# Can i feed my betta sweet peas?



## Mabin (Jul 21, 2015)

I just bought some frozen sweet peas for my betta fish to eat but i don't know if they can eat it. Because people feed them green peas not sweet peas. So i want to give him some sweet peas because he hasn't been pooping. So is it safe to feed a betta frozen SWEET peas?


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

People used to feed bettas peas as an aid for constipation. But these days the common opinion is that feeding peas to bettas is a bad idea since they can't digest it. I would suggest not feeding peas at all. If your betta has constipation issues you could feed frozen daphnia instead. 

The best thing to feed your betta to provide the best nutrition and to avoid constipation altogether is a high quality pellet food, like New Life Spectrum or Omega One, and don't overfeed.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

+1 BettaBeau


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Agree with that is stated above. Betta splendens are carnivores, not omnivores, its best to use daphnia to help constipation.


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## Mabin (Jul 21, 2015)

BettaBeau said:


> People used to feed bettas peas as an aid for constipation. But these days the common opinion is that feeding peas to bettas is a bad idea since they can't digest it. I would suggest not feeding peas at all. If your betta has constipation issues you could feed frozen daphnia instead.
> 
> The best thing to feed your betta to provide the best nutrition and to avoid constipation altogether is a high quality pellet food, like New Life Spectrum or Omega One, and don't overfeed.


Oh no! I just fed him some peas before coming here to check! Will he be okay I'm really worried D: and where can I get frozen daphnia? Will he be okay? Also I fed him the pea without the skin on it. People say they can digest he inside of it. Please tell me


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## Revosok (Aug 11, 2015)

Some peas? First of all, I concur with BettaBeau; second of all if you are desperate and have no other options, most people cut in pea into fourths, then feed their betta one fourth.


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

He should be okay, just don't feed peas to him again.


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## Mabin (Jul 21, 2015)

So you're just saying it's not healthy for him? Because at the moment i really have no other option and he's not pooping at all. I wont have any money to go out and buy anything else for more then two months. I just want to know if it will hurt him in any way and if it actually helps. Please help!


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

It could possibly push his poop out. The worrying thing is since they don't digest it, if the piece is too big, it could rupture the digestive tract. He should be okay, but I wouldn't chance it again. If you can't find daphnia, you can fast him for a few days and see if it helps.

If he gets constipated a lot, I would try to find the root cause. Is the food a low quality food with lots of fillers? Does he have a deformity or double tail genes? He may benefit from a low food diet or finding higher quality food.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You can also flare him several times a day until he poops. The act of flaring seems to get things moving with most Betta.


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## Mabin (Jul 21, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> You can also flare him several times a day until he poops. The act of flaring seems to get things moving with most Betta.


Well i have tried to make him flare with a mirror and he never flares! I have never seen him flare for the four months i had him. Maybe he isn't as aggressive as other bettas.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Some never flare for mirrors. My Mr. Fish ran away from mirrors, but he ended up being aggressive with actual fish in his territory.


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## Monterey (Sep 27, 2015)

I am an admitted newbie… and advice from all you guys saved my beloved Henry's life!!!! I have to say, however, that the biggest treat imaginable... (judging by his behavior before and after) is… half of a shelled, cooked, pea. Henry is a carnivore, of course. but he loves his veggies!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

A tiny amount of a shelled pea will not hurt a Betta. Just don't give them a piece any larger than the head of a pin. For donkey's years that's all we had to treat constipation and, as I have said before, I never killed a Betta but I sure did cure a bunch of them. That being said, I do not recommend peas as there are better alternatives like frozen Daphnia.

I have found since switching to New Life Spectrum/Omega One several years ago I haven't had problems with Betta being constipated.


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## Kyle15 (Apr 22, 2015)

The BEST alternative.

Use a 1/2 tsp of ES every gallon of water, if constipation gets to the letter stage which is SBD


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## peeptoad (Jul 19, 2013)

You could also try an epsom salt bath as long as the epsom salts are plain, unscented salts. 1 tablespoon per gallon, leave him in there for 15 minutes and then put him back in his tank. 
I haven't tried this myself, but it is supposed to help constipation and SBD.

eta: nevermind, Kyle got it first!


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

I think all the points have been covered:

--daphnia or brine shrimp (small pea bit if you must)
--flare the poop out of him (get a bigger mirror, one of those dollar store make-up mirrors) Keep trying. Sometimes they need to learn how.
--raise the temperature a few degrees to raise his metabolism
--fast for a week (it won't hurt him)
--upgrade his diet
--epsom salt dose or baths (but only if it devolves into SBD)

Google "swim bladder." It's really interesting how they work.


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