# Spits out food!



## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

hello im new here 
i got my first betta fish yesterday and i have the hikari bio gold and when i give my betta some he puts it in his mouth and spits it back out and puts it in his mouth and spits it out he does this like 3 or 4 times and then it just floats to the bottom under the rocks -_- 

he swims around alot so i dont think hes sick he is a veiltail male

he also swims to the top and makes bubble nest :3 cute
im using RO water (purified water)
i havnt bought water conditioner :/ 

if he is just being picky what food brand should i buy at petco cause thats all i can go to


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## xMandy (May 21, 2011)

My bettas do this..just their way of eating. If I give my non-bettas pellets (shrimp) they do this as it takes a while to break it up. 
Is it that you think he's having trouble eating it?


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

well is it normal because he does it like 3-4 times and it just floats down and he hasnt eaten anything


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

yojon3000 said:


> hello im new here
> i got my first betta fish yesterday and i have the hikari bio gold and when i give my betta some he puts it in his mouth and spits it back out and puts it in his mouth and spits it out he does this like 3 or 4 times and then it just floats to the bottom under the rocks -_-
> 
> he swims around alot so i dont think hes sick he is a veiltail male
> ...


Hi yojon3000, welcome to the forum.  

Your guy is still settling into his new home so he may be a little fussy about his food. Also, bettas can be very picky about what they eat so if he is eating something different than what they fed him at the pet store, it might take a while for him to come around. Another possibility is his mouth is too small. You can take his pellet and crush it up so it's smaller, but that is kind of hard to do with Hikari pellets as they're pretty small as it is. You can also soak the pellet in garlic juice before feeding him. And finally, a third option to try is soaking the pellet in a little bit of tank water so it gets really soft. This way your guy can just take a bite out of it and not have to try and swallow it whole. 

It might take a few days for him to eat. It took one of my girls the better part of a week before she settled in enough to have an appetite. Feed your guy and if he doesn't eat any food after 10 minutes, remove it so it doesn't dirty up the water. 

Even if your guy isn't picky, I would probably recommend a different kind of food, as Hikari is no longer the same quality it used to be. I like New Life Spectrum Betta formula or Omega Betta Buffet Pellets. I'm 90% sure your Petco will have New Life; mine does. Also, if he doesn't eat, try some frozen or freeze-dried blodworms. Offer him only a small (less than a half inch) bit and see if he'll eat that. 

Do you have a heater for your guy? Bettas love warm water of about 78-80 degrees farenheit. 

I hope he eats for you soon. Don't worry unless he gets lethargic.


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

no i dont have a heater but i have a gecko that dosnt need lights and his cage is 78 or 80f so i think he'll be ok. 
he keeps making bubble nest but the bubles pop when he makes one


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

yojon3000 said:


> no i dont have a heater but i have a gecko that dosnt need lights and his cage is 78 or 80f so i think he'll be ok.
> he keeps making bubble nest but the bubles pop when he makes one


Haha, I imagine it takes practice to build a bubblenest.


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

i tried feeding him again and he still spits it out


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## Irishdancer (Apr 5, 2011)

One of my fish does that sometimes, too, especially when I feed him pellets. He won't eat until the food has had a few minutes to get soggy. 

Bettas can be picky eaters, so if he doesn't start eating soon you can try giving him a different kind of food. Mine really like freeze-dried bloodworms.


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

what are other foods to buy?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

yojon3000 said:


> what are other foods to buy?


Frozen bloodworms are good because you either take a cube or break off a piece and let it thaw a tiny bit, just until you can take one or two worms out. Freeze-dried bloodworms are good, too, but controversial (some think it causes bloat). Try this: New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula .5mm Sinking Pellets. They don't really sink and they're so tiny they look like Folger's Crystals. Just give no more than 6 at a time. If he won't eat those, that eliminates completely the "mouth is too small" theory.


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

Ok thanks but when I try my hikari pellets it soaks and falls under the marble things at the bottom and I can't get them out I cleaned it yesterday but I don't want it to get dirty again how do I take out soaked pellets?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Get a turkey baster. It works like a gravel vacuum. It'll take a bit of practice but you can stick it between the marble and suck out the pellets.


