# Betta Diet and Nutrition Guide.



## bettaisbetter (Jan 25, 2013)

Like all living creatures, they need their source of energy; food.​ Wolves eat caribou, and caterpillars eat leaves. But what about bettas? They’re carnivores, like lions and sharks. Their most important nutrient needed is protein. In the wild, their food supply is mainly made out of mosquito larvae, midge larvae, eggs, and the occasional flying insect landing accidentally on the water’s surface. Our domesticated bettas however, mainly cannot get these foods due to the owner’s disability from their living climate if they aren’t in a tropical country. 
That’s why there are betta pellets and flakes in stores. They supposedly have the necessary nutrients our betta splendens need to survive. 

*Whole Foods, Meals, and Fillers.*
The best out of these are whole foods. These are the best parts of the fish, the manufacturers don’t include the fats or veins (i.e. whole salmon). Next, the meal by-products. These aren’t the best parts of the fish, they’re the leftover pieces of the human bought ones. These however, are better than the fillers (i.e. fish meal). And finally, the cheap fillers. The main purpose of these are to boost the protein content of the food. It’s protein yes, but it’s not healthy for your betta. It’s like eating a pepperoni from a pizza with oils. Not healthy, but there is protein (i.e wheat gluten). 
To conclude; whole halibut is a good high-protein ingredient. Why? The main body is used, and it’s full flesh. Why should your betta eat fake protein wheats, instead of whole fish? It will be unhealthy for your betta, and his/her health. The first 3 ingredients of a good food should be whole fish or whole *** meal.

*Different Foods. *
Staple - Which is better between pellets and flakes? Pellets, mostly. Flakes can cause bloating and most brands of betta flakes don’t have good ingredients. They’re also hard to measure out because the sizes vary. Pellets however, are easier to measure out and they’re the ones who have the best ingredients. These brands are recommended (note: listed from great to okay) : Golden Pearl, New Life Spectrum, Attison’s Betta Pro, and finally Omega One. These brands *aren’t* recommended: Aqueon, Top Fin, Tetra, Wardley’s, and Hikari. 

FD (Freeze Dried) – These foods are known to cause bloat to bettas. FD foods are literally live foods treated, sun dried, and soaked with vitamins. It is recommended to soak FD foods before feeding due to the high bloat tendency which can lead to internal blockage and parasite problems. 

Frozen – These foods were treated and frozen . These are one of the best treats to give to bettas as it usually used to condition breeding pairs and they’re just live foods except frozen. Frozen foods can sometimes bring in parasites so you might need to get a piece out and thaw in hot, conditioned water. Most common frozen foods are bloodworms, BBS, daphnia, and beefheart.

Live – The best of treats, and can be staple if there is a surplus. These foods are nutrient packed and remind these fish of their wild instincts. These have the highest parasite intro rate so wash under water before feeding. Not so recommended for queasy fish owners. Watch for pesticides if attracted from the wild in apartment/town house neighborhoods.

*Variety and Schedule.*
As all animals need, they need all the essential nutrients. However, to get these nutrients, they need to get them from different organisms. Same goes with these fish, a varied diet is key to anyone’s diet. It’s like a bearded dragon eating mealworms for protein, and dusted with calcium dust. And veggies for their fiber.
Betta fish as mentioned multiple times eat meat. Why not give them bloodworms time to time instead of pellets? And maybe some BBS or daphnia to go with that?

They also get bored sometimes. Won’t you be bored if you eat the same breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day? I would be, so should you. Getting foods from multiple sources will increase fish stimulation and enlighten them. Plus, add in some nutrients the usual pellets don’t provide.

I feed pellets 4 days a week, treats 2 days a week, and fasting 1 day a week. It always depends on you and your fish.

*Peas.*
Betta fish are carnivores, why give them vegetables? Peas are usually for goldfish. It is a myth that bettas like peas and they’re a “natural laxative”. Based on their natural food, they don’t seem to be great for them IMO. You don’t simply find peas in rice paddies, do you? In fact, these “laxatives” can actually turn it to the worse. 
A betta’s digestive tract isn’t made for rough vegetables. Peas can actually block your fish’s tract and endanger it more. Some people have success with this laxative method, I’m not saying it’s that bad. But I’m not saying it’s really great either. If it works, the peas will push the blocked food in the tract outside. If you do choose this method, feed a VERY SMALL piece and he should be a-okay. 

*Fasting and Constipation.*
Sometimes your fish may get a little constipated due to overfeeding or just their natural body system. The best method to cure this is to fast IME. Fasting means to not feed your betta, I actually recommend this 1 day per week just to let your fish clear its system. This way the system can focus on the laying food instead of digesting even more. If this method doesn’t work, frozen daphnia is a real natural laxative. You can find this in pet stores or the LFS. 

*Overfeeding, Underfeeding, and How Much to Feed.*
It’s always better to underfeed than overfeed. Overfeeding will cause constipation which will be a bit hard on the fish. Underfeeding will be easier to solve, just feed a little bit more. IME/IMO, it’s best to feed the fish 2-3 pellets two times a day for staple. This will depend on the overall size of the pellet but this should work for a general pellet type. For flakes, I usually feed 2 big pieces. For treats, 2-3 pieces should be enough.


----------



## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Whole foods DO include the fats and veins, because it is the WHOLE animal. It is still good though, of course. Fish eating fish in the wild eat the whole thing too 

The ideal level of protein for a betta's health and well being is 35% 

Betta fish need extenders(carbs) in their food, usually in the form of some kind of grain. This allows them to use some of the protein for muscle growth/maintenance as well as energy, while the carbs are used for just energy.

EDIT: IMO, the first three ingredients don't have to be meats to be good, but certainly at least the first ingredient does...


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I've always heard if you have a high quality meal product listed as your first few ingredients, it can be better than having a whole meat product listed first. 

This is because ingredients are often listed based on weight, and if the water content is removed from the whole meat product it may actually be further down the ingredient list than it otherwise would be. Also I saw mentioned somewhere that the ratio of protein to water is higher in meal ingredients. 

I agree though that if it only gives you a generic by-product meal then it is probably not a quality food.


----------



## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

LittleBettaFish said:


> I've always heard if you have a high quality meal product listed as your first few ingredients, it can be better than having a whole meat product listed first.
> 
> This is because ingredients are often listed based on weight, and if the water content is removed from the whole meat product it may actually be further down the ingredient list than it otherwise would be. Also I saw mentioned somewhere that the ratio of protein to water is higher in meal ingredients.
> 
> I agree though that if it only gives you a generic by-product meal then it is probably not a quality food.


I think she was talking about whole meals...not sure though


----------



## Option (Oct 20, 2012)

Interesting, this is the first time I've heard that peas are a myth. Luckily I hadn't tried giving peas to mine yet.


----------



## bettaisbetter (Jan 25, 2013)

Oh, alright. Too bad edit button is gone. /: I thought the whole foods were just the best parts. Well, I really don't think fats and veins are healthy, lol. I always knew by products were bad, I thought the ingredients are listed from most used to least?


----------



## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

bettaisbetter said:


> Oh, alright. Too bad edit button is gone. /: I thought the whole foods were just the best parts. Well, I really don't think fats and veins are healthy, lol. I always knew by products were bad, I thought the ingredients are listed from most used to least?


Don't worry, I think it got your point across 

The fats and veins are healthy as part of the whole animal. Organ meats can be very high in vitamins and although too much fat is bad, every animal (at least meat eaters) need a certain amount of fats in their diet. So you are still right by saying whole meat meals are the best


----------



## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Every animal needs fat- we need fats to produce some hormones and for fuel, for example. And no one is there in the wild to cut off the veins haha. Personally, I have had a lot of success with peas. Otherwise, very well written and informational.


----------



## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

MattsBettas said:


> Every animal needs fat- we need fats to produce some hormones and for fuel, for example. And no one is there in the wild to cut off the veins haha. Personally, I have had a lot of success with peas. Otherwise, very well written and informational.


I basically just said that lol. I feel like everyone just ignores my posts. I try to be helpful and give valuable advice, and then someone else comes alomg right after me and says what I just said and they are the one that gets thanked.

P.S.: I didn't mean to attack you, Matts, it has just been happening a lot and I often feel invisible and like what I say never matters to people...


----------



## Fishybitty (Dec 29, 2012)

Very helpful! Thank you


----------



## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

finnfinnfriend said:


> I basically just said that lol. I feel like everyone just ignores my posts. I try to be helpful and give valuable advice, and then someone else comes alomg right after me and says what I just said and they are the one that gets thanked.
> 
> P.S.: I didn't mean to attack you, Matts, it has just been happening a lot and I often feel invisible and like what I say never matters to people...


*hug*


----------



## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Myates said:


> *hug*


Thank you


----------



## Otterfun (Dec 31, 2012)

Thanks for the summary.

I got these links from New Life Science (NLS) that talks about feeding and fish food, etc. Please take a moment to read it as it addresses 75% of all the posts on food and feeding here. Now I know why they gave garlic and vegetables in the food.

On Feeding and Other Nutrients:
http://nlsfishfood.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=63&limit=1&limitstart=8

Understanding Fish Food Labels:
http://nlsfishfood.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=63&limit=1&limitstart=1


----------

