Feeding Betta Fish

Your betta fish are carnivorous. In the wild, their ancestors fed on a diet of larvae and small insects that may have fallen into the water. If you have access to such natural foods, your bettas will be thrilled to receive them.

If like most of us, you reach for the pet store menus, try feeding your bettas with live food such as blood worms, tubifex worms, glass worms and water daphnia (available live or frozen from select pet stores). Tetra Freeze Dried Blood Worms is a good choice and available at most pet stores. Tetra's BettaMin Floating Flake Food is a good dry alternative with which to feed your betta fish.

It's best to feed your betta fish small quantities twice a day. If you can, opt for two different types of food, one in each meal. This is especially important if you are feeding natural foods and not special betta fish food, because your fish need a variety of natural foods for a balanced nutrition. In nature your betta fish would probably be eating more than one type of larvae or insect, so try and provide him with a similar menu at your home.

Remember that food leftovers rot and produce toxins and ammonia in your fish tank. You should never over-feed your betta fish, to prevent contaminating your tank. To find out what is the right amount of food per meal, you may have to experiment a bit at first. When feeding your betta fish for the first few times, give your fish ten minutes of eating time, and then begin scooping out the leftovers. Once you figure out how much food is actually required, you will be able to safely dish out their daily allotment.