# Betta won't eat pellets



## tens00 (Mar 6, 2012)

Housing 
What size is your tank? About 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? WARM - got a heater to improve things and he is much more active
Does your tank have a filter? No
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? A moss ball
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Moss ball and a bit of gravel

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? top fin color enhancing betta bits
How often do you feed your betta fish? used to be 2 pellets a day* (this is where the problem comes in)

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? once a week - 2 weeks
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? I used to do full, but now at the recommendation of an aquarium place, I do partials esp. now that we have the heater
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? drops to get rid of chlorine

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? NO BUT it was recently tested and high in ammonia so we changed the tank and did everything told by the lady at the aquarium.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 


Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He had gotten not as beautiful and seemed to be lagging. 
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He had been very lethargic but that seems to have been fixed by adding the heater and fixing his water
When did you start noticing the symptoms? It's been over a month now
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Gosh. Where to begin. We got the heater. We had the water tested a few times and were instructed on different bowl changes. We got the moss ball. Yesterday we gave him live brine shrimp - 2 over the course of hours. It was the first time we've seen him eat ANYTHING in a month! Yes, a month.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not before this.
How old is your fish (approximately)? The woman said 20 years as we've had him a little over a year 

So, we have improved Louie's life and perked him up. We got him heated and I have been back and forth to the aquarium which is NOT close. Needless to say, the other day she gave me the shrimp to try and said to do it the one day and the next go back to pellets as we don't want him needing live food all the time. Well, he went for the shrimp yesterday! Today, I gave him the same pellet he has been eating up until all this started and he is ignoring it! I will leave it there a bit before removing it but this fish used to race for his food.

Even the woman at the aqua. said that we have spent more $ and time on an inexpensive fish and she feels bad. I feel for Louie and want him to survive but I cannot go to live food all the time! I work full time and have children just can't go there all the time for that. 

Any suggestions? I'm going to call her too. She has seen pics and tested his water and they don't feel he has any diseases. She thought the ammonia was bugging him mostly and being cold and both those changes resulted in behavioral changes for the best.

But, he won't eat his food! Please help us.
Thanks.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

mine loves these:










even tho they are not formulated for bettas. 
He won't eat betta pellets either.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

does he spit the pellets out or ignore them? if he spits them ou you can try crushing them....


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

registereduser said:


> mine loves these:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


oO I thought those were mostly plant material? doeshe digest it well? lolol I would loved to see how they snack on that


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

aokashi said:


> oO I thought those were mostly plant material? doeshe digest it well? lolol I would loved to see how they snack on that


he eats it up! They do make a carnivore sinking pellet so I will get that soon.


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## wystearya (Sep 27, 2010)

> How old is your fish (approximately)? The woman said 20 years as we've had him a little over a year


Um, this is a typo right? I don't think any Betta has lived 20 years.

----

Have you tried a different brand of pellet? Something with high protein is best. Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets are supposed to be very good.


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## makoisland (Mar 2, 2012)

My betta wouldn't eat his pellets until I crushed them. ^_^ You could try that.


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## tens00 (Mar 6, 2012)

*Re: Betta won't eat pellets - more info*

But do I switch foods? I thought they didn't like to have it switched?

aokashi - he ignores them. He might go near but then moves away.

wystearya - LOL! I should have been more clear. She meant in human years! . We've had him a little over a year and I guess they are usually 6 months when they get to the pet stores.

If I crush them, they will sink to the bottom and then ugh - if he doesn't eat them, one mess of a tank. 

What I don't get is WHY he stopped eating them so suddenly? And, how to get him to eat something. 

I hear from some it's not good to change their food, others say it is ok. Some say live, some say not. The information out there is so confusing!

Maybe we will try crushed tomorrow since he had shrimp today.

I'm open to any more ideas! 

Thanks!


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## duluoz (Mar 3, 2012)

I change food constently. I hear the variety affords the fish a larger range of vitamins. 

I use flakes and, less often, blood worms. B.D. goes after his pellets, but never catches them in time...


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