# Feeding Schedule



## ArchimedesTheDog (Dec 1, 2016)

So I just got a new Betta and am pretty excited about him. I've been keeping other freshwater fish for years and have always fed them every other day with no problems, yet i see recommendations here and elsewhere to feed Bettas twice a day (with the side recommendation for a fast day every week). Is a Betta just in need of more food than other species, or is it more the tradition that has sprung up and less based on biological need? In the wild most species do not eat that regularly.


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Dec 1, 2016)

Fanatic said:


> Betters like to eat, and can be easily over fed.
> 
> I would recommend feeding your betta with a schedule you prefer. If you like to feed your fish twice a day, then only feed him 1 small pellet twice a day.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the helpful reply.


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## moodynarwhal (Mar 24, 2016)

That is an extremely interesting question. I've actually never thought about it. I feed my bettas twice a day, but I've also left for a week before without feeding them and they were fine. I do know that the kind of bettas we have as pets and that are in the petstore have been bred for years and years (the exact timeline I'm not sure of, but it's a long time.) to be more colorful, more aggressive and to have longer fins. Wild bettas just don't look (or act) like their petstore cousins. I don't if this where the oh-so-regular feeding schedule came in, but it would make sense if it was.

EDIT: I just read the above posts and I wanted to add: I feed my normal sized betta 4 pellets twice a day and he's never had a problem with bloating. I also have a runt and a king and I feed according to body size, meaning my runty one only gets 2-3 and my king gets 6. It really depends on your betta. If you notice him looking a little fatter, you should cut back on the amount of food you feed him.


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## moodynarwhal (Mar 24, 2016)

Haha, yeah that was a one time thing, I had to leave for a week on vacation and couldn't get anyone to feed them.


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## Cupkayke (Jul 27, 2016)

I feed my bettas 2 pellets twice a day and I've only ever had a bloating problem in one of my bettas. It depends on the type of food and how filling it is, I use relatively small pellets. I'd personally recommend feeding at least 1 time a day but that's just how I learned to do it.


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Dec 1, 2016)

Cupkayke said:


> I feed my bettas 2 pellets twice a day and I've only ever had a bloating problem in one of my bettas. It depends on the type of food and how filling it is, I use relatively small pellets. I'd personally recommend feeding at least 1 time a day but that's just how I learned to do it.


What pellets are you using? I got the Hikari pellets, which are very tiny.


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## Cupkayke (Jul 27, 2016)

ArchimedesTheDog said:


> What pellets are you using? I got the Hikari pellets, which are very tiny.


At the moment I use the Aqueon pellets, but they aren't very nutritious so i'll be changing them, they're the only one my pet store carries. I believe they're about the same size as the Hikari ones.


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

I feed my betta New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula, a great high quality food, highly recommended. They are tiny pellets, so I feed my betta 4 in the morning and 4 in the evening. I was only feeding 4 a day, but was told on this forum that 4 a day of that size pellet is not enough. He never has a tummy bulge so I think it is the right amount.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

If you feed a nutritional pellet with whole fish as the first ingredient there is no need to fast. Also, one small pellet 2x per day is not nearly enough to maintain a healthy Betta. It is much better to feed as BettaBeau does. 

I don't know if my analogy is appropriate, but a human's stomach will start to shrink if not fed. If you don't eat for three days and then eat a full meal you are likely to over-expand/bloat your stomach. I see feeding pets the same way. If you skip several days and then feed a full meal your Betta is more likely to bloat. It is healthier and less stressful to offer one or two meals _every_ day. When I go on vacation I do not have my Betta fed; when I return, I feed my Betta three or four small meals per day for a couple of days and ease them back into full meals. I'm trying to remember if I've ever had a bloated Betta and can't remember even one.

You don't need a schedule as such of feeding at the same time each day. I recommend feeding once or twice every day if you feed a high quality food like New Life Spectrum, Omega One, etc. Supplementing with frozen food is an excellent idea, too. I also feed my community fish, shrimp, Dwarf Crays, etc., every day. I feed strictly frozen with the occasional feeding of NLS for my Betta.

Welcome to the Forum! :wave:


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

I manage once a day. I give each betta like 5-6 and whatever they don't eat the snails will get. I am feeding the bottom feeders either an algae wafer/emerald entree and the others get the freshwater frozen formula from omega one or a tropical flake. I give bloodworms probably every other week (just one feeding). 

