Betta Keeps Spitting out Food... is he sick?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
KuhliCray

KuhliCray

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Nov 21, 2017
Messages
95
Location
California
About 2 months ago, I got a handsome veiltail betta in my spare 2 gallon tank. I am gonna upgrade it, don't come swarming at me with info... anyways, he wasn't really interested in food for the first week. That was understandable. After a week, he showed a tiny interest, but he spat the food out. They were small and soft flakes, so I assumed he didn't like the flavor. He seldom ate any flakes that I could see. I ordered some floating pellets by TetraBetta. He still spits these out, even though these pellets are extremely soft and small! The coloration and texture of the food isthat of a cooked carrot. He does eat the pellets, but it takes him overnight to eat them all. He doesn't like to eat in front of me. I was wondering, is something about me or the food making him uncomfortable? He is lethargic, but once again I am upgrading to a 5 gallon after the holidays. Any help? Is he sick?
 
Try some frozen blood worm, if any of my better are being picky or won't eat because they are ill they can never resist bloodworm. Hopefully that will kick start his appetite and you can reintroduce the pellets
 
KuhliCray said:
About 2 months ago, I got a handsome veiltail betta in my spare 2 gallon tank. I am gonna upgrade it, don't come swarming at me with info... anyways, he wasn't really interested in food for the first week. That was understandable. After a week, he showed a tiny interest, but he spat the food out. They were small and soft flakes, so I assumed he didn't like the flavor. He seldom ate any flakes that I could see. I ordered some floating pellets by TetraBetta. He still spits these out, even though these pellets are extremely soft and small! The coloration and texture of the food isthat of a cooked carrot. He does eat the pellets, but it takes him overnight to eat them all. He doesn't like to eat in front of me. I was wondering, is something about me or the food making him uncomfortable? He is lethargic, but once again I am upgrading to a 5 gallon after the holidays. Any help? Is he sick?
Click to expand...
He/she could be sick not eating is a bad sign especially after so long, have you tried garlic juice? You can make your own out of a glove of garlic soak pellets in it fish go crazy, I have garlic guard made by seachem for my picky eaters but they all love the new life spectrum I just got, plus garlic helps build their immune system, does he show signs of being sick, breathing heavily, staying at the surface besides lethargic? have you seen him/her go poop? I would try a few blood worms to start with if he eats I would go with a 1/8th-1/16th of a cube, they aren't a replacement for fish food they are a treat, you could do a few pellets with some mixed in blood worms to see if he/she will eat it that way. If that don't work maybe he /she has internal parasites)/worms which I would dose praziquantel (prazipro) or api general cure, (praziquantel /Metronidazole)
 
Potluck said:
He/she could be sick not eating is a bad sign especially after so long, have you tried garlic juice? You can make your own out of a glove of garlic soak pellets in it fish go crazy, I have garlic guard made by seachem for my picky eaters but they all love the new life spectrum I just got, plus garlic helps build their immune system, does he show signs of being sick, breathing heavily, staying at the surface besides lethargic? have you seen him/her go poop? I would try a few blood worms to start with if he eats I would go with a 1/8th-1/16th of a cube, they aren't a replacement for fish food they are a treat, you could do a few pellets with some mixed in blood worms to see if he/she will eat it that way. If that don't work maybe he /she has internal parasites)/worms which I would dose praziquantel (prazipro) or api general cure, (praziquantel /Metronidazole)
Click to expand...



No signs of stress, although I haven't seen him poop. He eats when I'm gone though. Maybe he's scared of me somehow, but then that wouldnt explain his excitement in receiving food before spitting it out.
EDIT:
I don't have bloodworms or garlic juice... Anything else? My dad won't let me buy anything until after Christmas, so maybe some more common kitchen items?
 
KuhliCray said:
No signs of stress, although I haven't seen him poop. He eats when I'm gone though. Maybe he's scared of me somehow, but then that wouldnt explain his excitement in receiving food before spitting it out.
EDIT:
I don't have bloodworms or garlic juice... Anything else? My dad won't let me buy anything until after Christmas, so maybe some more common kitchen items?
Click to expand...
A clove of garlic if you have fresh garlic cloves (not powder or minced in the jar) , you can make your own garlic juice to presoak the food into, it is messy and smelly but fish for some reason love garlic, There's a few videos on YouTube of how to make it but what you do is peel the garlic, grate it on a zest grater add it to a bit of RO water or tank water (not tap water) and then add some of the mixture to the food and let it soak before feeding (for flake food about a min, for pellets about 5-10)

There's pre-made garlic guard by seachem its not super expensive, it might just be the food you're feeding what brand food as a quality food is important as well as a variety of different foods, I feed my rainbows 4 different things, new life spectrum optimum flake food, hikari freeze dried tubifex, freeze dried brine shrimp, hikari frozen blood worms, and once a week blanched peas.
 
Potluck said:
A clove of garlic if you have fresh garlic cloves (not powder or minced in the jar) , you can make your own garlic juice to presoak the food into, it is messy and smelly but fish for some reason love garlic, There's a few videos on YouTube of how to make it but what you do is peel the garlic, grate it on a zest grater add it to a bit of RO water or tank water (not tap water) and then add some of the mixture to the food and let it soak before feeding (for flake food about a min, for pellets about 5-10)

There's pre-made garlic guard by seachem its not super expensive, it might just be the food you're feeding what brand food as a quality food is important as well as a variety of different foods, I feed my rainbows 4 different things, new life spectrum optimum flake food, hikari freeze dried tubifex, freeze dried brine shrimp, hikari frozen blood worms, and once a week blanched peas.
Click to expand...



Okay thank you! I will pick up some garlic at the store and watch that video.
 
I fed him pellets soaked in garlic mixture. He ate the garlic particles and sucked the garlic flavor off the pellets and spat them out. My betta is smart...
 
KuhliCray said:
I fed him pellets soaked in garlic mixture. He ate the garlic particles and sucked the garlic flavor off the pellets and spat them out. My betta is smart...
Click to expand...
Lol, silly fish... Does he /she look skinny like rotting away from starvation also bettas are picky eaters it might just be the brand pellet you're feeding, I'll do some research and get back to you.
 
Potluck said:
Lol, silly fish... Does he /she look skinny like rotting away from starvation also bettas are picky eaters it might just be the brand pellet you're feeding, I'll do some research and get back to you.
Click to expand...



He looks healthy. He is responsive to food but spits it out. He is very picky, I have tried every food I have.
 
I feed my bettas Atisons Betta Pro by ocean nutrition. None of them can resist it and if I put any other food in they just look at me until I give them the atison pellets.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
Betta keeps spitting food!
Replies
3
Views
384
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
2
Sick Betta
Replies
9
Views
778
Colin_T
C
Y
Betta keeps getting fungus
Replies
7
Views
1K
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
Z
Sudden behaviour change angelfish
Replies
10
Views
2K
Colin_T
C
W
Depressed Pearl Gourami?
Replies
4
Views
1K
Autumnsky
Autumnsky

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom