# Betta Food



## Mirage23 (Dec 24, 2012)

What are some of your betta's favorite foods? What foods do you like to feed them? I'm doing some research on different betta foods so I'm wondering what you fellow betta owners like to use.


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## lexylex0526 (Dec 27, 2011)

I use Aqueon betta pellets, and I highly recommend them! It has all natural ingredients,plus added vitamins and minerals. My bettas love them! I also feed mine some freeze dried bloodworms, and I use the brand topfin. My bettas eat those right up!


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

For pellets.. Golden Pearls, NLS/NLS Grow, Omega One Buffet, Black Gold, Pro-Grow, Ken's fish food Betta pellets are the top ones I use for pellets.


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

Pellets: NLS, the best you can get for your betta, I also feed Omega One but that is mostly for my snail since two of my betta won't touch it.

Treats: frozen bloodworms, live brine shrimp, daphnia, and blackworms (frozen).


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## stagmanv835 (Oct 5, 2012)

Pellets: NLS & Hikari

flake : JBL nano betta

Treats: frozen bloodworms , dried bloodworms & bloodworms in jelly (tetra freshdelica)


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## MidgetMan (Jan 20, 2013)

Pellets: None - Since Luna didn't even like them
Flakes: Omega One Buffet Flakes.
Treats: Frozen Bloodworms

My two betta's wont touch anything else besides flakes and bloodworms, if it isn't either they wont even go near it.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

I give mine a variety of pellets, (NLS) frozen/FD bloodworms, tropical flakes, frozen daphnia, shrimp pellets, and sometimes algae wafers. Okay, I don't really give them shrimp pellets and wafers, they usually steal some of the cories' food. Lol. 

Just an alert to the other people who are looking at this thread. The pellets by Hikari, Aqueon, Wardley, Top Fin, and Tetra are horrible quality. It's not about "natural ingredients" that they say on the front. Look for protein based ingredients, (i.e. whole halibut meal) instead of cheap protein boosters. (i.e. wheat gluten) You can see that they hardly have any of those. Look at the first 3 ingredients, see what I mean. Hikari used to be the best but they switched it over to the bad side. Some of the BEST ONES are New Life Spectrum, Golden Pearl, Omega One, and Attison's Betta Pro. They discontinued the Pro however, I *think* the Betta Food is okayish..


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## Mirage23 (Dec 24, 2012)

Good point. Theone i have is fish meal shrimp meal and some other " meal" . At least they're meats but they're better whole right?


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Yes, I'm sure the " - meal" is the extras of the ingredient. Not the best parts, just the by-products I suppose.


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

Based on my knowledge of cat food and digestion I can say that even a by-product meat is better than a meat substitution (IE, plants). That is, even a low quality meat will be digested better by a cat than any plant ever will be because they are carnivores, and obligate carnivores at that. I don't know if bettas are obligate carnivores, but I imagine they would be (though I would love a second opinion on this and facts either way!). Just like I feed my cat a meal that is about 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% organs, I imagine the ratios are similar for an ideal betta diet. Except instead of bone you would have exoskeleton. And to be honest I wouldn't know what the "meat to exoskeleton" ratio would be either, so those percentages would probably be off. 

Of course if they are not obligate carnivores then I image they would eat something more similar to what my dogs eat. Which is actually the same thing that my cat eats. But the important difference is that they could eat and actually digest some plant matter (which again, cats are completely unable to do). Based on a betta's inability to digest say, a pea leads me to further believe they are probably obligate carnivores, but like cats, might like to chew on grass sometimes for whatever reason.


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

+1


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## Mirage23 (Dec 24, 2012)

That's interesting kytkattin


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## mushumouse (Dec 29, 2012)

oops, i wish i'd read that yesterday... i threw a half a slice of blanched zucchini in the tank last night for my shrimp to pick at, thinking the betta would leave it alone because it was a vegetable. i guess not, because when i checked on them this morning he was sitting there munching on it, chasing the shrimp away, so i had to take it out.  what a little oinker! points to the grass theory though.


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## majesticstorm (Dec 8, 2012)

Main diet for my boy is New Life Spectrum betta pellets.

Treats: Hikari freeze dried bloodworms and daphnia.


