How often do I feed my Betta? Do I listen to the pet store person or the back of the pkg?

Question

I just bought a Betta last night, he lives in a one gallon glass bowl and I purchased "color enhancing betta bits" by Top Fin to feed him. The back of the package says to feed him 3 to 4 pellets two times a day. The petsmart sales person said to feed him 2 or 3 pellets every other day. I am not sure which one to do. (I did not read theback of the pkg until I arrived home so I could not ask the saled clerk why he said one thing and the pkg said another.) Also I bought this fish for my 7 yr old daughter and if I am supposed to feed it every other day can I cut the amount in half so she can still feed it every day since I am afraid she may forget if its not a part of her regular daily routine? One last thing, my daughter found a large pretty rock that she wants to put in the fish bowl. Its just a rock from outside, is that ok if I rinse it good? I don't want to put something in the tank if it will make the fish sick.

Answer 1

You shouldn't have to feed a betta twice or three times per day. It's recommended to feed bettas a few pellets every other day or so, like the PetSmart employee explained.

I had a client come to me, asking about why her male betta appeared to be pregnant. The reason was evident when she told me how often (and how much) she was feeding her fish. Just like humans, fish can become obese, too, and the excess stress on his body could cause him to die faster.

You could probably get away with feeding a betta one or two pellets per day to keep your daughter on a schedule so she'll remember. Just be sure that she doesn't over-feed the fish. Over-feeding can lead to a number of problems, not just limited to obesity. The excess pellets could sink to the bottom and make the water dirty faster (which translates to more water changes). Excess food in the bowl can also lead to a steady growth of bacteria which could cause a number of health issues for your fish (e.g. ick).

(Or, you could maybe hang up a fish calender above or around the fish listing what days to feed him (X'ing out each day you do feed him). That way, your daughter will know if she should feed him today or tomorrow. I doubt that she will have much trouble getting into a habit of "every-other-day," if she sees the calender and fish everyday anyway.)

I personally believe that the packaging says to feed your fish more so you will go through the food faster and buy more of the product. Tetra and Top Fin and the other companies that make fish food can only sell their products in packages so large.

Another thing you could feed him (to add variety to his diet) is freeze dried blood worms. You can buy them from the PetSmart you bought your fish at or other "mainstream" pet stores. They act as a supplement to your fishs staple diet; in this case, Top Fin Color Enhancing Betta Bits. You should feed these to your fish once a week, and only a small pinch at a time is necessary. Think of these as treats for a dog: they aren't meant to be replacement food (although, they might be marketed as such).

As for the rock, it's alright to add it to the bowl as long as you rinse it well.

I hope that helps!

Good luck with your new fish.

Answer 2

That varies from one pet store to another, but it's probably safe to say that in many cases they do not feed them. Many pet stores count on a pretty quick turnover of their bettas, and since they keep the bettas for sale in little cups or plastic bags, adding food (and excrement) to that small amount of water would do more harm than good. Assuming the betta isn't in the store for more than about a week, it won't harm the fish to go without food for that long, while the dirty water caused by feeding would do a lot of harm. The stores that do feed their bettas use whatever sort of fish food they have on hand. If they feed betta pellets, I'm sure they only feed a few (3-5 pellets) per day.

Answer 3

As you can see there is no right and wrong. I would recommend going between these two recommendations and feeding 3 pellets every day, with the knowledge that you can skip days, or go away for the weekend and not feed him. It's true that less is more, especially in an unfiltered bowl.

I would not put the rock in the bowl. For one, if it has any affect on the water, it will have a lot of it, because it's a big rock in such a tiny space. For another, you are better off decorating with fake plants - betta's come from heavily planted environments and if you want to see a fish at their best and most natural, you mimic their natural habitat. Those who keep betta's floating around an empty bowl are missing most of what betta's offer as fish.

Answer 4

Less is more. The whole wait a day is to ensure that the fish hotwired and ready to eat all the food and so the water doesn’t get cloudy with uneaten food, i prefer a daily routine especially for the kids b/c things will happen and they mite forget a feeding or two. Dont let the fins fool you most betas are very small fish and will limited swimming room to burn calories much slower then we do. now every fish is gonna be different and if you ask seven ppl you may get seven answers but the trust the ones that say less. Your fish will be more lively and healthy if its not swimming a with a loaded belly. Think about how you feel after grubbing out on food and trying doing something physical. Start with one feeding a small amount like 2 a day if you fish is responsive good if not and the food is not just floating or sinking uneaten then wait a day and try it again.

Answer 5

Some advice is good, some not so good. The clerk is more right than the package, but you can let your daughter feed it a couple pellets a day if you want. I'd also recommend a pinch of freeze dried tubifex worms, and/or frozen brine shrimp now and then for variety.
As for the rock, if in doubt, don't. Some are save, but need to be sanitized first, not just rinsed. I boil mine for several minutes, then cool in cold water, then allow to warm to room temp before adding. Just remember if there's a large temp difference between the aquarium water and the rock, you'll be looking at a quick temp change in your water, and that could kill your betta.

Answer 6

This is what works for me, and i have mine since 5 months now
i feed him twice a day 2-3 pellets
and exchange his diet with bloodworms twice a week
and also fast him once a week, to prevent constipation
sometimes he even eats the tropical flakes from my other fish, if he does i just skip the pellets

my other recommendation is as follows
get him at least a 2.5 gallon tank with filter and a heater, they thrive in temperatures of 76-82 degrees best, and you won't have any temperature fluctations that way
with a tank, you would need to do only 25% partial waterchanges weekly with a gravel siphon

But with a bowl, you will need to change 25%-50% every other day that you don't get ammonia build up in there
http://www.fishlesscycling.com/articles/caring_for_bettas.html

As for the rock, yes you can use it, if you rinse it really well with hot water, you can even boil it



Hope that helps
good luck


EB

Answer 7

I just got a betta fish myself and have been reading a lot about them to figure it all out. It seems that they are pretty resilient with it comes to food.

About the rock though, I have read that some rocks have minerals that will degrade and ruin your water quality, pH level in the tank...things like that. So I suspect that the rock would not kill the fish outright, but I would air on the side of safety and just buy a pretty aquarium decoration rock. If you do decide to put the rock in there, do not use soap on it. Just soak it for a long time and use a scrub brush.

Good luck with your betta! i hope your daughter is having fun with him.

Answer 8

I used to give mine four twice a day, but if you are keeping it without filtration i would give it four once a day. The more you feed it, the more ammonia the fish will produce. Betta fish should be able to go about 1.5 to two weeks without any kind of food.

As for the rock, you will have to "test it" Soak it in a glass or bucket of water for a few days. If the water becomes discolored, the rock seems to get smaller exc it isn't a good idea. After the rock has been soaking rub it on your hands and look for discoloration. If there seems to be no change in the water or coloring on your hands you are good to put it into your tank.

Answer 9

just to add my 2 cents -- i feed my bettas 4 pellets once a day. you can skip a day or two no problem.

fish food companies want to sell fish food and pet shops usually feed to keep waste to a minimum in those little torture cups. so in the middle is a good place to be.

if you know what the rock is it might work -- you don't want sedimentary rocks like limestone or marble -- they will slowly release deposits and make the water chemistry really bad for the fish.

rocks like granite or volcano rock are fine. if you don't know what kind of rock it is i wouldn't do it.

Answer 10

bettas are fine with being feed every other day. I would feed mine everyday, 2 or 3 times. He would get so excited and ask for food, He did grow a lot and was a little fat but he was so happy. He lived for 3.5 years. If your daughter forgets the fish will be fine. They can go for days without food.
The rock should be fine just make sure it is clean.