Over the years, I've learned a lot about what works and doesn't work for teaching people effective Betta fish care.
In this series of articles, I'm going to be sharing my expertise with you one topic at a time.
Basically, I'm going to try and lay out every single gosh darn thing I know about one aspect of caring for the spectacular aquarium fish that is the Betta! I hope you learn lots, and don't forget to share this article with anyone you think it could help out! I want to do this first article on the actual feeding of Betta fish.
While it seems like a relatively simple task (and despite the next several hundred words, it really is!), people generally have a lot of questions about it, so I thought it'd be a good place to start.
It's also worth mentioning, if you didn't already know, that overfeeding is a huge cause of new Betta fish owners accidentally killing their finned friends, but we'll get to some more on that later.
First things first: What do Betta fish eat? In the wild, Betta fish eat small insects on the surface of the water in which they live.
The upturned mouth of the Betta, which gives it a large lower lip, is characteristic of a carnivorous fish species.
In captivity, it is very important that Betta fish receive the same amount of protein they would on their natural diet, which is why other fish foods (like those made for gold fish) are not suitable.
There are specially formulated pellets and flakes for Betta fish and these should make up your fish's daily diet.
I often see Betta fish care veterans recommend the Top Fin brand Betta foods, so these are what I started out with years ago (and still use to this day).
Pellets vs.
Flakes One of the things you'll have to decide when purchasing Betta fish food is whether to grab flakes or pellets.
I personally use pellets, simply because they are more uniform in size; this means that feeding my fish "two pellets" at meal time will always be about the same amount of food, where as flakes vary in size and can be more difficult to measure.
On the flip side, some Betta experts recommend flakes because they are easier for a fish to swallow, which can be helpful when introducing a new Betta to food that's different than what he was getting at the pet store or breeder you got him from.
Nutritionally, pellets and flakes are identical and ultimately the decision is up to you.
Luckily, fish food is cheap so if you find yourself having issues with either type you can always grab the other kind for just a few dollars.
How Much Is Enough? If you only remember one paragraph from this article, make it this one.
As I mentioned earlier, overfeeding kills a lot of Bettas and often the inexperienced owner will have no idea what happened.
To illustrate why this is so much easier to do than you might thing, let me as you a question: Do you know how big a Betta fish's stomach is? It's about the size of its eyeball.
Furthermore, Bettas don't eat as often in the wild as they often do in captivity, and so they have extremely slow and efficient metabolisms.
In fact, they can go weeks without eating if they have to, making overfeeding a much more common threat to Betta health than starvation.
On the side of your bottle of Betta food, there will probably be instructions.
Ignore them.
They often recommend feeding 3-4 pellets twice per day, and this is just far too much food.
Instead, I find 1-2 pellets in the morning and 1-2 at night to be the perfect amount.
Treats Treats for Betta fish come in a variety of things, but in general freeze dried bloodworms seem to win out as both the most nutritious option (they have a lot of fat but also a lot of protein) and as the option that my personal Betta fish seem to enjoy the most.
Treats should not be an every day occurrence, but every week or two I like to substitute one feeding session with bloodworms instead.
Your pet will love them but remember, as with all things in Betta fish care, don't overdo it! Help, I think I've overfed my Betta! While overfeeding can be dangerous, catching it early is the best step to making sure it isn't life-threatening.
Look for a bloated/distended stomach and a fish that might be having trouble swimming.
If you notice these things, stop feeding for a full 24-48 hours, and then feed your Betta a small piece of frozen pea.
This is prepared by microwaving a pea in a small dish of water, then peeling off the outer skin.
The pea can serve as a natural laxative and help your pet's digestive system get back to a healthy state.
After feeding the pea, wait another day or two without any meals and resume normal feeding if the Betta appears to be back to normal.