of course.

Thanks in advance again,
Snick

 

[Boxermom]

Do not use raw meat. Shrimp, clam meat, bloodworms, blackworms, all that sort of thing is okay and is what my bettas get. For the most part, however, fish should not be given meat that isn't seafood.

 

[RandomWiktor]

I would not use any meat intended for humans on a betta, even seafood due to the mercury levels. Think of it this way; in the wild, a betta is going to eat primarily insects, and perhaps the eggs and fry of other fish. It will never eat a salmon, flounder, cow, or chicken. So, chances are, its digestive system isn't equipped to handle these things. Raw meat would be especially bad as the sloppy slaughter process means most meat is infected with campylobacter, salmonella, e coli, etc.

The best options would be frozen or live blood worms, brine shrimp, midas shrimp, blackworms, or neo-natal crickets (which are very hard to come by unless you breed them yourself). These should be available at most LFS or stores that carry exotics and fish. Most people suggest buying Hikari for frozen foods as some lower-quality brands may have harmful bacteria contaminating them.

 

[e11cloud]

Hello again. Meat and seafood for bettas would be a no-no IMO. I would suggest thawing out Hikari brand bloodworms in a shallow dish with water from his tank and feeding with an eyedropper. You could also try buying a brine shrimp hatchery from a lfs if you want to try live...some of them sell packs with the salt and the eggs already mixed for you..thing is they prefer adult brine shrimp when they are adults themselves, so you'd need to grow them up for a while first which can be kind of tedious. I would suggest trying a mirror and the frozen hikari bloodworms or hikari frozen brine shrimp. He won't need a whole block. You may even want to shave about a fourth of the cube, put the cube back in the freezer, and use later. Good luck!

 

[Boxermom]

I would not recommend brine shrimp, they have almost no nutritional value whatsoever. Bettas are carnivores and seafood is absolutely safe for them to eat. Their digestive systems can handle it fine and I've yet to ever hear of one getting mercury poisoning from seafood. That statement makes no sense whatsoever. Seafood is regularly fed to many fish as a steady diet and I've never read or heard of any risk of mercury poisoning from such a diet.

 

[RandomWiktor]

And I find the statement about brine shrimp having no nutritional value to make no sense whatsoever, seeing as most breeders feed their growing fry brine shrimp and brine shrimp eggs, and just about every bettakeeper I know feeds blood worms and brine shrimp to fish who will not eat. Obviously, the betta will need to get on a more balanced diet once he gets it eating; I'm just mentioning foods that most betta keepers have great sucess with.
I didn't say anything about mercury poisoning, I just stated that raw fish has high mercury levels, and it isn't something I'd personally suggest feeding. That, and as fish who eat primarily insects, it makes more sense to feed things like mosquito larvae and other invertebrates than clams or flounder. It is a personal preference issue. Either way, mammalian and bird meat is out of the question, particularly raw, thanks to the bacteria issue.

 

[Boxermom]

I don't know about brine shrimp eggs, but yes, newly hatched brine shrimp with their egg sacs still attached are nutritious. However, its a well-known fact that once they lose their egg sac and are older, they lose almost all nutritional value. Do some research on it. Its basically like feeding your fish the human equivalent of potato chips. Should be used as a snack only, not as any sort of main staple.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Again, this is not about making a staple diet; this is about encouraging a betta who hasn't eaten in over a week and a half to eat something. Any calories at this point would be good; you can't be too picky with starvation. Since brine shrimp are easy to find, easy to grow, and very attractive to bettas, they would be a good choice for a fish who won't eat. But w/e. I'm not going to dispute this any longer because it certainly isn't helping this person get their betta fed, and that's personally what I'm more concerned about.

 

[Snick]

ok thanks guys, I will try to feed him some dried shrimp, and i will try to get some live legit food for fish... Ill keep you updated.

Thanks.

 

[RandomWiktor]

I wouldn't go for dried, though I guess if he'll eat them it couldn't hurt for now. Freeze-dried foods are rough on the GI and promote constipation. Frozen and live and preferable.

 

[Boxermom]

Freeze dried are fine as long as they are rehydrated first. Best if soaked in some tank water with some vitamins added, but plain tank water is fine.

 

[e11cloud]

I must say that I agree with Random...and of course getting the betta to eat is the most important factor here. Frozen foods will prove to be a more successful attempt, I would guess. Freeze dried foods would, I'm assuming, be something the fish probably wouldn't take interest in, and you have to consider the long term effects of feeding that type of food. Bettas are carnivores, yes. But their diet consists of insects and mini crustaceans. That's the factor to consider. Bloodworms are what they eat most of the time. I would try bloodworms verses anything else at this point, and hikari brine shrimp, although not used soley for food, certainly wouldn't hurt...they're processed well. My guess is feeding the betta something that would move i.e. frozen foods drifting to the bottom, or live food, is going to peak his interest rather than something just floating at the top. Not to mention, it is much healthier. There could be an endless debate over feeding brine shrimp to bettas at any stage of life. I think however, that we can all agree that no one is suggesting brines be used as a sole diet for bettas or any fish, for that matter. Concentrating on getting the fish to eat in the first place is actually the factor that needs to be addressed.

 

[Rediahs]

Frozen bloodworms are great. Just break off a tiny bit, soak it in some tapwater to thaw, put one on the end of your finger, and dangle it in front of him.

Might work... my bettas love it though, they eat off my finger. It feels so funny, and it's so cute to watch them jump.

 

[liz2]

It must be realy worrying, your fishy not eating. Just keep trying, in my opinion anything he will eat to get him started is good.

 

[Boxermom]

If you soak the food in a little tank water with a couple of slices of garlic, that will help. Garlic is a natural appetite stimulant.