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

One more thought to add to the theory that they are obligate carnivores vs simply carnivores: we sometimes see fish on this forum who are being well cared for but fed a diet of low quality flakes or pellets and their color and activity level is simply terrible. Obviously there could be more to consider there, such as chelated vs non chelated minerals, age of food or exposure to elements, nutrition not being balanced for bettas, or simply being a poor formula, etc, etc. But I still can't help but think that at least part of it might come from a betta simply being unable to digest anything but meat properly or well, and thus grains (rice, wheat, corn, etc) would simply be waste and cause the fish to not get adequate nutrition.

This also means that feeding a high quality food would cause significantly less water pollution by the fish as it would literally poop less.

It also makes me wonder if the cause of bloat so frequently seen could have something to do with either A) the betta being unable to digest the grain filled pellet and/or B) there actually being a bacteria problem like the E. coli we see in cows because they are unable to digest the corn they are fed, thus making them not only gassy, but also literally sick with a bacteria that thrives on the inappropriate diet.

Of course now I am just rambling. Though it makes me really wish I could do some experiments now so I could confirm/disprove any of my above theories. :/


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## Mirage23 (Dec 24, 2012)

That it awesome! I'm a science major so anything sciencey and theories and all that good stuff is just so fascinating to me! I love experiments and lab class so I always take them. I have to do some sort of research before graduation but sadly I have no ideas. But that's off topic, that's so cool that you have established a well thought theory. That's awesome! Thanks for sharing it with us


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## SpeakNow13 (Nov 29, 2012)

I feed mine Omega one, with the occasional blood worm treat


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

The favourite food in my fish room hands down, is live blackworms. All my fish go nuts for them, even the really finicky feeders. 

I know a lot of people here don't like them, but I have never had any issues related to feeding them. My fry will easily take on blackworms as big or bigger than themselves. It's also usually the only food my fish will take when sick. 

Other than that, I use the NLS range of pellets/flakes, as well as frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp and live whiteworms.


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## hdbikersbabe (Sep 24, 2012)

Does anyone have any knowledge of daphnia. I have my own culture and I am looking to continue feeding bettas the same food as my other fish. I do not have the bettas yet because I am preparing myself. I have a fully established 30 gal tank I intend on splitting up to house several. At any rate my other fish in my 55gal love the daphnia and I love watching them "hunt" the food. Daphnia is easy for me and I have read over 200 posts tonight searching for information and my eyes are bugging out.


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## Mirage23 (Dec 24, 2012)

Hey little betta fish,
Where did yiu get their live blood worms? How did you culture them?


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## stagmanv835 (Oct 5, 2012)

Do you guys get a different spec food product over the pond ?

My NLS list`s protein as 37% and my hikari betta bio gold is 41 %


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

New life spectrum is the best, bar none. Regardless of what anyone else said, it is not about natural ingredients. A hamburger is made of natural ingredients, and how great is it for you?


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

And yes, some brands have higher protein than NLS, but NLS has the highest quality protein plus things like spirulina, garlic, vitamins, vegetables, etc.


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## mushumouse (Dec 29, 2012)

i've only tried it on the one fish, but i had a big scare yesterday that i'm suspicious was the fault of the bio-gold... i just switched space ghost to hikari a week and a half ago because i had bought a pack before i knew it wasn't the greatest, and i realized that the wardley pellets i'd been using were very expired, so since money was very tight i thought i'd just use the bio-gold until payday rather than buy something new. two days in, he bloated up. never happened before, but i didn't think much of it because i thought i might have just overfed him what with adjusting to the new tiny pellet size. for a little while it seemed to come and go. then out of the blue, SBD yesterday- he couldn't swim to the bottom of the tank, started floating on his side wedged behind the filter, it really freaked me out. i have never ever had this happen with wardley pellets, not on either of my previous fish, and i don't think they're very good pellets themselves. chucked the bio-gold in the trash immediately and borrowed money from a friend to get some NLS today. fortunately he recovered this evening after being cupped with epsom salt & a bit of java moss to help him keep upright overnight, but man, i don't trust that food at all now. there was nothing else in the tank that changed. :-?


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## Mandy Pandy (Mar 17, 2012)

I feed NLS and Omega One Buffet pellets and I also give frozen brine shrimp and blood worms. 

I'm also a pet food snob and do lots of research on what's the best to feed my animals.

Kytkattin, what food do you feed your cats? Sounds like it would be an awesome add to my ferrets' mix. Like cats, ferrets are also obligate carnivores. Mine eat a mix of Evo Turkey/Chicken, Wysong Epigen 90, and Ziwipeak Lamb kibbles. They also get freeze dried beef and lamb patties that are 100% meat. They also get fresh raw on occasion.


