i got a betta on saturday and ive tried to feed it but it just wont eat i need help
2007-02-06 05:02:07 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Give him some time, he has been moved to a new area and is shy.
Go get some stress relieving drops or Fresh water salt and put some in the tank. If you have decorations put them in the tank so he can hide behind them.
When you move fish they get stressed and that makes them not eat. Stress is the number 1 killer of fish.
Fish can go without food for 10 days, so don't worry.
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What kind of tank do you have?
How many other fish do you have in the tank?
2007-02-06 05:15:48 · answer #1 · answered by DECEMBER 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Contrary to mindyu78's answer, bettas can be very picky. Each fish has a distinct personality and some may be less picky than others, but as a rule they tend to be stubborn about changing foods. If the food you bought is different than the type your fish was fed previously, it may take him a while to adjust. Don't worry – when he gets hungry enough, he'll eat what you give him. It might take a few days.
Unfortunately, if he goes about a week or so and shows no interest in food, something could be wrong. A friend of mine bought a betta who didn't eat for about two or three weeks, and ended up dying. I recently bought another betta myself, and he was fine for the first few days, but hasn't been eating for a while now. Once this happens, it seems to be bye-bye fishie. I'm no expert, but I've dealt with bettas for almost two years and that seems to just be how things go sometimes. The good news is that pet-store bettas – which are mostly mutts, and I assume this is the kind you got – aren't very expensive, so it's not like you're losing a big investment. If you decide to get another, spend at least ten minutes observing all the fish there, and choose the one that is most active and responsive to you and the other fish around it. Stressed or unhealthy bettas will be dull, pale, keep their fins flattened down ("clenched"), and possibly have visible vertical striping on their bodies. It should also be visibly obvious if a fish has a fungal infection or disease.
Hope this helps, and good luck with your betta!
2007-02-06 15:16:39 · answer #2 · answered by ael_ecurai 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Bettas generally are not very picky eaters. Mine will try to eat almost anything I drop into the water. Common food you might find in the petstore for Bettas is called Betta Bites. This is an excellent beginners food because you can pick one pellet up at a time and drop it in and see if you Betta eats it. This allows for controlled consumption of food so no excess is polluting the tank/bowl. I generally feed my Bettas 2-3 pellets 2 times a day, or 4 pellets once a day. This food is a bargian because for over a year I've fed several Bettas out of the same container of Betta Bites and I still have over half the container left. And it's the size of a film cansiter. Believe me. Bettas dont generally like flake food that you feed to other freshwater fish, and it also clouds the water much faster. Another food that I find clouds the water is freeze dried red grubs. The Bettas never really liked them anyways. It's best to buy a food specially for Bettas that will enhance thier color and give enough protien. Protien is important especially when contidioning the Bettas for breeding.
2007-02-06 14:12:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
My 5 year old Betta went 5+ months with no food. We had had to evacuate our home with no notice and were unable to get back in to get him out. He was still alive when we took him out of there 5 months later.
That was two years ago..... he IS NOT picky on food, he'll eat anything. That being said, other Betta's I have had liked pellets, some like worms, some liked flakes. Try different foods.
2007-02-06 14:58:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
What kind of food are you feeding it? Mine wouldn't eat it's pellets at first because they were too hard for him and something he wasn't used to. So I would roll the pellets under the water untill they became softer and then he would eat them. I slowly weened him off the soft pellets by giving them less time under water. Hope it helps!
2007-02-06 13:13:46 · answer #5 · answered by Molly 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try some frozen blood worms. bettas never refuse frozen blood worms. what are you feeding him? usualy hikari pellets will work when no other fish food does.
2007-02-06 16:53:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
DECEMBER2000 is exactly right, couldn't have said it better if I tried. Given a few days all will be well.
2007-02-06 13:44:33 · answer #7 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
maybe you need to talk to the people you bought it from,it could be sick,
2007-02-06 13:06:44 · answer #8 · answered by dork 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it could be sick
2007-02-06 16:49:47 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