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

i soaked the pellet today and he chews and spits out and then catches it ,chews, spits it out then leaves it alone what do i do


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Try crushing it up. It will probably end up looking like powder but it's worth a try. Does he eat anything at all? Like bloodworms or flakes? I hope something works soon before the little guy wastes away.


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

i havnt tried cause i dont have the money yet >.< but lemme crush it but if he dosnt eat the powder will it dirty the water?


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

okay i tried breaking it up and i think (i think he ate one pellet) not for sure though cause sometimes he has food and a little later he spits it out.

anywho i gave him two more and he spit up each one >:/


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hmm. He's a fussy little guy, isn't he? Is he behaving normally otherwise? Not lethargic or swimming funny? It's more than possible he's still settling into his new habitat. When he eats a pellet and spits it out, does he try and eat it again?


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

yea he tries eating it again

he swims around, to the top and bottom, he makes bubbles in stuff


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

If he keeps trying to eat it, the pellets are most likely too big. When you can afford to (I know, keeping bettas is more expensive than I expected), I'd suggest you get smaller pellets. If you have a Petco nearby, get the New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula .5mm pellets. He'll be able to eat those easily. Just be sure not to feed to many, no more than 6 at a time. It's easy to do because they're so small. Another choice is the Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets but they can be very hard to find.


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

try breaking up the soaked pellets into smaller peices with a toothpick and serve them. you could check what is too big to take without spitting that way. i regularly feed mine soaked pellets with a toothpick to break the pellet into 4 peices.


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

he usually eats some crushed (ithink) then he goes for the other crushed (theyre small) he chews then spits it out then he goes for the others he always spits them out chewed up


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Okay. It's only been less than a week since you got him, right? At this point, I'd say he needs a few days to settle in still and he may not like the Hikari pellets. Continue to try and get him to eat but remove any food he doesn't eat within ten minutes to keep the tank clean. As soon as you can afford to, get a different kind of food like New Life Spectrum Betta Formula Pellets. They are a high-quality food with a lot of fish product and protein in them. Petco sells them usually. If you can't find New Life Spectrum (I think it's about $4.99-$6.99, can't remember but worth the price), try Top Fin Color-Enhancing Betta Bites ($2.49) at Petsmart or Aqueon Betta Pellets (also at Petsmart for $2.99, $2.39 at Petco). If you can't find any of these foods, get some frozen bloodworms. I think they're usually $4.99.


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

okay thanks i went to petco today but going back tonight and heres what they had
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5866511409/in/photostream/

the freezed dried blood worms look good(would my betta eat them?)
or should i get the new life spectrum.
ONE MORE QUESTION
i've been using RO water (purified water) but im thinking of using tap water and water conditioner what is the best water conditioner to buy at petco?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Most bettas will devour freeze-dried bloodworms but there's some difference of opinion on whether or not it's good to feed them those all the time. I'd get the New Life Spectrum first and the bloodworms the next time. 

The two best water conditioners are Seachem Prime and API Stress Coat. I know Petco carries Stress Coat but I don't know if they carry Prime or not. Either one works. I use Stress Coat currently. 

I really hope your guy eats soon for you. Hopefully a different food will do the trick. Hikari hasn't been as tasty to fish since they took away a lot of the fish products in it and replaced it with wheat meal.


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

ok i got the new life spectrum and i think he ate a few (ithink) and i gave him a little more and he chewed them and spit them out :/


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Did he try to eat them after spitting them out? 

What are your water parameters and when was the last time you did a water change?


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

umm yea i think he tried eating some of them again and then he went for the ones at the top i had just changed his water today how do i check it? 

i also got splendid complete betta water conditioner (is this any good?)


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

If you just changed his water, it's probably fine. I haven't heard anything about the Splendid Complete Betta water conditioner but it certainly can't hurt. It sounds like the size may still be an issue for the little guy so you might want to try soaking them in his tank water before feeding. Make them nice and soft. 

If the new food doesn't work, I'm sure you can return it with a receipt even if it's been opened. Most pet stores have a pretty good return policy.


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## yojon3000 (Jun 20, 2011)

:shock: hes eating  how much pellets do i feed him a day?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

If he's not very big, try 2 pellets twice a day. If he's pretty big, 3 pellets. I am so glad he's eating! :redyay: :thumbsup: :blueyay: :welldone: :greenyay:


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## Epsleck (Jun 20, 2011)

Did you try feeding him flakes?


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