How to feed a Betta fish

There are two main reasons why your Betta fish may refuse from food: either the food is not suitable, or he is sick in some way.

Of course in most cases betta fish aren't ill, therefore it is advisable that you have a proper menu for your little vibrant creature.

How many times a day are you feeding your betta? You only need to feed him once a day because you should not overfed him as it is extremely bad for bettas.

Betta fish are carnivores, not herbivores, that is, bettas eat meat, not plants. Be sure to include in a daily menu live frozen food (like worms) and flakes. In every pet store, you can find betta fish food. But read the instructions carefully! Remember that in natural wild conditions bettas are used to eat when they can, because they cannot count for a meal each and every day. But domesticated bettas can die from overfeeding.

The stomach of a betta fish is only the size of the eye, so there's no need to empty the full pellet every time you feed your betta.

Bettas can go on for a week without eating at all. It's not recommended but in case you forget to feed him or something, don't panic - your betta is OK and not starving.

To prevent constipation and some other sickness, once a week leave your betta fish without meal. The next day feed him a pea. To do that, take a pea and put it into microwave to cook it up. When ready, take it from the outer shell and you will see two halves of the pea. Take one half, cut it up to Betta's bite size, and feed it to him. Or just squash it. Peas will clean your betta out, because bettas are known as easy to get constipated. Make this step a routine and repeat it once in a week. Write it down to your diary or stick a post note to the betta fish tank.

Bettas are often called "little piggies", and there's a sound reason for that: a betta fish cannot control the amount of food he eats, so it's up to the owner to attend to betta and measure the nutrition. Overfeeding is a very common reason for betta fish diseases.

So resist the urge to feed the betta as much as he wants to eat - be reasonable. Remember that your betta has a stomach the size of his eyeball, and you should feed him accordingly. Get used to feed him 3 or 4 pellets a day, usually at once. This will instruct the betta to stick to the daily regime. You can also spread those pellets across the day if you want to have more play time with your little aquarium pet. Your betta will snap these up and look for more, but it's up to you to be strong and not keep feeding him! Also do not forget to make a fasting day for betta once in a week (say, on Fridays). That is, give him no food at all. This will not hurt the betta, but is an effective means to prevent cosntipation and digestion problems.

You don't have to worry about pH or any of that stuff. Weekly cleanings will take care of water quality and chemicals as long as you don't overfeed and don't let excess food stay in there. Don't forget to remove uneaten food right away.

Betta fish should be fed different kinds of food in order to maintain good health and normal activity. Pellet food in moderation is fine, however, it is recommended that you add some “real” nutrition to his diet as well. Foods such as brine shrimps and bloodworms would make perfect choices (beware though that blood worms may contain bacteria harmful for betta fish). These foods can be bought at most pet stores live or frozen. If you nurture your betta with pellets, three per serving, maximums twice a day is plenty. Bettas are very eager to eat and do not always know when they're filled up nicely. If you feed frozen foods, once it thaws it is in "glob" form, just use your judgment and feed portions that are within reason. No matter how begging he looks wiggling back and forth, don't let him eat more. Overfeeding your betta can lead to diseases which are troublesome for bettas and their owners alike. He will act as though he is starving, but be assured, bettas are little piggies with fins. He is not as hungry as he may be pretending, he is just wanting to eat. You have to be the one in control. It is your responsibility to limit the amount of food.

Some foods like freeze dried (not frozen) blood worms, brine shrimp, any foods of these types should be fed very sparingly and no more than once or twice a week, if fed too much or too often, it can make your betta sick. Freeze dried bloodworms and the like are known to carry ick and other bacterial infections. If fed sparingly as a treat, the chances of them harming your betta are very slim. If fed as a main food source, he will definitely be heading for illness, such as constipation, ick, swim bladder disorder, and the variety of betta fish diseases.

Micro wafers can take a distinguished place in the assortment of betta fish food. First, wafers are easy to feed. Second, wafers are a healthy snack because they contain:

• Spirulina - nice addition to any diet;
• Vitamins - A. D3, E, C;
• Proteins;
• Phosphorus;
• Fiber;

Micro wafers have important advantage over flakes because they tend to sustain a better water quality. This, however, doesn't mean that wafers can replace the variety of other types of betta foods - of course not. But micro wafers support consistent growth and overal health of betta fish.

Bettas readily eat mosquito larva. These insects abound in the nature where bettas live - the rice paddies. Though it's not that easy to find mosquito larva in the Western world unless you have a tank to breed insects specifically to feed your betta.