Wooky Betta Behavior.

[William]

Ever since I dumped my Betta into his new 10gal home, and gave him tankmates, He hasn't seemed to eat.


Well, has tried to eat.. but the wrong things.

He used to be fed Omega One Tropical, and used to eat it like no ones business. However in the new tank he won't even acknowledge the flakes, and instead chases the algae wafers to the bottom of the tank and tries to eat them, he fails at his atempts tho.


Is he just being cooky or should I be concerned?


the HOB filter is turned to absolute lowest possible flowrate for feeding, btw. So he dosn't have to chase it.

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi William,
Your betta has had some adjustments to get used to--first a nice new big tank, then new tankmates. Sometimes they won't eat until they feel more at home and are a little more used to things. Is any other fish in the tank stressing the betta out, as far as you can tell? I bet he'll settle down soon and eat.

I just took the divider out of my tank last night. I used to have 2 bettas, and one died a few weeks ago. I let the remaining betta have the whole tank. I'm sure he likes it, but he may be feeling a little stressed at having this whole tank now. He didn't eat his regular helping of food this morning either. He only ate about half, and ignored the rest.

If your betta still doesn't eat soon, try getting some garlic softgels and putting a pinprick in it, and squeezing a little garlic gel on the food. Garlic is an appetite stimulator for fish. I remember reading that on this forum! See, all the new things you learn! Hopefully he will be OK soon. I'm glad you mentioned that you turned the filter to a low flowrate. Bettas don't like current, and coming from the bowl, he is definitely not used to it. So I bet that he'll be eating in no time as he gets used to things. If not, try the garlic. Hope he's OK!

P.S. How's the new male fiddler, the one with some missing legs? Did he molt and grow them back yet?

 

[William]

The problem isn't that he wont eat, He just decided hes going to eat algae waffers now.


and no, He hasn't molted yet.. but hes getting along just fine.

 

[TankGirl]

I had a betta once that had a minor problem with bloat, and you could see a bulge on his side close to his tail. This was solved with shelled peas, which were gobbled. Maybe yours detects a need for some veggie matter. I have since learned that the betta bloat is relatively common, and quite often fatal, so pop a few peas in there and see if he goes for them.

 

[William]

Hes not bloated, I watch him very carefully, Since I have his new home right beside my bed, three inches from my head

I watch him and his little cory and danio buddies every night as I go to sleep.

 

[AtodaJ]

Do you drop in the Algae wafer at the same time as the other food? I feed my Betta first. He's like a dog and comes right up to the surface begging for food. I drop the food right in front of him and he gobbles it up right away. Maybe if you feed your Betta first like this he'll eat like mine does. Worth a try.

 

[William]

I do feed the Betta his flakes first, But once he hears the Algae Wafers fall in [ which are dropped at the opposite side of the tank ] he rushes to them.

 

[dralarms]

Ok I'm really confused, I thought Betta's needed (or wanted) to be alone in a tank. What is the exception to this? are there certain fish they will tollarate? I have 7 female Betta's in my 55 gal along with come mollies, bleeding hearts, 2 bala sharks, among some others, could I put one of my male Betta's in with them?

 

[An t-iasg]

Male OR female bettas can be in a community tank, as you have with your female bettas, if the tankmates are all compatible, and of course only one male betta per community tank. I don't have any experience with this, as my male betta has always been by himself, or in a divided tank with another male. But I wouldn't introduce a male betta into your community tank with the female bettas. They will fight, and they shouldn't be together except for mating. Then I read you're supposed to remove the female, and let the male take care of the eggs. So, I don't think a male and female betta can live together in a community tank.

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

Depends on the fish. Male bettas will be aggressive towards those they see as a "threat"...so fish of a similar size, with big fins (anyone feel free to correct me here). I'd guess that would include mollies, goldfish, and you'd certainly want to avoid any fin-nippers.

William - my goldfish eat the algae wafers, and in fact, prefer them to their pellet food (flake food is still #1 though lol). Your betta still adjusting to his home...and the wafers are part of the new home. I'd give him a few days. Even so...algae wafers aren't gonna hurt him...just a lot more roughage than he's probably used to! I'd guess that in a couple days, in good carnivore fashion, he'll be hankering for some protein!

 

[AtodaJ]

I do feed the Betta his flakes first, But once he hears the Algae Wafers fall in [ which are dropped at the opposite side of the tank ] he rushes to them.

Don't see a problem then. I'd just feed the Betta first and wait till he's gobbled up quite a bit of it. Then drop in the wafers. If he chases it who cares! He already got his protein.

I agree with others though that he'll probably figure out pretty soon that those wafers aren't worth chasing. If not, enjoy his comical behavior.

 

[William]

He dosn't eat his flakes tho.


and he won't even eat his favourite treat, brine shrimp. :-\

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

but he IS eating? n'est-ce pas?

If he's eating, wouldn't worry. Maybe the algae wafer is his NEW favorite treat! I think what we're trying to say is...if he looks/acts healthy, and is still eating, there is really no need for concern. If he isn't eating at all...you can use that garlic oil to stimulate his appetite. Think of it this way...if you eat steak every day of your life...maybe having a salad is a novelty. The novelty is bound to wear off

 

[William]

I said he tries to eat them, but can't. Their to hard when they first go in and he dosn't care for them after they soften up.

 

[PlatyLady]

I've had Bettas for about six years now, and can say that my males definitely do better alone. I've tried putting a male in with a variety of fish. I've never had a tank bigger than 25 gal, but it never worked out for me. It would always begin well enough, but after awhile, no matter how many plants/hiding places I had, the male would get aggressive and start picking on everyone else. Who knows though, maybe I just have excessively aggressive males!

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

I read what you said, but when some suggestions on using garlic oil to stimulate his appetite for the flakes were posted, you said appetite isn't the problem. Only other thing I can suggest is feeding at different times.

Other than that, I guess i'm adviced out!

Best of luck!

 

[William]

Sorry, I've just been kinda back and forth recently, really sick and on some powerful medications.

Sorry