Would this work for Betta food?

[cellogirl]

www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441781076&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030086&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023694&bmUID=1127272666197

This food is meant for lizards but I don't think it can be that different then what a betta would need. I looked at the ingredients and they don't seem much different then flake fish food.

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EDIT by Brian:

Tried to make the link shorter, but it won't work as shorter =\

[amanichen]

Stick to fish food. I'd worry that extra supplemental ingredients for reptiles wouldn't be good for fish.

Tetra does make gel packed brine shrimp and bloodworms for fish.

[cellogirl]

Where would I find that?

[amanichen]

Just about any fish store that sells the reptile stuff should sell the fish stuff too. Unless they've been mysteriously pulled from the market =)

[cellogirl]

I haven't been able to find it at any fish store.

[Rachel]

cellogirl said:

Where would I find that?

It's getting harder to find. It's called Tetra Nature's Delica food. It looks almost exactly the same as the reptile stuff you mentioned. It comes in daphnia, brine shrimp or bloodworm varieties. I can still find it locally, but a lot of people have to buy it online. It runs about $5 for a box. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of major chain stores, such as Petsmart, don't carry it anymore.

[cellogirl]

where would I find it online? I have looked at every online fish retailer that I can find.

[Rachel]

Are the ingredients listed online somewhere for the reptile version? I'd like to compare it to the fish version to see the difference.

I know aquariumpros.com sells the daphnia version at least. Although they mention it's in limited supply and with the products being so hard to find for the past few months it could be that it's being pulled from the market. I'm not sure at this point, other than the fact that people are having a hard time finding it.

[cellogirl]

The ingredients are, Bloodworms Soy protein isolate, Xanthan gum, Fish meal, Wheat gluten, Wheat Starch, Fish Oil, Guar Gum, Ascorbic Acid, Inositol, Niacin, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (Staybilized vitamin c) D-calcium, Pantothenate, A-Tocopherol-acetate, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride,vitamin a palmitate, cyanocobalamin, cholecalciferol, manganese sulfate, Zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, cobalt nitrate, Coloring: Red 3

[Rachel]

Thanks Cellogirl Overall, the ingredients are very similar.

I’ll outline the differences of the fish version in [bold] below.

The ingredients are: Bloodworms [Mosquito Larvae 30%], Soy protein isolate, Xanthan gum [listed after fish oil], Fish meal, Wheat gluten, Wheat Starch, Fish Oil, Guar Gum [not in fish version], Ascorbic Acid, Inositol, Niacin, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (Stabilized vitamin c) D-calcium, Pantothenate, A-Tocopherol-acetate, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride,vitamin a palmitate, cyanocobalamin, cholecalciferol, manganese sulfate, Zinc sulfate [zinc sulfate monohydrate], ferrous sulfate [ferrous sulfate heptahydrate], cobalt nitrate [cobalt sulfate heptahydrate], Coloring: Red 3. [Ethoxyquin as a preservative].

[cellogirl]

Do you think it would still be ok? Just curious because I would love to be able to feed my bettas some other types of food. Frozen is out because I don't have a freezer in my dorm room.

[Rachel]

cellogirl said:

Do you think it would still be ok? Just curious because I would love to be able to feed my bettas some other types of food. Frozen is out because I don't have a freezer in my dorm room.

Well, since I don't really know what some of those ingredients are I was waiting to see if anyone else had an opinion on it. My guess is that it would probably be an ok substitute.

I've used the fish version for a while and my bettas go crazy over it. It is a good option as a step down from frozen food. I don't squeeze mine directly into the tank as it's pretty messy, but feed it on the end of a flat toothpick. Do you have a fridge in your room at all? The only downside if you have a small number of fish is that each packet contains a fair amount of food. The extra can last a few days if you're able to stick it in the fridge.

Let us know how your betta likes it if you give it a try!

[cellogirl]

Thanks! I do have a small fridge and will have three fish so not much should go to waste. I will be feeding normal betta pellets and freeze dried bloodworms mainly and using these once in a while so it shouldn't be too big of deal if something is missing that bettas need. I am mainly interested if there is something there that bettas shouldn't have.