Every animal needs to be taken care of in fairly specific ways and it’s good to know when you are overfeeding or underfeeding an animal to make sure that you are giving them all the nutrition they need. We’ve been keeping Bettas for about 2 years now, and have tried a few different combinations of feeds as well as different amounts. I thought I’d share what’s been working for us to help you figure out if it works for you too.
The Bettas Stomach
It’s important to know how big your Betta’s stomach is, especially because you really need to make sure you don’t overfeed them so they don’t bloat and start floating upside down. Bettas have fairly small stomachs, around the same size of their eye. So you can immediately tell that you won’t be feeding them much.
How Many Pellets Should I feed?
Well, this is going to depend on how big your pellets are and how much they expand when wet. Lots of experts recommend you presoak the pellets to see how large they expand, but on average you will be feeding 3-6 pellets at a time. This can be done once or twice a day dependant on your Bettas needs. We personally feed 6 pellets once a day, especially as Blub is living in a smaller tank and while he’s usually swimming around, he doesn’t overexert like a fish in a 5 or 10 gallon would. The more exercise your Betta gets, the more he will want to eat, but remember this doesn’t mean you should go past a 12-pellet limit for the day, but that you should ration their food around the day.
Increasing or Reducing Your Bettas Food & Left Over Food
Make sure you’re watching your Betta see how fast he or she is eating their food. If your Betta doesn’t finish all of their food within minutes consider reducing the amount you’re feeding them. Spoiled food doesn’t do a Betta good and will increase the toxicity of the water they live in making it more acidic than they want/need. If food is left over make sure you are scooping it out with a net. Try not to let it sink to the bottom, especially because it will be difficult to get without doing a 100% water change.
I don’t feed Pellets, I feed Brine Shrimp, how much do I feed?
Awesome that you can find Brine Shrimp! We find it really difficult in our area and it tends to be a treat for our little one. But to your question! You can feed about one Brine Shrimp per feeding, as Brine fish have more nutrients than pellets. They are also much larger than pellets.
I heard you should fast your Betta is this true?
Yessir! We fast our Betta once a week. This is very important for bladder health. Remember: Bettas can live for 2 weeks with no food, however, you’re not going to want to starve that Betta for too long.
So much basic knowledge about fish care that I had no clue about!
Glad to be able to share it with you <3