# Am I overfeeding my Betta? 15-20 pellets a day??



## BellasMomma (Oct 8, 2011)

So I have a female Betta that ive had now for about a month. The Betta food i have says this exactly "Feed as much as Betta will eat in 3 minutes, 3-4 pellets twice a day." My Betta will eat at least 7 per feeding. I originally fed her 4, twice a day but she would "bob" at the top of the tank till i gave her more. She literally eats 7-10 pellets in about 2 minutes, twice a day. Im totally in love with this fish so i would be devastated if she died! Please help!!


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

What type of pellets are you feeding her, brand? My boys get 4 pellets twice a day since mine are smaller sized. Mine beg for more but I refuse them  Bettas are piggies and they know how to work a person!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Betta's can eat forever. I mercilessly watched Lakitu eat like 6 frozen bloodworms the first day I got them and he still wanted more! 

I would seriously reduce feeding. My bf likes to add extra food bc "it says on the back to feed as much as he'll eat in 3 minutes"... A betta's stomach is about the size of his eye. You do the math!! 

Over feeding is the cause of a lot more disease and problems than you might think. A little diet won't kill him and it won't harm his love for you 



Tidbit (bc I'm a geek) : Did you know, if you destroyed the ventromedial hypothalamus in the brain- a rat will eat and eat and eat and never feel full? They made lab rats into round balls this way. (can you imagine Marimo rat balls?!?!)


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## BellasMomma (Oct 8, 2011)

The pellets r top fin color enhancing Betta bits they r small red and brown pellets. I guess im going to have to learn not to overfeed her, but she really knows how to work it. thanks!!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I'm SO sorry I mis read and called her a "him"!!


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## MistersMom (Aug 9, 2011)

i learned a new fact today lol

and yes your are over feding, mine just barely eat 4 pellets each time i feed them lol.


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## AngelicScars (May 5, 2009)

Yeah that's A LOT. I feed around 4-5 pellets a day.


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

No matter what brand, feed _no more_ than 5-6 a day.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

bettafish15 said:


> No matter what brand, feed _no more_ than 5-6 a day.


We feed 8 per day here, no issues. There are tiny NLS pellets that are 1/4 of the size of the pellets I feed, a betta would starve on 6 of those a day


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## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

bettafish15 said:


> No matter what brand, feed _no more_ than 5-6 a day.


the brand and type does matter .. as pellet size varies depending on what brand and food it is .. NLS betta formula pellets is considerably smaller then NLS thera+a formula .. even if they are the same brand .. the pellet sizes are different .. and both of those foods are smaller then hikari bio gold pellets ..

15-20 pellets a day is definitely too much for a normal sized female betta .. unless she is a giant or a king

now that she's used to being fed so much .. her stomach has expanded .. i would recommend to slowly lower the amount (1-2 pellets less each feeding for 2-3 days .. then lower 1-2 pellets again for 2-3 days) .. instead of just suddenly changing reducing her food .. i don't know if females ever tail bite .. but if i changed my boy mystique's feeding schedule .. he stresses out and bites his tail T_T


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

With feeding it's important to take into account,: their level of activity, temp of their water (affects metabolism), and the size of the pellet. 

Brand absolutely matters. Pellet size can differ greatly. NLS is tiny, while the Wardley pellets I had were huge. Not all bettas are exactly the same either. My VT could out-eat my King and in fact was eating 14 small Atisons pellets a day. Sometimes more. The important part is making sure they are not bloated (and looking like they swallowed a marble). 

Also, you should be offering some fiber in their diet in the form of frozen foods like daphnia and bloodworms, even the occasional mysis shrimp (very fatty so don't feed these often). Fiber is an important part of their diet.

Everyone is correct that they will eat like hogs. It's up to us to learn the appearance of bloat and adjust their diet accordingly. Cause they'll just eat and eat. Start with small feedings and work your way up if she seems thin. :-D


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

I have to agree with everyone, that is almost too much, but again you have to judge based off of your fish. I admit that I always say 4-6 a day, but that is a base number and it varies. My pellets are medium in size, so one of mine only gets 4 a day because he takes so long to digest his food and bloats up easily. While another eats 6-8 because he is young and very active.. and yet another eats 5 because I have to cut them up and that means 10 small pellets total and is definitely full then. And it goes from there.
But they all always want more. I have learned to never go by what food packages say, and I take anything a pet store worker with a grain of salt and I do my own research. 

Speaking of which.. time to feed mine.. Xander is giving me a dirty look from his cave because he knows it's feeding time lol


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## CrowntailTwitchy57 (Jun 25, 2011)

with me, it's kinda guesswork, since i feed my girl flakes and bloodworms...


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Mine won't eat flakes.. which isn't a bad thing since they can easily bloat a fish.. nor will they touch FD bloodworms lol. Which sucks when wanting to give them a variety.


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## CrowntailTwitchy57 (Jun 25, 2011)

next time i am in petsmart, i'll probably buy some pellets, but i must not be sucked into the bettas! D: which sucks because the food is on the shelf ABOVE the cute... needy... looking-at-me-with-THOSE-eyes... bettas lol


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

omginorite? =P Last time I got suckered into a pink/lavender girl lol


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## EverythingNice55 (Jul 26, 2011)

Bettas are piggies! LOL! My betta can eat A MILLION pellets a day! Of course, he doesn't get one million a day. I suggest maybe 4-5 pellets a day. Good luck! Plus, welcome to the forum!


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## BellasMomma (Oct 8, 2011)

Wow thanks everybody!! i thought i may be overfeeding but the package was confusing. she looks chubby but nothing like she swallowed a marble so i guess thats good. i totally understand wat u guys all talk about when u go to the pet store. ive been there 3 times in the past month since i bought my Violet and each time ive had to resist the urge to by another. they just look so sad and i want to save them! my $3 female Betta has ended up costing me over $100 and its only been a month! o boy wat have i gotten myself into! Thanks again guys for the info!!!


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## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

I just do 4 pellets a day, 6 days a week.


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

I have the NLS growth pellets... I dont even count the silly things... I just put a pinch in each betta's section/tank. What they dont eat i suck out with a turkey baster later, or leave some for the shrimp. hee hee

But for normal sized pelets, yeah, you are feeding too much. Like others said.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Lately, I've been feeding mine 5-6 pellets once a day.


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