# Feeding schedule, and, will my betta eat Mr. Snail?!



## mathkid (Sep 15, 2011)

Hey all!

I am trying to work out a feeding schedule for my new betta.

I've got Zoo Med Micro Floating Betta Pellet food, frozen bloodworms and frozen daphnia. The schedule I'm thinking of is something like:

Mon-Fri: morning 2 pellets, evening 1-2 pellets
Sat: morning 2 pellets, evening daphnia
Sun: morning 2 pellets, evening bloodworms

Does that look OK? Should I space out the daphnia/bloodworms? Should I feed those for both morning and evening? Do I need a fast day?

My QUESTION is: there is a snail in my tank (apparently I had a hitchhiker with my plants) and my betta was valiantly trying to eat it the first day. It is now chillaxing in the water filter tank. I don't know how it got there.

Do bettas eat snails? If I move Mr. Snail back into the aquarium, will America (my betta) keep trying to eat him? Will he succeed? Will it put him off his dinner??

-mathkid


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I don't know the size of these pellets, but micro says "tiny" to me. I'd go with more than 1 or 2 pellets unless your betta is the size of a flea. 

Now this is just what I do, but I would fast on Sunday and feed bloodworms on a Tuesday night and daphnia on a Thursday, or something similar.  Your schedule certainly isn't bad, though.  I just prefer to fast because my girls get very fat otherwise.

Your America may attack Mr Snail's attenae, but he's going to have to go some to get through a snail shell. Depends how big the snail is, though. If he does eat the snail, just fast him for that night so he doesn't get fat.


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## HermitGuy101 (Jan 3, 2012)

Bombalurina said:


> I don't know the size of these pellets, but micro says "tiny" to me. I'd go with more than 1 or 2 pellets unless your betta is the size of a flea.
> 
> Now this is just what I do, but I would fast on Sunday and feed bloodworms on a Tuesday night and daphnia on a Thursday, or something similar.  Your schedule certainly isn't bad, though.  I just prefer to fast because my girls get very fat otherwise.
> 
> Your America may attack Mr Snail's attenae, but he's going to have to go some to get through a snail shell. Depends how big the snail is, though. If he does eat the snail, just fast him for that night so he doesn't get fat.


I feed those to my betta. The size of a ZooMed Betta Pellet is equal to 2 pellets of Aqueaon betta pellets.


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## debit202 (Feb 5, 2012)

*crowntail beta?*

Hi all - I just got a beta- named him spike The container he was in had crownwater written on the top. Is tis a type of beta? I tried looking it up but couldn't find it- I named him Spike cuz his tail ends are more spiked then feathery. I'm also wondering if there aore any fish I can put in there he won't eat? He looks lonely:-(

Thanks in advance-

Debit


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## fishcurl (Jul 14, 2011)

Hi debit202 and welcome to the forums! Just an fyi that you'd probably get more responses if you start a new thread 

Crowntail is a type of betta which is what Spike sounds like he is.










Betta fish don't get lonely so he doesn't necessarily need a friend. You can keep him happy with a well-maintained tank with places to hide like plants and decorations. If you want to add a friend to the tank it shouldn't be another betta fish (male or female, they will kill each other). You should also check the size of your tank - that will help determine what, if anything, you can put in. 

Hope that helps!


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## mathkid (Sep 15, 2011)

HermitGuy101 said:


> I feed those to my betta. The size of a ZooMed Betta Pellet is equal to 2 pellets of Aqueaon betta pellets.


Cool, thanks for the reference! How many do you feed to your betta? I remember with my old betta, if I fed him 4 pellets consistently, he'd start getting constipated and float uncontrollably, so I'm a little scared to go past 3! They also seem to vary quite a bit in size (some pellets are twice the size of others).



Bombalurina said:


> Now this is just what I do, but I would fast on Sunday and feed bloodworms on a Tuesday night and daphnia on a Thursday, or something similar.  Your schedule certainly isn't bad, though.  I just prefer to fast because my girls get very fat otherwise.


Oh, interesting! Do you take before and after pictures? Unless they're bloated/constipated, how do you tell if your fish is fat or just growing?


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Bettas don't get fat in the way we do, or what is thought of- bettas will get a slight rounded belly after eating naturally (you just don't want too big of a belly as that is a sign of feeding too much).. constipation would involve rounded belly and no going to the bathroom for days (they don't tend to go all that often, and most people don't see them go). A lot of times they will end up having trouble swimming when it goes for too long.. but eventually if it's just pure constipation, they will clear up on their own. Proper nutrition, amount and a variety of foods will help prevent constipation.

So all in all, fish don't get fat in any way and growing- after 3 months of age up to 7 months their growth is pretty slow, body wise (fish continue to grow until death, but there are spurts), judging by the belly is not a sign of growth.

Girls are piglets and will eat a ton- add that to ones getting eggy and their bellies can get big if not careful.. lol mine will eat all that is seen.

Mathkid, your schedule seems great to me- you can mix it up even more if you wish with the frozen food- adding another male or two of it, or in the mornings instead of evening, etc. But the amount is good from what I see.

-- and definitely either a crowntail or possibly combtail.. tail types of bettas, but same species of splenden as the other common tail types you see.


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## debit202 (Feb 5, 2012)

thanks Fishcurl- I will ask in a new post as soon as I figure out how to make a new post-lol


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## mathkid (Sep 15, 2011)

Thanks Myates!

Mr. Snail has gotten himself out of the HOB filter and back in the tank, and my fish is not paying him any attention, so I guess he is safe for now =)

I'm going to add a couple more frozen food meals into my schedule =) Would it be safe to feed a betta *only* frozen bloodworms and daphnia? I know the freeze-dried kind doesn't have enough nutrients, but what about frozen ones?

-mathkid


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## HermitGuy101 (Jan 3, 2012)

mathkid said:


> Cool, thanks for the reference! How many do you feed to your betta? I remember with my old betta, if I fed him 4 pellets consistently, he'd start getting constipated and float uncontrollably, so I'm a little scared to go past 3! They also seem to vary quite a bit in size (some pellets are twice the size of others).
> 
> Usually 3 and some flake foods, My betta is however, pretty big. Bettas aren't really picky eaters, and once you learn their personality they are really easy to feed.


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