Betta tank again

[Larry Blanchard]

Well, as I mentioned, my divided betta tank is up and running. After 5
days I tested for ammonia and nitrites and they were both zero. That
Eco-complete gravel must really work.

The two bettas spend a lot of time flaring at each other through the
divider, but they're not battering at the divider trying to get through
so I assume the flaring is not hurting anything. Maybe even keeps them
active.

BTW, I've got the temperature at 75F and they're a lot more active than
the ones I see kept at room temperature.

But now I have a feeding problem. I've been feeding pellets, about 3 or
4 to each fish twice a day. The bottle says 6-8, but that seems a bit
much for my small bettas. Anyway, after eating them OK for the 1st 3
days, they're taking them in and spitting them out yesterday and today.

So, what type and brand do you betta fanciers out there suggest?

Is there an actual floating pellet that won't sink even after surface
tension is broken?

I also got some frozen brine shrimp, thawed out a few, and gave each
fish a couple. They didn't like those either. Maybe they're just in a
snit about something, but I'd like to try a different food to see.

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[Tony Volk]

I'm not a betta expert, but it could be that their focus on aggressive
interactions with each other is taking away from their hunger. Then again,
it's also quite possible that like many fish, they were under-fed at the pet
store and just enjoyed a nice 3-day banquet before taking a break.

Tony

"Larry Blanchard" > wrote in message
...
> Well, as I mentioned, my divided betta tank is up and running. After 5
> days I tested for ammonia and nitrites and they were both zero. That
> Eco-complete gravel must really work.
>
> The two bettas spend a lot of time flaring at each other through the
> divider, but they're not battering at the divider trying to get through
> so I assume the flaring is not hurting anything. Maybe even keeps them
> active.
>
> BTW, I've got the temperature at 75F and they're a lot more active than
> the ones I see kept at room temperature.
>
> But now I have a feeding problem. I've been feeding pellets, about 3 or
> 4 to each fish twice a day. The bottle says 6-8, but that seems a bit
> much for my small bettas. Anyway, after eating them OK for the 1st 3
> days, they're taking them in and spitting them out yesterday and today.
>
> So, what type and brand do you betta fanciers out there suggest?
>
> Is there an actual floating pellet that won't sink even after surface
> tension is broken?
>
> I also got some frozen brine shrimp, thawed out a few, and gave each
> fish a couple. They didn't like those either. Maybe they're just in a
> snit about something, but I'd like to try a different food to see.
>
> --
> Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[John D. Goulden]

> The two bettas spend a lot of time flaring at each other through the
> divider, but they're not battering at the divider trying to get through
> so I assume the flaring is not hurting anything. Maybe even keeps them
> active.

This is fine. I assume they both have five or so gallons to work with and
can get away from one another if they wish. My m/f pair (also in a divided
10) spend most of their time at the divider as well and seem to enjoy quite
a bit of flirting and flaring. If she gets nervous she just swims into her
cover area, then comes back for more a while later. I have heard that male
bettas will actually sulk if their "flare buddy" is removed.

> But now I have a feeding problem. I've been feeding pellets, about 3 or
> 4 to each fish twice a day. The bottle says 6-8, but that seems a bit
> much for my small bettas. Anyway, after eating them OK for the 1st 3
> days, they're taking them in and spitting them out yesterday and today.

In my (admittedly limited) experience bettas are notoriously picky eaters.
My wife had one that wouldn't eat anything she tried for over three weeks -
we were convinced that the stupid fish would rather starve than eat.
Fortunately, we finally found a betta pellet that he liked. For mine I
rotate through several different types of betta food (some flakes, some
pellets, some freeze-dried critters - mostly rejects from my wife's betta)
just to make sure they don't get too spoiled. They adore bloodworms, so I
save those for a weekend treat. Anyway, your best bet is to try a few things
until you find one (or more) that they like. BTW 3-4 pellets twice a day is
a lot of food for a betta (speaking as one who routinely overfeeds his
fish). You might cut that in half and see how they do. It's really hard to
starve a fish.

