# Betta eats only freeze Dried blood worms



## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I bought fish last monday. He is active and healthy. I know he is not sick. The only problem that he eats only freeze dried blood worms. He is refusing to eat pellets and flakes. I bought him for someone else and i keep him at my work table just to make sure he is ok before i give him away. He didn't eat for 2 days since we close on saturday and sunday and he still refusing pellets. He tries and then spit it out.
I know it not healthy if he will eat only blood worms and that person don't want to feed him with live food or cooked shrimp. I don't know what to do. Is there a chance that he will start eating? 
I give them blood worms 3 times a day and he eats all of them.

Should i wait before i give him away?


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

Fast him for a few days before offering a pellet. If he doesn't want to eat the pellet, fast him again for another day and then offer a pellet. Sooner or later he'll realize that that is his only option for food. Once he's eating pellets regularly, you can give him treats of blood worms once a week or less.

Another option you can try is soaking a pellet in garlic juice.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

He didn't eat for 2 days and i feed him today. I feel bad to fast him for 2 more days. May be i will wait for friday again because he is at work and no one here on saturday and sunday so he will fast anyway....
Never had betta like that before.....so picky...I hate to fast him. May be i will try garlic juice first...and see.....


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## ksage505 (Sep 19, 2011)

When I first got my betta, he did the same thing. I started him off with pellets and he would eat them, then after giving him blood worms he quit eating the pellets and would only eat the blood worms. I just stopped giving him the blood worms and offered him pellets twice a day. For around four or five days he refused to eat them, then finally he gave in and started eating pellets. He eats the pellets now with no problem and gets blood worms as treats a few times a week.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I will try to do that the only one thing i am afraid to starve him. I am afraid that his immune system can get weak because the luck of nutrition’s. It so difficult do not feed him. He is on my work table. I’ll try . Thank you very much.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

He'll be ok, he won't starve to death. He'll be hungry but he won't starve.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I fast him Saturday-today. He still don't want to eat pellets. So difficult to resist give him food. I will see tomorrow. Wednesday will be day 5. He is funny looks like he looking at me and tell me,, give me blood worms''. It really look like it. I really want him to start to eat so i can give him to his owner. And i want to rescue another one from the store.
Thank you for advice every one.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Today is day 5 when i am fasting him. I am really nervous. He is on my work table so i am literally give him pellet every 5 min and then i have to take it out because he don't want it. I even try to trick him i soak it and put on the dry wall of his bowl. He stared at it long time and then took it and spit it out. 
If he not eating today should i fast him tomorrow? No one will be at work on saturday and sunday and i really don't want to leave him without food that long. 


What should i do? Should i give him blood worms just a little bit. I am worry that he will get sick from the lock of the nutrition’s He is very active and healthy. I tried 2 different kind of the pellets, which my other bettas love to eat. I have bettas for 4 years and never have this problem before. So frustrating. I need to give him to the girl i bought him for because her 13 year old has a birthday on 10/21 so....


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

If you don't feel comfortable fasting him for that long, then you can try soaking the pellets in garlic juice.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

6 days today. I gave him like 100 pellets all day long every 3 min soaked in the garlic, he don't want to eat. If he does not eat tomorrow should i give him to owner and let her just feed him with blood worms? Is he going to survive on it?
If i will tell her to feed him with cooked shrimp is it going to help? 

If he don't eat on friday i think i will feed him with blood worms. I have ones Hikari with bio-encapsulated multi-vitamins.

He is so beautiful fish, very healthy and active i don't know what is going on. I tried already 3 different brands of the pellets. 

He took it one time and spit it out.

Thank you .


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Finally eating flakes!!! But it funny first he didn't want to eat betta flakes. I had other kind of the flakes. It was also for tropical fish,so he ate them. And today monday he fast from friday to monday. Today he ate bettas flakes but still refusing pellets. 
The reason i give update just in case someone has the same problem. 
I still want him to eat pellets though. I hate flakes because i paranoid it contaminate the water. Because i can see it sink to the bottin while he eating it even though i giving to him a little bit by at a time.


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## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

Good to see he's willing to try variety! Keep it up! I am going through the same thing, but my guy only eats solid bloodworms right now!  Hoping to get some new foods today to entice him with!


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## Behati (Sep 4, 2011)

My betta had the same problem. I brought him home - he was eating fine, then suddenly he started spitting his food back out as if he couldn't swallow them properly which I know is not true. I got concerned when he refused for a week straight and started looking very aneroxic. OFL suggested I lace them with garlic but he still refused it. So I sucked it up and gave him what I should have tempted him with in the first place which is bloodworms.

I used freeze-dried bloodworms to tempt him to eat and after about a week of a purely bloodworm diet, I incorporated a pellet or two of pellet food with a small helping of bloodworms and he ate it fine. Start slow, and trick him into eating it. 

1 months+ later I'm purely feeding him pellets, but I also give him some freeze-dried bloodworms 15% of the time, so once or twice a week as a treat. 2 feedings, 2 pellets each or sometimes I'd do a bloodworm and a half + 1 pellet every feeding. Flakes tend to cloud the water and require a little more diligence with water changes, so you might want to mix it up and keep trying with the pellets if that's something of concern. It's not a big deal, but if the betta is for a 13 year old girl it really is a good idea to wean him off the flakes. I owned betta when I was around that age or younger and I was very diligent with water changes because the container was very small and easy to handle. My dad showed me how to catch him without hurting him and moving him to a bowl so I can wash out his 3/4ths quart container. He lived on for about 3 years. Teach her how to do the same and don't give her a very intricate tank to clean or else it might be discouraging and time consuming for her.

It's not something of concern if he has an appetite and is acting fine. It might be stress (being in a new environment and so on) and it could be water temperature (the coldest it should ever get is lukewarm to the touch).


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

He eats flakes very well but still refusing pellets. Since i bought him for my coworker i have to give him to her. I also gave her 2.5 gall and i explained that she has to feed a little bit at the time so flakes don't sink to the bottom. I told her to change 2.5 gall every 4 days-100%. I do 100% for my 2.5 gall. So i think it should be fine? Also that betta eats other flakes that i mentioned before-it for tropical fish but not for betta. So i think he will have good nutrients i more concerned about water contamination from flakes.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Just want to let everyone to know that he eat pellets now without any problems!!!

Thank you every one for advice.


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