Bettas are crazy !!

[swanandmokashi]

I fast my betta every sunday and give him peas on saturday. Yesterday I cooked the pea for him and smashed it as well as I can, and put it in his tank. He swooped and started eating like his life depends on it. Then he put a huge piece in his mouth and realised it was too big for him to swallow. Of course he decided not to leave it and was coming to the surface to gulp some water , (perhaps to push it in ). I was really worried that he might choke or something as he was moving with the piece for some good 5 minutes. Then I decided to leave him by and return in 10 minutes. After I returned , the piece was still there and i got worried and was thinking of ways to help my little buddy out . Suddenly he ate the whole piece and seemed very proud of it. I looked at him as if saying "See little fellow, you learnt your lession , never bite something more than you can swallow." As soon as I was done saying that , he scooped at another big piece and was hanging to it for good 10 minutes !!!! .
Of course the fact that he had a new tank mate on friday , made him hang on to his food ?

Anyways note to self - Always crush the pea into the smallest possible size before feeding him

 

[Menagerie]

That's a good note to have to yourself Glad to hear your little pal is doing well.

 

[oscarbreeder]

Good idea.
You wouldnt want your fish to choke.

 

[An t-iasg]

I did the exact same thing! I gave my betta a piece that was too big. Actually I was trying to break off a little piece for him and the half of the pea chunk fell into the tank. It started to fall to the bottom rapidly so I thought that the betta couldn't catch it. But he did, and he swam around for awhile, "chewing", and trying to get more into his mouth. I guess once they have some food, their instincts are not going to let them drop it!

Anyway, my betta was fine after awhile too. But now, when I peel the pea, I break it into tiny pieces about as big as their Hikari pellets. I use a little paring knife to cut the pea. They eat it quickly since it resembles their pellet food, and I don't have to worry about them anymore!

 

[mikezilla]

peas? just curious why you feed your betta peas.

 

[swanandmokashi]

peas help them with digestion .They need veggies once in a while any ways as they don't get all their nutrients in the processed food.

Just cook them in the microwave, peel them SMASH THEM and feed it to him. Bettas are picky eaters, is what I have heard(my betta has not shown that yet) , so it may take time before the betta starts eating it.

 

[mikezilla]

peas help them with digestion .They need veggies once in a while any ways as they don't get all their nutrients in the processed food.

Just cook them in the microwave, peel them SMASH THEM and feed it to him. Bettas are picky eaters, is what I have heard(my betta has not shown that yet) , so it may take time before the betta starts eating it.

i don't want to sound like a jerk, but bettas do not need veggies. bettas are carnivores. if you want to supplement your betta's diet i'd suggest a frozen food.
Mosquito larva is the real true betta food. Bettas eat tons of them in the rice paddies of Thailand.
bettas also appreciate live or frozen brine shrimp.

 

[swanandmokashi]

peas help them with digestion .They need veggies once in a while any ways as they don't get all their nutrients in the processed food.

Just cook them in the microwave, peel them SMASH THEM and feed it to him. Bettas are picky eaters, is what I have heard(my betta has not shown that yet) , so it may take time before the betta starts eating it.

i don't want to sound like a jerk, but bettas do not need veggies. bettas are carnivores. if you want to supplement your betta's diet i'd suggest a frozen food.
Mosquito larva is the real true betta food. Bettas eat tons of them in the rice paddies of Thailand.
bettas also appreciate live or frozen brine shrimp.

http://www.bettatalk.com/answer125.htm

 

[swanandmokashi]

found another one ! could not resist :
http://www.mushi.petfish.net/constipation.html

 

[mikezilla]

found another one ! could not resist :
http://www.mushi.petfish.net/constipation.html

edited by reefrunner69, this portion of your post is in violation of the User Aqreemant of this site.

IF it's constipated, a pea wouldn't be a bad thing. it just sounded like this is a regular thing for you. and i was saying if it is supposed to be a "treat" make it a good one.

since we are sharing links, here is one on real betta foods. http://www.bettatalk.com/food.htm

 

[swanandmokashi]

IF it's constipated, a pea wouldn't be a bad thing.

So you want to wait till its constipated ?

 

[mikezilla]

you obviously know all there is to know about bettas. they could use someone like you in the ibc.

 

[madasafish]

Grr... enough aggression.

.............chill...................

 

[TankGirl]

Allrighty now, let's refrain from name-calling in this discussion.

There are tons of topics that aquarists feel strongly about and don't agree on, and I think it is safe to say that there are many, many happy bettas out there who never saw a pea, and many who eat them regularly with no ill-effects. Two schools of thought, so let's break and go to our corners.

 

[swanandmokashi]

Allrighty now, let's refrain from name-calling in this discussion.

There are tons of topics that aquarists feel strongly about and don't agree on, and I think it is safe to say that there are many, many happy bettas out there who never saw a pea, and many who eat them regularly with no ill-effects. Two schools of thought, so let's break and go to our corners.

I agree .. my betta seems happy with it , so I guess I will continue my way . Hardly care about anything else than my precious

 

[An t-iasg]

Hardly care about anything else than my precious

I feel the same way!

But seriously, swanandmokashi is a very conscientious betta keeper!

 

[rallycat]

I used to feed my goldfish peas too, and the exact same thing happened! I dropped them in and they chowed down, but one kept on chewing. But once he got it down it came back to haunt him anyway, because he did get a little bit plugged up.

 

[swanandmokashi]

But seriously, swanandmokashi is a very conscientious betta keeper!

Ahha thank you , you know I could not have been but for you and the other nice folks on this site

 

[An t-iasg]

You're welcome! (and thanks for the nice comment!) But you did your research about the tank, water flow, food, etc, and did what was right for your little buddy