--
John Goulden

[Eric Schreiber]

Larry Blanchard wrote:

> The two bettas spend a lot of time flaring at each other through the
> divider, but they're not battering at the divider trying to get
> through so I assume the flaring is not hurting anything. Maybe even
> keeps them active.

Eventually they'll settle down a bit. They'll still flare, but not
constantly. You mentioned that it's a heavily planted tank, so they've
probably got plenty of places they can be out of each others' sight
when they want, too.

> So, what type and brand do you betta fanciers out there suggest?

All four of mine like Top Fin Betta Bits, and they also enjoy the
occasional Freeze-Dried Bloodworms, also from Top Fin. In the past I've
also had good results with Wardley's Tropical Crumbles.

As a real treat, this past summer I fed them mosquitos every few days.
We have a LOT of bloodsuckers in this area, and the Bettas were very
enthusiastic about eating them.


--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

[IDzine01]

It's not at all uncommon for bettas to do the "pahtooie effect" with
dry pellet or flake food. You have to remember these foods don't at all
resemble their natural diet. [Yes, even the ones that advertise "for
bettas"]

I would recommend feeding frozen or live foods that are high in protein
and that come from a reputable manufacturer or in the case of live
foods, from an LFS you can trust. There are many that are great for
bettas. Here's a quick list:

bloodworms, black worms, grindal worms, white worms, glass worms,
wingless or flightless fruit flies, beef heart, mysis shrimp, daphnia,
brine shrimp, tubifex worms (frozen only) and there are others...

Some bettas are pickier then others and any food may take time for a
betta to get used to, but keep offering it over several days and they
will soon realize it's food and it's good.

The reason I recommend live or frozen foods is because the dry pellets
tend to cause digestive problems like bloating, constipation or swim
bladder disorders. These foods mostly contain fillers that are
indigestible to bettas and just end up back in your water mucking it
up. If you must feed pellets, I would recommend Bio-Gold by Hikari.
They are small and tend to swell with water less then the other brands
which means less instances of digestive problems. As with any pellet
food, you should soak them for about 10 minutes in a cup of tank water
before feeding them to your fish so that they expand fully outside of
the betta's digestive track. Also, buy the smallest container you can
find. These pellet and flake foods are fortified with vitamins but they
dissipate quickly after opening the container. After 1 - 2 months, it's
best to buy a new batch.

[Larry Blanchard]

In article >, says...
>
> But now I have a feeding problem. I've been feeding pellets, about 3 or
> 4 to each fish twice a day. The bottle says 6-8, but that seems a bit
> much for my small bettas. Anyway, after eating them OK for the 1st 3
> days, they're taking them in and spitting them out yesterday and today.
>
Thanks to all for their responses. You've given me some things to try
and I will try them.

My previous fish experience has been with goldfish and they'll
devour anything with gusto!

One of you mentioned mosquitoes. We live in Eastern Washington right on
the Spokane River and if we see 3 or 4 mosquitoes a summer it's a bad
year. I have no explanation for that, but it kind of rules out local
mosquitoes as a betta food :-).

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[Eric Schreiber]

Larry Blanchard wrote:

> One of you mentioned mosquitoes. We live in Eastern Washington right
> on the Spokane River and if we see 3 or 4 mosquitoes a summer it's a
> bad year. I have no explanation for that, but it kind of rules out
> local mosquitoes as a betta food :-).

Dang, must be nice. Our local population is capable of desanguinating a
cow in under ten minutes on even a windy day.


--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com

[Larry Blanchard]

In article >, "Eric Schreiber" <eric
at ericschreiber dot com> says...
> Larry Blanchard wrote:
>
> > One of you mentioned mosquitoes. We live in Eastern Washington right
> > on the Spokane River and if we see 3 or 4 mosquitoes a summer it's a
> > bad year.
>
> Dang, must be nice. Our local population is capable of desanguinating a
> cow in under ten minutes on even a windy day.
>
And some other sections of Spokane, away from the river, do have lots.
Go figure!

The river is fast-flowing, but there are backwaters and shallows just
like any river. Maybe we have some very hungry fish :-).

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description