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Post by mermaid on Mar 9, 2004 0:57:39 GMT -5
hi! im actually new here (and to keeping bettas) ive had many fish tanks over the years though, just never a betta. i got 2 male bettas last friday. one is teal (and agressive) the other is my little purple "gentleman". currently (but not for long) i have them in a 1 gal divided 'diamond shape" betta "tank" i have a 5 gal eclipse set up thats the "real" fish tank though. ive decided to put mr purple in there (he won). im going to also get 2 glo-fish next week. ive been observing my bettas and i like them they have A LOT more personality than ALL other fish ive kept! mr. teal will go to my moms 10 gal tank (after awhile). anyway mr. teal eats like a little piggy-no prob with him. mr. purple only just started eating for me last night (finally!) i have wardleys betta bites-they are ok with that, but they seem to prefer the hikari bio gold (just got that today) the weird thing about mr purple is that he seems to like to "scavenge" at the bottom of the tank (mr teal just SNAPS the food up at the top) but poor mr purple seems to have food finding problems! i see him wiggling and ready to "pounce" at the top, then he just seems to lose his confidence  and he swims off. but then once the food sinks to the bottom he eats it. my concern is that once i put him in the 5 gal- not only with the filter (it is a VERY gentle one though) and with the glo-fish (zebra danios) he wont get any food! im really very set on getting the glo-fish and based on mr purples temperment he will get along with them, but im worried that they will zip around and eat his food! but maybe mr. purple is too bothered (distressed/distracted) by mr. teal? im just not sure!?! any feedback would be helpful  |
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Post by Rachel - old on Mar 10, 2004 23:52:08 GMT -5
Welcome to HB!
Some bettas do have different eating habits. You could try soaking pellets in fish treated water for a few minutes before placing them in the tank to see if he will eat them then. If you are worried that he may not be able to get food if he is mixed with other fish, you may want to consider keeping him in an area by himself.
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Post by ACKislander on Mar 11, 2004 10:34:15 GMT -5
Welcome Mermaid. I'm new here too but have been keeping and researching bettas for a while now. Glad to hear you've saved two little guys.
Unfortunately, bettas cannot be kept with Zebra Danios. Zebra Danios are great aquarium fish and are usually described as peaceful, that is only true if their tank mates don't have fragile fins. Danios are terrible fin nippers and can cause a lot of harm to bettas. (They also breed like crazy) There are plenty of fish you can keep with a betta, but I would stay clear of the Zebra Danios. I already made this mistake once and will never do it again.
If you're going to feed your betta pellet food, it's best to soak it in a cup for 10 minutes before feeding. That'll give the pellets a chance to expand to their full size outside of the betta's stomach. Hikari Bio Gold pellets are only 10% moisture and can cause bloating and constipation. Although, as far as pellet food goes Hikari Gold expand the least of all the pellets and is a safer choice. The Wardley's Betta Bites are notorious for causing digestive problems with bettas.
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FishQueen
Junior Bubble Nester
RIP Merlyn, my very first betta!!!
Posts: 159
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Post by FishQueen on Mar 11, 2004 17:38:30 GMT -5
My betta hardly eats from the top... she waits until the water from the filter pushes it down some... then SNAP she darts at it then runs back into her cave... it's like she's stalking prey! She is starting to eat more from the top tho... I think it's just their personality... just my 2 cents.
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Post by palepinkvase on Mar 11, 2004 22:08:41 GMT -5
Hello and Welcome. Congratulations on your new friends. I feed my Bettas the Hikari Bio-Gold (they pretty much turn their noses up at everything else I have offered.)Most feed from the top, but I do have one guy that likes to scavenge at the bottom. I feed no more than 6 pellets a day, and everyone gets a day of fasting. I used to follow the directions on the package and realized I was overfeeding. Good Luck with Mr Purple and Mr Teal. |
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Post by ACKislander on Mar 12, 2004 9:54:16 GMT -5
Just to add to what palepinkvase said... 6 Bio-gold pellets a day is probably in two or three feedings. Six is a lot at one time. A betta's stomach is only as big as his eye ball and shouldn't be fed more then that at one time. So, usually 2-3 pellets at a time is appropriate.
I have a betta that eats from the top AND forges all day. My biggest challenge is keeping him away from the veggies for my snails and otos.
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Post by mermaid on Mar 12, 2004 14:13:10 GMT -5
well a few days ago i got the bio-gold and now mr. purple is eating normally! i show them the package and they go right up for their food. i was so relieved when mr. purple FINALLY ate! his color even deepened! (he was pale and i didnt know it!) im not feeding them the wardleys anymore, its bigger in pellet size than the bio-gold. the funny thing about feeding them right now is timing, they are always more interested in whats going on their neighbors side, so mr teal would see the food on mr purple side and go crazy trying to get it! (i really thought he was going to jump for it this one time) but the bio-gold package makes feeding easy. at first i didnt like the pakage but now i understand why the package is that way.
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and he swims off. but then once the food sinks to the bottom he eats it. my concern is that once i put him in the 5 gal- not only with the filter (it is a VERY gentle one though) and with the glo-fish (zebra danios) he wont get any food! im really very set on getting the glo-fish and based on mr purples temperment he will get along with them, but im worried that they will zip around and eat his food! but maybe mr. purple is too bothered (distressed/distracted) by mr. teal? im just not sure!?! any feedback would be helpful 
