am i feeding too much?

Question

I got my betta (1) a container of Top Fin Betta Bits from pet smart, the container says to feed him 4 pellets in the AM and 4 in the PM.... one of my friends says she only feeds hers 4 in the AM, no PM feeding...... am I overfeeding Mars? i've had him for a couple of weeks, he seems fine and happy, but i would hate to think of him swimming around with a tummy ache b/c his mean mommy fed him too much......

if i am feeding too much, how would i go about reducing his diet?

he gobbles it up within seconds of me dropping the pellet.

Answer 1

OK I'm not the original person below ...and Betta's are Labyrinth fish. surface breathers with the ability to move from one body of water to another. but they are compatible with most tropical fish. do some research..

as long as your little guy is eating what you give him and not falling to the bottom your OK. just remember he has a little belly and the more you feed the more waste produced so stay on top of water conditions

Answer 2

I usually feed my betta some flakes only once a day. Sometimes as a treat I have some really small pellets. Bettas dont need a lot of food at all, they will eat till they are stuffed but dont really need that much. Biggest thing to make sure is there is not alot falling to the gravel. Sounds like yer Betta is happy and doing well so unless he is getting a little chubby sounds like yer doing a good job feeding him.

Answer 3

8 pellets a day is a bit muhc, I'd reduce it to 6 or 4 a day, but keep both am and pm feedings if that is what you do or you'll confuse the fish. so just to 2 or 3 in the morning and 2 or 3 at night.

if you are afraid of him getting a "tummy ache" fast him one day every other week or feed him a bit of a thawed pea once every other week. put a frozen pea in hot water until the pea and water are room temp. take the shell off the pea and feed it to your betta, either let him nibble the whole thing or rip it into tiny pieces.

*edit*
bettas, and most fish, will eat as much as you'll give them. you have to be the one with control and know when is enough.

*sid enote to the person bellow, goldfish and bettas don't mix well. bettas are trpicals, goldfish are cold water. bettas can't in in tank with strong currents created by filters and goldfish need really strong filters because of the ammonia they produce. also, the amount of ammonia goldfish produce is too much for a betta to handle. and goldfish should be in a minimum of 20gallons because even the smallest goldfish get to be 6"

* to person now bellow me, I have no idea what your edit and doing research had to do with anything. I already know bettas are compatible with a lot of TROPICAL fish, but goldfish are nt tropical fish.

Answer 4

Everyone feeds differently. If you didn't kill him yet, you are not over feeding. Just feed what the container says

I fed my male better 12 pellets a day- and he would gobble them up- he was a very active betta though, and huge. He actually killed 4 8inch goldfish when I tried to put others in his tank. I went to bed and woke up to all for of them floating on the water (looks like he just suffocated them by putting their gills above the water)
Unfortunately, he ended up getting ick a year later and died.

Answer 5

OK, with bettas, you don't feed them according to the number of pellets, you feed them as much food as they will eat in about five minutes. Feeding once or twice is okay, they just won't eat as much at each feeding if you feed them twice. Signs of overeating include lethargy, lopsided swimming, and excess slime/poo on the bottom of the tank. It sounds like you are doing well, I hope this helps you! Good luck!

Answer 6

My guess would be to maybe try feeding 2 in the am and 2 in the pm and see if that works. Might work better for the fish as well!

Answer 7

I feed my betta once a day and sometimes I even forget so maybe everyother day........he is almost a year old and he is just fine...........never been better. I keep plastic saran wrap over the top of his bowl with holes poked in it though and it has kept the water ten times cleaner longer.........well and my cat doesnt drink out of it anymore either.

Answer 8

You're not doing anything wrong. It's best to feed your betta 2 small meals a day.

Answer 9

If he is not getting fat and lazy he should be fine, but some people only feed betas once a week, you should definitely feed him more than once a week but maybe only once a day.

Answer 10

i think this diet is fine. everyone feeds their fish @ different times of the day. so it depends on you. honestly, i think your feeding schedule is great.