# My betta eats off the floor!



## xxabc (Feb 1, 2010)

So normally bettas don't eat off the gravel, as it's too hard to find it, or for some other reasons. Well my red betta likes to hang out around the floor occasionally (not in a sickly manner, in an exploring manner), especially this one corner where the marbles collect. Well often when I feed, sometimes when I soak in too much garlic, the pellet sinks, and I'm stuck trying to pick it up... well, lately for the past 2 tries when pellets sank, I got fed up. I pointed my finger to the bottom corner ( i feed directly above it), where he followed, and to my surprise, he found the pellets! And ate them! So far, he's eaten 3 off the floor! Well, there's my cleanup crew for now. Haha, I just got excited. Of course, I won't force feed him to eat off the floor. 

The other will _only_ jump for his food...if I drop his pellet onto the water, he falls back, and leaps into the air like some kind of wanna-be Shamu, haha. So I hold it half an inch into the air and he'll leap for it. Very cute. 

Do any of your bettas eat peculiarly?


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## DarthMaul (Mar 30, 2010)

you trained your betta to jump out of the water and eat food from your hand? WOW that is impressive!! I have NEVER seen a single betta jump boooooo =[


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Mine constantly search for fallen food. Especially the ones in tanks with snails/shrimp because they know that there could be snail/shrimp food on the gravel.


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## xxabc (Feb 1, 2010)

Maybe I can expect that when I get snails. This is an absolutely first for me, I was pretty impressed by his feat, haha. 

Yup, Darthmaul. My other betta jumps for my finger daily (although he doesn't seem to jump on his own). My red betta can also jump, however he's terrible at aiming, and I either have to put it a centimeter up, or just let him eat it directly off my finger, ha.


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## DarthMaul (Mar 30, 2010)

i must have mentally handicapped bettas. Mine do not do anything of the cool things ppl say their bettas do... booo =[ all mine do is eat, sleep and poop and HATE their new betta logs i bought em... what a WASTE of 20 bux haha all they do is nip at em and flare at em! so much for a "natural" betta floating log haha


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## xxabc (Feb 1, 2010)

Haha, well I've had them for quite a while, so definitely be patient. Definitely give it about a few months (yes months) or so before you get upset, haha.


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## DCbettagirl (Apr 9, 2010)

Hi there, I'm new to the forum, but not to owning bettas  My new little girl Cleo also ate from the ground. I discovered this right after getting her when she refused to eat anything for days. I bought just about every food on the market to tempt her to eat something--her preference? The Flakes! She would bite it, spit it out, watch it sink to the ground, and then eat it. Now I have her on a pellet diet and she likes to swim around with the pellet in her mouth before she eats it. and surprise--she HATES bloodworms! In fact, if I drop one in her tank she swims away and stares at it from a safe distance! Guess I'll have to find some other weekly treat for her


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## bloo97 (Mar 6, 2010)

Dragon eats, spits it out,eats,spits it out, eats, spits it out...He does this like 7x before he finally and truly eats it. Hehehehehehe.....


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## FuulieQ (Jan 10, 2010)

My betta refuses to eat off the floor of his tank, prefers to eat floating food. I have recently gotten him to hop a little for it, but he'll only do that for bloodworms.  Picky fish. 

Right now I'm trying to train him to eat off my finger, mostly in the hopes that he'll become less skittish as he gets used to me. It's gonna be a long road with that one. Whenever I move even slightly, he gets spooked and is gone in a flash. :<


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## BerkB33 (Oct 23, 2009)

Treat mine with live black worms every 3rd day...couple of them "circle" the wiggling worm as it falls toward the bottom...seems as though they "bat" the worm around with their tail...just as the worm hits the gravel, BAM! Pretty violent head shaking...tear that worm up!!! :shock:


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## kuklachica (Dec 23, 2009)

My Cielo pretends to be a cory. He LOVES eating off the ground, especially when he had large pebbles on the bottom rather than gravel. I don't have snails or shrimp, so I don't know where he got this idea  He'll eat from the top too, and jump up, but also likes to scrounge.

All of my other guys jump, especially if they think I am taking too long. My yellow guy, Bumble gets a good 2-3 inches of air. It's actually pretty scary. I keep thinking he's going to jump out at feeding time.


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## CataclysmKitten (Mar 20, 2010)

My fish loves to catch the food as it falls. He'll eat it off the gravel, too. I don't even know where that eyesight comes from.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Well, they're predators so I think it's natural for them to 'hunt'. Mine do it pretty much all day. I see them cruising the bottom looking around for stuff, they look in the plants too. Tango is the best at it. I've seen him find tiny pieces of the cory pellets all over the place. The corys don't seem to 'see' their food but Tango can spot it right away. Which is why he is fed in a breeders trap. Unfair advantage! 

@DCbettagirl: Try frozen mysis shrimp. Mine LOVE them. They float for a lil bit too, which is nice.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Mine will do ANYTHING for food!!!!!!!

I taught Ivy to jump through a hoop. Don't believe it? I'll video tape it sometime.


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## DarthMaul (Mar 30, 2010)

*xxabc* I call on thee!!! I got my Peter to jump!!! I have to presoak his food so it sticks to the tip of my finger when its ready. Well i hold it just above the water and he jumps about head to gill length out of the water and gets it!! He got it on the 2nd try!!! I was like WOW... they can be really aggressive when getting their good lol. He even nipped my bare finger as to say "HEY GIMMIE MORE" lol How do you guys hand feed your bettas without the food sticking to your finger like i do? Like my fingers are not small enough to hold a pellet to where they can grab it. Like i do not have to presoak for matthew, so i am not sure how i could hand feed him pellets. The FD BW's are easy though =]


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

I hold it between my index and thumb just under the water. They're quick enough to snatch it from me. I got used to being bit. I used to freak out. Tango would 'hit' me when I was vacuuming and it's a little unnerving when you're not looking and you feel that sudden bite.


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## ecoprincess (Jul 16, 2009)

haha this thread is great!!! 

My betta jumps out of the water for his food as well (sometimes will eat falling food but never from the ground). He is not interested in anything at the surface unless my hand is guiding him to it....i used to think he couldnt see very well....now i know hes after my finger! The first time he made contact i was amazed! He nipped my finger nail....freaked me out!! Now he chases my finger around the surface of the water like he is a big bad shark.........as soon as i put a mirror by him.......he swims away!! not much of a predator! LMAO CRACKS me up!!!


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## mysquishy (Mar 12, 2010)

Jasper waits until his food starts to sink and he will zoom over and catch it before it falls.


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## DCbettagirl (Apr 9, 2010)

Thanks Vaygirl! I'll definitely try the frozen mysis shrimp--lets hope she's not scared of those...  I'm also now motivated to try to get her to jump for her food. 

Doggyhog--definitely get a video of Ivy jumping through hoop--I'd love to see that!


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

okay, that's it.
I want a betta now. lol.


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## FuulieQ (Jan 10, 2010)

Doggyhog:

PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. 
(I must see this 0-0)


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## xxabc (Feb 1, 2010)

Lol I missed a lot. 

DARTHMAUL. GOOD FOR YOU.  It's cute isn't it?? Lol I'm gonna try the index-thumb one, I've never fed them like that haha


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