Question for the betta experts

[Wy Renegade]

Ok so the students in my class have been asked to take over the feeding of another teachers Betta. Only fish in what is about a 5 gallon betta column tank. The fish and tank are both at least two years old. My question is, how much food and how often. We're feeding a quality flake food to the other fish, is this good also for the betta? Thanks in advance.

 

[Shadey]

Bettas are primarily carnivores, so flakes usually aren't that great for them. Get some betta pellets, and follow the instructions on the can. Usually a couple pellets a day, depending on their size. A betta's stomach is about as big as his eye. One day in seven, don't feed at all. You can supplement with things like dried / frozen bloodworms/daphnia/tubifex/brine shrimp occasionally.

Try to stay away from the pellets they sell in a clear plastic packaging. Exposure to light makes fish food lose its nutritional value faster.

 

[LyndaB]

With that type of environment, you might want to set up a sign off chart or something so that the betta doesn't get overfed.

I fed my bettas once per day, and would switch off between flakes and pellets. They are very negatively affected by overfeeding.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Bettas are primarily carnivores, so flakes usually aren't that great for them. Get some betta pellets, and follow the instructions on the can. Usually a couple pellets a day, depending on their size. A betta's stomach is about as big as his eye. One day in seven, don't feed at all. You can supplement with things like dried / frozen bloodworms/daphnia/tubifex/brine shrimp occasionally.

Try to stay away from the pellets they sell in a clear plastic packaging. Exposure to light makes fish food lose its nutritional value faster.

Excellent info, thank you. I'll try and pick up some pellets. Since I no longer have a LFS anywhere in my vacinity, can you (or anyone) recommend a good online site for food?

With that type of environment, you might want to set up a sign off chart or something so that the betta doesn't get overfed.

I fed my bettas once per day, and would switch off between flakes and pellets. They are very negatively affected by overfeeding.

Thanks, I've assigned only one group of students, so hopefully they can keep track of each other and it won't be an issue. But I will keep the sign up chart in mind.

Since I don't have pellets currently, would I be better off to cut back the flakes to every other day, or should I continue having them feed once/day?

 

[siva]

I recommend Hikari Betta Bio-Gold, for an adult betta feed 3 pellets per day. New Life Spectrum brand is also very good.

I agree a sign off chart is a fantastic idea. Bettas are very prone to bloat, swim bladder disease, and dropsy, so you must not overfeed.

I feed all my bettas every day. Six days a week I rotate between the pellets and thawed frozen foods such as bloodworms and brine shrimp, and feed a few pellet sized peices of shelled blanched pea on the seventh day. This sort of acts as a laxative for them. If you can't do the frozen foods, that will be fine, just be sure to get quality betta pellets. If you can't do the pea, fast on the seventh day.

For as long as you are on the flakes, I do think it's a good idea to feed every other day to prevent bloat, a common side effect from flake.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Excellent, thank you very much. I'll look into ordering some of the Hikari right away.

 

[New]

i feed omega one betta pellets every day (3 pellets)