Feed a Betta Fish

Betta fish are an excellent option for a home or office aquarium. They’re easy to take care of, they’re more active than most pet fish species, and they’re beautiful. Betta fish are carnivorous so they must be fed meat-based foods and shouldn’t be fed the dry, vegetable-based pellets that are fed to most fish. By understanding the betta fish’s diet and learning how to properly fed it, you can keep your fish alive for a long time.

Steps

Feeding the Right Amount

1. Get an amount the size of its eyeball. A betta’s stomach is roughly the size of its eyeball and should not be fed a meal larger than that at once. This translates to about 3 bloodworms or brine shrimp per feeding. If you feed pellets, this equals about 2 to 3 soaked pellets per feeding. A betta can be fed this amount once or twice a day.
2. Reduce if they aren’t eating it all. If your fish isn’t eating all of its food, reduce the amount you’re feeding them. If you usually feed 4 pellets per fish, try reducing to three for a while. If you notice the fish is eating very quickly, you can increase back to 4.
3. Scoop out uneaten food. Uneaten food can attract bacteria that is bad for the fish. This is especially problematic if the fish eats the food after it has gone bad.
   • Use a small net that you would use to scoop out excrement or transfer the fish to another bowl.
4. Feed it regularly. A betta should be fed every day or nearly every day. If you keep a betta in the office and you can’t feed it on the weekends, it will be just fine as long as you feed him the other five days per week.
   • It takes a betta about 2 weeks to starve to death so if your fish doesn’t eat for a few days due to illness or adjusting to a new home, don’t panic.
5. Add some variety. In the wild, betta fish prey on a variety of smaller animals. Feeding your betta the same type over a long period of time can harm their immune system and cause them to eat less.
   • You can change up the type of food as often as you’d like. Try to feed the betta at least one type of food that is different from what you normally feed it at least once a week.

Picking Out the Right Food

1. Feed it worms. Various species of small aquatic worms make up the core diet of betta fish in the wild. The most common worm for betta fish is the bloodworm which comes live, freeze dried, frozen, or in a gel.
   • You can also use the tubifex worm which comes frozen. Live tubifex often carry parasites or bacteria so they should be avoided.
   • The best live worms to use are white worms, grindal worms, and black worms.
   • These worms are available at most major pet stores.
2. Feed it insects. You can use either live or frozen insects. The best options are daphnia, also known as a water flea, and fruit flies.
   • These insects will be available at most pet stores.
3. Feed it other options. There are various frozen meats that betta fish can also eat. You can use brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, or frozen beef heart. These options will be available at most major pet stores.

Avoiding Improper Feeding

1. Avoid overuse of dry food. This includes dried pellets, flakes or freeze-dried foods. Some fish foods will be marketed as being for Bettas but could still cause digestion problems because of indigestible fillers and a lack of moisture.
   • These pellet foods absorb water and expand in the fish’s stomach 2 or 3 times their original size. Some bettas will have bad reactions, potentially developing problems with constipation or bladder disorders.
2. Soak dried pellets. If dried foods are the only thing available, soak them in a glass of water for a few minutes before feeding them to your Betta. This will expand the pellet to its full size before the Betta digests it.
   • Do not overfeed your Betta and cut its portion if you notice abdominal bloating. You may want to switch to live foods if your Betta is consistently bloated.
3. Don’t always follow the direction. Fish pellets or flake containers often say “Feed what your fish will eat in 5 minutes or until it stops eating.” This does not apply to betta fish. In the wild, their instinct is to eat as much as possible because they don’t know when their next meal is coming.
   • Overfeeding can also lead harm the water quality and cause obesity.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make a Female Betta Community
• Take Care of a Betta Fish
• Cure Betta Fish Diseases
• Breed Betta Fish
• Change Your Betta Fish Water
• Clean a Betta Fish Tank
• Play With Your Betta Fish
• Tell How Old a Betta Fish Is
• Tell if a Betta Fish Is Sick
• Pick a Betta Fish

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What links here

• Clean a Betta Fish Tank
• Help Pet Shop Bettas