# How much and how many times a day, should a betta be eating?



## Ianthe (Jun 1, 2011)

I've heard/read so many different things...how many pellets and how often do you feed your betta(s)?


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## Banicks (Aug 20, 2011)

1 pellet in the morning, 1 pellet in the evening.

I recommend you do not exceed 2-3 pellets per day.


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## MinibotLove (Sep 8, 2011)

My guys have tiny tiny pellets, and we've been feeding them a pinch or two every other day.. now I don't know if I've been over-feeding or under-feeding *frets* What kind of pellets are you using, Ianthe?


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## Ianthe (Jun 1, 2011)

We use Hikari, and we feed 3-4 pellets, twice a day.


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## Banicks (Aug 20, 2011)

Ianthe, I use those pellets myself.

I would say you are definitely overfeeding. Don't be fooled, Bettas love to eat, and given the change will eat themselves to death!

Their stomach is about the size of their eye, so that gives you a good idea regarding pellets


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## Ianthe (Jun 1, 2011)

Banicks said:


> Ianthe, I use those pellets myself.
> 
> I would say you are definitely overfeeding. Don't be fooled, Bettas love to eat, and given the change will eat themselves to death!
> 
> Their stomach is about the size of their eye, so that gives you a good idea regarding pellets


OK! Thank you!!


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## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

it really depends on size/weight .. type .. of your betta .. and your life's schedule .. if your able to feed them on time every day ..

you will have to find out a feeding routine that works for you and your betta .. there isn't a set way that is "the way" on how to feed ur betta .. only general rules ..

first .. as banicks already stated .. keep in mind that their stomachs are about the size of their eye's .. 

it's the same general idea when doctors say human stomach's are the general size of your fist .. now when u think about it .. you can probably eat more then ur fist .. but you'll feel sick afterwards .. it's kind of the same as how your betta will feel when they are over fed .. they will feel bloated and sick too till it digests .. 

2nd .. don't follow the directions on the food bottle .. it will always give u directions so that you will feed more .. then run out of food faster .. so u have to buy more .. following the directions will not always be the right choice for you or your betta ..

3rd .. if your betta doesn't finish all the food u gave him .. always always always .. take the uneaten food out .. with pellets you don't have to worrie about this too much since it's easy to see if the pellets u've given him has been eaten (most of the time they will eat it before u even drop them cus bettas eat like little piggies) .. but this very much applys to brine shrimp (which is a treat) and very messy to feed .. and frozen treats also messy if you put the whole cube in and don't monitor the melting process .. 

those are some of the general tips i can think of right now =D i'm sure there's more that other's can add in ..


now how do u figure out what kind of feeding routine is completely up to you ..
(it's the same as how u figure out when to do water changes and how it fits to your routine in life)

for example .. my feeding schedule (i will put below) is different depending on which betta

i also feed my bettas hikari bio gold as a staple food ..
for treats i have hikari blood worms and hikari daphnia

i only feed my bettas monday - friday .. and they fast saturday and sunday (no food or treats)

mystique and mr.fishie eats 4 pellets each feeding at noon everyday .. and are fed only one time a day ..

mr. fishie is fed 3 pellets in the morning at 8am .. and 3 pellets at night at 8 pm .. he's a bigger/older betta then the other's that i have so he needs to eat more then the others cus when he's hungry he starts to bite his tail 

yuki i feed 2 pellets a day at noon .. he's the smallest of my bettas .. and has sbd problems since he was in really bad conditions when i bought him .. and i've been trying to nurse him back to health .. so he eats less then the others ..

on wednesday is treat day for all my fish friends .. i alternate between blood worms and daphnias every other week .. blood worms are pretty big so i cut them so they are small like pellets .. 

so =) as you can see .. there is no .. one right way to feed ur bettas .. it all depends on your betta .. and your schedule 

good luck !!


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## MinibotLove (Sep 8, 2011)

Thank you, Mistress! That was really insightful <3 

I think I can monitor the intake of the boys in their solitary bowls and Starscream by herself, but with my sorority girls so far, some snatch as many as they can off the surface and then one or two of the smaller ones will peck around at the bottom for the leftovers. I think Starscream is getting too much, she's quite a plump little fish, but my newest girls are so teeny and thin I can see straight through little Slingshot (though that may also be because she's very young, I think..) Hopefully they'll fill out in the next couple of days (I think I'm a worrywart after our fumbling and lack of research lost us our first two boys...)


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Mine eat between 4-6 pellets a day, spread out with one day of fasting and a mix up of blood worms (2-3 once a week) and a sprinkle of flakes the morning of water changes instead of pellets. I just get fooled in by their begging, 1-2 a day seems a small amount to me.


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## Vanah (Jul 26, 2011)

I feed 2 pellets in the morning and 2 again at night. Two of my plakats are pretty convinced they need more though. Especially Pei is a nightmare to feed... I may have to switch him to a private tank rather than the divided, because when I lift the lid he just starts jumping all over. The other night he jumped at my hand while I was feeding Mika and ended up in the other guy's section. THAT was fun. -___-;;;


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## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

yw minibot ^_^ .. what i do with my goldfish that like to food hog ..

is that i'll lure the food hogger to one side of the tank .. and then drop food for him first .. then drop food on the far other side of the tank for the smaller goldfish so they get food too .. since the main goldfish is busy eating already hehe =D

@vanah
wow that's crazy @[email protected] .. mine don't jump that high up above the water .. and i usually keep my waterline 1 inch from the top just incase they want to jump higher .. maybe that might help with the jumping over ..

i also feed my bettas with a tiny spoon (http://www.coastalscents.com/make-your-own-1/packaging/ac-003.html) .. that was intended for scooping make up .. but instead i bought it for the sole purpose of feeding my bettas .. and i've gotten mr. bubbles to follow the spoon around .. it's really cute hehe

it's very handy for feeding daphnia's


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