One of the most important parts of caring for betta fish is their feeding. How often should you feed betta fish?
Betta fish are generally hardy, and they don’t have extreme demands when it comes to their nutrition.
Let’s jump right into it with this article and I bet you’ll find out something new if you make it to the end.
How Often Should You Feed Betta Fish?
A betta fish should be fed twice per day to meet their nutritional demands. It will work better if you go with a routine that gives the space between the feeding to be 8 hours apart.
Thus, you will achieve a great result by feeding betta fish:
- once in the morning
- once in the evening
You don’t have to overload betta with food before you can achieve your nutritional results. You only need to supply them with food of appropriate quality and quantity twice per day.
Only feed them enough food that they can eat in two minutes, if they take longer to eat all the food then you are overfeeding them.
How Many Days Can A Betta Fish Go Without Food??
Under suitable environmental and water parameters, a healthy betta fish can go up to 14 days without food. They can survive on their own and still look fit and agile all through this period.
As much as starving betta fish or any other aquarium fish is never a good idea, certain conditions make it unavoidable.
You don’t have to worry over the survival of your betta fish if you:
- will be away from home for a couple of days
- are sure of their health status
- keep their tank and environmental conditions at an optimal level
Having an aquarium should not restrict your movement, at least for trips that wouldn’t exceed a couple of days. Therefore, it is essential to know how long a healthy betta fish can go without food.
Is It OK To Feed My Betta Fish Every Other Day?
Yes. It is ok to feed an adult betta fish every other day, but ideally you should be feeding them twice a day roughly 8 hours apart. Young betta fish need to be fed twice a day.
Whilst it is not an issue to feed your betta fish every other day they will prefer to be fed twice a day with a smaller amount of food, This is because it add a regular routine to there feeding and it will help to reduce stress in the fish.
Young betta fish will need to be fed twice a day because they require regular nutrients which help them to grow.
How Much to Feed Betta Fish
Each pellets are different size. You should feed a single betta fish:
- 4 – 6 pellets a day over two feedings
- 1.8 grams of pellets
You should not feed pellets to young betta as they will not be able to swallow the pellets easily, instead you should feed them fish flakes.
Also older betta fish typically will lose apatite and will not be as hungry so you should feed them less pellets a day.
What Happens If You Overfeed A Betta Fish?
Betta fish will continue to eat food even when they are not hungry. Overfeeding can cause:
- weight gain and health issues
- constipation
- leftover food that is not eaten
This food will sink to the floor and will decompose in the water making the water conditions bad for your fish.
If the water conditions become bad due to rotten food this can cause the immune system in your betta to be weakened and will allow diseases to form.
Can I Leave My Betta Fish For A Week?
Yes. You can leave your betta fish for a week, a healthy betta will survive up to 14 days without food. If you do plan to not feed your betta for a few days you should buy an auto feeder for the tank.
As you can imagine it is not recommended to not feed your betta for a week, you can buy pellets that dissolve food over a few days or you can add an auto feeder to the tank to feed the betta fish on a schedule.
What ever you do please do not leave them for a week or longer with out food.
What Do Bettas Eat?
Bettas are classified as carnivores due to the type of food they prefer or mostly feed on. In the wild where their nutrition and diet is neither regulated nor restricted, they prefer to feed on insects and similar tiny creatures that can fit into their mouths.
However, their food can slightly vary from that of the wild once they are in the aquarium. It is a little bit difficult for aquarists to look for live feeds that will help them keep up with their ‘carnivorous fish’ reputation.
Nevertheless, aquarists still have means of providing food that will meet up with the demands of your bettas including:
- vitamins
- protein
- fat
- fiber
- calcium
- phosphorus
Of all these nutrients, protein is the most essential for betta fish growth, healthy living, as well as meeting their carnivorous needs. The fibers are also necessary to aid their digestion and prevent constipation.
Thus, the alternatives to live foods that are available usually meet the nutritional demands of most fish.
The most common food bettas get to enjoy in the aquarium include:
- flakes
- pellets of high quality
- frozen, freeze-dried, and live foods
If you are purchasing already made food for bettas, make sure they are foods that are specific for betta and no other tropical fish like goldfish.
This consideration is because betta lacks actual digestive tracts. Hence, they are not capable of digesting a particular food like corn.
Betta Fish Feeding Schedule
1. Once or twice a day, two to four pellets should be fed to your betta fish.
Pellets are incredibly filling for your betta fish and expand when placed in water.
2. One or two days a week, fresh or freeze-dried food can be used in place of their pellet feeding.
- A betta fish needs two tiny meals each day.
- It’s ideal to feed your betta fish twice a day—once in the morning and once at night.
- Keeping these feeding at the same time and distance of around 12 hours each day
- Help you and your betta establish a pattern
Conclusion
Betta fish are common in the aquarium because they are easy to care for and feed. Likewise, they are not extreme in their feeding and environmental demands.
Although it is never advisable to starve betta, it is preferable to skip their meals rather than overfeed them.
Therefore, it is essential to schedule their feeding in such a way that it will meet their nutritional needs, and at the same time, will not be too much for them.
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