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## Option (Oct 20, 2012)

Anyone have experience with Ken's Premium betta pellets? From kensfish.com. I've tried many of his other fish food before and they're all very good but haven't tried their betta pellets yet.


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## Mirage23 (Dec 24, 2012)

I was actually ordering NLS today thanks guys!


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## deso (Apr 24, 2012)

For me, I feed NLS almost exclusively, with Atison's Pro or Hikari FD bloodworms soaked in Vita-Chem from time to time. I'm considering switching from NLS' Betta Formula to the Thera-A because of the higher garlic content. Does anyone use Thera-A and if so, what are your thoughts?

Myates, here's hoping you see this: would you recommend Golden Pearls for an adult male betta? I've been really curious about it after hearing some rave reviews, but most people seem to be saying that they feed them to their fry, not to adult fish.

Option, I've seen the ingredients list of the Ken's betta pellets and am not impressed. Wheat is the first ingredient, soybean meal is pretty high on the ingredients list, and there's blood pork meal and artificial colour enhancers in there. I guess you could give it a try and see if your fish like it, but judging solely on the ingredients, it doesn't seem like a brilliant product.


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## Mirage23 (Dec 24, 2012)

What are good pellets for fry when they come of age to start conditioning them to pellets?


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

Staple is NLS betta formula

He goes NUTS for the Hikari frozen bloodworms

I also think the Aqueon pellets are pretty good.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

MattsBettas said:


> New life spectrum is the best, bar none. Regardless of what anyone else said, it is not about natural ingredients. A hamburger is made of natural ingredients, and how great is it for you?


NLS seems to have natural ingredients anyways...


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## deso (Apr 24, 2012)

Let's put it this way: imo, not all foods made out of natural ingredients are healthy. Most foods made out of unnatural ingredients are unhealthy. The main benefit of NLS is that most, if not all of its ingredients are whole. There's no by-products or "meals" in there.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

deso said:


> Let's put it this way: imo, not all foods made out of natural ingredients are healthy. Most foods made out of unnatural ingredients are unhealthy. The main benefit of NLS is that most, if not all of its ingredients are whole. There's no by-products or "meals" in there.


Yeah but I think it's definitely good that there are no dyes in the food


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## deso (Apr 24, 2012)

Agreed, finnfinn, my comment was intended to support your opinion  And it has none of those creepy hormone colour-enhancer things that you see so often in fish food.


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

Mandy Pandy said:


> I feed NLS and Omega One Buffet pellets and I also give frozen brine shrimp and blood worms.
> 
> I'm also a pet food snob and do lots of research on what's the best to feed my animals.
> 
> Kytkattin, what food do you feed your cats? Sounds like it would be an awesome add to my ferrets' mix. Like cats, ferrets are also obligate carnivores. Mine eat a mix of Evo Turkey/Chicken, Wysong Epigen 90, and Ziwipeak Lamb kibbles. They also get freeze dried beef and lamb patties that are 100% meat. They also get fresh raw on occasion.


What I feed my dogs/cats (all the same formula) is basically just plain old raw. I add some supplements as well since it is just chicken leg quarters and liver. There is a website called catinfo.org that was put together by a vet and I use her recipe. It is a great website too, if you have a cat, read it!!! Before only one of my dogs was on raw because she did well chewing the bones and everything, but the cat won't eat enough bones unless you could source whole small prey like mice, so I had to buy a meat grinder so I can grind up the bone. Now, between my three they eat a pound of my mix a day and it costs me less than a $1. It takes about an hour to grind it all up for 2 weeks. I would grind more at a time, but I don't have room in my freezer! 

Before the switch I was feeding the cat Nature's Variety Instinct canned. I used the dog cans because they are larger and most cost effective (and also the same formula as the cat cans, which is unusual), but that was still costing me over $1.50 a day just for the cat! I am a poor college student, I can't hardly afford to spend that on myself. Plus he was finicky about eating it. I would have to mix in sardines to make it taste better. Now he eats the raw like it is his favorite thing in the world!

Currently I am working on sourcing live prey for my bettas. I just started a fruit fly colony, and I hope to do maybe fairy shrimp in the future. Not sure if I will ever be able to feed them only live, but that is my goal. Just like my dogs/cat on raw, they always seem to have better energy when I feed them more whole foods instead of dried out stuff. Though I also add Vita-Chem to make sure they aren't missing any vitamins.


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