For as few fish as I have, I wish the frozen were smaller. I also wish the little easy thaw cup of bloodworms was about 1/4 of the size. Will those keep in the fridge a couple days ?


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

Many of us who feed frozen foods will shave or chip off some from the frozen cube and return the rest of the food, still frozen, to the freezer in a ziploc baggie. I chip off a bit and thaw it in tank water


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

I think that there are many considerations when deciding on a schedule or amount. Three or four mini-pellets, one or two times a day, in a small unfiltered bowl/tank should be plenty. However, in an environment with filtration, circulation, and heavy plantings, your little buddy may never even be able to find the food.

I have found that in a mini-environment, with a single Betta, heavy plantings, shrimp, snails, ample lighting and filtration, you have more leeway and don't need to count individual pellets. I tend to work to attain a small ecosystem, rather than just housing a "pet fish."


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Dec 1, 2016)

Are people using the New Life Spectrum small fish formula more than the Betta formula? And yes, with a HOB filter in a 20 gallon i am concerned about my Betta finding the food, will have to keep an eye on it


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## Gariana (Jul 22, 2015)

I have the same feeding schedule and foods for both of my fish - stocky active plakat and delicate, heavily finned delta tail. Both get fed once a day, a number of good pellets or something frozen. I don't have a set number I feed, I always go by how the fish looks/acts. I never fast intentionally, it only happens if I'm away. Works for me and my fish.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

FWIW, you can keep frozen in the fridge for a week or 10 days once thawed. For one or two Betta you can chop the cubes in half. I thaw in a small pill bottles. I also don't count pellets but I have at least a Mystery Snail in the 5.5 tanks so there's no worry. Also have two Betta that seem to prefer to watch food drop to the bottom and then eat it.

I have noticed since feeding frozen every day that fins heal much faster from damage or biting.


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## moodynarwhal (Mar 24, 2016)

I use the Small Fish Formula. Maybe it's just me, but I like the smaller size.


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

@RussellTheShihTzu thanks! I'm assuming that includes blood worms in the easy thaw cups?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

fernielou said:


> @RussellTheShihTzu thanks! I'm assuming that includes blood worms in the easy thaw cups?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes, any frozen food can be done that way. Pop them out when they're frozen. I've also mistakenly thawed food and refrozen without any issues.


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## Hopefish (Feb 9, 2016)

I would expect that short-bodied double-tailed bettas (and similar shaped ones) would benefit from a more frequent feeding schedule with smaller amounts each time, i.e., a few pellets twice a day, rather than lots of food every few days.


Many of our modern bettas are so bred for extremes that they are far removed from anything in the wild, so really we can only use the "in the wild" as guidelines. Kind of like when my cousin asked who trimmed the poodles in the wild.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

I counted pellets but never really used them as a guide. I used to look for a gently rounded tummy on mine to figure out when he was full. I started noticing that there came a point where he started playing more than actively looking for food and that came in around the 3-4 pellets per meal. This happens twice per day, unless I have to leave very early or come home very late (he gets awfully grumpy when I wake him up, even for food).

You also want to consider their activity level. A younger fish that is constantly patrolling is going to need a little more than an older one who prefers to rest a lot.


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Dec 1, 2016)

Hopefish said:


> Many of our modern bettas are so bred for extremes that they are far removed from anything in the wild, so really we can only use the "in the wild" as guidelines. Kind of like when my cousin asked who trimmed the poodles in the wild.


A fair point. 

FWIW, in the LFS the Bettas are fed once a day. 

With the size of the tank and the water flow, I have to wait for him to come to the surface for air before I feed him so he sees the food. So far he doesn't associate my lifting of the lid with "about to get food," but it's early days and I hope to get him to pay attention to it.


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Dec 1, 2016)

This morning I fed the Betta -- he has started to figure out that I am the source of food and he rose to the top when I opened the lid. 

Then I dropped a sinking wafer in for the Corydoras. First a shrimp found the wafer and picked bits off of it, then one of the cories settled in for a munch. Then the Betta found the wafer and chased the shrimp and cory off and started to chow on the wafer, while guarding it from the others by covering it with his fins. Not sure where this is going to lead other than a very full and very sick-to-his-stomach Betta.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Instead of dropping, use something to tuck it under some plants.


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## ArchimedesTheDog (Dec 1, 2016)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Instead of dropping, use something to tuck it under some plants.


I'm not sure that would work: my Betta gets right down on the substrate and swims through the plants, I think he's decided he's one of the cories. But it's worth a shot!


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