Would A Betta Eat...

[smegforbrains]

 

[Robot_Rooster]

a fish can't eat himself to death it will only get constipated and look like its dead. and in my experience these people on these forums are well experienced fish keepers who love their fish and have a lot of knowledge about the hobby.

Brinn has taken to eating Catfish pellets (the small sinking Tetra ones). Can't think why

my guppies do the same thing

 

[ThePiggy]

Fish can eat themselves to death if left to eat uncontrolled. I had a friend who fed her betta too much and its stomach ruptured. Don't feed your betta that much..

But 3-4 pellets twice a day is good. They eat once, digest, poo, and they are hungry again all in the same day. It doesn't take 2 or 3 days for them to digest their food, so there is no need to wait that long between feedings.

How would you like it if you were only fed once every 5-10 days? I mean, humans can go 30 days without food before they die.. so why over feed them, right?

Just because they can go some amount of time without eating, doesn't mean they should.

It is true that every so often, it's good to have your betta fast for a day or two. That's good to do as humans too, but most people love food too much. And I know bettas love food. It just needs to be controlled

 

[Netty]

27

It is a proven fact ladies and gentleman. Betta's stomachs are about the size of their eye, they are not designed for eating that much so often. Though if you wish to keep slowly killing your fish, go right ahead.

Sorry for nabbing your thread Reesy.

Could you say what personal experience you are basing this comment on?

 

[Vaporeon]

All the many hours of research I've done, and the last Betta I had who DIED of Swim-bladder disorder after I had him only 4 months. He was getting 5 pellets once every day, which turned out to be to much.

 

[tibby25731]

I have to say that I base the amount I feed on what some very experienced betta keepers and breeders on this forum have advised. they have put in the hours and had the experience for me, therefore i trust what they suggest. Swimbladder isn't always caused by overfeeding, your fish may not have died from overeating! though I do believe it is important for people to know how much to feed their fish, I think in this case you are errring way too far on the side of caution.

 

[Netty]

The following is from this website.

http/animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/info...adder%20Disease

Poor nutrition is probably more to blame than giving your Betta 3-4 good quality pellets twice a day IMO.

Swim-bladder Disease

Symptoms: Abnormal swimming pattern, difficulty maintaining equilibrium.

Swim bladder problems usually indicate another problem listed here. If you suspect swim-bladder problems in a fish, first check and treat it for other diseases as listed below:

* Congenitally deformed bladder.
* Cancer or tuberculosis in organs adjacent to the swim bladder.
* Constipation.
* Poor nutrition.
* Chilling or rapid fluctuations in temperature.
* Serious parasitic infestation.
* Serious bacterial infestation.

If you have eliminated other causes, make sure you are feeding the right food and make sure the fish is not constipated. Give it live food for awhile to ensure it is getting enough roughage. Also, check the temperature for your fish's requirements and keep the temperature stable.

 

[ThePiggy]

You can not base your entire view of betta feeding from one dead betta. The people on this forum who breed and raise bettas for a living have much more first hand experience than anyone could possibly research. As Netty was so kind to show for us, swim-bladder disease has more than one cause.

Also, you can adjust your betta's diet according to its size. If you have a small or young betta, you wouldn't feed it the same amount as a fully grown betta.

 

[newfishy]

and not every single brand of pellet is the same size, my atisons pellets are tiny and my bettas eat 6-10 a feeding easy once they are full grown.

 

[sb_onefish]

27

It is a proven fact ladies and gentleman. Betta's stomachs are about the size of their eye, they are not designed for eating that much so often. Though if you wish to keep slowly killing your fish, go right ahead.

Sorry for nabbing your thread Reesy.

My betta's eye IS larger than 3-4 Hikari Betta Gold pellets, which I feed twice a day except the occasional day I forget in the morning as I am rushing off to work.

Also, I think the temperature plays a role. Lower temp = slower metabolism, warmer temp = faster metabolism.

Between overfeeding and underfeeding, I would assume that underfeeding is the lesser of the evils, but the feeding schedule you described sure seems like a long, dull time between meals for the fish.

 

[azulfire24]

and not every single brand of pellet is the same size, my atisons pellets are tiny and my bettas eat 6-10 a feeding easy once they are full grown.

yea size of the pelets is a things too, some are very large and i woulf only go 1 or 2 and some are very small and i go 8 to 10.... all in moderation with that particular fish....

 

[LauraFrog]

My bettas usually get 6 or 7 Hikari pellets at night, but if I can (ie if I get time) I spread the feeding out and give them three or four morning and night. I feed nothing on Saturday, I give them peas occasionally, and also the odd bit of frozen bloodworm. On Tuesday, they don't get hikari pellets, they get some really cheap stuff from the LFS. I use the stuff as tadpole food because it's vegetable based. The pellets are about the same size as hikari pellets, I feed three to each betta in the belief the fibre content clears them out as well as a pea and they find it much more palatable (most of mine only take peas on Sunday morning when they are really hungry, and some won't eat them even then. They wolf the cheap pellets.)

Overfeeding doesn't automatically cause SBD. When I started conditioning for spawning and I wasn't quite sure how to go about it, I fed both male and female about eighteen hikari pellets each. I did that twice, once in the morning and once at night. They got a bit blocked up but some peas worked. So they will eat far more than their digestion can cope with, definitely, but about ten pellets three times a day seems to work to condition.

 

[Reesy1989]

Just wanted to ask.

When you guys say peas you mean like the average garden pea that you take the harder outer shell off right?

I know that fish also like a wide variety of veg. Can anyone suggest some that they have been successful with?

Cheers,


Reesy

 

[tibby25731]

Yeah, take a frozen pea, pop it in a cup of boiling water for a few minutes to soften it, then pop it out of its shell and divide it up and give it a squish. Have to say though, my bettas - in fact all of my fish - turn their noses up at pea. None of them will touch it, even after fasting for a day! So i just don't feed on a Sunday after cleaning the tanks Not heard of bettas taking any other veg, but I put in cucumber for my pleco, he loves it. And all my other community fish will have a go at it once he has softened it up! he's also eaten red pepper and lettuce I use something called a Screwcumber, you can get em cheap on Ebay - its like a spring shaped bit of metal that you screw through the veg to keep it weighted down. Nicer looking that using a fork or whatever!