Can Betta Fish Eat Earthworms? (All You Need To Know)

Betta fish are carnivore fish and rely on meat-based food in their everyday life to ensure their faster growth and healthy lifespan.

Feeding your betta fish the right food is necessary to prevent them from various issues and ensure their enhancing color and longer lifespan. Earthworms are full of beneficial nutritional values that will make your bettas thrive. But can they feed on earthworms? Can betta fish eat earthworms? Let us find out.

Betta fish can eat earthworms as they are carnivore fish and earthworms are a rich source of protein, minerals, and vitamins. Cut the earthworms into small pieces and rinse them to prepare them for your bettas. Feed earthworms to your bettas twice a week, 2-3 pieces twice a day.

This article will discuss whether bettas can eat bloodworms, and also we will discuss the ideal dietary requirements of betta fish. So, let us get into it.

Can I provide earthworms to my betta fish?

You can feed your betta fish earthworms.

Earthworms are a good source of minerals, protein, and vitamins that your betta fish require for their growth and development.

You can feed your betta fish live and freeze-dried earthworms.

Feed them earthworms twice a week, 2-3 pieces twice a day.

Make sure not to make earthworms a staple part of your betta fish everyday diet.

Betta fish ideal dietary requirements.

Betta fish are carnivores and rely only on meat-based food.

Many people think that betta fish will thrive munching on the roots of the plants, but it is not true.

Betta fish require a proper meat-based diet to ensure faster growth and development.

Feed your betta fish with betta pellets, bloodworms, tubifex worms, brine shrimp, daphnia, and mosquito larvae.

Serving QuantityServing QuantityNo of Times
Betta Pellets2-3 pieces at a time2 times a day
Brine shrimp2-3 pieces at a time1-2 times a week
Mosquito larvae2-3 pieces at a time1-2 times a week
Bloodworms2-3 pieces at a time1-2 times a week
Daphnia2-3 pieces at a time1-2 times a week
Tubifex Worms2-3 pieces at a time1-2 times a week
This table shows the ideal dietary requirements of a betta fish.

Bettas rely on insects and small invertebrates in the wild as they are carnivore species.

However, in captivity, we have options for hundreds of food to feed to our betta fish, of which the betta pellets are the best.

Betta pellets should be a major part of your betta fish weekly diet.

You should also feed live, freeze-dried, and frozen food to your betta fish 1-2 times a week.

Also read: Why Is My Betta Fish Not Eating?

Is it safe for a betta fish to eat earthworms?

Betta fish will love to feed on every type of worm, including bloodworms and tubifex worms.

They rely on worms, insects, and other invertebrates as their regular food sources in the wild.

Earthworms are a good source of protein, minerals, and vitamins and are entirely safe for your bettas.

You can feed your betta fish earthworms. However, it should not be a staple part of their everyday diet.

Can I rely only on earthworms for my betta fish?

There are better choices than relying on one type of food for your betta fish.

Also, we should feed our bettas live food as a treat twice a week.

Bettas will mostly rely on pellets that are specially made for them when kept in captivity.

Many fish keepers are not able to feed their fish live food every day as it is challenging to arrange such food.

Pellets are a good choice when it comes to betta fish.

Some pellets have no fillers, are high in protein, and are specially made for bettas.

So consider feeding your betta fish such live food as a treat twice a week instead of relying only on this food.

Also read: Can Betta Fish Eat Mosquito?

How often should we feed earthworms to our betta fish?

As we discussed above, we should feed live, frozen, and freeze-dried food to our bettas as a treat twice a week.

Feed your betta fish earthworms twice a week, 2-3 pieces twice a day.

Earthworms should not be a staple part of your betta fish everyday diet.

DaysBetta Food
Monday2-3 pellets twice a day
TuesdayLive, freeze-dried, or frozen food 2-3 pieces twice a day
Wednesday2-3 pellets twice a day
Thursday2-3 pellets twice a day
FridayLive, freeze-dried, or frozen food 2-3 pieces twice a day
Saturday2-3 pellets twice a day
SundayLet your betta fish have a fast on Sunday to maintain their appetite.
This table shows the feeding routine for your betta fish from Monday to Sunday.

Such live or freeze-dried food can be served to your betta fish two times a week as a substitute for pellets.

Betta pellets will cover a significant portion of your betta fish weekly diet.

How to prepare earthworms for my betta fish?

Preparing earthworms for your betta fish is easy.

You can find earthworms in your backyard.

All you have to do is, grab them, put them in a bucket, cut them off into small pieces, and rinse them nicely to get rid of dirt and other waste.

Your earthworm is ready to serve it to your betta fish.

You can also easily find live and freeze-dried earthworms at a pet store.

Only make sure to rinse and cut the earthworms well to ensure that it is good to go to your betta fish aquarium.

Once they are done eating earthworms, clean the tank by extracting out any leftovers, if present.

How often should we feed our betta fish?

We should feed our betta fish one to two times a day.

Feeding your betta fish 2-3 pellets twice daily will be the perfect feeding.

The same goes for live, freeze-dried, and frozen food.

When feeding your betta fish, provide 2-3 pieces of live food twice to ensure adequate feeding.

Betta fish have a stomach size equal to their eyes. So, feeding them in large quantities will result in your bettas suffering from constipation, bloating, and other gastrointestinal issues.

Consider letting your betta fish fast for Sundays as it will help them to digest the food properly and remain healthy.

How long can betta fish survive without food?

Betta fish can live for 14 days without food.

However, it doesn’t mean that you keep them hungry for these long days as it can affect their health.

If you are going out for a weekend or 2-3 days of vacation, consider not providing food to your bettas.

Many owners end up providing extra food to their bettas before leaving, which results in overfeeding and causes issues to their bettas.

So, instead of providing extra food to your bettas when leaving for some days, consider letting them fast for these days.

Your bettas can take care of themselves without food for as long as 14 days.

Conclusion:

You can provide earthworms to your betta fish.

Earthworms and other types of worms are rich in protein, minerals, and vitamins, that help the fish in their faster growth and development.

Make sure to cut them off into small pieces and rinse them well before serving to your bettas.

Feed your betta fish earthworms twice a week, 2-3 pieces twice a day.

Make sure not to make live foods like earthworms a staple part of your betta fish diet.


Reference: Wikipedia

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