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Post by Doofusmom on Jan 10, 2004 4:13:41 GMT -5
I have had Vegeta for about 2 weeks now. I have tried everything from feeding him bloodworms, brine shrimp, flakes, and Hikari Betta Bio-Gold...he won't eat it. It seems healthy. He flares and builds bubblenests but at the end of the day he still hasn't eaten...I have to suction out food with the turley bater everyday...every one of my other 10 bettas eat like little piggies...I don't know what else to try...maybe live food? Will they eat microworms or are they too small...I have some of those cultured for my guppies and fry...what has worked for you?  |
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Leigh
Junior Bubble Nester
Posts: 106
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Post by Leigh on Jan 10, 2004 10:54:13 GMT -5
When I first brought Kaluha home, I was using the Bio Gold and I noticed that he was spitting them out and I had to remove them. I think that they were too large for him. I switched to BettaBites and he has been on those ever since. I do remember searching this board for solutions and seeing many postings about picky eaters.
Hopefully it is just a case of finding the "right" food for Vegeta. If you want to try some BettaBites, send me an email with your address and I will be happy to send you some (I bought 2 jars not realizing that represents about a 10 year supply of Betta food :-))
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Post by Emerson on Jan 10, 2004 14:14:42 GMT -5
Interesting tidbit....Zookplankton is daphnia, or water fleas, which is very good for preventing constipation.
I bought some a few weeks ago and have been feeding a little as a "every so often" treat. Everybody here loves it! (well, I haven't fed it to hubby yet).
sef
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Post by Emerson on Jan 10, 2004 14:16:01 GMT -5
Another random thought just popped into my head...where did you get Vegeta? Could you find out what the LFS or breeder had previously fed him?
sef
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Post by Doofusmom on Jan 11, 2004 6:38:19 GMT -5
I got him at Petco...she said she feeds them Betta Bio Gold....but he won't eat them..he doesn't even try...like he doesn't realize they are food...they had just got him in though and so I don't know what they were fed before arriving at Petco...the other bettas I bought seem to be fine...
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Post by Doofusmom on Jan 11, 2004 6:42:57 GMT -5
I am also going to try the ZooPlankton and the live brine shrimps and maybe some flightless fruit flies I saw at the petstore...Thanks Leah for offering me the BettaBites...I think I will try some...  |
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Post by abm on Jan 11, 2004 8:18:52 GMT -5
Doofusmom, I had a similar experience. One of my guys refused to even try to Betta Bio-gold too, even though the other 5 were happily gobbling them down. Like he didn't realize they were food. He would sometimes nibble a flake - as in, a single flake. But I figured that was better than nothing so he got one flake several times a day.  That built up to 3-4 flakes a couple times a day, and then I started offering him one BettaBite teensy pellet once in a while when I fed the others. Long story short, it has taken two months but he will now eat a Bio-gold pellet when it's offered! Just be patient and I would try the bettabite pellets - all of my guys jumped right on those. Good luck! |
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Post by Emerson on Jan 11, 2004 13:16:34 GMT -5
I've had very good luck with BettaBites (the WalMart product is marketing as AquaCulture, but it is identical to HBH BettaBites and in fact made by the same company). Never saw a Betta yet who turned up his little nose at it. Of course, there's always a first to prove me wrong!  I would definitely give those a try. ABM is right -- it can take a little while to get the acclimated to a new food. I've heard of new Bettas taking up to a month to get used to their surroundings and start eating regularly. As we always say, every Betta is different...they're very much individuals, with their own peculiar likes and dislikes. If you'd like samples of other flake, I have: OSI Freshwater flake Nutrafin Max flake freshwater Nutrufin Max flake Betta formula Omega One Betta Buffet Of these, all of my kids (even picky Josephine) love the Omega One Betta Buffet. It's a very good product. Just send me a PM with your address if you'd like some. I could also throw in a few pellet samples if you're interested. sef |
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Post by palepinkvase on Jan 11, 2004 13:40:50 GMT -5
Doofusmom -
I dont know about how this could affect your guy, but I wanted to let you know that fruit flies can carry parasites on their bodies, specifically mites. Someone else may know if this can prove to be a problem for Bettas, or if it just adds 'flavor' and is nothing to worry about.
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Leigh
Junior Bubble Nester
Posts: 106
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Post by Leigh on Jan 11, 2004 15:54:27 GMT -5
The Betta Bites are on the way. Hopefully they will arrive on Wednesday.
Bon Appetite Vegeta!
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spiff
Junior Bubble Nester
Posts: 228
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Post by spiff on Jan 11, 2004 17:26:55 GMT -5
My new guy, Joey, is also not eating. I've only had him since Wednesday, so it's not as severe as yours, but I stilll want him to eat. My other 4 bettas ate immediatly after being placed in their new homes, so this is new for me. I have tried Hikari Betta Bio-Gold, BettaMin, and blood worms and he won't eat anything (and what fish turns down a blood worm!) I have some Baby Bites for my guppy fry so I might try giving some of that to him...it just floats on the top of the water and is hard to see, so he might unconsciously eat some when he takes a gulp of air.
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Post by palepinkvase on Jan 12, 2004 15:57:32 GMT -5
Just a note on my experience. None of my guys ate anything for about 4-7 days after I got them home. When they did start, it was only 1-2 pellets a day at first. But they all found their appetite and have been chowing down ever since! |
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Post by palepinkvase on Jan 12, 2004 15:59:58 GMT -5
I also wanted to add that I used my "just-been-washed-and-dried" finger to gently agitate the pellet on the surface of the water after I dropped it in when first feeding my guys. It seemed to help them realize that there was food to be had.
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spiff
Junior Bubble Nester
Posts: 228
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Post by spiff on Jan 12, 2004 16:37:21 GMT -5
The food would float right past Joey's face and he didn't seem interested. But he finally ate yesterday! I gave him a bloodworm and he ate that, and then for dinner I gave him 3 pellets and he finally seemed interested and ate them all. I am going to retry flakes today to see if he will eat those as well.
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Post by Doofusmom on Jan 16, 2004 5:50:57 GMT -5
Leigh: Thanks for the BettaBites...he loves them...and so do my cats...they keep trying to open the bottle due to the fish smell...LOL
PS:
It was cute how you addressed the envelope to Vegeta himself...LOL ;D
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That built up to 3-4 flakes a couple times a day, and then I started offering him one BettaBite teensy pellet once in a while when I fed the others. Long story short, it has taken two months but he will now eat a Bio-gold pellet when it's offered! 
I would definitely give those a try.